Chapter 9

I have felt helpless before. The feeling was not new to me.

When the kids in the orphanage kicked and bullied me. When my favorite teddy bear was ripped to shreds by one of the boys there. When I slept on the street, curled into a ball as rain drenched me. When I ate expired food from the dumpster and suffered stomach cramps so bad I vomited for an entire week, only to end up in a community hospital.

Life has never been easy.

I was used to harsh.

But right now? Slammed onto a bed, restrained by his unyielding grip, my body exposed and trembling, I felt utterly weak and breakable.

And then it hit me.

The first sharp slap landed on my bottom. My entire body recoiled, the sound ringing out like a cruel echo of dominance. A desperate cry tore from my lips, and I thrashed uselessly against his iron hold.

My bottom jiggled from the force. My legs trembled under the weight of his authority.

Before I could even register the searing sting, another sharp pain followed, this time on the other cheek. Tears blurred my vision, hot and unrelenting, as my body betrayed me.

It hurt.

It hurt so much.

My skin felt like it was on fire, and every nerve screamed in protest. Yet, amidst the unbearable ache, a strange wetness pooled between my thighs, shameful and undeniable. What was wrong with me? What was happening?

I braced myself for more—another slap, another surge of that fiery pain—when an urgent voice cut through the charged silence.

The door slammed open, and a figure stood there, framed in the dim light spilling into the room.

My teary eyes clashed with John's widened ones as he took in the scene.

Horror covered his features.

“Eve? Fuck! Your Highness! You are mistaken!”

The iron grip on my wrist loosened, and I felt the weight of the beast above me shift. He moved back, his heated presence retreating, leaving a cold emptiness in its place.

Scrambling to cover myself, I tugged my clothes back into place and wrapped the shawl tightly around me, retreating to a corner like a wounded animal. My body was still trembling, my legs barely able to hold me up.

“She's not one of the maids, sir! She's a local. She came here to register a report and lost her way.”

Deadly silence stretched across the room, suffocating and heavy.

One second.

Two seconds.

Drop.

The Alpha King stepped away from me completely, his imposing figure looming like a shadow of judgment.

“A local? How the fuck does a local enter my room so late at night, John? What is the security doing?” His voice was a deadly growl, slicing through the air like a blade.

My body burned—not just from the humiliation or the lingering sting on my skin, but from the feverish heat coursing through me.

Killian fever.

“I may be the one to blame,” John said, his voice steady but cautious. “She wanted to use the restroom. I may have failed to explain the directions to her properly.”

My heart thudded as I looked up at him, shocked.

He lied.

For my sake? No one had ever done that for me before.

The Alpha King raked his fingers through his hair, frustration etched into his features as he turned his glare toward John.

“And this is where she ended up?” His voice dripped with disbelief and irritation, his words cutting like ice.

“Yes, sir. My mistake.”

The Alpha King exhaled sharply, his gaze snapping back to me, and I immediately dropped my eyes to the floor. I felt insignificant, like an ant under the gaze of a giant. My worn-out canvas shoes suddenly became the most interesting thing in the world.

“Get her out of my sight,” he ordered, his tone dismissive, like I wasn’t worth another second of his time. “I’ll deal with you later.”

He turned toward the window, his broad back facing me, a wall of indifference. My heart sank.

No. I was here with a purpose. I couldn’t leave like this.

Lilly needed me.

John motioned for me to follow him, but I stepped aside, desperate.

My hands clasped together in a plea.

“Your Highness. Please! Lilly is like my sister—the only family I have! Some men from another pack came and took her. They’ll use her or, worse, trade her! I think they were slave traders. Sir, please—”

“Eve, stop it. You’re only going to make this worse! Come with me!” John’s tone was urgent, his hand reaching for me.

I shrugged him off, determined to make my case.

“Your Highness, please! You’re the only hope I have. Please!”

“Fuck, Eve! You’re going to get both of us killed. Get up!”

I hadn’t realized I was on my knees, begging like a desperate fool. Tears streaked my face, hot and relentless.

“Beta John, no!”

“Come, Eve!”

John was about to drag me out when the Alpha King turned, holding up a hand to stop him.

John froze, stepping back as he swallowed hard.

I looked up and found myself pinned under the weight of those cold, calculating silver eyes.

“You want me to believe that shit? If they took your friend, Lilly, why didn’t they take you? After all, you’re also a woman.”

His voice was sharp and cutting, each word a lash of suspicion. He loomed over me, his hands clasped behind his back, his gaze unrelenting.

I swallowed hard, the truth trembling on my lips.

“Because I’m ugly. No man would... pay to see a face like mine.”

My voice broke, and with trembling hands, I pulled down my shawl, revealing the scars that marred my face.

This was me.

The real me.

My heart pounded as I met his gaze, expecting disgust, revulsion—anything. But all I saw was emptiness. A cold, unfeeling void that seemed to see right through me.

“John,” he said, his voice devoid of emotion.

“Y-yes, sir.”

“Bring her to my office.”

Adjusting his silk robe, he turned and walked away without sparing me another glance.

I stood frozen, my mind numb.

John crouched in front of me, concern softening his features.

“Hey, are you okay?”

I didn’t know what to say. The sting on my bottom still burned, and embarrassment flared hot in my cheeks.

John had seen us like that.

It was a small blessing that my face had been turned away—he hadn’t seen the shameful evidence of my body’s betrayal, the mark of the predator’s claim still throbbing against my skin.