“Do you think locking me up here will make me yours?” I whispered, eyes burning with unshed tears. “I’m not a thing you can own, Alpha. I will never be yours! You have the deed to my body, but you’ll never have the deed to my soul!” He stepped closer, his gaze unwavering.“You’re right. I don’t own your soul. But I will make you mine in ways you’ll never expect. Besides, wildflower, you’re already mine in ways you can’t even understand.” ************************* When the new Alpha King’s regime was implemented, the whole werewolf world was turned on its head, and corruption, greed, and terror spread across the land. The old alphas fell from power along with all their packs and families. Verania Waters was no exception—as the daughter of an old alpha, she received the worst treatment. Raised by a woman who hated her, once she turned twenty-one, she was sold in an auction to the notorious Rasmon Olafur, dubbed the Cruel Alpha, to become nothing more than a tool for procreation. A breeder. Ruthless, cold, and commanding, he kept her locked in his mansion, where her only purpose was to give him heirs. However, as the days went by, Verania began to see glimpses of a man behind the cruel mask—one haunted by secrets, fear, and a dark past that shaped him into who he is. It called to her in ways she couldn’t explain. But the truth was far darker than she could ever have imagined. In this deadly game of deception and power, could Verania trust the Cruel Alpha? Or would the lie she spun trap them both in a world where love was the greatest risk of all?
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I was woken up by the feeling of a stick biting into my legs painfully. I opened my eyes and saw Madame Freya standing above me, the stick she used to whip all of us whenever we wronged her or made a mistake in her hand. "Up!" she barked. "Today is the day I'll finally get rid of you." I didn't know what she meant but I had the feeling that it was something bad. For years, she was my guardian, calling me a burden and complaining about the time and money it took to feed me. I wasn't like the other girls. I didn't work in the brothel, pleasing the countless men who knocked on her door on a regular basis. Madame Freya's brothel was the most popular one in the city, mostly because she always had fresh girls to replace the old ones. What happened to the old ones remained a mystery even to me. We never saw them again after they were declared unfit to satisfy men's desires. For years, I wondered why she never trained me to be a part of them. I didn't have illusions—I knew she didn't care about me. Her intentions were wicked and far from pure. And today, I'd find out exactly what her plans for me were this entire time. The other girls sat up and looked at me. Their eyes were wide and curious—they were all younger than me. According to Madame Freya, I turned twenty-one a week ago. "Pack your belongings. Make sure not to steal the pretty dresses or I'll have your hand cut out. You know the rules." I sank to my knees on the cold hardwood floor and she stood over me, watching me as I folded what few articles of clothing I owned and filled a rucksack with them. When I was finished, she signaled for me to stand by hitting me with the stick, then ordered me to head downstairs. Behind me, I heard a small, "Bye, Verania." I turned around, raised a hand to wave at the other girls, but Madame Freya's stick hit my wrist. Pain exploded at the joint. "Walk! What do you think this is, a going-away party? MOVE!" I left our small bedroom in the attic—a room that I called my own since I arrived here ten years ago. It was right after the world as we knew it changed. The rogues took over and all the old alphas were slain—my father was one of them. I watched as they slit his throat right after killing my mother and older brother. I was only eleven years old but I understood everything. They spared my life and brought me to Madame Freya. I became her personal slave—cooking and cleaning for her. Taking her beatings whenever I made a mistake. Watching as the other girls my age were raised to become prostitutes and playthings for all the pigs who came to her brothel. Yet, I never joined them. I remained her slave. Until now. What to descend the long wooden stairs that led from the upstairs floor to the bottom, which was where the brothel operated. Fear made my heart beat faster. What was this about? Was I going to join the others? Would I be forced to sell my body? Madame Freya took one look at my face and laughed heartily. "Look at you. Trembling with fear, are you? Are you scared?" I said nothing and simply stared back at her. Madame Freya narrowed her eyes at me and spat at my feet before wiping a hand across her mouth. The bartender along with everyone else standing around laughed. My cheeks became red with anger and humiliation. "You were the worst slave I ever owned," she declared. "Never listened. Always made mistakes. I suspect you did it to challenge me. See how far I'd go with you. Isn't that right?" "No, Madame Freya." "Liar!" she hissed, stepping so close to me that I could smell the whiskey she liked to drink in the morning on her breath. "You disgust me. Insolent slave. We'll see how well you'll fare with one of the alphas. They'll rip you apart from the inside out. They'll break you beyond recognition." My throat tightened and although I wished to maintain this air of confidence, I faltered and Madame Freya caught it right away. "Hm. Finally, something that scared the little brat. You'll be sold in a few moments. The stage is being set up as we speak. Your virginity—one I ensured would be maintained—will give me a lot of money. Finally, you'll be worth something to me. But make no mistake, Verania, you're still nothing but garbage." A man approached us. He wore a uniform I didn't recognize—all black with gold trimmings. "The stage is set up, Madame. Everyone is waiting." "Perfect," she claimed before gripping my arm and dragging me across the main room of the brothel. Her fingernails were digging into my arm. I was sure her touch would leave bloody crescents behind. "Let's get going." Panic made me fight against her by digging my heels onto the floor. She whipped her head in my direction and smiled, to my horror. "Embarrass yourself all you want," Madame Freya claimed. "You'll only make your situation worse. They're not here for your attitude—they're here for your body." "Where are you taking me?" I demanded angrily. "To be sold. I already mentioned that, didn't I, you dumb slave? Now, move," she gritted out after giving my arm a sharp tug. "Let's get this done and over with." Despite my efforts, Madame Freya managed to drag me all the way to the other side of the room, where she opened a door covered in a soft velvety red material, and we entered a dimly lit room with walls covered in mirrors. The stage she mentioned was right across from us. The room was covered in men who were dressed in fashionable and expensive clothing, all seated and watching us with a morbid fascination. It scared me. I was filled to the brim with disgust. "Hold her," Madame Freya muttered to one of the uniformed men. They immediately grabbed me, each taking one arm, and we followed her up the steps. I raised my feet, hoping they'd release me, but they never did. I didn't want to be sold. Over the years, I'd gotten used to her beatings and curses. But to be sold to a man for goddess-only-knew-what? An Alpha? That was too much for me to bear. Madame Freya tapped the mic and splayed her arms, showing them her charm while I fought the two men holding me. They stood perfectly still, my kicks not bothering them. "Welcome, gentlemen. I thank you all for coming here. As you can see, the woman you'll be buying today is standing behind me. She just turned twenty-one some days ago, and she's perfectly healthy and clean. She's a virgin, beautiful, but I must warn you that I failed in making her perfectly obedient. That is why her starting price will be slightly lower than usual." I heard murmurs. I got tired of fighting and stopped, breathing harshly, my head hanging. I raised my head and saw every man in the room watching me. Appraising me. I wanted to spit and curse at them. I wanted to tell them that I'd never belong to any of them. But the words were caught in my throat, frozen by fear. I couldn't utter a sound. "I'm sure that with the right motivation, she'll be tame enough. Just show her the stick and she'll quiet down like a good little dog. She'll make a fine breeder—she has the hips for it. Well, shall we begin?" Breeder. After hearing that word, my whole world fell silent. The auction began. Hands went up all over the room as amounts were mentioned. I felt like I was going to pass out. Could this really be happening? "Sold!" Madame Freya suddenly yelled, pulling me from my thoughts. "Congratulations on your buy, Alpha Rasmon. I'm sure you won't regret it." Alpha Rasmon? The Alpha Rasmon? I looked up, making eye contact with the only man in the room who was standing. And my heart nearly beat right out of my chest.VERANIA When he offered to stroll around the garden with me, I was so shocked that I said yes. Then again, how could I have said no?For the last two minutes, we hadn’t said a word to each other. I walked slowly to match his pace, even though my desire was to walk pretty fast. Whenever I got nervous, my body took over and my pace quickened. I’d always been that way. But this time, I didn’t allow my mind to take control of my body. I wanted to be present and in the moment because everything about this man scared me. I was scared even now. It wasn’t like I felt he would attack or hurt me. It was a different kind of fear. Because ever since I returned from the cabin, something between us had changed. Hell, it changed while I was sick, but I was unconscious most of the time, and I wasn’t in the right state of mind to process any of it. Now that I had…what on earth was going on?After what felt like an eternity, he spoke. “Lucan came into my office and told me something strange. It wa
RASMON I rubbed my forehead in frustration. “Aunt Verona, could you stop?”She wouldn’t stop filling my head with all the things about her runes and what they said, reminding me of the words she uttered weeks ago before Verania stepped foot into this property. “Why? Is hearing the truth making you nervous?”“No, it’s unsettling because we both know it isn’t the truth. I don’t believe in those stones. What you’re seeing is the product of my guilt. She nearly died and it would’ve been my fault. Does that explain it? Will you insist that I’m in love with her?”Her eyes were narrowed and the corners of her lips were tilted up. “Aren’t you?”I searched my aunt’s eyes. The answer was right at the forefront of my mind, but I didn’t want to acknowledge it. I didn’t want to accept that it was true—I wasn’t in love. Love was too strong a word. It was guilt, plain and simple. “Stop this.”Verona gave her head a shake. She leaned forward and tapped the ashes of her cigarette into my ashtray.
VERANIAThree days had passed since I last saw Alpha Rasmon, but for some reason, I couldn’t get him out of my mind. So, it felt like I was seeing him every day. All the time. I was recovering steadily, and the good thing was that the fever had gone away. My ankle still needed some time, but I could walk and move around.I was very happy that Lucan and Verona were here—I was unconscious when they showed up, so I was surprised when I opened my eyes one morning and saw her pressing a wet cloth to my forehead. The days were going by slowly, but all in all, I was enjoying them, considering the circumstances. Sometimes I’d dream of those men and all the terrible things that could’ve happened if I hadn’t been saved by Alpha Rasmon, but they were just dreams. I could get over them, and I would at some point. Currently, Verona, Violet, and I were seated outside. The sun basked lazily in the sky and honestly, after spending so much time indoors, I could do with a light tan. Lucan was sever
RASMONWhen I arrived at the Alpha King’s residence, I discovered that Aunt Verona sugarcoated things a little. Arius was furious.His eyes flashed angrily as I approached him. I wanted to make things clear—I wasn’t afraid of Arius. He was the king and I respected him for it, but I would never cower before him. Those were the rules we established between us both. “Look what the wind blew in.”I stopped before him. He was seated on his golden throne. The only thing missing was the crown, but he wasn’t wearing one. He didn’t have one. We were alone. “Would you care to explain to me why you killed one of my most trusted men and disappeared off the face of the earth without telling anyone anything?” he asked as he stood up. “Do you have any idea the kind of trouble I’m in? People want your head on a spike!”“That man came into my home and thought he could brutalize my breeder,” I said, putting emphasis on the word. “Franco even hurt my son!”“Really? And why did you disappear?”“Are y
RASMON Verania's fever went down, but only barely. Violet told me a long time ago that she didn't know what to do. There was no cure for silver poisoning, so the only solution was to wait for the symptoms to pass, meaning the silver would go out of her system. Five days had passed since I left my pack. I knew there'd probably be a lot waiting for me when I got back, but for some reason, I refused to leave until she was better. Something in me refused to walk away. Perhaps it was guilt I felt. Either way, it was crippling and haunted me every second of every day.At around midday, we received an unexpected visitor. Or rather, two. Only a handful of people knew about this place, so I wasn't shocked when I saw Aunt Verona's face peering back at me when I opened the door. Standing next to her was Lucan. "You shouldn't have come!" I said right away. She pushed past me and Lucan wrapped his arms around me. Seeing him lifted my spirits, but not enough to feel happy about their visit.
VERANIA I opened my eyes suddenly, and for several moments, tried to figure out where the hell I was. What was going on?My senses were slowly returning to me and with them came a soreness deep in my muscles that made me shift and groan. I tried to shift in the bed I was lying on—at least, I assumed it was a bed—but found that I couldn’t, for some reason. Moments later, I realized why. My heart started slamming against my ribs mercilessly when I looked down and saw an arm wound tightly around my waist. The hair on it suggested that it was a man’s arm, and for several moments, I panicked like I was sinking into a lake of ice-cold water. I tried to figure out where I was and why the hell a man had his arm around me. My last memory slammed into me. It was one of those males in the woods, chasing me. I had to get away. I had to find a way to escape. Slowly, I started inching out of bed. I became painfully aware of how my body was pressed against his. He held me tightly like he was
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