THE MONSTER'S CONFESSION

Bettoni did not flinch. She sat perfectly still in the center of his silk bed. The heavy dark wolf fur swallowed her small frame entirely. And as she looked up at him with those warm brown eyes, they were completely devoid of the terror he expected.

Zachery felt a dark and heavy thrill roll right through his chest.

Any other highborn woman would be sobbing uncontrollably right now. He knew his reputation perfectly well. He cultivated it very carefully for an entire decade. He was the savage military butcher. He was the feral, royal embarrassment.

He married twenty one women before Bettoni. He picked them because they were shallow and easily frightened political muppets. He intentionally acted like an unpredictable monster; he broke furniture and growled at them. They always demanded annulments within weeks, and he paid them off with heavy bags of gold and sent them away. It was the perfect system that kept him completely alone.

Zachery learned a very long time ago that loving someone in this royal family only brought agony. He gave up his own heart to keep the peace. He chose to become the villain so nobody would ever expect him to be soft again.

This was his perfectly oiled system. 

But this little Gamma maid was ruining that  system.

He called her his mate in the throne room yesterday. The sacred word slipped out of his mouth completely by accident. His inner wolf recognized her instantly in that dark alley. He smelled her deep trauma and her burning anger. He saw a fellow exile. He saw a girl who also gave her heart to a royal prince and got absolutely nothing but betrayal in return.

"Are you deaf?" Zachery stepped closer to the bed. His massive combat boots sunk into the expensive carpet. "I said take the cloak off."

"I don't owe you a single thing, Commander," Bettoni said softly. Her voice was steady like a quiet river.

Zachery stopped moving. Feral heat instantly pooled directly in his groin. She challenged him. She was sitting in his bed wearing a cheap torn dress and she was actually challenging him.

"I saved your dignity in that courtyard," Zachery whispered deeply. As he crawled his massive body right onto the mattress, the silk sheets dipped heavily under his sheer weight. "My brother was going to let you rot in the dirt. I put my colors on your shoulders. You owe me complete obedience."

Bettoni raised her chin stubbornly. "I didn't ask to be your twenty-second muppet, Commander. You chose me just to insult the Alpha."

Zachery let out a low rumble of dark laughter. He crawled right over her, caging her small body beneath his massive chest and rested his weight on his forearms right beside her head. He was so incredibly close he could smell the dried bitter root hidden in her dress pocket. She smelled like a healer but she looked exactly like a killer.

"You think you're just an insult?" Zachery asked roughly. He leaned down and buried his face directly into her neck, inhaling the  bite mark he left yesterday. "You're giving yourself way too little credit, sweetheart."

"Then what am I?" Bettoni breathed out shakily. Her heart hammered wildly against his chest. She was trying so hard to be brave but her body betrayed her.

"You're my new favorite toy," Zachery growled and slid his hands under the heavy fur cloak. He grabbed the cheap white cotton of her servant dress and ripped the fabric completely in half with one violent pull. The cheap buttons flew across the bedroom and hit the stone walls.

Bettoni gasped loudly and tried to cover her exposed chest but Zachery grabbed both of her wrists instantly. He pinned her arms securely above her head with just one of his massive hands. He looked down at her bare skin with pure hunger. She was so incredibly beautiful.

But then his eyes fell on her shoulders. He saw the very edge of the thick, raised scars wrapping around her ribs.

The playful perversion flew from his mind completely. What overtook it was violent intent. 

Zachery rolled her over forcefully. He pinned her face down into the silk pillows then ripped the remaining shreds of the cotton dress completely off her body. He stared down at her bare back.

Dozens of thick raised scars crisscrossed over her pale skin. They were partially healed but they still looked incredibly angry and noticeable. It was obvious she was a victim of agonizing torture.

Zachery froze completely. He was a man who spent his entire life bedding flawless aristocratic women with skin like expensive porcelain. He had absolutely no idea this was what the royal family did to the lower classes. A vague memory suddenly flashed through his mind. Ardon sent him a letter months ago whining about a dirty stalker maid trying to use a love potion on him. Zachery did not care about petty pack gossip at the time.

He still did not have all the pieces. He did not know who ruined her back. But looking at her scarred skin did not disgust him at all.

His wolf let out a deep rumble inside his chest. The sight of her survival sent a dark and twisted urge of animalistic arousal straight to his groin. She was not a fragile glass doll. She was a bruised survivor. That made her infinitely more intoxicating.

He would find out who did this and torture them later. Right now, he was absolutely starving.

Zachery grabbed her hips and flipped her forcefully onto her back again. He looked right into her terrified brown eyes. His eyes burned with unapologetic heat.

"You hide a lot of secrets under that cheap uniform,  sweetheart," Zachery whispered lewdly as he dragged his heavy gaze down her exposed body. "I'm going to enjoy ripping every single one of them out of you."

Bettoni stared at him in complete shock. She expected him to mock her. She expected pure disgust. But he looked at her like she was a feast.

He did not give her a chance to utter a response. Zachery shoved his thick fingers directly into her underwear. Bettoni cried out loudly and arched her back off the mattress.

He groaned in satisfaction. She was completely soaked. She tried to act like an unfeeling statue but her body wanted him desperately. He rubbed his slick fingers aggressively over her swollen center and coated his entire hand in her hot wetness.

"You act so tough," Zachery whispered lewdly right against her lips as he pumped his fingers inside her with a brutal rhythm. "But you're melting for the monster."

"Stop," Bettoni gasped out pleadingly. She dug her nails deeply into his broad shoulders. "Please, Commander."

"Begging already?" Zachery laughed deeply. He brought his slick hand right up to her face and smeared her own wetness across her bottom lip. "We haven't even started paying your debts yet.”

Suddenly, a loud knock suddenly hammered against the bedroom door.

Zachery stopped moving. His eyes flared with annoyance.

"Uncle Zachery." Ardon called out from the hallway. The young heir sounded completely panicked and furious. "Open this door right now. The Alpha demands your presence in the council room immediately."

Bettoni froze under him. The sound of Ardon's voice still sent spikes of anxiety right through her chest.

Zachery looked down at his terrified new wife. He looked at her ruined dress and her swollen lips. He smiled wickedly. He did not move an inch from her body.

"Tell the Alpha to wait," Zachery yelled loudly toward the locked door. He intentionally ground his massive hard erection directly against Bettoni's soaked center. "I'm extremely busy breeding my new wife."

A dead and horrified silence fell over the hallway.

Bettoni felt her face burn with humiliation. Ardon heard every single filthy word.

Suddenly, the heavy brass door handle rattled violently. Ardon actually tried to open the locked door. The sound of the rattling metal made Zachery furious. 

"Step away from my bedroom door, Ardon," Zachery growled dangerously. "Before I come out there and break both of your hands."

The handle stopped rattling instantly. Ardon let out a shaky breath on the other side of the thick wood. He sounded completely defeated.

"The Alpha is threatening to deploy the royal guard, Uncle," Ardon stammered. "He says it’s a matter of pack security. You have to come to the council room right now.”