THE SHADOWS OF THE PAST

CHAPTER 3: SHADOWS OF THE PAST

JORDAN’S POV

I sat in my study, elbows resting on my knees. After signing several documents and going through a lot more business proposals, I was tired and bored. And I needed something that would put me in a good mood. So I mind-linked Melvin, my beta. “Send in one of the strays.”

Melvin responded without hesitating. “Right away, Alpha.”

I didn’t use women for love anymore. I didn’t even pretend to. I used them for release, for a few hours of distraction before sending them away. I never touched the same woman twice. It wasn’t worth it. None of them ever came close to Archie.

I was almost thirty now, with no heir. The council wouldn’t stop talking about it. They wanted a pup, someone to carry my bloodline. I didn’t want a mate. I didn’t even believe in the idea anymore. I just wanted an heir.

My plan was simple. Find a woman strong enough to bear my child, pay her, take the pup once it's born and raise him myself. I didn’t need love. I didn’t need warmth. I just needed control.

A knock at the door cut through my thoughts. I exhaled, my voice low and rough.

“Come in.”

The door opened, and a sleek-looking woman walked in, her heels clicking against the marble floor. I barely glanced at her, then turned my gaze away.

“Alpha Jordan,” she purred, closing the door behind her. “I’m here to make you happy, daddy.”

I finally looked up, my eyes cold.

“Strip,” I said flatly. “And get on your knees.”

“Yes, Alpha.”

She began taking off her clothes and tried to smile, probably expecting me to say something nice about her body. I didn’t. Instead, I stood and walked past her, grabbing a drink from the shelf. The whiskey burned down my throat, but it didn’t do a damn thing to numb me.

I picked up a whip and wrapped it around my arm. “I hope you know your job?”

Her eyes widened at first, then she nodded quickly and moved closer to me. As she put her hands on my shoulder, and tried to kiss me, I stepped back and lashed at her with the whip. No woman kisses me without my permission. She whimpered and recoiled, stepping back.

Get on your knees now or I will send you out. Obediently, she went on her knees, trembling.

“Undo the zipper.”

Without waiting for another second, her fingers found my zipper, unzipped my pants and it came undone, pooling at my feet. She moved my boxers downward and my massive c**k bounced out. Her eyes widened.

“Don't waste my fucking time,” I growled.

She took my c**k head in her mouth and began moving her mouth back and forth, her fingers curling at the base of my length, stroking gently. She was a rogue, a whore, and a professional one at that.

I held her head in place while she suckled and stroked my manhood. By the time I started thrusting furiously into her mouth, she was out of breath but I didn't stop. I pushed deeper and deeper until she gagged. Seeing the tears in her eyes made me quicken my pace until I released all over her face.

“Get the fuck out,” I growled, adjusting my boxers and putting my pants back on.

She nodded and hurried out.

As soon as she left, I relapsed into a lying position on the couch and glanced around my study. That was when I caught sight of the picture frame hanging on the wall. She wore that signature smile of hers that made my heart melt those days. Her name was Archie. My mate. My curse. My reason for becoming what I am now.

Every time I looked at that damn picture, it tore open a wound that never healed. I could still see the blood, hear her scream, smell the smoke from that night. The day I marked her should’ve been the happiest day of my life… instead, it became the day everything I cared about was ripped away.

Rogues had attacked in the middle of the ceremony — a surprise strike no one saw coming. It hadn’t happened in years, not to a royal Alpha pack like mine. I lost twenty percent of my warriors that night.

Worst of all, I lost Archie.

My jaw tightened as the memory flashed in my head. Archie had been standing close to me, smiling warmly as the mark of my teeth sat pretty on her neck when the bullet hit her. I thought I could use my Alpha aura to save her, but in an instant… she was gone. Her blood soaked my shirt. Her heartbeat faded under my hand. I didn’t even get to say goodbye.

I clenched my fists until my knuckles popped.

After the attack, I ordered an investigation. I tore the pack apart looking for answers. And when the truth came out, when I found out that Emily, a girl from my own pack, had been the one who sold me out, I lost it.

Emily had always had this stupid crush on me. I’d told her over and over that she wasn’t my type, that I had a mate. But she didn’t care. When I rejected her, she let jealousy turn her into a traitor. She gave my enemies everything they needed to find us.

I found her three days after the attack, hiding in the woods behind the eastern border. She begged for mercy, but mercy died the same night Archie did. I snapped her neck myself and burned her body in front of the pack as a warning. Since then, I’ve killed over two hundred male rogues, and taken their young females captive, using them as sex slaves, the way I did to the female rogue who just left my study. They deserved even worse. And my hatred for rogues grew stronger every day.

It has been three years yet I haven't stopped killing rogues. I killed anyone who dared to wear their scent. And still… the ache never stopped.

I leaned back, my head hitting the wall, eyes still fixed on Archie’s picture.

“Why can’t I let you go?” I muttered. “You’re gone, but you still occupy my heart.”

For a while, silence swallowed the room, the only sound was my breathing and the low hum of the night outside.

I rose to my feet and headed to my bedroom. There, I showered and got dressed. I had an event this evening. It's the annual Alpha Ball and every Alpha has to be there.

As I stepped out of the house, the entrance gate swung open and two of my men dragged in a bloodied young man.

“Boss, we've found another one.”