CHAPTER 2 - Alpha’s Revenge Offer

MERRIN’S POV

The whiskey burned down my throat.

Good.

Pain was cleaner than memory.

Moonfall Palace pulsed with life, music crashing, lights flashing, laughter spilling everywhere, but I barely registered it. I came here to drown, not to listen.

They call me the Ruthless One-Eye Alpha.

They whisper it like a curse.

Maybe it is.

The girl who took my eye also took everything human left in me.

Violet.

Even her name still scraped down my spine.

I tipped the glass again. My reflection glared back from the steel ice bucket, scarred face, black eye-patch, a face shaped by blood and silence.

Powerful. Cold. Unbreakable.

A lie.

Three wives. Three failures. Each wearing my name, each leaving without what they wanted most.

A child.

Idris, the pack doctor, had said it like it was nothing.

STERILE.

I almost killed him for it.

Let the pack believe I didn’t want heirs. Let them believe I chose war over legacy. The truth was worse.

I came here to drink that truth into silence.

But tonight felt wrong.

My wolf, Jackie, stirred beneath the alcohol and rage.

Restless.

‘She’s here,’ he growled. ‘Our mate.’

I laughed under my breath.

“Impossible.”

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

So why the hell would I suddenly have a mate?

And yet…

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.

Commander Nolan, my beta, frowned.

“What’s wrong with the ones you just rejected? You’ve watched those girls for years.”

“They’re not good enough.”

He 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.”

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

Nolan chuckled.

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

“Yeah,” I said. “Fairy tales.”

Still, my chest tightened.

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

The next round came out, beautiful, trained, and graceful. But nothing. Jackie didn’t even stir.

I stood. “We’re done.”

The manager rushed forward, sweating.

“Wait, Alpha king Merrin. One more. She’s new.”

I glared.

“Then why wasn’t she first?”

“She was in the kitchen. Please. You’ll be impressed.”

I should have left. Instead, something twisted low in my chest.

I sighed and sat back down.

“Fine,” I said. “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 polish. No trained seduction. Every movement was clumsy, and hesitant, like she didn’t belong here. But that only made her more dangerous.

Red hair like firelight.

Blue eyes… bright, haunted.

And her scent…

Roses and rain.

Jackie went silent.

Then he howled.

‘MATE!’

My throat closed. “No.”

Then I saw her clearly.

“Violet?” I breathed.

Ten years ago, she was twelve. Terrified.

 I was fifteen. Old enough to be cruel. Old enough to be wrong.

She stabbed me and ran. Took my eye. Took my future.

And now the Moon Goddess dared to bind her to me?

I almost laughed, but it came out wrong… dark, rough, disbelieving. I stood. The room fell silent as I crossed the floor.

She froze. Recognition flared in her eyes.

“You’ve grown,” I said quietly.

Her breath hitched.

“I’ve waited a long time for you, Violet. Welcome home.”

Her legs trembled.

I leaned closer. “We have unfinished business. And now that you’re back in my territory…”

My eye glinted.

“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 swallowed.

“Should we continue, Alpha?”

“Everyone leaves,” I said. “She stays.”

Nolan murmured, “What are you doing?”

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 said.

“Alpha, she’s already uncomfortable…”

“Higher heels,” I ordered.

The manager 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.

Perfect.

Music started again. She danced. Poorly. Desperately. Until sweat soaked her skin.

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.

Glass shattered. Wine spilled like blood.

She fell hard.

Tiny shards sliced her skin.

Finally, she was feeling the pain I’d dreamed she’d feel. I leaned back in my chair, smiling faintly.

“Enough,” I said.

The music cut off. Silence dropped heavily. And for the first time in years, I felt alive.

Watching her kneel, bleeding, shaking, felt like justice.

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.”

“A-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 manager hesitated. Then greed won.

“She’s yours.”

Nolan shifted behind me.

“Alpha, 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 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.”

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

For one heartbeat, her gaze met mine…furious, alive.

My wolf went still.

“Go on,” I murmured. “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.