Chapter 4 #2
Luke knows I’m awake. It’s impossible to miss me standing in front of the windows from the door.
He’s testing me again and all he’s getting back is a view of my back.
The asshole’s probably checking out my ass but I tell myself I don’t give a shit, ignoring the fact that I’m subtly shifting my legs to make it seem perkier.
“It’s considered rude to ignore people. Especially an Alpha.”
I exhale. “It’s considered rude to kidnap people. Especially an Alpha’s daughter.”
The asshole doesn’t respond, simply stepping into the room as if he has a right to be here.
He’s walking heavily over the wooden floor and my ears track his movement, aware of exactly where he is relative to me.
Luke’s deliberately making his movements known, trying to intimidate me before we’ve even started talking.
“What did you want?” I ask, irritated.
He waits for a moment, and I wonder what he’s thinking. “I assumed you’d want breakfast. I was going to offer you some but since you’re going to refuse, why don’t we skip it?”
My jaw tenses and I refuse to turn around.
His muscles contract and his breathing becomes louder.
I scream for Lyall to wake the fuck up and start giving me some words of advice or comfort. I’m pleading with her to rouse, practically begging her to help me through this. My chest tightens as I offer her complete control and she simply remains silent, abandoning me in my hour of need.
“We need to talk, Nia.”
“That’s always a delightful conversation.” I’ve never had one of these conversations but lots of my friends have, and I’m reliably informed that the phrase he used strikes fear into the heart of most people. “Why don’t you tell me what it is you want, Luke?”
He strolls across the room until he’s standing right behind me. His hot breath trickles down my neck and his chest bumps against my back as he inhales. Luke’s using every inch of his frame to intimidate and overpower me, making me aware of how small and insignificant I am in comparison.
“What do you think I want, Nia?”
A finger trails down the center of my back, and every vertebra in my spine straightens as shivers creep through its nerves.
“I’m an Alpha’s daughter.” I find a mark on the mountain, fixating on where the light hits a glistening cliff wall. “There are only two things you’d want.”
He hums and that finger moves again.
“To use me as leverage against my father.” I wait and his finger stops, digging in a little as his silence pushes me to continue. “But that doesn’t explain why you’ve taken me away.”
Luke’s head falls and I hear the sinister smile spread across his face. “Good girl. What’s the second reason, Nia?”
My eyes narrow and I won’t let the shift away from that rock wall. I’m trapped between it and the man standing behind me, and there’s not a chance that either of them are moving any time soon.
“You think I’m useful.”
He sniggers and every hair on the back of my neck stands on end. “That’s a very polite way of putting it, sweetheart. The Elders tell me you’ll give me strong heirs. My priest tells me the Moon Goddess herself wants us to mate.”
My jaw clamps shut against the tide of bile rising from my stomach.
“You’re not strong enough to be my Luna, but I’d be foolish to disobey the Goddess. No Alpha would pass up the opportunity to have strong pups.” Luke’s finger trails down my back until his hand rests in its hollow. “You have two choices, Nia. How hard this is, depends on you.”
I swallow and close my eyes, pressing my feet into the floor as I try to stop myself from swaying.
“You can let me breed you, willingly.” His head lowers and Luke ramps up the pressure, alongside our proximity. “I’ll protect you. You’ll have a comfortable existence. Perhaps not the one you’d hoped for, but you will learn to accept what I give you.”
Luke stops and his silence is a promise that much worse will follow.
It’s louder than if he said what we both know he’s thinking.
What we both know is the alternative. The threat that isn’t spoken and I doubt even he wants to voice it.
He’s hoping the mere suggestion will make me cave and as much as I don’t want to hear the filth I know I’m about to endure, I know that giving in now makes me appear weak.
I won’t survive this if I’m weak.
Luke will destroy me and there’ll be nothing left worth saving by the time he’s finished.
“Or?”
He sucks a harsh breath in, surprised I dared even ask. My unwavering tone that doesn’t stutter only makes me sound more determined and this was not a challenge the Alpha was expecting to face.
“You do it unwillingly. It will be as hard as you choose to make it, Nia. But I will breed you and you will bear my children. It will hurt you and you will suffer, and I will be unable to offer you any of the things you take for granted now. Your accommodation, your clothes, and your food would be appropriate for someone without status. You would be a means to an end, little girl, and I strongly suggest you do not choose this path.”