RUINED

REID

The scent of her fear mixed with her arousal was like a drug. It hung heavy inside the room. I had her right where I wanted her.

Her leg was hooked over my shoulder. Her pussy arched closer to my mouth. Her body was the perfect little traitor. A dark chuckle ripped from my chest.

So eager for a virgin. My wolf was still roaring in triumph. She was pure, and I was going to be the one to ruin her.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

The heavy knock on the steel door made me clench my jaw. I didn't pull away immediately. I took one last inhale of the heat between her thighs before I growled, "What?"

"Alpha, it's Aaron." My Beta's voice was strained. "We have a problem. The pack is gathering in the Great Hall. Mira has been talking... she's telling everyone you found a human mate. And the elders are demanding a purge."

My blood ran cold. A purge meant they would hunt her for sport until she stopped breathing.

She could barely escape me, and I gave her a five minute headstart. I looked back at her. She looked so small from where she stood in the center of the room.

If they knew she was my mate, they would kill her to protect the bloodline. I had to make them believe she was nothing.

"Stay here," I commanded, my Alpha tone vibrating through the room. I saw her body tensing, forced to obey.

I stepped out and slammed the door behind me. I was now face-to-face with my Beta. He looked worried.

"A human mate, Reid? Truly?" He whispered in disbelief.

"She's a human toy I picked up on the border. Nothing more. If the pack wants a show, I'll give them one. Get the branding iron. The one for livestock."

Aaron's eyes widened. "The thigh mark? You're going to claim her as a sex slave in front of everyone?"

"It's the only way they won't kill her," I snapped, though a dark part of me got excited at the thought of every male in the pack seeing my mark on her skin.

"Assemble the pack. I'm bringing her up." I ordered. Aaron nodded before disappearing down the dark hallway.

I walked back into the room. My little human was trembling, her eyes wide with terror. I didn't even know her name. But knowing her name would only make things more complicated for me.

I grabbed her by the arm, dragging her through the door. I didn't give her clothes. I simply grabbed a thin, white linen sheet from the hall closet and wrapped it around her, leaving her shoulders and legs bare.

"Reid," she whimpered, her voice breaking. "Where are you taking me? Where are we going?"

"To show my pack your new title, little human," I rasped, leaning into her ear so only she could hear. "You're going to walk out there, and you're going to stay silent while I claim you. If you fight me, I'll hand you over to the Enforcers. Do you understand?"

She nodded, a single tear rolling down her cheek.

I led her out of the basement and into the Great Hall. The air was thick with the scent of hundreds of wolves. Hatred, curiosity, and a foul layer of arousal from the unmated males burned my nostrils.

"Behold!" I shouted, my voice booming off the walls. I shoved my little human toward the center of the raised dais. The sheet slipped, exposing her trembling thighs.

"There are rumors that I have brought a human into my bed as an equal," I said, my voice dripping with mock disgust. "Look at her. She's weak. She's soft. She's a slave, and she will serve this pack on her knees."

I took the heated branding iron from Aaron. It wasn't glowing red. I didn't want to kill her, but it was hot enough to leave a permanent scar that even our healing couldn't touch.

I forced her down onto the table, pinning her legs wide. The pack leaned in, hundreds of golden eyes landed on the skin of her inner thigh.

"This mark," I growled, glaring directly at Mira, who stood in the front row with a smug grin, "tells the world she is my property. My slave. To be used and discarded at my whim.

I pressed the metal to the soft, pale skin of her inner thigh, right near her core.

A piercing scream tore through the room. It was done. My wolf howled inside me, in a sick, possessive victory.

She was marked. She was ruined for any other man. And now, she was officially mine.

RAYNE

My body was still writhing in pain as I lay on the table, drained of all my energy.

Reid's pack erupted into a roar of cheers. The tears freely streamed down my cheeks. I was disgusted with myself. I was disgusted by what he did to me in front of his pack.

I felt two strong arms hooking under my back and knees. Reid lifted me off the table, firmly holding me against his chest. As soon as he touched me, the pain dulled to a faint throb.

He didn't excuse himself; he just carried me out of the hall, filled with his curious pack members.

When I spoke, my voice was barely a whisper. "I hope every time you look at this scar, you remember that you had to break me to keep me," I paused before pulling away from him in disgust, "All this proved is that you're so afraid of a 'weak human' that you had to mutilate me to feel powerful."

His body tensed right as those words left my mouth. "You're not an Alpha, Reid. You're a coward, wearing a crown."

He didn't say anything, but his grip tightened around me. He growled lowly before carrying me into a large suite with a minimalistic design.

He pulled the sheet from my body before throwing it into a dark corner.

He gently placed me on a giant king-sized bed. He pulled his shirt over his head before crawling under the covers. He pulled me flush against his chest, our legs tangling deliciously.

And even though I hated him with everything, his touch soothed my pain, somehow. He placed a rough, possessive kiss on my lips. He pulled back almost immediately, our lips brushing.

I weakly pushed against his chest. And just like that, I fell asleep in the arms of the man who just single-handedly ruined my life.