003: THE BEAST

ARYA

“Beta Mason, welcome.”

A middle aged woman greeted my master as he led me into a hulking mansion. He had been silent during the car ride and I’d been too tense to say anything. His aura was way too intimidating and to think that he was just a beta of his pack…

“I’ve got a new present for my brother. Where is he?” He said to the woman and she let out a sigh.

“He has been stuck in his beast form. I’m worried about him,” she replied and he pushed me towards the woman.

“Have her branded and cleaned up. She belongs to him now,” Beta Mason said and my heart sank.

“But–“

He interrupted her with a wink.

“Just do it, Sally. We need my brother to return to us. Make sure she tends to his every need, including his sexual needs,” he said and walked away, disappearing up the stairs.

“Come with me,” the woman said to me but I didn’t dare to move. How could I willingly walk into my own destruction?

Letting out a sigh, she grabbed one of my bound hands and led me up the stairs. Then she took me to a room where two men and two ladies were waiting.

The men grabbed me immediately shoving me down to sit on a chair.

“Did Beta Mason give you instructions?” Sally asked them and they grunted in response.

My pulse thundered against my ears as the ladies held me down and I was branded on my ankle with the word ‘Eastwood’.

I bit down on my lips so hard, my teeth cut into my skin. Soaked in sweet, I sat there, trembling and gasping for air. They showed me no mercy. Without giving me time to recover, I was taken to the bathroom and painfully scrubbed and cleaned.

Thereafter, they got me dressed in a white floor length dress and shoved me into a dark room, shutting the door behind me.

A lump formed in my throat as I stood there, shaking with fear.

Was I about to encounter the beast?

I got my answer right away. The sound of a bone chilling growl erupted in the room and my breathing quickened.

“Closer,” a monstrous voice spoke and I shuddered.

Swallowing hard, I inched further into the room blindly.

The beast was very close now, and when a giant paw touched my face, my entire body quaked in fear. The beast sniffed me, it’s fur tickling my skin.

“Divine,” it growled and I squeezed my eyes shut.

This was it. I had to survive this. It was the only way I could protect my sister.

A scream escaped my lips as the beast sank its huge fangs into my neck, sucking my blood. Black dots swam across my vision as I was dragged to the ground, pain shooting through my body. I struggled to stay awake, but the beast was relentless. It continued to drain me of blood.

Tears welled up my eyes at the thought that I might truly die. I thought of my sister, her fragile frame and innocent eyes. I couldn’t leave her alone. Not like this. But the darkness dragged me under, and I succumbed.

I awoke with a groan, my gaze resting on the ceiling of the room. I was surprisingly not sore.

Realizing that I was still in the beast’s room, I sat up immediately, my heart pounding hard. I wasn’t dead yet, and that was a good thing.

“Did you sleep well?”

The sound of a deep voice reached my ears and I went still, swallowing hard.

I knew that the beast had probably shifted to his human form and now, I was about to meet him in person.

My heart rate spiked up as the door to the bathroom creaked open and a man’s feet stepped into my line of vision.

He was supposed to be my master, was it okay to look at him? I thought, keeping my head lowered.

“What’s your name?” he suddenly asked and I frowned, wondering why his voice sounded vaguely familiar.

“Cat got your tongue?” he droned and I stiffened, finally recognizing his voice.

The Tribrid Alpha.

How was this possible?

Just how cruel was my fate?

Overwhelmed with disbelief, I looked up at him, my breath hitching in my throat.

It was him indeed. Those crimson and gold eyes were ingrained in my memory. He stood there, dressed in a black bath robe with his shoulder-length wavy hair framing his sculpted face. He was devilishly stunning. For a few seconds, I stared at him in a daze.

He was truly beautiful, but all that beauty didn’t matter because he was rotten inside.

He was a monster that deserved to die.

“It’s you. You are the tribrid alpha,” I choked out, already trembling with rage. His eyes darkened and he moved closer to the bed, his gaze unwavering.

“We have met before,” he said, his deep voice sending unwelcome tingles down my spine.

“Stay where you are,” I warned, my voice sharper now. My fingers curled around the lamp on the nightstand, adrenaline pumping through my veins.

But he didn’t stop. He moved with the confidence of someone who knew the world would bend to his will.

When he lunged, I lashed out, crashing the lamp against the side of his head.

He paused for a second, his glare drilling invisible holes into my face as crimson droplets stained the sheets.

I was sick of being bullied, sick of having to endure oppression. This meant I had to fight back when I could.

“You’ve got fire,” he said with a monotonous voice.

“More than you can handle,” I snapped, twisting to escape the bed. But he was faster. He grabbed my ankle and yanked me back with enough force to send me sprawling onto the bed, pinning me under him.

We were so close now, he smelled of vanilla, leather and spices.

His scent was intoxicating and I hated that I felt the urge to throw myself into his arms.

He was my mother’s killer. He’d ruined my life. I would make him pay. But I couldn’t do that without any knowledge of his weaknesses. Especially since he was a tribrid. I could tell that he was part werewolf and vampire, but what else was he? I needed to figure it out to exert my revenge.

“Let go of me,” I said, through gritted teeth, my chest heaving. His intense gaze darted over my facial features before resting on my neck where he’d sucked blood from in his beast form.

A shiver coursed through my body as he buried his face against my neck. When he pressed his lips to my skin, a moan accidentally slipped out of my lips.

“More,” his voice rumbled from his chest and warmth pooled low in my stomach, arousal setting my blood on fire.

How could this be?

Why was I shamelessly reacting to him this way?

I would fight it. No matter what—

A gasp slipped out of my lips as he buried his fangs into my skin, a burst of pain and pleasure sizzling inside of me.

This wasn’t right.

I had to be under some sort of compulsion.

“Stop!” I cried, thrashing around beneath him.

When he pulled away enough to look at my face, my blood ran cold at the sight of the murderous look in his eyes. With my blood smeared over his lips and chin, he looked nothing short of terrifying.

“You’re mine now, firecracker,” he said and I shook my head, attempting to pull away from him.

“Go to hell!” I hissed and he leaned down to press a kiss to the inside of my exposed thighs.

“You feel it too, don’t you?” He asked and I bit back a moan.

“Feel what?” I croaked, gripping the bedsheets.

“You’re my mate,” he said and my eyes bulged in their socket, my heart racing in my chest.