Page 16 of Claimed By the Rival Alpha

Movement on the armchair caused my breath to catch in my throat. One of the inky black shadows of the room was moving, gathering itself up and stepping toward me. I shrieked even before my brain processed that the person stepping into the moonlight was Troy.

He laughed at me and reached for his crotch to adjust himself.

I immediately stopped screaming and pressed my back against the wall.

I knew my fear turned him on, but I couldn’t stop the tears that slipped down my cheeks.

Troy’s expression was full of malice, but his gaze was that of a famished man.

I couldn’t tell if he was after my blood or my body. Either way, it couldn’t be good for me.

“What’s happening?” I asked, my voice the trembling squeak of a frightened mouse. “How did I get here?”

“How do you think?”

I tried to search my memory, and for a second, it was frightfully blank. But then flashes of the night’s festivities returned to me. I remembered the little boy and the drink, and…

“D-did you slip me something?”

He slammed his hand against the wall beside my head, and I flinched in spite of myself. “That’s right. I told that pup to bring you a drink. I knew you’d never drink it if I gave it to you.”

I shuddered. I could hardly wrap my mind around the sickness that allowed Troy to take advantage of my soft spot for children.

“I had my men follow you so when you passed out, they could carry you back here. To my bedroom.” As he spoke, he flicked on a light—briefly illuminating the clean white walls, gold bed sheets, two nightstands, an armchair, and the rope and pulley system that kept me bound—and then flicked it off again.

“Oh, and they noticed that you kept glancing at one of the trees near the dining hall. One of them climbed up and found your bag.”

I couldn’t hold in a gasp and immediately hated myself for making another noise, for giving him the satisfaction.

Troy walked toward his bed at the back of the room, and I heard him open a drawer.

He walked back into the light and held up the worn bag that I’d stashed in the tree.

A bit of sap had rubbed off on the strap.

“Look at this. Look at this. Aren’t you a clever one?

” He opened the bag and began to toss around the map, the clothes, the rations, all the things that I would need to help me escape.

“I bet you were thinking you could slip away during the challenge ceremony.” He grinned.

“Lucky for me, I had already planned a few steps ahead.”

He tossed the bag to the side, kicking and stomping on my things as I looked on in horror. He giggled, watching the color drain from my face.

“Truth be told,” he went on, “I was hoping you’d wake up before the challenge ceremony so I could see the look on your face when you realized how fucked you are.”

I stared at him, my heart pounding against my rib cage.

He laughed and again shifted the bulge in his pants. “Yeah, that’s the one.”

I looked away from him, my lower lip trembling. “What are you going to do with me?” I had to know, even though I knew the answer was likely that he planned to kill or torture me.

“Oh, I’ve got something wonderful planned for the little human who could never be pack no matter how hard she tries.”

He moved across the room to where the pulley system was hooked up to the right-hand wall.

As he cranked, the ropes on my limbs began to drag me against the wall and up into a standing position.

I screamed and fought, but no matter how hard I struggled, I couldn’t stop the ropes from pulling me flush with the wall.

My limbs were spread out, leaving me exposed to him.

He licked his lips as he walked toward me. “I set up the ropes myself,” he said. “You should be grateful because it’s for your birthday.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You’ll be twenty in just a few hours, when the moon reaches its apex in the sky. After I claim my position as Alpha, I’m going to come back here and take your virginity from you.”

I gasped sharply. “N-no. You c-can’t!”

“But I can, Bryn. As Alpha, no one can stop me, and you’ll be bound to me for the rest of your pathetic little life.

” He pressed his hand against the wall next to my head and leaned in close, overwhelming me with the miasma of his presence.

“Then you will never find another mate. No one would have you once your purity is mine. And you, poor thing, will live as my slave for the rest of your days.”

He stepped back. Tears continued to drip from my chin as the awful enormity of what he’d just said slammed into me.

“What a sad face. I’ll tell you what, Bryn—if you’re a good little girl, I’ll let you suck my cock every night before bed. After all, it’s the best treatment you can hope for.”

I felt myself beginning to get sick again, but I didn’t understand. I couldn’t understand what Troy could mean. “But why? Why would you want to claim me when you hate me so much?”

Something in him snapped. He spat at me. The glob, cooling en route, landed on my cheek and slid down my chin. I almost vomited right then, but somehow I kept it together. It was probably the fear of what he’d do to me if I dirtied his floor.

He came at me again, growling in anger. “How stupid can you be? I would never want to be with filth like you. I would never taint my line with your weak blood. No, you are mated to me, and you’ll never be with another man.

But make no fucking mistake, Bryn—I’ll tear your body apart with this cock, but I will never claim you. ”

My head swam. I-it doesn’t matter! I’m human, so he can’t bind me to him forever.

It doesn’t work like that! I wanted to introduce some hope to the situation, but even that bit of comfort couldn’t compete with the bleak future Troy proposed.

Doesn’t matter whether you’re wolf or human.

He’s still going to rape you tonight, and he’s going to force you to be his slave. And no one will save you. Not even Mom.

As if he knew the dark path my thoughts had taken, he laughed at me again and reached between my legs.

He gripped my sex in his hand and squeezed hard enough for me to cry out.

And then, just when I thought the pain would be too much, he pulled back and slapped me across the face.

Pain sparked across my cheek as I blinked stars out of my vision.

“Don’t worry, Bryn, there will be plenty more where that came from.” He started to walk toward the door. “I’ve got a challenge ceremony to prepare for, but I’ll see you tonight.” He sent one more awful smile at me before walking through the door.

My head fell, and tears poured and poured out of me. I knew it was over. Troy had won. If only a dashing knight would appear to whisk me away to safety. But no, that was just a desperate attempt to escape into fantasy and away from the awful reality that I faced now.