Enslaved by the Alpha: Part Two

  Enslaved by the Alpha

  Part Two

  Viola Rivard

  Copyright © 2014 by Viola Rivard

  All rights reserved.

  This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

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  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER ONE

  The day after their lives are upended, people often wake to a brief moment of amnesia. The recent events, if they’re aware of them at all, feel like nothing more than a nightmare that will be dispelled the moment they climb out of bed. Most of them open their eyes, fully expecting everything to be as it was before. Then, reality comes crashing down.

  For Astrid, there was no such respite. She woke from a dreamless sleep, remembering everything. The attack on her campsite, being bound and hauled to the Amarok den, and the depraved marathon of sex she’d had with its alpha, Erik.

  She couldn’t delude herself, mainly because of the pain. The night before, she remembered enjoying the feel of Erik’s claws digging into her skin, as he’d thrust into her like a crazed animal. Part of her had even liked it when he’d bitten her.

  Astrid could hardly reconcile that twisted pleasure with the way she felt now, as there wasn’t a single part of her body that didn’t feel like absolute shit. The slightest twitch caused the scratches on her back to sting. It hurt to turn her neck, her hips ached, and there weren’t enough adjectives in the English language to describe how her vagina felt.

  The most pressing issue, however, was the difficulty she had breathing. For a terrible moment, she thought her ribs might be crushed. But when she opened her eyes, she saw that her chest was being weighted by almost half of Erik’s massive body.

  She didn’t remember when they’d stopped having sex. Towards the end, the whole experience had been a blur. There’d been a few times where she’d thought it was over and had almost passed out, only to have him mounting her again. Apparently, when it had finally ended, he’d collapsed onto her.

  Astrid cocked her head to gaze at Erik’s face. There was the barest trace of blue light in the room, though she wasn’t sure from where. Her eyes seemed to be getting used to the relative darkness of the den, because she was able to make out most of his face. She’d thought that perhaps he’d look different when he slept, less intimidating, perhaps even a bit gentle. But his features looked every bit as hard while in repose. Even the corner of his seductive mouth possessed a minute slant, as though prepared at any moment to curl into a mocking grin.

  Physically, Erik was a god. Two days ago, he’d seemed so out of her league that she had a hard time even finding him appealing. Now, she regarded him with muted awe. They had actually had sex, and it had been incredible.

  It would have felt like a fantasy come to life, if not for the facts that he was an uncaring asshole and she was basically his prisoner.

  She shivered, mostly from the cold. Although his body was like a furnace and blanketed most of hers, the rest of her was exposed to the subzero air of the arctic cave. She reached her hand out, feeling around for a pelt or the clothes she’d been wearing—if they’d even made it back to the room. When her hands came up empty, she sighed and turned back to Erik.

  It surprised her that he hadn’t already awoken, as he seemed like the type that would sleep with one eye open. She wasn’t really ready to face him yet, but she didn’t have much of a choice. Reluctantly, Astrid tapped his shoulder. He didn’t so much as twitch.

  She tried to worm herself free, but Erik’s body was like dead weight on top of her, pinning her to the floor. She tapped his shoulder again, and when that didn’t work, she nudged him. Still nothing.

  “Erik?” her hoarse voice reminded her of how thirsty she was. When was the last time she’d had something to drink?

  Astrid watched Erik’s face, waiting for his eyes to flutter open. When they didn’t, anxiety began to bubble up inside of her. She placed her hand on his side, trying to feel for a pulse or the rise and fall of breathing, but she could feel nothing aside from her own blood pounding in her veins.

  “Erik,” she said again, her voice high and clear. She began shaking his shoulder.

  Is he…dead?

  Panic set in as her mind began to contemplate what would happen if she were found like this. Erik’s pack would assume that she had killed their alpha. They might interrogate her, or maybe they’d just kill her outright.

  “Erik!” she brought her hand down on his shoulder in a loud smack!

  The effect was instantaneous. The alpha shot up, and in one fluid movement, straddled Astrid, twisted her offending arm back with one hand, and wrapped his other hand around her neck.

  Astrid’s reaction was also instant, but had far less finesse. Words flew from her mouth in a panicked jumble. “Sorrysorrysorrypleasedon’tkillme!”

  He held her like that for a few seconds. Her arm felt like it was one twitch away from snapping and her face grew hot as his hand cut off blood circulation. After what felt like eons, he released her and pulled back, regarding her with a bewildered look.

  “Oh my God,” she breathed, her hand going to her neck. Her hand came back sticky, and she saw that the bite mark he’d made the night before had begun to bleed again. “You almost killed me.”

  “What am I doing here?” he asked, rubbing his face.

  Even in her flustered state, Astrid could appreciate that this was the first time she’d seen him look confused. She sat up, hefting her weight onto the arm that hadn’t almost been broken.

  “You fell asleep here.”

  She expected him to apologize, but he just stared blankly at her, his mouth pressed flat. She should have known better by now.

  “Do you always sleep like that?” she asked, cradling her elbow. “I couldn’t even feel you breathing.”

  “How long have we been down here?” he asked.

  Why do I even bother talking to him?

  “No clue,” she said, pursing her lips. “I don’t exactly have a watch. Well, actually, I do. It should be with my stuff. My cellphone, too, though I doubt it gets signal up here. Do you think you could help me find my bag, I—what are you doing?”

  Erik had come to loom over her on all fours, his impassivity replaced by an abrupt and alarming hunger. She caught a quick glimpse of his long erection before his hands were on her hips, trying to move her onto her knees. Scowling, she managed to wriggle free and push against him, her hands and feet against his chest.

  “No, stop it,” she grit out.

  He stilled, which prompted Astrid to go still as well. She hadn’t thought he would actually listen to her.

  “I’m in pain everywhere,” she told him. “Not to mention, I can’t remember the last time I ate. I could also really use a bath.”

  His eyes narrowed. “You are not washing off my scent.”

  Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Astrid crawled out from under him. He remained on all fours, openly glaring at her.

  “I’m covered in dry sweat, crusted blood, and bodily fluids,” she said, her lip curling in disgust. “I thought werewolves had a really good sense of smell. Can’t you tell that I stink?”

  Erik stood and grabbed his pelt, wrapping it around his body. “I’ll feed you. Get dressed.”

  Mumbling a quiet curse under her breath, Astrid felt around for her clothes. She m
anaged to find the top that Sabine had given her, but the pants were nowhere to be found. She settled for her jeans, though they weren’t half as warm as the fur-lined leather had been.

  As she dressed, she did a quick assessment of her body. Her chest and abdomen were remarkably unblemished, though there were a few scratches on her sides. Her hips were the worst, sporting multiple dark bruises that smarted when she buttoned her jeans.

  Erik watched her as she dressed. He hung in the doorway, arms folded over his chest. His eyes followed her every movement, making her feel self-conscious. She kept her back to him as she struggled to fix the bent hooks on her bra.

  “Why do you hide your body from me?”

  Her cheeks prickled with heat. “I guess I’m just not used to men looking at me like that.”

  “Like what?” he asked, sounding genuinely intrigued.

  “Like they want to eat me.”

  They fell silent for a moment. Still facing away from him, she managed to reshape the hooks and slip into her bra. As she was putting her shirt on, Erik spoke again.

  “Do I frighten you?”

  Astrid swallowed. “A little.”

  She was afraid of him—she’d be stupid not to be—but she was more afraid of the way he affected her. Around the alpha, she was rapidly becoming someone she hardly recognized and was growing to disdain.

  Afraid of where he was taking this conversation, she changed the subject.

  “We never finished talking about my sister.” She turned around to face Erik, locking eyes with him to show that she wouldn’t be ignored. “It can’t wait a year. I need to get her back as soon as possible.”

  “A year is as soon as possible,” he said, his eyes taunting her to go on.

  She massaged her temple. “Look, I know I’m not in a position to bargain with you, but please, hear me out. I’ve been stringing my parents along for almost two months now, telling them my sister is off filming some South American panther shifters in the jungle. They don’t even know that I’m gone, and when they do, they’re probably going to realize that I’ve been bullshitting them about Ginnifer.”

  Astrid took a step forward, her tone pleading. “They’re already going to lose me. If they lose Ginnifer, too, it’ll kill them. Please, you have to help me get her back.”

  Erik’s face was infuriatingly blank. “I will. In a year.”

  ***

  In his wolf form, Erik slowly made his way through the winding tunnels of his den. He’d shifted, not because he’d been particularly cold, but because the shift had helped to ease some of the discomfort in his body.

  He felt tired. More so than he’d felt in a long time, but he didn’t want to sleep. He wanted to fuck her again.

  The human was walking alongside him, finally quiet. He got the sense that she was shunning him with her silence, which meant she clearly did not recognize how annoying she was.

  Erik felt no guilt over what he’d said to her. Had he been prone to second-guessing himself, his pack would have long since gone the way of the old wolf tribes of Nunavut.

  When he was a pup, there had been over three dozen wolf packs of various sizes, their territories stretching across the arctic archipelago. Back then, pack wars had been common. Borders and hunting grounds were hotly contested, and their biggest enemies were themselves.

  But over the years, as poaching shifters had become a lucrative industry for humans, the packs had been pushed farther north. Smaller packs and packs with poor leadership fell to the humans. The rest of them had continued to fight amongst each other in an ever-shrinking safe-zone.

  When the dust had finally settled, three wolf packs had emerged to claim the land: Sedna to the north, Siluit to the east, and Amarok to the west. Sedna’s region was brutal, even by artic standards. They prevailed because their territory was not only undesirable, but also impractical for poachers. Siluit had survived because their alpha Zane had been fortunate enough to inherit a den that was within just a few kilometers of a thriving hunting ground.

  While Amarok’s territory was vast, it saw fewer migrations of muskox and caribou—the staple diets of a large pack. During the winter, fresh meat was almost nonexistent and they had to rely on stores built up over spring and summer. Their territory was also more accessible to poachers, as it resided on the mainland, rather than the archipelago.

  Despite all of this, Amarok was larger than both other packs and saw fewer poachers than even Sedna. This was because his pack had something that the other two did not—harsh discipline.

  As alpha, Erik’s rules were absolute. A mistake made by any one wolf could have dire consequences for the pack, and therefore even the smallest of slip-ups were met with harsh repercussions. Challenging Erik’s authority meant death. He did not grant mercy, and he had no room for pity.

  Because of this, he felt no inclination to aid the human in promptly reclaiming her sister. But he did feel…something.

  It was no surprise that his wolf wanted to lick, nuzzle and comfort her. It was only an animal, after all. No, what disturbed Erik was that after he’d shot down her plea, he’d felt the bizarre need to explain himself. He’d had to stop himself from expounding on the reasons why attempting to get her sister back without a tactical advantage would be grossly negligent on his part.

  He had, of course, refrained. His tongue was one thing he would never lose control of.

  The main room was a thoroughfare of wolves coming and going, taking their meals, and congregating in small groups to converse. Without a stable day and night cycle, the pack did not have any set schedule. Instead, they lived in shifts, with the wolves taking turns patrolling and, when the season favored it, hunting.

  There was always a hum of noise in the room. The sounds of conversations, growls, barks, and dozens of footsteps blurred together into a hum that resonated in the wide cavern. Today, the noise level was louder than usual, and as Erik stepped out of the tunnel, he could see the room’s attention shift in his direction.

  He scanned the room to find that the males in particular, were focused on the human. Logically, he knew that they were curious. He had never brought a human female into the den, and they wanted to know what it would mean for their pack. However, his wolf did not care about logic and he couldn’t stop himself from throwing a glare around the room.

  While he stared the other males down, the human rushed ahead of him to where Halley and the dog were running to greet her. The dog reached her first, jumping up on its hind legs to lick her on the face. Halley collided with her legs, and then immediately recoiled, her nose wrinkling.

  “Ugh, Astrid, you smell awful.”

  The human turned back to flash him a dirty look.

  Erik inwardly scowled. If she smelled bad, it was because of the dog, he thought as he watched the animal continue to lick her.

  Leaving her with his niece, Erik stalked over to the far side of the room, where six females congregated in a large alcove, all in human form. They looked up as he approached, all but one of them nodding their heads deferentially, before returning to their conversation.

  Sabine got up, excusing herself from the others before making her way over to where Erik stood. Standing only a few centimeters shorter than him and sporting a physic that rivaled that of his brother’s, Sabine was one of the most capable wolves in the pack. With few exceptions, the pack members held her in high regard. Erik was among them, as she had proven herself a valuable asset on numerous occasions.

  As he shifted into his human form, Sabine picked a pelt up from the floor. She offered it to him, but he waved it away.

  “I’m going out,” he told her. “I came to tell you to feed the human while I’m gone.”

  Sabine knew better than to look him directly in the eyes, but she had always been too stubborn to avert her gaze entirely. Instead, she focused on the bridge of his nose.

  In an even tone, she asked, “So I am to be her caretaker now?”

  He could tell from her tense posture that she wanted to say mo
re, so he remained silent, allowing her to go on.

  “I thought this was a pack run by wolves. I suppose you’ll want me to stop coming to your bed as well. And how long do I have before there’s a rash of pups scampering about, calling me auntie?”

  She’d had the sense to lower her voice, so Erik didn’t reprimand her. He respected Sabine, and as such, gave her more latitude in their interactions. Sometimes—always when they were alone—he somewhat enjoyed verbally sparring with her. But right now, he was too tired; too…not himself.

  “Do not try my patience today,” he ordered.

  Her confrontational demeanor shifted, a glint of mischief appearing in her eyes. “Is there ever a good day to try your patience, Erik?” She inclined her head, adopting a submissive posture that was entirely for show.

  “Sten is waiting for you,” she said. “Last I heard, he was about twenty kilometers southeast. He found some tracks.” She breezed past him, quietly adding, “Don’t hurry back. Auntie Sabine will take care of your little human.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  “Bon appétit.”

  Sabine poured the steaming soup into Astrid’s bowl. It was in a dark broth and contained a mix of root vegetables and plump chunks of meat. Astrid bent to sniff the fragrant vapor, her mouth salivating.

  “I don’t think I could ever get tired of this,” she said, scooping up a spoonful. She blew on it twice, and then plopped it into her mouth, too hungry to care about the slight burn.

  “I’m glad you like it,” Sabine said, pouring herself a bowl as well.

  After arriving in the main room, Astrid had become distracted by Halley and Noona. She’d turned her back on Erik for what had felt like seconds, but when she looked for him, he’d vanished. Though she’d been wanting some space from him since they’d woken up, it had made her feel uncomfortable to be left alone in a room full of wolves. She’d been relieved when Sabine had appeared, giving her a friendly smile and offering to feed her.

  “What kind of meat is this?” Astrid asked. Her mind worked faster than her mouth, and she paused abruptly in her chewing. “Wait, this isn’t…er…long pig, is it?”