Chapter 3

Emma

Even though I don’t want to, I begin taking off my own clothes. I shoot the rogue a glare, but he doesn’t look away. Instead, he seems to be enjoying the show. 

My wolf growls. She wishes him dead, and I don’t blame her. The creep doesn’t look away from me changing and licks his lips before I’ve even put on the pink stripper clothes. 

“You really are a treat for sore eyes,” he grins at me. “Alpha Reed is going to feast on you.”

Goosebumps prickle over my skin. I’ve never seen Alpha Reed in the flesh, but I can’t say I’m curious to find out what kind of sick Alpha he is, either. I bet he looks like the other Alphas I’ve seen: big and strong with a protruding beer gut and possibly rotten teeth. 

“Is she ready?”

I look up, widening my eyes at the new person in the room. It’s a man…or what is left of a man. 

He is a burn victim without ears, lips, or nose—a sign of someone banished from their pack for committing murder. Before making a murderer a rogue, the council burns them to mark them for life. 

“That’s Giovanni,” I hear the woman whisper behind me, causing me to tense up even more. 

Giovanni is studying me with vivid interest. “She is very pretty. Alpha Reed will be pleased, but I think I want her to perform on stage before he has his way with her. A little show might just set the mood right.”

Horror courses through my veins as I process his words. Not only does he want me to please Alpha Reed, but now I have to perform in front of a crowd while wearing these clothes?

“I can’t,” I say, my voice barely louder than a whisper. “I won’t do it.”

Giovanni’s lips twist into a grotesque smirk. “Who said you have a choice?”

The rogue behind him chuckles darkly before walking up to the cage with a leer. “I will bring her out in five minutes.”

“Excellent,” Giovanni turns to leave. Though, for some reason, he stops in the doorway. “If Alpha Reed doesn’t kill her, I want my private show with her later tonight. Her scent is intoxicating. I’ve never met an Omega with pheromones like hers or a face as beautiful. Those obsidian eyes and that trimmed waist? Oof, she is a work of art.”

He throws a kiss at me, and my wolf immediately puts his name on the list of people she wants dead.

“Time to go, little Omega,” the rogue says as he opens the door to my cage. “And don’t try to fight me; you know you wouldn’t win.”

As he reaches toward me, my wolf growls fiercely, and I follow her lead. We may be weaker than these rogues, but we will not go down without a fight.

“I’m not going anywhere with you!” I shout, backing up against the far wall of the cage.

“Oh, aren’t you a feisty one?” the rogue sneers. 

He takes pleasure in my struggle, in my rebellion. But I don’t care. I will not let these monsters break me and force me to dance half-naked without putting up a fight. 

“Take one step closer, and I swear I will tear your eyes out,” I warn him. 

The rogue releases a “Pfft!” sound before easily sidestepping my weak swipes. But even as my attempts to fend him off fail, my resolve only hardens.

“Are you ready for your big performance?” he teases.

“No,” I spit, my eyes blazing with defiance. “And I never will be.”

He moves faster than I expect, lunging toward me with a frighteningly predatory speed. Fingers grip around my throat, and then I’m slightly lifted off the ground. His fingers dig into my throat, cutting off my airway. 

I claw frantically at his hands. He grunts when I slash his skin with my nails but doesn’t loosen his grip.

“You will do as you’re told,” he growls, his breath putrid against my face. “Or you won’t live to see another day.”

Seeing spots in my vision, I feebly continue to fight him. But my strength is dwindling, and I can feel myself slipping into unconsciousness.

He releases me, and I fall to the floor. When I look up, he is gesturing at the door. “The stage is up to the right. If you wish to live, I suggest you don’t try anything.”

I rub my throat, gasping for breath. “Fine,” I manage to choke out. “But not because of you.”

He laughs, a sound that chills my blood.

“My advice to you, little Omega,” he says, his words echoing in the silent room. “Know your place.”

The doors swing open before me, revealing a hallway lit up by red lights. The scene makes me think of a brothel, and I take a deep breath. 

This is it. I have to please this stupid Alpha if I wish to live for another night. 

As I step outside the room, my legs feel like they belong to a newborn deer. But I hold my head high because I refuse to show anyone how scared I am. 

I walk down the corridor, following the sound of loud music until I’m standing backstage. There are plenty of Omegas dancing in front of a large crowd. 

With pouty lips, bunny ears, and hands sliding from their breasts down to their barely-covered butts, they are the epitome of seduction. The crowd hoots and hollers, their faces distorted with desire in the pulsing red light. It’s a terrifying sight.

I swallow hard, forcing down the bile that threatens to rise up my throat. Every fiber of my being protests against this humiliating spectacle, but I have no other choice.

An Omega standing next to me nudges my shoulder, her almond eyes wide with empathy. “First time?”

“Y-yeah…” I stammer. 

“I’m Lyra,” she says. “Stay close to me, and you will be alright.”

Without another word, she pulls me on stage with her. I stumble in my fright but manage to keep my footing as Lyra gracefully twirls around me, setting a rhythm that I struggle to follow. The music is deafening, a fast-paced beat that got my entire body vibrating. 

Giovanni is watching us from a chair below the stage, his dark eyes cold and calculating.

I realize he is judging our performance, and I try my hardest to keep up with Lyra…which is impossible. She moves like a flame, and I’m not used to dancing in high heels—it takes three seconds of upbeat dancing before I fall off the stage.

Gasps rise from the crowd as I tumble downward. Out of pure instinct, my hands shoot out to break my fall, but it’s not enough. Pain erupts through me as I hit the ground hard, my skull bouncing off the concrete floor.

I’m hurt, but to my surprise, a wave of laughter follows. Adding to my humiliation, I try to get up quickly but wince at the renewed sting of pain.

“You clumsy fucking idiot!” Giovanni roars and grips my stinging arm to hold me up. “Alpha Reed Walton is here in person and what do you do? Ruin everything!”

I close my eyes when Giovanni lifts his clawed hand to punish me, but before he can slash me up and watch me bleed, a deep voice cuts through the tension. 

“Enough, Giovanni,” the voice commands, gruff and rich with authority. 

I open my eyes to see a tall figure stepping forward from the shadows. The man is dressed in an expensive suit and his eyes are a piercing blue that would make any woman swoon on sight if they weren’t so cold. This must be Alpha Reed Walton; even in my dazed state, I can sense his presence overpowering the room. 

Giovanni’s hand halts mid-air, his face turning pale. “Alpha Reed,” he stammers, lowering his hand slowly. “I-I was just trying to discipline this insolent—”

“If you touch her, it will be the last thing you do,” Alpha Reed interrupts, his voice as icy as his gaze. His eyes remain fixed on Giovanni, a silent warning hanging in the air.

Giovanni drops his hand entirely, swallows hard, and steps back. “Of course, Alpha Reed,” he says, clearly afraid of the larger Alpha. 

After Giovanni has stepped away, Alpha Reed turns his attention to me. I don’t meet his eyes. I’ve heard the tales: I know Alpha Reed is a cold and dangerous Alpha who only cares about his pack and power. He is a beast in the form of a man, a ruthless Alpha that has killed people in the past with eyes that pierce through one's soul like frigid ice.

I’m scared of him and just want him to go away. 

But I’m not that lucky. 

He crouches down, leveling himself with my line of sight, and the impossible happens—when I lock my eyes with his, something ignites within me. 

My blood comes to a boil and while I turn tense in shock, my wolf dances happily in my mind. There’s only one word on her mind, “Mate!”

…but that’s impossible. Omegas aren’t supposed to have mates, and yet, it turns out the scariest man on the face of the earth is mine.