CHAPTER THREE

{Lyra}

The driver opened the car door, and I climbed down. The estate was huge, and the villa was even more impressive.

I didn’t see it at first, but when I turned toward the entrance of the villa, I noticed Dominic’s outstretched hand.

I hesitated, unsure of what to do, but then I remembered who this man was. I didn’t have a choice, I knew better than to fight him, I had been told stories of what happened when an omega disobeyed an Alpha.

I placed my fingers in his but to my surprise, his palm was warm and inviting, definitely not what I had expected from a ruthless Alpha.

He led me inside, and I did my best to focus on the floor, rather than the feeling of his thumb slowly brushing against my skin, and the heat that crawled up my arm.

The doors opened, and two men in formal black suits stood on each side of the door.

“Welcome Alpha.” They said in unison as they bowed.

Dominic replied with a nod and strode inside with my hand still in his. I noticed the looks the men gave me when they saw Dominic holding my hand, I clearly wasn't suited to be holding their Alpha’s hand.

If Dominic’s grip wasn’t so tight, I would’ve pulled my hand away before they cut it off.

“You okay?” Dominic asked. 

He must have felt my fear, but what I couldn’t wrap my head around was why he seemed to care so much. He was an Alpha, and to him, I was nothing but a slave girl. So why?

“Yeah, just a bit cold.” I said, lying through my teeth.

“Lying to an Alpha. Do you have a death wish, Lyra?”

His eyebrows furrowed, and his gaze intensified. I forced myself to keep calm, but who was I kidding, even I could hear how fast my heart was beating.

“I’ll make arrangements to have some warmer clothes brought in for you then.” He said, letting go of my hand and walking off.

“Thank you,” I mumbled, my other hand subconsciously touching the hand he held, but he didn’t hear me. He was already making his way through the hall, and my legs moved quickly after him.

“So this entire place is yours?” I found myself asking, allowing my curiosity to get the best of me.

“I guess you could say that.”

“I didn't know an Alpha resided in Ravenshire.”

“For now.” he answered without breaking stride.

“For now?” That wasn’t a straight answer. What did he mean?

“I already have a territory, and no, I am not planning on expanding to Ravenshire either.” He stopped in his tracks and turned to look back at me. “I’m just visiting a friend.”

A lie. I recognized the patterns immediately. There was a subtle shift in his posture, and the way his gaze shifted when he spoke. But the dead giveaway was his breathing. He was deliberately forcing it to stay neutral, almost like he was trying too hard to cover something up.

If he already had a pack to rule, then why was he here? Alphas didn't just abandon their responsibilities. Not unless something forced them to that is.

But I wasn’t stupid enough to question him further. Pushing an Alpha for answers wasn’t exactly the best survival tactic.

We walked deeper into the villa, and the deeper we went, the more I became convinced of where he was taking me. The basement.

It was common knowledge that a slave was nothing to these people. I was simply an object purchased for use, so of course I belonged in chains in the deepest, darkest part of the building.

Dominic stopped abruptly, and I had to plant my feet hard on the ground to stop myself from slamming into him.

He pushed open a door, and stood to the side while using his eyes to tell me to enter.

I readied myself to see the concrete walls and floor of my new cell, but as I stepped inside, I immediately noticed the maroon-colored walls, the emerald curtains that covered the windows, and the huge bed covered in dark sheets that looked far too soft for a prisoner.

“W…What’s going on?” I couldn’t help but ask, too afraid to take another step.

“What do you mean?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

My brows pulled together as I looked at Dominic. “This is where you’re keeping me?”

“Until we leave Ravenshire, yes.” he leaned against the doorway, and I swear the corner of his lips twitched slightly. “You like?”

The more he spoke, the more I became confused. “Why?”

He stared at me for a moment like I had just asked him if the sky was blue. “Huh?”

“Why are you doing this?” I clarified, scanning his face for the slightest hint of cruelty my mother had so desperately warned me about.

“Why am I letting you use the guestroom?” His brows furrowed slightly, making it clear that he didn’t understand the question. Or he was pretending not to.

“You’re an Alpha who just bought a slave. Shouldn’t you be—”

“Be what?” his voice suddenly became sharper.

I swallowed my words and glanced away, afraid I would only end up upsetting him.

“Lyra.” he called in a soft tone, and then I felt his hand on my chin, pulling my attention back to him. “If I wanted to keep you as a prisoner, I wouldn’t have bothered ripping your chains off.”  

I could see the hurt in his eyes, but I would be a fool to trust the words of an Alpha, especially one that already lied to me.

His scent intensified, and it took everything in me to quench the rebellious flame burning through me.

He was too close, and I could only do so much to resist him.

I immediately backed away from him, making sure there was more than a huge gap between both of us. 

I hated how my body longed for him, all I could think of was throwing caution to the wind and foregoing all my mother’s warnings just to have him hold me in those strong muscular arms of his.

“Why did I have to be an omega?”

I glanced down at my bracelets and huffed in frustration. The bracelets were supposed to both protect me and negate any effects from any wolf that I came across, so why weren’t they working?

I suddenly felt a gust of air, and when I looked up, he was right in front of me. “You’re acting all weird when I haven’t done anything to you.” His eyes studied every bit of me, and I wanted to cower away, but I knew better than that.

“Never show an Alpha fear, they feed on it.”

My mother’s words came rushing through my thoughts, and I jutted my chin in an attempt to stand my ground.

“Can you blame me? An hour ago I was being auctioned off at my stepfather’s auction house, and now here I am in the house of an Alpha. Forgive me if I don’t exactly feel at home.”

Dominic’s eyes narrowed, and he growled. “Victor Graves is your stepfather?”