ZAIRE
"Stop."
The dancer in front of me freezes mid-grind, his eyes darting to others lined up along the wall before his face goes pale.
I asked for entertainers. What Elio sent me are a bunch of worms who think throwing themselves on the floor and spreading their legs counts as talent. I may be young but I've got eyes and I've seen better coordination from a drunk pup.
"What the hell are you doing?" I demand. "You've done the same move five times now."
The one in front of me drops to his knees instantly, shaking like I've already decided to rip his throat out. "Please forgive me, Alpha."
You'd think I'm about to end his life with how hard he's trembling, and honestly, the sight of it is just aggravating.
I wave a hand before my temper tips. "Get out."
They bow in unison and disappear, leaving the room empty and normally, this is exactly how I like it. I prefer being alone most of the time.
Today, though, I wouldn't mind a little company. Not Elio, obviously. After condemning me to those abysmal dancers, he's lucky I'm in a forgiving mood.
It's days like this that makes me reconsider the whole living for a thousand years arrangement because immortality loses its charm when this is the entertainment I receive.
Most wolves live a hundred, maybe two hundred years, depending on strength, pheromones, and luck. That's nature's balance. Then there's people like me—gifted, cursed, and blessed by the moon goddess in equal measure to live a very long life.
Just as I rest my head against a pillow, a figure stops at the curtain by the door, and bows. I squint. Who's crashing my little solitude this time?
"Alpha, you have a message," he announces.
I take what I said back, company can go rot.
"Go on," I mutter, rubbing my forehead.
"Consort Elio says Alpha Corvin sent a gift but he… is a weak wolf. Useless. No reason to keep him alive."
I narrow my eyes. Corvin? That can't possibly be Corvin Castell… can it?
The nerve of that man. Five years he owes me, and this is the time he decides to honor it? After being so quiet I assumed he'd finally died in that prison.
And Alpha? I scoff. He must've pulled it off then. He must have broken out of Rasted and clawed his way back to the throne. And instead of a proper gift, he sends me a weak wolf. This is not gratitude, it's an insult.
"Get rid of him," I tell the guard.
"As you command, Alpha." He bows and disappears behind the curtain.
I exhale and reach for the glass of wine on the desk, stretching my legs out on the bed. Drinking the wine, I let my thoughts wander.
Corvin Castell.
Goddess, that man… he's a mess, and somehow fascinating at the same time. Makes me wonder what the moon goddess was thinking when she let him live. He's out now, and I can only imagine the chaos Redmoon's about to swallow.
Not my business though.
I've already conquered most of the western packs, and with the years I've been cursed with, I intend to finish the rest.
With a grunt, I push myself up, my hand reaching for the pipe on the desk, when a scent drifts into my nose.
I freeze mid-motion, my eyebrows knitting. What the hell is that?
Unable to stop myself, I draw in a slow breath. The scent tears through me, making every joint in my body tingle, and forcing my eyes shut from the sheer intensity.
It smells sweet. Very sweet like every bit of sugar my father ever denied me. I can almost taste it on my tongue but it isn't sugar. No, I can tell this belongs to someone.
My eyes snap open. Where the hell is that scent coming from? Who the fuck has the nerve to make me want them like this in my own estate?
Before my brain even catches up, my feet are moving, following it. I don't stop to think, I can't stop, really. I'm far gone, consumed by the way it stirs desire deep inside me, and Goddess help me, I haven't felt this alive in years.
And fuck me if I don't want more.
What is that scent? my wolf yawns. So delicious.
He's been hibernating for three days, but apparently this scent is strong enough to drag him awake. And judging by the way our thoughts line up, we both know exactly what we want: find whoever it belongs to… and claim them.
I turn into the corridor leading to the meeting room, my steps quickening. Guards and staff scatter, heads low, and trying not to meet my gaze.
The scent is stronger now, and holy shit, my wolf goes nuts. Every nerve in me is buzzing, alive with need. If whoever this belongs to has blue eyes, I'm done for. Blue eyes. Damn, I've always had a thing for blue eyes.
I barge into the meeting room just as Elio lifts his hands in the air, his claws bared and that's when I see him. A man on his knees.
It takes seconds to realize what's happening. The scent I've been chasing? It's so overwhelming here, making my blood thrum like a drum and it's coming from him. The wolf on his knees. Elio's going to kill him any second because I told him to. He is the gift I asked to be tossed out.
"Stop!" I thunder, and Elio's head snaps up, his eyes widening. Slowly, he lowers his hands and staggers back, practically shrinking under my gaze.
"Alpha Zaire… I received your response," he says, his voice shaky. "I was just about to get rid of him."
I step forward, ignoring Elio, and stopping in front of my gift. His head is bowed, eyes closed, and he's probably bracing for death. A smile twists across my lips.
I reach out and grab his jaw, forcing him to meet my gaze and his eyes flutter open.
They are blue. Fucking blue eyes that sparkle like diamonds.
Perfect. Charming. Mine.
Black hair frames his face, and… he's beautiful. I don't call men beautiful. Ever. That word's for women but him? He's beautiful. His lashes brush his cheeks as he blinks, lips small and tempting, and those eyes… those eyes are hypnotic.
I've been with men before, plenty of them. But the need, the pull I feel for him right now? It's like nothing I've ever known. I want him. I need him. And I want him now.
He's ours, my wolf growls. Keep him. Breed him. Our new pet.
Yes. Pet fits. Perfectly, actually.
The word settles in my head and doesn't leave, because I already have far too many vivid ideas of what I want to do to him. I want him right where he is, on his knees, while I do things to him that would ruin him for anyone else. Slow things, messy things. Things he wouldn't forget even if he tried.
My wolf is salivating, his hunger bleeding straight into me, or maybe the heat curling low in my gut is mine alone. At this point, I can't tell where he ends and I begin. I just know I want him kept, broken in and used.
"Alpha Corvin—" Elio starts again, but I lift a hand and he shuts up immediately.
He called this one useless, yet the jealousy rolling off him is thick enough to choke on. Fear, too. The kind that comes when someone realizes they're replaceable.
I drop my gaze back to my pet, tightening my grip on his jaw just enough to remind him who owns his face right now. "Name?"
His eyes stay on mine. "Rafe."
No honorifics for me. Either he's fearless… or stupid enough to ignore my title. He's an omega and I can feel the weakness in his pheromones, but he's freshly omega. Stripped of whatever title he had before, no doubt.
This must be the half-brother Corvin needed my help to defeat and now… he lands at my feet as a gift. Interesting.
"You must have a last name," I say, cocking an eyebrow. "Where do you come from?"
"Rafe Moxie," he answers. "I'm from a distant pack."
Lies. All pretty lies that skim the edges of truth. Redmoon is distant enough, but he's dodging his real origin. His last name is Castell. And Moxie? Fitting. Pretty name for a pretty man.
Take him now, my wolf urges. He's ours. I want to taste him.
I lean in until there's barely air left between us and he twitches, my mouth curving into a smile before I can stop it.
"You bear a striking resemblance to a man I know," I murmur, and his heartbeat races, fear seeping out of him. "Except…" My thumb shifts along his jaw, forcing his face higher. "The eyes."
He swallows, his Adam's apple bobbing and it shoots straight to my cock. Fuck, this man smells like what I want to have for breakfast and dinner everyday.
"Will you kill me now?" he asks.
Bold question especially for someone who just tried to lie to my face. I should be annoyed, but instead I find myself thinking of ways to wreck his confidence in my bed. I want to crush it, wear it down, breed him over and over until all he knows, until all he remembers is me.
I straighten, our eyes still locked. "I have no intention of killing you, Rafe Castell."