While He Watched...

River jerks onto her feet, slowly taking steps away from him until her back hit the cold wall. 

Ryker's stare at her is dark and intriguing. Somehow, she had felt trapped beneath his stares. It had felt as if he knew everything that was going through her head with the way he stared deeply at her. She felt vulnerable underneath his stare, as if she had been stripped naked. 

He knew her. He remembered her.

"W-what do you need?" River stuttered, pressing against the wall and wishing the wall could split open and pull her in. 

The man that stood before her wasn't just any Alpha. A monster that had appeared at her father's Pack, asking to merge his Pack with her father's and when he had refused, Ryker made a blood bath out of his Pack. He was a monster. A beautiful monster.

Even as she stared at him from afar, his beauty was clear as day. He had perfect features, and his body was perfectly sculptured into a shape that matched his beautiful face. His beauty was blinded, and he glowed even in the dark.

"This is my Pack. And, this is my cell." Ryker provided dryly, his tone dark and gruff. 

"What do you need from me?" River eyed him, pressing further into the wall.

Ryker's lips spread in a sexy smirk.

God, even his smirk was a breathtaking sight.

"Nothing. You are already a slave in my pack. I already bought you. I've gotten all that I needed." Ryker gaze swept over River’s body and curves, his eyes eating her up hungrily. River shuddered at the way his lustful gaze slid up and down her body.

She wasn't even wearing anything. All she had on was a tank top and sweatpants. 

River's breath hitched in her throat when he started stalking towards her. Her fingers were trembling as she pushed herself into the wall as if the wall could dig in with her impact. Yet, she summoned the nerve to ask again.

"Why did you buy me from my uncle?" Her voice was shaky. 

Ryker stops before River, hovering over her. His rich, spicy scent engulfs her, causing her stomach to twist with nausea. 

"Because I want you. I bought you because I want you, River. Don't kids always pester their parents to buy a new toy once they lay their eyes on it?"

River winces as if his words had instilled pain in her. He called her a toy.

"I'm not a toy." River barked angrily.

Maybe the meal she ate earlier contained cocaine or something stronger because she wasn't sure why she thought being bold to Alpha Ryker was a good choice. He could cut her head off and smear her blood on the cell walls, and nobody would know about it. But, she didn't have anything to lose if he ever murdered her. Moreover, she was embarking on a death mission before Uncle Derek had sold her to Ryker.

"Sure, you are. You will be my personal toy. You are not going to do the work of other slaves. You'd be for my eyes alone. Every night, you'd come over to my bedroom, and I'd watch you or do to you whatever I please—"

"No!" River's sharp tone cuts in. "Just make me work for you. I don't want to do anything other than that."

"I purchased you. I get to decide how you would be of use to me." He strokes her jaw gently with his thumb. River shuddered, sweat breaking out on her forehead.

"Then, I'd repay you." River's head laughed back at her. Repay? How was she going to do that? "How much did my uncle sell me?"

Ryker smirked. 

"Six million dollars." 

River's eyes widened, her eyeballs almost hitting the roof. Her uncle had sold her for an amount that could cost a fortune? River fist her palm. She wouldn't be able to earn such an amount even if she worked every day of the year for 10 years. 

"I got him a house in Oakwill Pack, and I got him a mate as well," Ryker continued. "I've paid for everything, including your right to make any decision and refuse my order. So, you are mine. And, I decide what I want to do with you."

His hand skates over River’s black hair. 

"But, don't worry, love," Ryker continued, ignoring the water that had gathered in River’s eyes as she glared up at him, "I'd make you feel special. I'd cherish you dearly. You will be my favorite toy."

A tear slid down River's face as she fought back a sob. 

"W-why? Why did you buy me? How did you find me?" A breathy sob escaped her as she asked, her face flooded with tears. 

Ryker swipes his finger on her face, wiping away the tears that were trickling their way down.

"At the bar. You were sitting with Caden, and I was watching from afar, enjoying the breathtaking sight of your side profile." Ryker whispered in the dark, over the noise of the aggressive pattering rain. Thunder struck, followed by the glitter of lightning, shone onto his face. Then, it dawned on River.

Her eyes widened as she took his words in. He had met her at the same time she met Caden but he didn't make an approach like Caden, he waited for several months before buying her.