Chapter 3

“Who are you?” I asked, as I tried to shake off the wave of discomfort and dizziness that had suddenly hit me. I wiped my eyes. “You!” I exclaimed, looking at the omega waiter from the bar. “What are you doing here?” Nerves crept up my spine as I stared at the man who had given me the drink—the drink that had obviously been drugged.

“Oh, come on Princess.” He stepped forward, forcing me to go back up into the room. “You know why I’m here,” he said with a wicked grin. “And your body wants it. I know it does.”

I wanted to puke, “Please let me go home. I need to go home to my dad.”

“I’ll let you go home”—he started to unclasp his belt—“as soon as you give me what I want.”

I backed up another step.

“It will be over soon, Princess. I promise.”

“Why?” I asked, still seeing him through blurry eyes and wondering if there was any way I could escape him.

He gave me a perverted smile, then wagged his brows. “Well, your body is a nice prize on its own, but there are better reasons.”

I didn’t need him to tell me those reasons. If he took my virginity, I'd be forced to marry him, which would damage my reputation and leave utterly no chance of becoming an Alpha heir.

I couldn’t bear the thought of sex with him, let alone marrying him. I had to find a way out. But the blurry vision was making me dizzy. All I thought to do was plead. “I need to get home immediately,” I said as authoritatively as I could in my current condition. “It's late.”

The omega smirked. “You know I can’t let you leave, Princess. Not without a taste of the forbidden fruit.” He approached. As soon as he got within range, I slapped him hard with all the strength I could find.

His face twisted in rage. “This isn't the fucking palace.” He hit me back so hard that he knocked me onto the bed. “This is my turf. I do as I wish.”

#

Alex POV

“We need to get Eve,” I said. “She didn’t look too good.”

Quinn stared at me in disgust. “Are you really worrying about her right now?”

I looked at my phone, biting my finger as I saw all of Eve’s messages for the first time. And now, she wasn’t responding to me. What if she went off and slept with some other guy?

I turned to Quinn. “I’m just worried. She didn’t look well. She seemed off, like she was sick or something.”

Quinn rose from the bed and sauntered to a table in the corner, where she picked up a bottle of booze and poured a glass. With the glass in hand, she strutted seductively back to me. “Here. Drink this. It would help calm you.”

I accepted the drink and took a gulp, then walked to the window. Quinn approached from behind and wrapped her arms around my bare waist.

“I fear she isn't okay,” I said.

Quinn sighed in irritation. “She was drunk. That’s how she is these days. She gets drunk, and I don't even know her whereabouts. She probably goes out sleeping around. Maybe she’s out sleeping with some omega right now,” she said with mischief in her voice.

I spun around, squinting at her. “Wait a second. Did you…? Was this your idea, when you said I should be your sneaky link? You know I can't afford to lose Eve.”

Quinn sighed. “Was what my idea? To get her drunk and have her brought to our hotel? Pfft. Don’t accuse me of such outrageous things. Yes, I wanted her to find out about us, but I didn’t do that.”

I ran my hands through my hair, unsure whether I should believe her.

“And why are you so worried about her sleeping around?” Quinn asked. “Why should you care what she does?”

“Fuck,” I whispered. I always knew this playboy attitude of mine would get me into a shit ton of trouble one day, but I never expected it to be with a girl I actually cared about. Yes, I was using her for her inheritance, but that didn’t mean I had no feelings for her.

“Listen,” Quinn said. “I’m sure you feel like she’ll betray you because you betrayed her. But do you really think she’ll risk it, knowing she’ll have to marry anyone she sleeps with? Not only that, in her position, Eve would lose her dignity in the community, too. She’d end up begging you to take her back.”

“Are you sure about that?”

Quinn took the glass from me and kissed me slowly. Once she drew her lips away from mine, she peered at me. “I’m here to help you,” she said. “So even if she doesn’t beg for you, I can always ensure you end up owning some Carson family properties. I’m married to Alpha Carson after all.” She bit her lips seductively. “So be a good boy and come fuck me.”

Something pricked in the back of my mind, a warning I couldn’t put into words. But it was something that told me to resist her, that I couldn’t trust her. But I wanted her, so I put a lid on that warning, and a few minutes later, my tongue grazed her vagina.