Captive of the Alpha

by Laxmi Hariharan

  First chance I get, I need to find out. If she’s been withholding information from me…I’ll teach her a lesson she won’t forget easily. A growl rumbles up my chest. She moans, then shifts restlessly and rubs her thighs together. The sugary sweet scent of her deepens in the car.

  My mouth waters. I want to reach over and rub the heel of my hand on the triangle of her pussy.

  Scoop up the cream that pools in the hollow of her core, lick it, suck it, thrust my tongue into that moist channel and eat up that succulent flesh until she comes all over my mouth.

  I lick my lips, and fuck if I can’t imagine the taste of her. She moans and turns to me, her eyelashes fluttering as if she’s responding to my thoughts.

  Heat coils behind my rib cage. No. Keep away from her. Touch her now and you'll not be able to stop yourself from knotting her, claiming her again...and that would only consolidate the mating bond. And I don't want that. I don't.

  I roll my shoulders.

  The faster I get her to Scotland, the sooner I can hand her over to my clansmen and then I can refocus on my plans to spring a trap for Zeus when he comes for her.

  I speed up the car and drive through the night. By the time dawn is on the horizon, we are approaching the border of Scotland.

  My eyelids are heavy with tiredness, and I shake my head to dispel the sleep.

  The headlights pick up the bumps in the unkempt road.

  It’s one of the first things I intend to do as soon as I take over Zeus’ city—raid his treasury and use it to restore Scotland to its former glory, something that will finally bring peace to my father’s spirit.

  The outline of two parked motorbikes looms up, and I slam on the brakes.

  14

  Chloe

  The sound of yelling fills my ears. Something heavy crashes onto the road and the SUV seems to shake.

  I crack open my eyelids, and the move sends pinpricks of agony drumming at the back of my head.

  Another shout, metal crashing, and my heart hammers. I fling out a hand, grasp the cushion of the seat, and straighten my back. Shake my head to clear it, then open my eyes. It’s dark outside. I peer through the windscreen. The shape of moving figures greets me.

  What…who are these people? A man taller than his opponent…broad shoulders, and the way he moves it has to be Kayden—he raises his fist and brings it down on his opponent. The shorter, stockier man reels back, then recovers and rushes at Kayden. Head down, he winds his arms around Kayden’s waist, and both figures go crashing to the ground. They struggle. Sounds of scuffling. They roll across to the side of the road and over the edge. I am still tied to the door handle. I yank at my restraint, but it doesn’t give. I shove open the door and tumble out. Clutching the car for support, I peer around it.

  Where did they go?

  What are they up to?

  Is he okay? Why am I worried about him?

  Footsteps approach me from behind, and I swing around. A man comes into view. He’s tall, his shoulders almost as broad as Kayden’s, but he’s leaner. Muscular. Streamlined. He resembles a column of pure, lethal power. His features are harsh. There's something familiar about him. Have I seen him before?

  His black vest clings to his chest, outlining every hard plane. He takes a step forward, and I scuttle back against the car door.

  “Who…who are you?”

  He moves closer, and the light from the car interior illuminates his body, making him seem larger.

  “Why…why are you here?” My pulse rate ratchets up. My heart hammers, my breath catches in my throat. I am alone. Kayden is nowhere to be seen. Not that he is a savior, either. He, too, is a predator, but right now I’ll take a known devil over an unknown enemy.

  I open my mouth to scream and he raises his hands face up, "I won't hurt you Chloe."

  That's what they always say.

  I stare at his palms; scars mark the skin.

  He's been hurt in a fight recently? For some reason that calms me. I blink.

  "You saw me on the terrace of the Omega harem,

  princess. I was with Zeus." He angles his head.

  Right, I remember now.

  "Nod if you understand."

  I jerk my chin.

  His shoulders relax. He drops his hand, then steps back.

  “What…what do you want?” I square my shoulders.

  “Zeus sent me.” He bends his knees, drops his head, and peers into my eyes. “I am Ethan.”

  “Who?”

  “I am Zeus' Second." He lowers his voice a notch, " I have a message from him."

  I frown. "What do you want?"

  “Not me, Zeus." His shoulders move as he raises them, "He needs you to play the role Kayden wants.”

  “What?” I blink.

  “Zeus wants you to distract Kayden the best you can, until he has a chance of getting his team together and coming for you.”

  “Distract Kayden?” I press my lips together, “You mean let him fuck me?”

  His features twitch. He’s not as comfortable having this conversation with me as he thinks. Too bad. This is my life we are talking about.

  “So the esteemed mate of my very own sister wants me to wear myself out. He wants me to give in to every depraved need of that…that…”

  I jerk my chin toward where the two men had tumbled over the side.

  And they haven’t appeared yet.

  My gaze flicks over to the dent in the bushes marking the spot. Dammit, Kayden should have managed to beat the other man and come back, and why should I care about that? He is my captor. He means nothing to me. He deserves every single hit he is getting. His body deserves to be beaten, bruised…worshipped, licked all over, sucked on, especially his cock. His big, beautiful cock.

  “Not too easily.”

  Ethan’s voice breaks through the clutter of my thoughts, and I swivel around to face him. The world tilts. I grab at the door to right myself. “What do you mean?”

  “If you submit too quickly, he’ll lose interest. Zeus wants you to resist.”

  “I don’t understand.” My gaze widens. My senses tingle a warning.

  “Zeus thinks you need to ah…keep him engaged, give him enough but not submit so completely that he loses interest.”

  “So the General of London wants to dictate my sex life?” I stare, trying to get my head around what he’s saying.

  “Not yours.” Ethan tilts his head in the direction of the edge of the road. “His.”

  “Ah! Zeus wants to use me to play his half-brother?”

  Ethan nods.

  “Zeus wants to use me to further his own interests?”

  Ethan’s features tighten. Maybe he doesn’t agree with Zeus, but he’s here, isn’t he? And he’s conveying the message.

  “So it’s not enough that I have this…this monster trying to rape me, and impose his will on me at every turn. Now my own sister’s mate wants to use me in this whatever…sick one-upmanship is going on between him and his half-brother?”

  He drags his fingers around the collar of his vest, and ink peeps out for a second before he drops his arm to his side. “I am only the messenger.”

  “That’s what they all say.” I jut out my chin.

  I thought, perhaps because I was his mate’s sister, Zeus might want to come out to save me… I was wrong. I am alone. I am really on my own. “Lucy.” I raise my chin and fix him with a glare. “Did she agree to this?”

  “She was the one who suggested it.”

  “I don’t believe you.” My lips turn down. My stomach lurches. How could that be? My very own sister had agreed to this plan to humiliate me?

  But then, Lucy had always been far ahead when it came to strategizing and plotting things out. She had been an avid learner at my father’s lessons.

  She had made sure to train herself in swordplay, in fighting, in matters of politics. It’s why she had been the self-appointed leader of our little ragtag band of escapees from Russia. Going to Kayden in the first place had been he
r idea. And when she’d had to assassinate Zeus…she’d turned that entire series of events to her advantage.

  “Damn it.” A flash of sensation ripples down my spine, and a burst of chills follows on its heels.

  Ethan’s nostrils flare. His gaze widens. “You are close to estrus?"

  My teeth chatter; my head spins.

  “No…no kidding.” My knees wobble, and I fall against the door.

  Ethan leans forward on the balls of his feet then stops. “I can’t…touch you… If I do, he’ll scent me—.”

  “—And, of course, we can’t have that now, right? After all, I am just a possession.” His possession.

  Everyone and everything in this world is hell-bent on making sure I belong to him…eventually. How did it come to this? How have I found myself so alone, with nothing and no one on my side? Except for the alpha who wants to make sure I obey his every command and fulfill his needs.

  Ethan fists his fingers at his sides. “Do you have any message for Lucy?”

  “Yeah, tell my sister to go fuck herself.”

  He winces, then straightens.

  "Why won't you rescue me now?"

  "Because Zeus..." he hesitates, "and Lucy need you to do this for them."

  "And if I refuse?"

  His forehead furrows. "Are you refusing to help Zeus the General of London and his mate Lucy?"

  I swallow, then drop my gaze. Damn him for reminding me of exactly how insignificant I am in the scheme of things.

  “Remember this is your only chance, Omega. You need to heed Zeus’ commands; you need to hold back, keep him engaged. You need to do what it takes to keep him distracted.”

  "How...how long does he want me to keep up the charade?"

  "Until the time is right."

  I jut out my chin, "That's not very helpful now, is it?"

  "Trust us to come and get you when the time is right."

  "You mean when I am well and truly fucked, right?"

  His shoulders stiffen. He pulls himself up to his full height. "I will be tracking you from a distance and keeping Zeus informed of the...the developments."

  My stomach rolls. This entire scheme is a joke. “What if I do as he says and keep Kayden engaged? What if he enjoys it too much? What if he never lets me go?”

  “You are a princess. You can play him, without letting him get too close.”

  “He’s putting too much trust in me.”

  “Both Zeus and Lucy have full confidence in you.”

  If only they knew how close I am to giving in to him completely.

  He turns to leave.

  “Wait.”

  Ethan pauses and faces me.

  “What if…?” I lick my lips. “What if…what if Zeus decides not to come for me?”

  “He'll come for you." He touches his hand to the place above his heart. "I'll come for you. I won't let you down.” His gaze swerves over my shoulder, and his muscles tighten. “I must go now. Take care of yourself.”

  He slips into the darkness. Drat them all to hell. I duck inside the car.

  By the time Kayden stalks toward the front of the SUV and slides in, I am curled up against the door with my eyes shut.

  He slams the door shut, and I sense his gaze sweep over my features. He leans in close. The scent of testosterone, that edge of darkness laced with cinnamon, grows deeper, and moisture squeezes between my thighs. Don’t move. Don’t breathe.

  There’s a light touch on my hair.

  “I know you’re awake.”

  I stay where I am.

  “Your seat belt is not fastened.”

  Drat it. I open my eyelids, turn to face him, and gasp.

  There are bruises on his cheek. The skin around his left eye is darkening, and his lip is cut, blood dripping down his chin.

  “You’re hurt.”

  He brushes the back of his hand across his split lip. Then flicks out his tongue and wets the wound. His full, pouty lower lip glistens. It’s the only part of him that is soft, and somehow, it’s obscene how much of a misnomer it is. It hints that there is something redeemable in him, that despite all evidence to the contrary, there is some part of him that still wants to do what is right. What is right? What he wants? What Zeus and Lucy want from me? What do I want?

  Him. I want him.

  Not him, only his body, his cock that I want him to thrust into me and use it to put me out of my misery. And it’s all wrong. So damned wrong.

  “What happened?” A low thrum coils in my stomach, and I fold my fists against my lower abdomen.

  His gaze drops there, but he doesn’t comment. “We were ambushed.”

  The leather of his seat creaks. He moves away, puts the SUV in gear, and we drive on.

  “You defeated them.”

  He doesn’t glance at me. Right. I am not the one asking questions, or in charge here. Blood drips from a cut at his temple. It slides down to his jaw, stands there stationary, then the droplet falls to his T-shirt…torn and dirtied already.

  “If you untie me, I can take care of that wound.”

  He keeps driving.

  “You’ll bleed out.”

  One side of his lips twitches. “Hardly.”

  “You want to make sure you are fighting fit if they attack you again...”

  “They wouldn't dare.” But his shoulders flex. Maybe he’s considering it?

  “Just one arm. You can still keep the other tied up.”

  He slows down, then turns to glare at me.

  I gulp.

  “I don’t want your ministrations,” he snarls, “or your sympathy—none of it. I am your captor. You are my slave. You do as I tell you, when I tell you. Do you understand?”

  I swallow. The dominance rolls off of him and shoves at me, threatening me. I want to shrink against the door, throw my arms over my head and cower. And if I do that, I’ll have no defense left.

  Nothing to stop him from completely taking over and breaking me. My spirit. My intent. The force of my will, that’s all I have. And it’s not because of what Zeus and Lucy want of me…it’s for my own self-preservation that I will not give in. I thrust my chin out at him. “And if I refuse?”

  15

  Kayden

  After everything that’s happened, after I’d already knotted her, made her suck my dick, warned her not to go against me, she still defies me? Why can’t she be like the other omegas who’d have given in by now? Who’d be only too happy to spread their legs and allow me to rut them. Who’d fall in line and submit…why do I want to make her do all of that? Why do I want to break her will? See her fall apart, watch as I knot my dick inside of her and make her come all over my shaft? When I had seen the motorbikes stop our progress and known that it was possibly Zeus’ men who had waylaid us, fear had clawed at my insides. And it wasn’t for me. It had been for her. That she had been vulnerable and tied up. That Zeus’ alphas could hurt her—worse, take her away, and I was nowhere near done with her.

  She stares at me with wide eyes. Her throat moves; her chest rises and falls. A bead of sweat slides down her throat to the valley between her breasts. She isn’t as unafraid as she pretends to be. I glare at her. Her cheeks flush, then she glances away.

  “Do you want to find out what happens if you don’t listen to me?”

  She purses her mouth.

  “Haven’t we discussed this already? Did you think I was joking earlier when I laid out exactly what your options are?”

  She shudders.

  “Answer me.”

  “N…no.”

  “No what?”

  “No, I know you are not joking.”

  “So what’s the problem here, Omega?”

  “N…nothing.”

  “Liar.” My voice lowers a tone. Soft, silky. Hushed in the space between us.

  She clenches her fists tightly, then squeezes her eyes shut.

  “You're trying to push me over the edge, challenging me, waiting to see when I lose control.”

  She shakes her hea
d. “You’re wrong… I was trying to help.” Her voice trembles; her chin wobbles. Fear rolls off of her in palpable waves.

  “You expect me to believe that?”

  She opens her eyes and turns away. “I don’t care what you believe. I have basic decency left in me. You were hurting, and I wanted to help.”

  I slow the car and pull over to the side of the road, shifting into park. When I reach across she flinches, but I don’t stop. I loosen the ropes. “Slide your arm out.”

  She edges her right arm back.

  I tighten the restraint, then pull out the bandanna I had grabbed on my way out earlier. Her gaze widens.

  “Wha…?”

  I tie it around her mouth, gagging her. "Only to keep you quiet." I allow my lips to twitch, "You understand, right?"

  Sparks ebb and flow in those dark-green eyes.

  Oh, yeah, there’s plenty of fight left in her. My cock twitches. The thought of all the sass, all that resistance. It’s going to make the inevitable surrender from her so much sweeter. And she is going to give in to me, make no mistake.

  I lean back in my seat.

  She doesn’t move.

  “There’s a first-aid kit in the dash.”

  She stays where she is.

  I glare at her, and her breath hitches. Her gaze lowers, then she opens the dash and pulls out the kit. I shift the car into gear and ease the vehicle back onto the road.

  She leans over and dabs the antiseptic on my cut lip.

  I can’t stop the hiss that escapes me. The scent of her deepens and all my nerve endings seem to fire at once. My cock thickens. My thighs go solid. The fuck is happening to me? How can I find the task of her tending to me such an erotic experience? I press down on the accelerator. Her body jerks toward me, and I put out an arm to steady her. Don't want her hurting her creamy flesh now, do we? Only I have that privilege.

  “Put on your seat belt.”

  She mumbles something, the words muffled against the gag. Good thing I had the foresight to shut her up. I jerk my chin. “Get back.”