All Chapters of The Alpha's Bargain: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

Instead, I inclined my head in the polite acknowledgment I'd been taught since childhood. "Lord MacAllister. Thank you for... for your hospitality."Hospitality. Such a civilized word for whatever this arrangement actually was. But what else could I call it? Captivity seemed too harsh when I stood in a hall that spoke of luxury rather than imprisonment. Purchase felt too crude when he was treating me with apparent courtesy rather than as property acquired.Debt settlement, my mind supplied with uncomfortable accuracy. That's what this is. Payment rendered for services received.Kieran stepped closer, moving with a fluid grace that suggested strength held in careful check. The torchlight played across his features, highlighting details that made my breath catch—the sharp line of his jaw, the way his shirt stretched across broad shoulders, the predatory elegance with which he closed the distance between us."There's no need for su

Kieran -The moment her fingers touched mine, I knew I was lost.Her pulse fluttered against my skin like a caged bird—quick, delicate, utterly alive in a way that made my wolf surge forward with predatory hunger. Twenty-seven years of isolation, of careful control, of denying myself even the simplest human contact, and now she was here. Real. Warm. Mine.Control, I reminded myself desperately. She's frightened enough without sensing what you really are.But control felt like a foreign concept with her hand in mine. Her skin was softer than silk, warmer than I'd expected, and carried that intoxicating scent that had been driving me to distraction for weeks. Up close, with nothing but a few inches of air between us, the effect was overwhelming.Rose and rain and something that's purely her. The combination went straight to my head like the finest whiskey, making rational thought increasingly diffi

"Here," I said, stopping before an ornate door that gleamed with fresh polish. "These will be your chambers."Your chambers. The words felt like a lie even as I spoke them. Because in my mind, these weren't guest quarters or temporary accommodation. They were her rooms in our home, the space where she would sleep and wake and slowly come to understand that she belonged here.I reached past her to open the door, and the movement brought me close enough that I could feel the heat radiating from her skin. Close enough that her scent filled my senses completely, making the wolf pace with barely contained hunger.So close, it whispered. Just lower your head, press your face to her throat, breathe her in properly.The urge was almost overwhelming. She smelled like everything I'd been missing, everything I'd been denied during decades of isolation. Like home and comfort and the possibility of finally, finally not being alone.Bu

The stairs ended at a heavy wooden door reinforced with iron bands that had gone black with age. The older servant produced a key from somewhere in his livery—a massive thing that belonged in medieval romances rather than any reasonable reality."Your quarters, miss," he said, turning the lock with movements that spoke of long practice.The door swung open to reveal a cell.Not a room, not chambers, not even spartan accommodation. A cell, pure and simple, carved from living rock and furnished with the bare minimum required to sustain human life. A narrow bed with coarse linens. A washstand with a chipped pitcher. A single chair drawn up to a table that looked like it had been hewn from a single piece of oak.And bars. Iron bars set into the stone, creating a window that looked out onto... nothing. Darkness so complete it seemed to have physical weight."There's been some mistake," I said, though even as the words left my mouth I knew they were fals

Kieran -The brandy burned going down, but not nearly enough to silence the voice in my head that kept cataloguing my failures. I sat in my study, the same room where I'd held Catherine's stolen rose like a talisman, and tried to convince myself that I'd done what was necessary.She's safe, I told myself. Protected. The cell will keep her contained until the full moon passes.But safety felt like a thin justification when I could still smell her fear clinging to the air hours after she'd been escorted below. Could still see the way her spine had straightened when she realized the beautiful chambers had been a lie. Could still hear the careful politeness in her voice as she'd thanked me for hospitality I had no intention of providing.Coward, my conscience whispered. You couldn't even tell her the truth yourself.No, I'd left that task to servants who knew better than to question orders, no matter how distasteful.