Sorin
I tapped my pen a little louder. Nothing. I cleared my throat, but she was too busy sticking her filthy fingers into her mouth. I don’t think she paused to breathe. She simply inhaled the entire thing, licked the tip of one finger, and began dabbing the plate for stray crumbs.
“When was the last time you ate?”
“Huh?” Her head jerked up as if she’d forgotten I existed.
Me.
The Alpha King.
The ruler over every wolf pack in existence.
My pen began to give beneath my grip, and before I could ease off, it snapped.
She slumped back, stretched, and began to rub her belly.
“Ugh, please tell Ember that was the best thing that’s been in my mouth in a long time.”
She sighed dreamily, jaw slack and lips curling upward.
“Is she single?”
I stood and slammed my fists on the desk until the wood splintered. Her back straightened, her eyes wary at last.
“That was my sandwich. And Ember is one of my companions.”
“Pity,” she muttered under her breath.
I barely stopped myself from choking her out. My eyes dropped to the collar. I’d need to remove it first, just to snap her neck. I was better than this. I turned and lifted my phone from the desk.
Talon answered immediately.
“Come to my office. I want my newest acquisition to understand her position.”
“Uh. Are you sure? There are a few rogues in the cells.”
“Did I fucking stutter?” I bellowed.
“On my way, Alpha.”
I sighed and rolled my neck, working the tension from my muscles. I didn’t look at her again.
Not even when Talon took her.
? ? ?
The following day, at the weekly security and update meeting, I noticed several of my officers avoiding eye contact. I glanced at Zev and probed his mind.
Two rogues attacked her last night.
Great. No one was supposed to touch her until I did.
We covered the security logistics for the week ahead. Divided the teams into hunters, recruiters, and the paid contracts other packs required.
“Zev,” I called as the room began to clear.
“Yes, Alpha,” he said, bowing his head.
“How bad was it?”
“Broken nose. Fractured skull. A few stitches.”
“Is she still in the infirmary?”
“No. She was treated and released this morning. The guard had to shock her to break up the fight.”
“What?”
“They tried to take her food. She attacked them with a bedpan.”
Any lingering doubts I had vanished after that.
Zev paused for a beat, and when I didn’t speak, he left. I tried to focus on my notes. Then my laptop screen. Then I gave up and requested the footage from the cells.
Everything was calm until two rogues stood over her. One took her tray and began inspecting her food. The other hooked a finger under her chin and pushed her head up.
The bedpan sat at her side. She’d planted it there. Her fingers curled around it as she rose slowly.
Oh, she was fast.
A blur of silver. The dull metal thud of each hit. Anything she could reach.
Bam. Bam. Bam.
“I am fucking tired of you fucking people,” she screamed as she beat them with the bedpan. “Leave me alone.”
She took a few hits. A punch to the jaw, another to the abdomen where she wasn’t fast enough. It didn’t faze her in the least.
By the end she sat on one rogue’s chest, bringing down a rain of pain with the bedpan and his head.
The guard shocked her.
The bedpan dropped. Her body shook before she collapsed on top of him.
I’d seen enough.
I messaged Zev and told him to move her to the isolation cell, away from the general population. After a pause, I told him to ensure she was given extra food.
? ? ?
Four days later, men rushed to keep pace as I made for the isolation cells. There had been no fights, attacks, or problems since that first day. Three times a day, the latch opened and closed. Feeding her.
Someone hurried to unlock the door for me.
She lay on the concrete bed. Hands tucked beneath her head, one leg crossed over the other and swinging idly in the air. She looked healthier. The gauntness was fading. Where her cheeks had sunk inward, they were beginning to fill.
The dark circles had faded too. She’d probably slept more in that cell than she had in years.
She moved.
She knelt on the dirty floor. Head down.
“Have you learnt your place?”
“Yes, Alpha King,” she murmured.
“Make sure she bathes before she’s brought to my home,” I said, turning to leave.
There were murmurs of agreement, but it was Zev who looked amused.
I ignored him. I was merely teaching my new servant her place.