I lay on the floor of my room, my tears dried up, but the anger and fear were still very much alive inside me. My mother's sobs and that stranger's growls echoed in my mind. "She belongs to him." To Alex. I was an object, a thing whose ownership was being transferred.
The night passed, and the morning light intruded into my room, but it couldn't dispel the darkness within. I thought of ways to escape—to run away, to go to a friend's place. But the memory of the wild gleam in Alex's eyes made all my plans crumble. He would find me. And after seeing how that man had treated my mother, it was clear these people wouldn't hesitate to kill anyone.
I spent the entire day imprisoned in my room, just waiting for time to pass. At six in the evening, my mother knocked on the door. Her voice was flat and tired.
"Julie, get ready. He's sending a car at seven."
I opened the door. She stood there, wearing a high-necked blouse that was probably hiding the marks on her neck. Her eyes were puffy and empty. The anger inside me flared up again.
"You sold me," I whispered, my voice dripping with venom. "You handed your own daughter over to a monster."
Pain flickered in her eyes for a moment, but it vanished quickly. "You don't understand anything, Julie. This is for the best, for both of us. Go with him. Do whatever he says." She tried to turn away, but I grabbed her wrist.
"Who was in your room last night?" I demanded.
Pure terror flashed in her eyes. "You didn't hear anything, understand? Nothing!" She yanked her hand back. "If you ask any questions, he will kill us both. Now get ready."
She walked away quickly, leaving me alone with her fear. Her fear was contagious. It extinguished all the rebellion brewing inside me.
At seven, a black, seemingly bulletproof SUV pulled up at my gate. The driver was a hulking man who didn't utter a single word. He simply opened the door and gestured for me to get in.
The journey to the Valex Tower felt even more terrifying this time. I knew what I was walking into. I was going to obey the command he had given me. I wore only a cloak, and beneath it... nothing. With every floor the elevator climbed, my heart pounded harder.
The penthouse door was open. The interior wasn't as brightly lit now. Only a few dim lights were on, casting long, distorted shadows. And that smell... his wild scent was even stronger, like an animal marking its territory.
He was standing in the living area, his back to me, facing the large window where the city lights highlighted his silhouette. He wore a black robe, which was open, revealing the powerful muscles of his chest and abdomen.
He didn't turn. "Take off the cloak."
His voice held an authority that brooked no disobedience. My hands trembled. I untied the cloak's cord. The heavy fabric slid from my shoulders and pooled on the floor.
The cool air hit my bare skin, and I shivered. I tried to cover my chest with my arms, overwhelmed with shame and fear.
"Put your hands down," he commanded, still without looking at me. "I want to see you. Completely."
Slowly, hating myself, I lowered my arms. I stood before him, completely exposed, vulnerable, and naked.
Finally, he turned. His gaze traveled slowly over every inch of my body, like a predator assessing its prey. That golden gleam returned to his eyes. He walked towards me, and with each step, his scent in the air intensified.
He came so close that the silk of his robe brushed against my skin. He raised his hand, and his fingers traced a path from my cheek down my neck, then over my shoulder—a touch that was gentle, yet full of possession.
"You are mine," he whispered, his voice thick with a deep, primal satisfaction. "And tonight, I will show you what it means to be marked by an Alpha."
He gripped my chin and forced my face up, making me look into his burning eyes. And in that moment, alongside the terror, a spark ignited within me. Was it dread, or some deep, dark desire awakening? I didn't know. I only knew there was no turning back now.
His fingers were locked on my chin, exactly like a predator seizing its prey. His gaze bore into my eyes, swallowing my fear, my helplessness. "You are mine," he repeated, and these words were no longer just words. They were a spell, a curse sinking beneath my skin.
He took my hand. His palm felt like it was branding my wrist. He pulled me towards the bedroom. It wasn't a bedroom, but another vast, semi-dark room, dominated in the center by a massive bed, devoid of any frame, covered only in black silk sheets.
"Stay standing," he ordered, and shrugged off his robe, tossing it aside.
He was now completely naked. The moonlight highlighted every contour, every muscle of his body. He wasn't a statue; he was a wild warrior. His body bore more marks—deep, long scars that seemed to slash across his back and shoulders. And the animalistic gleam in his eyes... it had grown brighter.
He came up behind me. The heat of his body touched my bare back. His hands gripped my shoulders, his hold possessing a strength that could easily shatter my bones. He pressed his face against my neck and took a deep, long breath, as if taking his first breath.
"Your scent..." he whispered against my skin, his voice turning into a dangerous rumble. "It drives me insane."
His lips touched my neck. Not a kiss of tenderness, but a touch of claim. Then, he pressed his teeth against my skin. A sharp lance of pain sent a current through my body, and I gasped. The pain... it was strangely sweet. A kind of punishment and a reward, both at once.
"Don't scream," he growled. "Your pain is mine. Your voice is mine."
His hands slid from my shoulders down my arms, and then to my waist. He pulled me tightly against him, his body molding to mine. I could feel the tension in every muscle, every breath he took. He was so hard, so controlled, but his eyes held a storm that was barely contained.
He pushed me onto the bed. The silk sheets felt cold against my skin. He was over me, his knees between my thighs. His eyes roamed over my entire body, studying every part as if it were a map he needed to memorize.
"I will break you," he said, his voice holding not an empty threat, but a promise. "And then I will put you back together the way I want. I will erase everything inside you that was ever yours. And what remains will be only, and entirely, mine."
He parted my thighs. I closed my eyes, trembling with fear. But he applied pressure with his finger under my chin. "Open your eyes," he snarled. "Watch your Alpha as he takes possession of you."
I opened my eyes. His gaze held me captive. And then, without any further warning, he entered me.
Pain... it was a fire, a tearing, scream-worthy agony. Tears sprung to my eyes. But he didn't let me move. He pinned my wrists above my head to the floor, rendering me completely immobile.
"Shhh," he whispered, his face so close to mine I could feel the heat of his breath. "The pain will pass. But my mark... it will remain forever."
He began to move. Every thrust was a claim, a branding. This was not love. It was a ritual. An acquisition. The pain slowly morphed into a strange, twisted sensation. My body, against my will, was responding to him. With every forceful push, alongside the fear, a deep, dark wave rose—an attraction that filled me with self-loathing.
He gripped my neck, pressing his lips to the spot where he had bitten me earlier. "You are mine," he repeated, his voice now fully transformed into an animal's growl. "Your soul, your body, your breath... all are mine."
And the most terrifying part was that in that moment, his words held a truth. Underneath his body, wrapped in his strength, surrounded by his scent... I truly felt like his. And as an unknown, violent climax seized my body, with tears in my eyes, I knew that Julie, the girl who had entered this apartment this morning, was now dead. In her place was this—the Alpha's marked one. And this was only the beginning.
---
When I opened my eyes, the dim morning light was filtering sporadically into the room. My body was numb and aching. Every muscle, every joint was a reminder of the night. The black silk sheets were stuck to my skin, and the air still held his scent—of the forest, hot metal, and sex.
He was not in the bed.
I tried to push myself up to sit, but a sharp pain in my lower back stopped me. I pulled the sheet around me, the only covering for my shattered dignity. The room was like him—cold, minimalist, and profoundly dangerous. No personal items, no photographs. Just a cage.
Then the bathroom door opened and he stepped out. Fully naked, making no attempt to hide the scars and defined muscles on his body. His eyes found me immediately, and I shrank back.