Chapter One - Helpless

Amy’s POV

“Do you know why you are here?” a deep voice asked.

I opened my eyes only to see a commanding figure just inside my cell.

“No, Alpha,” I whispered, hating the fact that my white nightdress was torn revealing my bruised thighs.

“You are a liar, Amy,” he said, coming closer to where I hung, chained to the wall.

The urge to bare my neck was overwhelming yet impossible given my restraints.

“I didn’t know what Jake was planning. Honestly.”

A strong hand gripped my neck. I stared, mesmerised, at his muscular biceps.

“Lisa rejected her mate. Did you know that?” I shook my head. This was a whole lot worse than I had feared. “So you will pay. Cut her down.”

The ropes had left red marks on my wrists and ankles, though I was more concerned about keeping my balance. My long black hair was matted yet not filthy; I had only been in the dungeon overnight.

“Please, Alpha Kane, why won’t you believe me?”

He didn’t answer and I saw him staring at the ripped lace which barely covered my breasts.

“Are you still a virgin, Amy?”

I felt the blush rise in my cheeks.

“Does it matter, Alpha?”

“I’ll take that as a no.”

I cared what people thought of me but couldn’t bring myself to contradict him. Alpha Kane was so intimidating with his sharp jaw, steel grey eyes and shaggy blond hair. As I watched he removed his suit jacket and handed it to an underling.

“Punish me any way you want but it doesn’t change the fact that this was my brother’s doing.”

“His crime,” he stated, rolling up his shirt sleeves. “Leave us.”

I gasped, even though I found the lust in the guards’ eyes degrading. They were strangers and I was from an enemy pack, recently absorbed into this one, but it didn’t make it right.

“Do you want no witnesses?” I asked, my lower lip quivering.

This little show of weakness was killing me, yet it had to be done.

“Kneel,” he ordered, “facing away from me.”

The straw was filthy and crawling with lice. Once I was down, the Alpha lifted my hair to one side. For a split second I panicked thinking he was going to mark me. Instead, he fastened a collar around my neck, securing it tightly.

“Am I your slave?”

“From now on you will address me as Alpha, or master, and speak only when asked a direct question. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Alpha,” I said, unwilling to use the more demeaning title.

“Obey me, or I will make your life hell,” he warned. So, what was new? But I could hardly tell him that. “Stand up.”

I struggled to rise and, stumbling backwards, almost took us both down. My skin tingled where it touched his though I felt neither warmth nor comfort. There was no heavenly scent signifying this was my mate. Maybe the Moon Goddess was looking out for me, after all.

Alpha Kane told me I was pathetic before attaching a short chain to my wrist and dragging me out of my prison. I was barefoot and the cold flagstones were both sharp and uneven so that I was bleeding even before we reached the crumbling stairs.

I thought I knew what was coming and I was unprepared.

At least there was a carpet in the long corridor which led to the Omegas’ quarters. Half way down was an elevator. Alpha Kane summoned it and we waited, side by side, until a ping signalled the arrival of the cage.

Pushing me in before him, he pressed the button marked ‘AS’, the doors closed smoothly and it set off with a jolt. I trembled, in fear of confined spaces, scarcely aware of his free hand sliding up my leg until his fingers reached my panties.

“No!” I cried, struggling for all I was worth, despite the pheromones in the air.

His aftershave was far more potent in the small space and I thought I detected a hint of spice beneath the lime notes.

“Silence,” he growled, “or I will strip you naked here and now.”

This wasn’t fair. I had dreamed of this guy ever since we came to the Crescent Moon pack and now he was shattering my illusions big-style. It had been heartbreaking enough when he found his Luna three moons ago. Now I was learning his reputation for ruthlessness was justified in the worst way possible.

Alpha Kane pinned me to the mirrored wall and sniffed my neck. He told me I smelled of apples beneath my natural sweat. Really? I could feel his hardness pressing against my ass as he groped for my nipples. To my shame they were pebbled and seeking attention; that was when he called me a slut.

The elevator arrived at its destination, the Alpha’s Suite, only seconds later and he released me with a curse on seeing a silver-haired woman right outside.

“Kane, I want a word with you,” she said.

I knew this to be his grandmother, the greatest Luna in the pack’s long history, and my shame knew no bounds as he replied, “Meet my new slave.”

Dorothy Truman winced.

“I’ve told you before not to bring your whores up here.”

I was praying to the Moon Goddess for him not to introduce me more fully. I admired the old woman and had hoped to earn her respect. Thankfully, Kane wasn’t that stupid. She might have protested. I am an Alpha’s daughter, after all. At least, I was.

“This one won’t be any trouble,” he said, yanking my chain. “Let me just take her to my pleasure room and I’ll join you out on the roof terrace in five.”

“You young people have no sense of discretion. Make it two minutes, Kane, or don’t bother.”

I was amazed he allowed her to talk to him like that. But he was young for an Alpha and this was the pack matriarch, an elder to be revered.

“Take a shower,” he ordered, leading me into a huge bathroom. “This shouldn’t last long. And don’t even think of trying to escape me. I’ll be watching.”

He had to be kidding, didn’t he?

In case he wasn’t, I entered the cubicle fully clothed, and set the water running. I took care not to get my nightdress wet as I adjusted the temperature. By now the glass walls were steamed up. Only then did I strip completely, opening the door slightly and throwing my garments onto the tiled floor. Then I stepped underneath the shower head, allowing the hot cascade to soak away some of my despair.

I couldn’t afford to lose sight of my goal, not when there was so much at stake. If that meant submitting to Alpha Kane, allowing him a small victory, I would do it.

It wasn’t supposed to happen like this, but everything had changed the night of the mating ball. That was when I turned eighteen and, vows be damned, I wanted him, the one I couldn’t have.