I woke up to the warm sunlight streaming through my room, casting on the lavish decor that seemed to suffocate me. As I sat up, I couldn't help but compare my room back home to this one. My room at home was a far cry from this grand space. It was a small, cramped space and a matchbox when compared to this one, but it was mine. This one, on the other hand, felt like a luxury hotel room, but without the freedom to leave.I thought about how I had been living in this house for a while now, and it still felt foreign to me. The opulent furniture, the lavish artwork, and the stunning views of the gardens below all seemed to belong to someone else. I felt like a guest, a temporary visitor, not the resident of this grand estate.Truly, that was all I was.I looked around the room, taking in the sight I was now familiar to. The massive four-poster bed, the elegant dresser, and the floor-to-ceiling windows, all screaming luxury.But despite the beauty of my surroundings, I couldn't shake the fe
I walked majestically out of the room, my head held high and my shoulders back. I vaguely wondered how proud my old etiquette teacher, Miss Doreen, would be if she saw me now. She had always drilled into me the importance of poise and confidence, and I was determined to show Ryker that I had learned my lessons well.As I entered the living room, I was taken aback by the scene before me. Ryker had his hand clutching a guard's neck, pinning him above the ground as he snarled angrily over a very mundane thing - the guard had apparently forgotten to polish Ryker's boots."How could you be so careless?" Ryker spat, his eyes blazing with anger. "Do you know how important it is to have polished boots?"The guard struggled to breathe, his face red and his eyes bulging. "I-I'm sorry, Alpha," he stuttered.Ryker's grip on the guard's neck tightened, and for a moment, I thought he was going to snap the man's neck. But then his head whipped around, his eyes locking onto mine. For a moment, he see
_Ryker's POV_My eyes blankly followed Arianna as she walked away, my fists clenched, and I couldn’t tell if it was to quell my anger or growing erection.Anger because I had actually allowed someone to walk away after talking to me in that manner, and aroused because, well, it was Arianna. Everything about her screamed seduction, and she didn’t even have to do too much. I liked her meek, timid, and frightened, but this part of her she had shown me that morning, the part that was feisty, more outspoken, and more outward, was an incredible turn-on. Just when I thought she couldn't get any sexier.I just then realize she was assertive in an insanely sexy way, and as much as I wanted her under my control, I wanted to see more of that unbridled part of her.I was taken aback by my own reaction. I had never been one to tolerate disrespect, and yet, I had let Arianna get away with it with a fucking smile on her lips. Not just that, but I had actually been on the verge of apologizing, and s
I was greatly infuriated at the way Ryker lifted me like a rag doll and tossed me over his shoulder. My fist pounded his back as hard as I could, but it was like I had no effect on him whatsoever. Almost like I was an annoying fly on his shoulder that needed to be flicked off. I was angry and livid at the sheer embarrassment of doing that to me in front of my new friend, a boy my age. I couldn't believe Ryker would humiliate me like that."How dare you!" I shouted, angrily blowing off the hair that had entered my mouth from my position. "You can't just treat me like some kind of...of...animal! Put me down this instant!"Ryker didn't even flinch, his long strides eating up the distance as he carried me away from the garden. I continued to struggle and shout, my anger and humiliation boiling over."You're an arrogant, self-absorbed, misogynistic pig!" I spat, my words tumbling out in a furious torrent. "You think you can just do whatever you want, whenever you want, and nobody will ever
Ever since that dream that night, I’d fantasized about Ryker more times than I’d ever admit, and most times, these fantasies ended with a pool of sticky wetness in my panties.The same wetness that now trickled down my exposed thighs as his eyes raked my body like hot coals. The scent of my arousal filled the air, and he took a sharp breath, and then his eyes dilated till it was almost black.“Climb up the bed, Arianna. Get on your fucking knees!” He growled deeply, and I shuddered.His voice was scary and thrilling at the same time. It had his commanding Alpha pull to it, one I couldn’t resist even if I wanted to, and I found myself walking briskly to the bed, and taking the position he asked me to.I had never been so exposed in my life in that position, and worse still because I couldn’t see him or the look in his eyes.I was no saint. I had read enough erotic books to imagine just what type of view I was giving him, and that made my heart slam wildly against my chest.He slowly wa
I stepped into the bathtub, slipping my body into the oversized tub until I was able to find the perfect spot. I let out a deep sigh, and I facepalmed myself as the shame and pain overwhelmed me. I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to ward off the chill that had nothing to do with the temperature of the water.I had heard bathing salts helped to release nerves and tension, but even after pouring more than half of it into the tub, I still felt the same as I’d done before."How could I have been so stupid?" I scolded myself, my voice barely above a whisper. "I acted like a needy, dick-starved slut. I let him use me like a cheap whore."I thought about Ryker's words, the way he had looked at me with such disgust. "You're just like the rest. A cheap, little whore. Just like your mother." I felt a wave of anger wash over me, but it was quickly replaced by a a crushing pain in my heart so hard I had to rub my chest to somehow ease the pain.I thought about everything that had happened,
Ryker's POVI stormed out of her room, my anger and frustration boiling over. I was angry at myself, angry at her, and angry at the situation. I couldn't believe what had just happened. I had almost lost control with her back there.As I walked, I couldn't shake the memories of what had just transpired. Her body, so responsive and sexy, had driven me insane. I remembered the way she had moaned, the way her body had tightened around me, the way her thick ass had been high in the air, and her full breasts had jiggled with each touch. Everything had combined to push me to the edge, and it had taken every ounce of self-control not to bury myself inside her and never come out. But I had to punish her first. I had to remind her who she belonged to in case she ever forgot.And her scent...there was something special about the scent of her arousal. Something unique that made me want to claim her as mine, to mark her and never let her go. I growled, my cock straining against my pants. I needed
I struggled to understand what the doctor was saying. His words kept ringing in my head, but they didn't make any sense. Even Ryker seemed confused, judging by the questions he was asking."What do you mean by 'energy transfer'?" Ryker asked, his voice authoritative but laced with confusion.There was a pause, but I could feel eyes on me. "I'm not entirely sure, Alpha. I've never seen anything like this before. But from what I can gather, it seems that Arianna's energy has been transferred to you,” the doctor said.Ryker's voice became tighter. "What does that mean exactly?"The doctor paused as if collecting his thoughts before speaking. "It means that you two are...connected, in a way. I've only seen one case like this before, and it was in an ancient text. It's called a 'soul tie'."I thought I would hyperventilate. The words rang in my head, but I couldn't understand them. Ryker, as if reading my mind, asked the question that was on my lips."Do you mean mates?" he asked impatient
I stood frozen in the doorway, my eyes fixed on the scene before me. I blinked severally to make it go away, but it wouldn’t leave. Ryker was sitting behind his desk, a woman perched on his lap. Her hands were all over him, her fingers tracing the lines of his face, her palms pressed against his chest. Ryker looked bored and his eyes were fixed on some point in front of him, but he didn't push her away. Which meant he wanted her.I felt like I'd been punched in the gut. The air was knocked out of me, and I couldn't breathe. I tried to process what I was seeing, but my mind was whirling with emotions. There was absolutely nothing going on between Ryker and I, but at the same time, there was so much going on for me to feel hurt.I hated how easily attached I’d gotten to him even when he showed all of his red flags right in my face. I hated how he could do whatever he wanted because he felt like he was untouchable, but most of all, I hated how my heart broke as I watched the man, who w
I sat in the dining room, staring blankly at the wide spread of breakfast in front of me. The aroma of freshly baked bread and sizzling bacon wafted through the air, making my stomach growl with hunger. But despite the tantalizing smells and even more mouthwatering sights, I couldn't bring myself to take a bite. My mind was elsewhere, my thoughts consumed by the events of the past two days.My eyes kept flickering towards the stairs, trying to see if Ryker would come downstairs. It had been two days since that explosive argument, but he had kept himself locked in his room. I knew he was around because I would occasionally hear the sound of shuffling, things being moved or something being broken. It was as if he was trying to avoid me, and I didn't blame him. I didn't want to face him either.The memory of our argument kept replaying in my mind no matter how hard I tried to block it out. I didn't want to relive that moment, didn't want to face the emotions that came with it. So I sat t
I watched as Arianna glared at me, her eyes flashing with anger and hurt. She was shaking, her small body trembling with rage, and for a moment, I felt a pang of guilt. But it was quickly replaced by anger, anger at Elijah, anger at the world, anger at everything.As I stood there, my mind was a jumble of conflicting emotions. I was angry, yes, but I was also hurt. Hurt that Elijah had come to my home, hurt that he had talked to Arianna, hurt that he had disrespected me in my own territory after everything he had done to me.I thought back to the moment I had seen Elijah standing in my living room, talking to Arianna. His eyes were so tender like the hypocrite he was, and Arianna, knowing how gullible and naive she was, I already knew she had fallen into his web. I had felt a surge of anger, a surge of possessiveness. Who did he think he was to show his face here, and why was he talking to my Arianna?But as I looked at Arianna now, I saw the fear in her eyes, the hurt. And I felt a p
I was still reeling from the emotional reunion with my uncle when a thunderous growl shook me to my core, jolting me back to reality. I looked up to see Ryker standing in front of me, his eyes blazing with fury. But it wasn't just his eyes that caught my attention - his entire body had transformed. His fangs were bared, his claws were out, and his skin was covered in a thick, black-blue fur that seemed to ripple with anger.He looked bigger, and his shirt shredded apart, making him look five times scarier than he normally would. He looked like his wolf was just a second way from bursting forth.My heart jumped into my throat as I took in the sight of him. I had never seen him like this before, and I couldn't help but feel a little intimidated, scared even. But as I looked into his eyes, I saw that his anger wasn't directed at me - it was directed at my uncle."What the fuck are you doing here?" Ryker snarled, his voice sending chills down my spine. He took a step closer to my uncle,
I walked downstairs, my heart racing as different questions swirled in my mind. The mere thought of this visitor being Derrick filled me with a sense of dread that threatened to consume me and it felt like ice seeping through my veins.My palms grew sweaty, and my legs felt like jelly. I held my breath, my eyes fixed on the floor as I descended the stairs.My heartbeat spiked, and the maid turned to me with a curious look, but I ignored her, not wanting to break down.As I reached the bottom step, the guest stood up, and I raised my eyes to meet his gaze. Time seemed to stand still as our eyes locked. My mind went blank, and all I could do was stare.The man stood proud and tall, his muscular build towering over me, and I subtly pinched myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.But all I got was the painful sting, yet, I didn’t wake up. I was still standing right there in front of him, definitely not dreaming.Too lost in my thoughts, I vaguely heard the maid excuse herself and leave.Th
I stood there, frozen in place, my mind reeling with the meaning of Claire’s words. Ryker? Applying healing balm on me? It didn't make any sense. He had been so angry with me, so furious that I was certain if my head had been served to him on a platter at that moment, it would have made up a nice meal for him.And yet...and yet, it seemed that he had taken the time to tend to my wound, to soothe the pain that he himself had inflicted.I didn’t even realize he knew he’d hurt me. He had been so blinded by his rage to stop to notice my pain. So how did that happen?I tried to chalk it down to my imagination, to tell myself that it couldn't possibly have been Ryker. But I knew what I had heard, what I had felt. Someone had entered my room that night, and the next morning, the bruise was mysteriously gone. It couldn't have been a coincidence.Claire's words came back to me, her statement that only Ryker had access to the healing balm. I felt a shiver run down my spine as I realized that it
I woke up to the warm rays of sunlight peeking through the curtains and fanning my face with its warmth. I slowly opened my eyes to see l’d slept longer than I usually would.I yawned, stretching my arms over my head, but something made me pause. I realized that the pain on my elbow was gone. I looked down, and my eyes widened in surprise as I saw that the skin was smooth and supple, like there had never been anything there.I touched the skin, in case I was still sleeping, and that would wake me up, but I wasn’t. I was awake and the bruise was gone.I sat up, my mind racing as I tried to remember what had happened after I fell asleep, but my memory failed me. I vaguely remembered someone entering my room, but it was a blank after that. I couldn't recall anything else.It was probably one of the maids that applied a healing gel on my arm, and I guess I knew exactly who it was.I made a mental note to ask Claire about it later, so I could thank her properly. I threw off the covers and
His eyes were bleeding black, his shoulders were slightly hunched over, and his hands were clenched in fists so tight.My mouth ran dry, and I tried to come up with something to say. Claire had told me before that that room was totally off limits, but the seed of doubt she had planted in my mind had grown so rapidly I couldn’t wait till Ryker wasn’t around to check it out.Ryker, who was already fuming, closed the distance between us in long strides. “How dare you…..”My instincts kicked in when he thundered at me, and I immediately raised my hands up to shield my face, ready for him to strike.I knew what happened whenever men got angry. I had experienced it far too many times with Ryker not to know when to shield my face.But the strike I was waiting for never came, and I slowly lowered my hands, and was met with a confused-looking Ryker. Realization soon flashed in his eyes, and an emotion I couldn’t place filled them, but it was gone before I could even decide whether I’d imagine
I looked up to see a strange face standing in the doorway. The man was huge and muscular, standing almost at the same height as Ryker. He was just as good-looking, with chiseled features, piercing blue eyes that seemed to see right through me, and a head of curly brown hair. From his aura, I could tell he was the pack's beta.He lowered his neck in submission as he greeted Ryker. "Alpha," he said, his deep voice rumbling through the room.Ryker's response came out curt. "Jason. What brings you here?"Jason turned to me, and he smiled lightly. "You must be Arianna," he said, his eyes narrowed in slits as he smiled. "I've heard a lot about you."I nodded, feeling a blush rise to my cheeks. "Nice to meet you," I said, trying to sound polite, while wondering what this stranger might have heard about meJason's smile grew wider. "The pleasure is all mine," he said. "You're even more beautiful than I imagined."I felt my face grow hotter, and I looked away, trying to compose myself. But bef