Stolen by the Alpha

MARA

My…what?

Before I can react, Kaden claps his hands together, and I back away as a set of doors on the far side of the room open.

If I’d gone the other way in the dark, I might have found them and been able to escape. Whatever is on the other side of them, it can only be better than this.

A younger-looking man walks in with a swagger.

He has dozens of scars and scratches on his bare arms and some on his face.

The pattern and number of claws had to have come from another wolf, no doubt about it.

Everything about him clearly indicates he’s another member of the Vengeance Pack.

I can tell by the wicked look in his dark eyes that I will get no help or sympathy there.

He looks as though he’s been beaten or fallen from a great height. He even hobbles a little.

“Mara, I would like you to meet my brother. Kace.”

Kace eyes me silently. I match his gaze. I know instantly that Kaden is lying. There is no spark.

“That man is not my mate,” I snarl at Kaden. Kace grins wickedly.

Kaden only chuckles. “Here in the Vengeance Pack, we don’t believe in that ‘Goddess-ordained mate’ nonsense. Here, your mate is the same as a husband or wife.”

My jaw drops as I realize what he’s saying.

A hot wave of anger washes over me, masking the shock.

Husband?

Is that why he stole me away from my family? To make me some stranger’s wife?

And not just any stranger. This is the alpha of the Vengeance Pack’s brother!

Kace smirks. He planned this.

He wanted a Purity Pack member as a wife—to abuse and degrade. I can see it now, written all over his scarred, smug face.

I glare at them both. I want to slap the pair of them, but they’d probably both just slap me back.

“Go to hell,” I growl.

Kace steps toward me, holding his arms out to me as if he expects me to walk willingly into them.

I take a step back out of instinct, wanting as much distance between us as I can get and Kaden grabs his brother’s shoulder, restraining him.

“Leave your soon-to-be wife with me. You’ll have a submissive mate by the afternoon,” Kaden whispers to Kace, as though he thinks I can’t hear him.

If he thinks I would ever submit to him, he’s crazy. I’d rather die. Kace gives me a last glance, then leaves the room.

I stare at the floor, refusing to look up at Kaden as he walks around me. I feel his watchful stare, sizing up every inch of me.

“I will not marry him,” I tell him after a good few minutes of silence.

He doesn’t reply. Instead, he carries on circling me, sizing me up as if I am his prey. It feels like that, anyway.

The silence eats at the back of my mind. He is using it to manipulate me.

“And I sure as hell would rather die than stay here,” I add bitterly.

I know he will kill me if I don’t do as he says. It’s how he works.

He is a psychopathic murderer. I finally see that now. I wish I had taken my parents’ worries more seriously..

He stops in front of me, and I glare up at him.

“You’re not going to die. Well, unless I change my mind,” he responds smoothly.

I can’t tell if he’s looking at me now. His face remains completely covered.

I decide to challenge him on it. “Why won’t you show me your face? Scared?”

He chuckles and steps closer to me. I don’t back away, knowing that he will think that I’m weak if I do.

I stand my ground, trying to see beneath the shadow, but it’s impossible.

He reaches a gloved hand out to touch my face. I remain unmoving. His finger glides down my cheek, then he cups my chin.

Maybe I should bite him or something.

“I’m scared of no one,” he murmurs.

“Then show me.”

“I can’t show you. You may be attracted to me if I do,” he says lightly.

There is an underlying seriousness in his tone that spikes my curiosity.

Now I want to rip that hood off—to prove to him that I can’t possibly be swayed by anyone’s good looks.

If my assumptions are correct, he is hiding himself from me because he is afraid.

I shake my head at him, but I am restricted as he still holds my chin. “Sorry to say, murderers aren’t my type.”

He laughs. “Has anyone told you you’re not very nice?”

He releases my chin. I can’t help but wonder what everyone else was like—those he kidnapped in the past.

Are they dead? Did he really kill them?

This man is infuriating—I have gathered as much simply from the few sentences we have shared between us.

I remember a girl from my school who got kidnapped.

I knew her. I liked her, even. She always stuck up for me, until Kaden snatched her in the night.

“Back to the subject of Kace,” he begins.

“I told you. I’m not marrying him,” I tell him firmly.

Somehow, I can sense his smile without even seeing it.

“You don’t have a choice, my dear.”

We don’t speak for a moment; we just look at each other.

Eventually, he pulls away and motions to the seat I awoke on. “You might want to sit down for this.”

Instantly, I do. I believe him. He is about to tell me something that I’m not going to like, and I don’t want to be the kind of person who collapses on the ground in despair.

Giving him that satisfaction would pain me more than listening to his commands.

“You shall be proposed to in front of my pack tomorrow evening. The news will quickly spread,” he explains.

I frown but stay silent.

“After you say yes, your real job will start,” he tells me.

“And what might that be?” I ask.

He shakes his head at me.

I don’t bother to push for more, since Kaden obviously likes to do things on his own terms.

He just thinks I’m some silly naive Purity Pack girl. He won’t listen to me.

“You will find out the rest later. For now, you will sleep,” he says airily.

I stomp my foot as he turns to go. He stops and glances back at me.

“This conversation hasn’t made me want to stay at all.”

Kaden grunts. “Would you like to try your luck at escaping, Mara?”

“You can’t keep me here forever,” I retort.

I will be defiant to the end. If he thinks he can keep me here against my will, he is crazy.

I won’t stop trying to escape and make it back to my rightful pack.

I will try to climb over every wall and pick every lock to get out of this place.

He walks behind me, but I don’t turn around in the chair, though I’m quivering.

I’m not going to say he doesn’t frighten me, as that would be lying. He lays his hands on my shoulders, making me start.

“You have no idea how much control I have over you,” he mutters in my ear.

He has leaned down, so I feel his warm breath against my neck again.

I feel even more intimidated. I hate the effect he has on me.

“You’re very defiant,” he observes. “I love it. Why? Because everyone else from your pack is pathetic.” His words make me shiver even more. “You, on the other hand, intrigue me.”

Intrigue him? That’s got to be a bad thing.

“But we are still so different,” he continues.

“Why?” My voice is shaky, and I know it is stupid of me to expect an answer.

He walks back around so he is right in front of me and kneels again, bringing his shadowed face close. This time I can almost see the outline of some of his features.

I reach my hand out to touch his face, to find out if he really is as attractive as he makes himself out to be.

Instead, he grabs my wrist before I even get close.

He pushes it hard into my chest, making me wince.

“Because I’ve done more things in my life than you could imagine,” he whispers harshly.

The man’s mad. Why did I even think of daring to touch him?

“I’ve travelled to every pack in the nation,” he goes on.

I clench my jaw.

He is twisting my arm in such a way that pain surges up the back of my head. He is trying to degrade me.

“I’ve learned more than you,” he continues gruffly.

I refuse to give voice to my pain. I won’t let him have the fun.

“I’ve hurt for pleasure!”

He twists my arm further, and I let out a desperate whimper.

“And I’ve killed anyone that got in my way!”

I don’t doubt it. I feel tears forming in my eyes, but I hold them back.

I am not weak. He lets go of my wrist, and I refrain from rubbing it, though it burns fiercely.

“I know you love your family, so don’t doubt for a second that I won’t bring them here and kill them right in front of you,” he snarls.

He pulls away, finally giving me some space to breathe. “And not before taking you against that wall over there first.”

“You’re sick!” I spit.

He laughs. “But I’ll leave that to your husband.”

He flicks my hair up. I gather it back and hold it over my shoulder.

“What kind of brother would I be if I taught you how much pleasure you could have with me, compared to him?” he jokes.

I don’t say anything. I’m scared he will kill my parents.

A horrible daughter I would be if I got them killed because of my smart mouth.

They don’t deserve any of this. They are good people.

Kaden seems to take notice. “I see you’ve gotten my point. Wouldn’t want your parents to join mine in Hell.”

“My parents are great people,” I say under my breath.

“And so were you. Until you decided you wanted to run away and marry Kace, your secret lover,” Kaden says.

He continues. “Your parents will understand. I overheard you talking to them about me last night. And I could tell that you had no fear of my retribution. So why would you stay?”

I suddenly realize why he expects me to go along with all this. It makes my heart sink. “Is that why you picked me? Because you knew I wasn’t afraid of you?”

He gives me a curt nod. “I plan for every eventuality.”

I hate him. I truly, deeply, despise the man in front of me.

“Now, it’s time for you to go to bed. Shall I accompany you to your room?” he asks, suddenly polite.

He holds his arm out for me to link mine around.

With the thought of my parents lingering in the back of my mind, I comply, and we leave the room together.