Chapter 2

Dimitri:

I should have been angry at her statement.

Any man who raised a weapon at me in my own house would have lost the hand holding it before he took his next breath. My men had seen me do worse for less.

Alina Morozova stood barefoot in the middle of my guest room, bruised and bleeding, gripping a lamp as if it were a blade forged for war.

And my wolf liked her.

That was the problem.

Mine.

The word clawed through my skull, violent and certain. But I forced it down, knowing well that she wasn’t mine. She was a debt that was dragged into my house by a coward who had chosen his own skin over his daughter.

I looked at the lamp in her hands. “If you were going to hit me, little wolf, you should have done it the moment I walked in.”

“Maybe I was waiting for a better angle.” She said, glaring at me.

Something dangerous moved in my chest.

I had to admit, I was amused.

It had been years since a woman spoke to me like that without trembling. Years since anyone looked at me and saw a man instead of the monster my name had become. Hell, she didn’t even see a man at this point, I knew that she saw danger. And yet, she did not lower the lamp.

“Put it down,” I said.

“No.” My wolf let out a growl of approval, and I had to fight back frowning at that.

I took a step closer, and she raised the lamp higher, clearly afraid.

“I am not here to touch you,” I said.

“Then why are you here?” She asked, snapping at me.

“To give you rules.” I said calmly.

“Men like you always have rules.” She snapped.

“And women like you always break them?” I asked, stating the obvious.

“No,” she said, tightening her grip on the lamp. “Women like me survive them.”

“By breaking them, I assume.” I said, raising an amused eyebrow.

“Or your face… both options can work at this point.” She said, and I took a deeper breath than I should have, forcing myself to calm down at the sight of the menace who stood in front of me.

I looked at her wrists. The bruises were fresh. Rope marks, and whoever had tied her had wanted to hurt her, not restrain her.

“Who did that?”

Her eyes flicked down for half a second. “Does it matter?”

“Yes.”

“Why?” She asked, raising an eyebrow.

Because every mark on her skin made my wolf want blood. Because the bond was already turning insult into offense, offense into threat, and threat into death. Because if I stayed in this room any longer I would do something I could not undo.

“Answer me,” I said.

“You expect me to believe it would be any different if I answered?” She asked, looking away from me.

“Try me.”

“Fuck off.” She snapped, looking away from me.

I looked at her, watching as she eyed me carefully before shaking my head at her. “So, you don’t have a pack that is supporting you, you know that you are alone here… and yet, you still are finding it in yourself to argue?”

“Did you expect otherwise?” She asked, and I smirked, wanting to shake my head.

I reached into my pocket and took out the key. Her eyes followed the movement, sharp and suspicious. I placed it on the table beside the door. “That opens this room.”

She did not move. “Why?”

“Because I do not keep women locked in bedrooms.” I said, calmly. “And I have no intention in keeping you locked in where you will feel like a prisoner.”

“You keep them in mansions instead?” She asked, raising an eyebrow. “Mansions that would be considered a pretty cage, at this point.”

“Food will be brought to you, and I assume that the maid told you that you are going to be getting new clothes. I will also send for a doctor.”

“I don’t need a doctor.”

“You are bleeding.” I said, knowing that she was playing stubborn.

“I have bled before. And I doubt that I am going to need your doctor to help me with something that will eventually heal on its own.” She said, scoffing as a bitter laugh almost escaped her.

“You will only bleed in this house if I order it. And I will control whether or not you will live with that bleeding.” I said, watching as her eyes widened before her lips curved into a cold smile.

“How comforting.” She said, rolling her eyes.

“I will show myself out.” I said, opening the door only to freeze when she spoke again.

“Dimitri.”

My name on her mouth stopped me. Not Alpha. Not Pakhan. Not monster. Dimitri. She still held the lamp though her arms had begun to tremble. Pride kept it raised even when strength was leaving her.

“Tell my father when I am out of here, I am going to come for my revenge.” She said, and though I almost smiled, I simply raised an eyebrow at her courage before walking out and closing the door.

I waited for a few seconds, knowing that she was holding her breath. And only after a few seconds did the lamp hit the floor with a dull thud, and only then did she release the small, shaking breath she had been holding.

My hand curled into a fist. She had been terrified the entire time and still she had stood her ground.

Anya waited near the staircase, hands folded.

“She is strong,” she said quietly. “And she is going to give you a hard time, Alpha.”

“She is trouble.” I muttered.

“In this house, those are often the same thing.” She said, and I shook my head. If anyone knew our household and how things went, it was Anya.

“Make sure she eats,” I ordered.

“I will try.”

“Do more than try.” I said calmly. “And if she causes any trouble… be sure to remove the lamps.”