All Chapters of The Ruthless Alpha's Claimed Breeder: Chapter 101 - Chapter 110

CIARAThe desk was ruined.Black ink pooled in the center of the mahogany top, dripping slowly down the turned leg to stain the bear-skin rug below. The maps Hayes had swept aside lay crumpled against the stone wall, the dried red wax of the western seals shattered into tiny, brittle flakes.I sat on the edge of the wood, my dress pulled back over my hips, my breathing still coming in shallow, heavy hitches. My chest was flushed red, the silver shoulder guards sitting crooked against my skin where Hayes had torn them loose.Hayes stood between my open knees, his trousers pulled up but unbuckled, his bare chest slick with sweat as he leaned forward to rest his forehead against mine. His dark cedar scent was thick in the quiet air of the study, mixed with the sharp smell of iron from the spilled ink."We have three weeks before the high mountain pass freezes over completely," Hayes muttered, his rough thumb trailing down my collarbone, tracing the faint red mark where his teeth had graz

CIARAI walked down the narrow dirt path toward the treeline with a small woven basket hooked over my forearm. Inside the keep, the twin pups were fast asleep in their wooden cribs, guarded by six heavy Gammas at the inner archway. Hayes was down in the lower armory inspecting the winter iron stock with Marcus, giving me twenty minutes of rare, quiet peace.I stopped near the old stone woodshed, kneeling on the cold earth to gather a bundle of wild mountain mint.A dry twig snapped in the thick brush behind my left shoulder.I didn't even have time to stand or call out for the guards. A thick wool cloth soaked in bitter, chemical-smelling oil slammed hard over my nose and mouth. Strong, calloused hands clamped around my upper arms like iron bands, pulling my back flush against rough leather armor.I thrashed violently, driving my elbow back with all my strength into my attacker's ribs. I felt the air leave their lungs with a sharp grunt, but two more heavy arms wrapped around my chest

HAYESI froze. My hands stayed clamped tight around her waist, my knuckles white against the thin linen of her dress.The heavy wood of the study door rattled again under the force of Marcus’s fist."Alpha!" Marcus shouted from the corridor, his voice sharp and breathless. "Open up! It cannot wait!"The woman on the desk beneath me stiffened completely. Her eyes widened in instant panic, her chest heaving as she shoved her hands flat against my chest to push me back. The hot, frantic haze that had filled the room just a second ago evaporated into pure ice."Don't open it," she whispered, her voice tight and trembling. She grabbed my wrists, her nails digging into my skin. "Hayes, don't answer the door. Tell him to go away."I looked down at her face. Her lips were swollen from my mouth, her hair messy, but her dark eyes were wide with a raw, sudden fear that made no sense."It's Marcus," I said, my voice low and dark as I let go of her waist and stepped back. "He wouldn't knock like t

HAYESI stood in front of the heavy iron bars of the inner cell, my arms crossed over my chest, my golden eyes fixed on the two rogues bound to the stone wall. Heavy iron chains wrapped around their torsos, pinning their arms flat against the cold masonry.Marcus stood beside me, holding a burning torch that cast long, dancing shadows across the low ceiling.The elder rogue wiped a line of dark blood from his chin, lifting his head to sneer directly into my face. His teeth were stained yellow, his breath smelling of stale ale and rot."You're wasting your time, Alpha," the rogue rasped out, letting out a wet, rattling laugh. "You can slice our skin, you can tear our nails out, but you won't get a damn thing out of us.""You already gave up the woodshed," I said, my voice dropping into a low, deadly register that made the flame on Marcus's torch flicker. "You already told my Gammas that a female wearing a silver ring paid you ten silver coins to wait in the stone quarry.""Did I?" The

VESPER"Marcus!" Hayes called out into the hallway, his deep voice bouncing off the stone walls."Yes, Alpha?" Marcus answered right away, footstrps thudding fast against the floorboards as he came around the corner.I stood frozen by the entrance, my hand holding the dark velvet of my dress tight against my bruised collarbone. My heart slammed against my ribs like a trapped bird. Every single muscle in my body was tight, my mind racing through a hundred different outcomes. Was he about to call my bluff? Did he bring the guards here to drag me down to the dungeon cells instead?"Bring the handmaid Sarah up to the bedchamber right now," Hayes ordered, his face turned to hard stone."Right away, Alpha," Marcus said, bowing his head before sprinting back down toward the servants' staircase.I swallowed hard, doing everything I could to keep my chest steady. Cold sweat trickled straight down my spine. The lie was completely absurd. I knew Sarah had been down in the kitchens all afternoon,