The kitchen was a furnace of steam and shouting. For six hours, I had carried heavy trays of roasted meat and iron flagons of ale to the warriors in the Great Hall. The silver collar around my neck was too tight, chafing my skin and dulling my senses. Every time I passed Xander's high table, the scent of him made my wolf howl in agony, begging for a touch he would never give.
"More wine, slave!" a warrior shouted, slapping my backside as I passed.
I stumbled, nearly dropping the tray. Tears pricked my eyes, but I forced them back. I couldn't give them the satisfaction of seeing me cry.
Xander sat at the head of the table, his eyes tracking my every move. He didn't stop the warriors from touching me. He didn't growl when they insulted me. He just watched, his expression unreadable, as if he were observing an interesting experiment in pain.
"Tricia," a soft voice whispered.
I turned to see Jack standing in the shadows of the stone pillar. He looked at the collar around my neck and then at the bruises on my arms. For a second, I saw a flash of something like guilt in his eyes, but it was gone as quickly as it appeared.
"The Alpha wants you in his study. Now," Jack said.
"Is he going to kill me?" I asked, my voice barely audible over the roar of the party.
"Just go," Jack replied, stepping aside.
I climbed the back stairs, my heart hammering against my ribs. My wolf was pacing in the back of my mind, agitated and confused. The Blood Moon was rising tonight, the one night of the year when the wolf's instincts were at their peak.
I pushed open the door to the study. The room was dim, lit only by the glowing embers in the fireplace and the deep red moonlight spilling through the window.
Xander was standing by the desk, his shirt unbuttoned at the top, his hair disheveled. He looked haunted. The scent of him was overwhelming here, thick and intoxicating.
"Close the door," he growled.
I did as I was told, my hands trembling on the handle. "You wanted to see me, Alpha?"
He turned, and I saw it. His eyes weren't blue anymore. They were a glowing, molten gold. The Blood Moon was taking its toll. His inner wolf was at the surface, raw and demanding.
"The elders are pushing for the union," he said, his voice sounding more like a snarl. "They say the contract must be honored tonight or the alliance with the northern packs is forfeit."
I took a step back. "You hate me. You said I was a stain on your soul."
"I do hate you," he hissed, crossing the room in a blur of speed. He pinned me against the door, his body slamming into mine with enough force to knock the air from my lungs. "I hate the way you look at me. I hate that your blood is a poison in this pack. But most of all, I hate this."
He leaned down, his nose grazing the sensitive skin of my neck, just above the silver collar. I let out a low moan I couldn't suppress. My body was betraying me, reaching for him, craving the bond that he had spent years spitting on.
"You feel it, don't you?" he whispered, his teeth brushing against my earlobe. "The moon is screaming for us to mate. It doesn't care that your father killed my mother. It doesn't care that you're a worthless Omega."
"Then don't do it," I gasped, trying to push against his chest. It was like trying to move a mountain. "If you hate me so much, let me go. Send me to the border."
Xander's grip on my wrists tightened until I thought the bone might snap. He pulled my arms up over my head, pinning them against the wood. His eyes were wild, the pupils blown wide.
"I can't let you go," he growled, his face dropping to my chest. "I'm going to take what the moon says is mine. And when the sun rises, I'm going to make sure you remember exactly what you are to me."
"And what am I, Xander?"
He looked me dead in the eye, his expression a terrifying mix of lust and loathing.
"You're a vessel, Tricia. A place for me to dump my anger and my needs. Don't mistake this for love. Don't mistake this for a beginning."
He reached for the silver collar, his fingers sizzling as they touched the metal. With a roar of effort, he snapped the lock, flinging the silver across the room. The sudden rush of my wolf's power returning made me gasp, my senses exploding.
He didn't wait for me to recover. His mouth crashed onto mine, punishing and hungry. It wasn't a kiss; it was a claim. It was a war.
He lifted me, my legs instinctively wrapping around his waist as he carried me toward the large leather sofa. He threw me down, his hands already tearing at the thin fabric of my tunic.
"Tonight, you belong to the Alpha," he whispered against my skin, his voice dark and promising pain. "Tomorrow, you're back in the dirt."
I should have fought him. I should have scratched and screamed. But as the Blood Moon reached its peak, my wolf took over, drowning out the warnings in my head. I wanted him. God help me, I wanted the monster.
I didn't know that outside the door, Fabiana was standing in the hallway, her face twisted in a mask of fury as she heard my soft cries of pleasure.
And I didn't know that by morning, the man currently worshiping my body with his tongue would be the same man who would stand in front of the entire pack and sentence me to death.
The last thing I saw before the darkness took me was Xander's golden eyes, filled with a hunger that felt like it could swallow the world.