Page 20 of Her Destined Alpha (Alpha #3)

Delsanra

I couldn’t face him, not after what happened.

Did this mate bond really render wolves senseless?

There were cases when even mated wolves were treated horrifically by their mates, especially if the mate was a witch.

It was rare, but it happened, and the stories were terrifying.

The mate bond was not absolute, or there wouldn’t be those who abused their mates.

His words refused to leave my mind, as did the way he pulled me close. I took a deep breath, feeling the painful tug in my chest as I pulled on my powers without realising. Breathe, Del…

His touch still lingered on my body, but… I didn’t hate it. It wasn’t the first time I had seen desire in a man’s eyes for me, but unlike those times, it didn’t disgust me. But it should. It should disgust me.

I closed my eyes, letting myself fall deep into my past…

“Ah, look, Dawson, the bitch thought she’d try to look pretty,” Amoria laughed.

I froze on the steps. It was my twelfth birthday; I had braided my hair and put on my cleanest clothes. They were still battered and frayed, but they were better than the others. Please not today…

“What’s the occasion you little bitch?” Dawson scoffed.

“It’s my birthday,” I answered quietly, trying to control my anger and hurt. He came over, grabbing me by my hair and dragging me down the rest of the stairs before throwing me to the ground. Amoria laughed.

“She actually thought that would matter?” she mocked scornfully. “Stupid bitch!”

I gasped when she whispered a spell, dousing me in scalding water. My eyes burned, my own power wrapping around me as I protected myself. That made them both hesitate.

“You dare try to evade a punishment,” Dawson whispered, hatred blazing in his eyes.

“Well, I think we need to tell Dad she needs a stronger sealing spell,” Amoria said coldly.

“Let me do this the old-fashioned way,” Dawson said. “Keep watch, Amoria.”

“Sure,” she replied. My stomach twisted with fear and dread as Dawson yanked me up by my hair and dragged me into the nearest room.

“I’m sorry! I won’t-”

I hated him. I hated being alone with him. Something changed, and it made me uncomfortable.

I should have let Amoria do what she wanted…

Fear consumed me. I prayed to Hecate to protect me, for my creator would surely love me a little? She’d protect me, right?

“Too late for that,” he said, shutting the door behind him and looking down at me.

There it was; the weird way his eyes trailed over me. I shuddered as I wrapped my arms around myself, curling into a foetal position.

“I’m sorry,” I pleaded. He crouched down, a disgusting smirk crossing his lips.

“You will become my plaything when you’re old enough… but if you don’t want that to come any sooner, take your punishments like a good girl,” he whispered, his hand caressing my thigh. I nodded fervently.

“I promise I’ll take my punishments.”

“Good… no sounds, no complaints… because you know I’m stronger than you.” He twisted his hand into my hair and yanked my head back. “I’ll make one condition clear to Amoria… we won’t touch this pretty face of yours because when you do become my toy, I at least need something pleasant to look at.”

His disgusting fingers ran down my cheek, but I stayed still. If I didn’t argue, he wouldn’t do anything else… I needed to get out of here fast, but how did I do that?

He stood up and kicked me roughly in the stomach, knocking me to the ground. He continued to kick every inch of me. I covered my head, biting my lip and drawing blood, not daring to make a sound. I didn’t know when he stopped because I had fallen unconscious…

A knocking sound made my eyes fly open. I gasped, my heart thundering as I realised night had fallen. What happened? Did I fall asleep? I wasn’t sure… but I was no longer on the floor either. I was on the bed, and my shoes had been removed.

The door opened and Rayhan stood there, looking as handsome as ever. I hated how I noticed that. He leaned his arm on the door frame as he looked at me.

“Hey, you okay? You were asleep on the floor a few hours ago,” he asked, concerned, and walked over.

His hand touched my forehead, and my stomach knotted as I stared up at him.

His gaze fell on my lips before he quickly moved back, looking away.

“You don’t have a temperature,” he said, running his fingers through his curls. He looked so sexy like that.

“About work. I’ll start tomorrow,” I stated. I didn’t want to be stuck in this place with him for two entire weeks.

“Great,” he said, giving me that dazzling smirk of his. Okay, that’s suspicious... Why isn’t he disappointed?

“You’re not sad that I won’t be stuck here with you?”

“No, I don’t intend to keep you captive, Kitten.

I’m a wolf, I don’t like being stuck in one place either,” he replied, slipping his hands into his pockets, making my attention fall to the front of his pants.

I didn’t miss the bulge in them and quickly looked away, ignoring the ache I felt down below. I took a deep breath, exhaling.

“So that’s sorted. I’ll go to work tomorrow.” I got off the bed and looked up at him. “Now, are you really just going to stand there like a lost puppy or give me some privacy? I’m going to the bathroom.”

“Well, since you like to call me a dog… I’ll just act like a lost puppy. I am adorable after all, right?” He winked at me and I rolled my eyes, walking off. Much to my dismay, he dropped onto the bed, making me frown.

“Don’t lay down on my bed.”

“Actually, this was my bed until you took dibs on it, so I can lay here.”

“Fine, I’ll take another room then,” I stated.

“I didn’t mean that-”

I slammed the door to the bathroom behind me. He was so annoying. Although, to be fair, his scent that lingered on that bed was comforting to sleep with at night.

I washed my face and brushed my teeth quickly. Taking my hair tie out, I let my hair down. I ran my fingers through it quickly before ruffling it up to add some volume. I froze. What was I doing? Since when have I cared about how my hair looked?

Since the animal outside started flaunting his glossy curls in your face.

Yeah, he was a guy. It should be illegal for men to have better hair than women.

I stepped out of the bathroom, and for a moment, I stopped in my tracks.

He laid there on the bed, one knee raised.

Surprisingly, I wasn’t even annoyed that he had his boots on the bedding.

His phone was in his other hand whilst the setting sun cast a warm glow on him.

My heart pounded like a raging storm; he was, without a doubt, the most attractive man I had ever seen.

I forced my gaze away when he sat up and got off the bed.

“I’ve ordered take out; I thought we could watch a movie together. What’s your preferred genre, Princess? Romance, action, or fantasy?” A movie and takeaway… alone... this felt too…

“Horror. I love horror. The more gruesome the better,” I stated, walking right past him and out into the hall. If he was trying to set the mood for something, then I would destroy that mood. I smirked confidently, Now this will be fun…

Big mistake. Choosing a horror movie when we were sitting in the dark on a shared couch was not good. The urge to grab onto his arm had almost overtaken me a few times. Not to mention the movie was more repulsive and disgusting than what Axel had told me.

The fire was blazing, and above it the huge sixty-two-inch television screen made sure not to let us miss any horrifying detail.

Although I didn’t mind horror, the movie wasn’t just disturbing; it was utterly disgusting and unsettling.

The Human Centipede 2 . Yes, I chose it as I wanted to ruin anything he was trying to achieve.

On the upside, he had ordered burgers, pizza, fries, a mixed kebab.

.. oh, I was in food heaven again. One thing I was sure of was that he’d probably fatten me up in these two weeks, but I wasn’t going to argue.

When you had been deprived of a proper meal for so long, you appreciate anything you get.

That - that was beyond my expectations. I mean, if he fed me like this daily…

maybe I would stay. Sadly, I knew he didn’t just want to keep me to feed me.

He wanted more... Okay, I don’t want to think of that now.

I looked at the huge, stacked burger and licked my lips.

Would it be okay to take it? He was too busy eating the pizza.

His jacket was off, and his bulging arm muscles flexed with every move he made.

His legs were resting on the tables, crossed at the ankles as he sat slouched back against the seat.

If Rayhan was a dish, he’d be my favourite; a quesadilla… nice and toasty on the outside, packed with delicious goodness, not to mention he smelt just as good as a quesadilla did. Or wait, maybe a yum yum, delicious and appealing.

A smirk crossed that face of his, although his eyes didn’t move from the TV, and I suddenly realised he probably noticed I was staring. My cheeks burned, and I frowned.

“I wanted to ask if it’s okay to eat that burger?”

“Sure, you can have anything you like, Kitten,” he said with a wink.

Well, I don’t want you, even though I compared you to the tastiest things I have ever eaten. An image of tasting a certain something of his crossed my mind... I quickly grabbed the burger and took a huge bite, trying to push the explicit image from my head. Go away! Gosh, my mind was dirty!

He let out a soft chuckle.

“Sure you’re okay, Kitten? You look a little flushed.”

“No, it’s just hot in here,” I stated, putting the burger down. Shit . Wrong thing to say.

I glanced at him to see his eyes held that dark glint that made my stomach flutter.

I quickly looked away, realising I had gotten mayonnaise all over my fingers when I squeezed the poor innocent burger to death.

White mayonnaise… oh hell, my mind was really going down the gutter.

I stared at my finger, not wanting to lick it off with the image that had suddenly formed in my mind.

“It sure is hot…” he murmured.

Reaching over, he took hold of my wrist and, tugging it closer, ran his tongue along my finger, licking up the mayonnaise and sending a shuddering current of pleasure through me.

My breath hitched when his lips wrapped around the tip, sucking it.

With it, he sent a dangerously delicious jolt of pleasure right to my core.