CHAPTER 2 - Alpha’s Revenge Offer

Merrin’s POV

The whiskey burned down my throat, and I welcomed the pain.

It was cleaner than the ache I lived with.

Moonfall Palace throbbed with life; music pounding, lights flashing, laughter spilling through the air, but I barely heard any of it.

The noise was a cover to the distraction I came here to forget.

To drown.

They all call me The Ruthless One-Eye Alpha.

They whispered it like a curse, as if I’d been forged from blood and fear itself.

Maybe they were right.

After all, the girl who took my eye also took everything good left in me.

Violet.

Even her name still dragged claws down my spine.

I tipped the glass again.

My reflection glared back from the steel ice bucket; sharp jaw, black eyepatch, a face carved by scars and silence.

I looked every bit the legend they feared me to be.

Powerful. Cold. Unbreakable.

If only they knew I was already broken.

Three wives. Three failures that wore my name.

Each a reminder that no matter how hard I fought, I couldn’t give them what they wanted most… a child.

Idris, the pack doctor, had said it so easily. Like he wasn’t crushing the last thread of pride holding me together.

STERILE.

I almost killed him for it.

The pack thought I didn’t want children, that I was too obsessed with war and dominance.

Let them think that.

It was easier than telling them the truth: their Alpha was a cursed shell of a man who couldn't bear children.

I came here to drink that truth away.

To forget the taste of it.

To forget that the Moon Goddess ever existed.

But today… something felt off.

My wolf, Jackie, usually buried under anger and whiskey, was restless.

His growl hummed under my skin.

‘She’s here.’

The voice echoed in my skull, dark and certain.

‘Our mate.’

I actually laughed. Out loud.

“Sure,” I muttered, rubbing my temples. “Because that’s impossible.”

Everyone knew the truth: mates were myths. The Moon Goddess had cursed us a thousand years ago. We chose our partners now. Built families the mortal way.

So why the hell would I suddenly have a mate?

Still, the air felt charged, alive with something electric that crawled across my skin.

I waved off the first set of dancers after a few minutes. They twirled, winked, tried to tempt me, but none of it landed.

“Send in the next set,” I ordered, leaning back.

Nolan, my beta, raised an eyebrow. “What’s wrong with the ones you just rejected? You’ve been watching them for years.”

“They’re not good enough,” I said, though I didn’t know why.

Nolan smirked. “Not good enough, or are you finally losing interest in women who aren’t your type?”

“My type doesn’t exist,” I muttered. “My wolf’s being an idiot. Keeps saying my mate’s here.”

He chuckled. “The fairy-tale kind? That’s just a story for pups.”

“Yeah,” I said quietly. “A story.”

But my chest was tightening again.

I downed another drink, but the glass shook slightly in my hand.

The next round came out, beautiful, trained, and graceful. But nothing. My wolf didn’t even blink.

I stood to leave. “We’re done here.”

The manager sprinted forward. “Please, Alpha Merrin, wait! We have one more girl. She’s new. Best dancer we’ve ever had.”

I glared. “Then why the hell didn’t you start with her?”

He flinched. “She… she was in the kitchen. But she’s ready now. I swear you’ll be impressed.”

I didn’t have the patience for this, but something in my chest twisted again; heat, anticipation, something I didn’t want to name. 

I sighed and sat back down. “Fine. Last one.”

Nolan grinned. “Maybe this one will finally make you smile.”

I scoffed.

The lights dimmed. The music slowed.

And then… she stepped out.

For a moment, I forgot how to breathe.

She wasn’t like the others.

No polished mask. No trained seduction. Every movement was clumsy and hesitant, like she didn’t belong here. But that only made her more dangerous.

Red hair, wild as firelight.

Blue eyes, bright and haunted.

And that scent… roses and rain.

Jackie went still.

Then he howled.

‘MATE!’

My throat went dry.

No. It couldn’t be.

I blinked, and then I saw her clearly.

“Violet?” I breathed.

The world tilted. My pulse thundered.

Ten years ago, she was just a scared twelve-year-old girl.                         

I was fifteen, old enough to think I could hurt her sister and walk away freely.         

Old enough to be wrong.

Ten years ago, she stabbed me in the face and ran, leaving me blind in one eye and half a man.

And now, the moon goddess dared to give me her as my mate?

I almost laughed, but it came out wrong, dark, rough, disbelieving.

The music faded. I stood. The room fell silent. Even the guards stiffened when I moved. Every step I took toward her felt deliberate, heavy. 

She froze in place. 

Her eyes… those same blue eyes widened.   

She recognized me too.

I stopped inches away. “You’ve grown,” I said quietly.

Her breath hitched.

Ten years I’d dreamed of this moment, not for the bond, but for revenge. I wanted to see her break the way she broke me.

I smiled, slow and cold. “I’ve waited a long time for you, Violet.” 

Her legs trembled so hard I thought she would collapse. Her voice broke into a whisper of fear. “M… Merrin.”

My smile widened, but never reached my eye. “Welcome home.”

I leaned in with a practiced calmness, “We have unfinished business,” I said quietly. “And now that you’ve stepped back into my territory…”

My remaining good eye glinted, like the gaze of a hunter who had finally caught what had escaped. 

“…you’re not leaving again.”

She shook vehemently. I smiled, realizing she was trapped. Face-to-face with the man she had spent ten years running from. And this time, there would be no escape. Just like her father... She'll die by my hands.

The manager’s voice trembled. “S-should we continue, Alpha?”

“Everyone else leaves,” I said without looking away. “She stays.”

“But she’s new, she can’t…”

“I said, she stays. Alone.”

Nolan’s voice came soft behind me. “What are you planning?”

I didn’t answer.

The other girls whispered as they passed, glaring at her.

If only they knew, I wasn’t keeping her because she impressed me. I was keeping her because she destroyed me.

And now it was my turn.

“Get her better heels,” I ordered.

“Alpha, she’s already uncomfortable…”

“Higher,” I said, voice like ice. “Now.”

He scrambled off. Violet’s eyes lifted to mine, pleading for mercy she wasn’t going to get.

When the new heels arrived, I watched her struggle to stand.

Her hands shook. Her legs trembled.

It shouldn’t have done anything to me, but it did.

Anger. Desire. Confusion.

I crushed it down. “Music,” I ordered.

The beat started, slow and sultry. She danced. Gods, she tried.

Every move was desperate, awkward, trembling with exhaustion. Sweat glistened down her throat. Her breath came in ragged gasps.

Still, she didn’t stop.

She danced until her body shook, until her knees wobbled, until I could see the pain twisting her face.

An hour. Maybe more. Then finally… she slipped.

The crash was sharp. Glass shattered. Wine bled across the floor, dark as blood.

She fell hard. Tiny shards sliced her skin. Her small, raw gasp, made something dark bloom in my chest.

Finally, she was feeling the pain I’d dreamed she’d feel.

I leaned back in my chair, smiling faintly. “That’s enough.”

The music cut off. Silence dropped heavily.

For the first time in years, I felt alive.

Watching her kneel, trembling, and bleeding, felt like justice. It was like a punishment carved in flesh. It was the beginning of the end for both of us.

I looked back at her.

Her eyes met mine, glass-blue, terrified.

She didn’t know what was coming.

But I did.

If the Moon Goddess thought binding me to my enemy was divine humor, then she was about to learn what it meant to curse the wrong Alpha.

I could no longer kill her as I had planned for years, but I would not accept this quietly, either. I’d retaliate in a way that would make even a goddess wince.

Now she'd watch helplessly, as I break Violet with all pleasure.

I tossed my glass aside and motioned to my guard. “Bring me the money.”

The manager hurried forward. I didn’t bother standing. I just pointed at Violet, who was still shaking on the floor.

“Sell her to me,” I said.

“Alpha?”

I threw the bag of cash at his feet. It hit the ground with a heavy thud. “That should cover it,” I said flatly. “She’s mine now. My personal dancer.”

The man hesitated, but greed always won. “As you wish, Alpha Merrin.”

Nolan shifted behind me. “You’re really doing this?”

I smiled, cold and unflinching. “Oh, I’m just getting warmed up.”

I rose to my feet and stepped closer, towering over Violet. Then I crouched, my breath brushing her ear.  

“You took my eye,” I whispered. “Now I’ll take everything else.”  

Her blue eyes shimmered with unshed tears.  

Her signature was already on the document the manager handed me, but I wanted her to understand, she belonged to me now.

I tapped a finger against the signature. “This isn’t clear. Sign again, Violet.”

I offered her the pen, my smile all velvet and venom, a promise of ruin. Her hand trembled as she reached for it.

Then, for the briefest heartbeat, her gaze rose to mine; steady, furious, and alive.

My wolf went still.

“Go on,” I murmured, the dark curve of my smile deepening. “Sign away your freedom to me with every stroke of ink.” My voice carried the weight of every scar she’d ever left on me. “You’re mine to break.”

Her hands shook harder now.

The pen slipped from her fingers and hit the floor between us, sharp as a blade.