Enslaved by the Alpha: Part Seven

by Rivard, Viola

  ENSLAVED BY THE ALPHA

  Part Seven

  Copyright © 2015 by Viola Rivard

  All rights reserved.

  This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

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  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  EPILOGUE

  CHAPTER ONE

  Astrid picked up her shirt and gave it a quick shake before pulling it over her head. She cringed as the woolly fabric grated across her nipples. They seemed more sensitive than usual and she began to muse over it, until she realized that she’d forgotten to put on a bra. She shuffled around in the dim light, lifting bed quilts and tossing aside stitched pelts in an effort to find her errant undergarment.

  She could hear Erik and Sten talking in Sten’s living room. When she’d peeked in on them a few minutes ago, they’d both been sitting on the couch. Astrid had made it a point not to look at Sten, mostly because she was mortified. When she’d seen Erik earlier that day, all she’d been thinking of was how much she’d missed him and how badly she wanted him. It wasn’t until some time later, with Erik asleep beside her, his seed still slick between her thighs, that it had occurred to her that Sten’s room—his bed—now smelled like sweat and sex.

  Half of her bra was beneath a pillow, and the other half had somehow made it into a vase in the corner of the room. She hadn’t remembered Erik taking it off, and now she could see why. He’d cut it in three places, slicing the back open and both of the straps. Thankfully, the cuts were clean and she’d be able to sew them up. Her other two bras had not been so fortunate.

  Astrid put on her pants and stuffed a piece of bra in each pocket. She had half a mind to storm out of the room and chide the alpha, but she knew it wouldn’t do her any good. Even if, by some miracle, he vowed not to destroy her last bra, he wasn’t exactly himself while he was stripping her naked.

  “We don’t have the hunting grounds to sustain them,” Erik was saying as she stepped into the room. “They’d be fools to siege our den. We could easily outlast them.”

  After her nightmare, she had fallen asleep on Erik’s chest. She wasn’t sure how long she’d slept. The passage of time was hard enough to discern in the arctic, and with the added element of being underground, she had only her body’s internal rhythms to determine her place in the day. And lately, her internal clock had seemed exceptionally jumbled, probably due to hormones. She found it fascinating, if not a little alarming, that her pregnancy was already affecting her so much.

  Astrid figured it must have only been a quick catnap, because when she woke, Erik was still awake and Sten had been standing over them, glowering. He’d tossed Erik a pair of jeans before leaving to slump down onto the couch. Erik was still wearing those jeans. They were bootcut, with distressed legs that appeared to have come from genuine wear and tear. It was obvious that they belonged to Sten, because they were far too tight on Erik.

  At first glance, with his powerful arms stretched out over the back of the couch and his miles of gleaming abdominal muscles, she could have mistaken him for one of the bare-chested Abercrombie models she’d interviewed at the palatial Fifth Avenue store in New York. But with a second sweep of the eyes, she had to crack a smile at that thought. Erik was far too rugged to ever be mistaken for one of those fresh-faced boys. From his sardonic smile, to his calloused fingers, and the faded scars that crisscrossed his chest, he was the picture of unbridled masculinity.

  She was glad that they were both absorbed by their conversation, because it took her a moment to reign in her overzealous libido. Once she was certain she could join them without her broadcasting that she was horny, she walked over to the couch and sat beside Erik.

  “I’m not so sure about that, Erik. Ever since you made the alliance with Siluit, the pack has been raiding the storage as if meat was falling from the sky. Last week they only went hunting once.”

  Erik scowled as he listened. His eyes never left Sten, but to Astrid’s surprise, one of his arms dropped from the back of the couch to circle her waist. He pulled her in close, so their sides were squished together. It suddenly felt as though a bird were beating its wings wildly within her chest. She relaxed against him, now trying to contain both her libido and her mirth.

  “How much is left?” Erik asked grimly.

  “Not nearly enough. They went hunting because all of the good things are gone. At this point it’s mostly tripe and root vegetables. Definitely not enough to last the winter, even if we ration.”

  “Why didn’t you stop them?”

  Sten winced. “I only just found out how bad it was. Usually Sabine is the one who polices the stores. Well, was the one…”

  He cast Astrid an apologetic look, and she wasn’t sure why until she felt the tension in her muscles. Was that happening every time someone mentioned Sabine? She tried to relax again, but this time her limbs felt stiff and mechanical.

  Erik crossed his legs, and his thumb began to rub small circles against her hip. She was instantly reminded of the last time he’d rubbed her like that, and she pinched her thighs together as her clitoris began to throb.

  “From here on out, no one eats what they don’t hunt themselves,” Erik said, his stern tone and expression at complete odds with his soothing, tantalizing thumb. “And half of all kills go directly to storage, no exceptions.”

  “You really want me to tell them that?” Sten asked with a grimace.

  “That, and if any of them complain or are caught hoarding meat, I’ll throw them into the ravine.”

  Now, Astrid was grimacing as well, though she felt no less aroused. That probably should have disturbed her.

  Sighing, Sten leaned back into the couch. His shoulders slumped, as though his muscles had turned to lead. “They’re going to be pissed. This was the first winter they’ve been looking forward to in years.”

  “It’s my responsibility to keep them alive, not happy.”

  It suddenly clicked with Astrid that they were talking about something big, something that would undoubtedly affect her. She took a quick mental inventory of what she’d heard, and her brows drew together.

  “Wait…” she started. “Why aren’t we going to have any food? I thought we had a deal with Siluit. Did Zane change his mind?”

  Erik looked at her for the first time since she’d sat down beside him. His expression was guarded, and it made her nervous. For a few seconds he only stared at her, and she braced herself for him to tell her not to question him about things that did not concern her.

  Of course, she’d forgotten that lately, Erik had not been doing anything predictable.

  “Siluit is going to fall,” he said bluntly.

  She tried to swallow, but her mouth had run dry. She waited for him to elaborate, anticipating that he must have meant something other than the obvious, but it was Sten who spoke up first.

  “The bear tribes are out of food. They’re going to be passing through our territory and heading east, towards Siluit.”

  “But what makes you think they’ll try to take Zane’s den?” she asked, looking between the two of them. “I mean, there’s plenty of territory.”

  “And they’re not about to share it,” Sten told her.

  “Why not? Why does it have to be that way? You’re not animals, you’re all capable of talking
these sorts of things out, negotiating borders, and—”

  “This isn’t human society,” Sten said patiently. “And up here, even humans wouldn’t be so gracious, not when resources are scarce. Sure, Siluit has plenty of food right now, but once that swarm of bears gets there, they’ll empty the waters of fish and drive off the herds. And when that starts to happen, they won’t be amicable towards the neighboring wolf pack. And all that is assuming Zane would even be open to sharing his territory with them—which he won’t be, especially not while having a mate to protect.”

  “My sister,” she said, looking Erik straight in the eyes. “Zane’s mate is my little sister. We have to help them. We promised we’d help them.”

  “We will not be aiding them,” Erik said firmly. “Either we redirect the bears to Siluit, or they will come here.”

  Anxiety gripped her, making Astrid feel queasy. “No, there has to be another option. It can’t just be us or them. We need to think about this.”

  “There is nothing to think about,” said Erik. “I’ve already handled it. If everything goes smoothly, they’ll be on their way to Siluit within a fortnight.”

  Astrid’s stomach lurched as she stood. “They can’t defend themselves. You saw it, over half the pack is little kids. And my sister, she’s either pregnant or maybe even has a newborn right now. What are they going to do? They can’t fight, and where would they run to?”

  “That is not my con—”

  “We have to take them in,” Astrid said, and for once she managed to speak over him. “If we aren’t able to help them defend their territory, then we have to bring them here where they’ll be safe.”

  Sten appeared taken aback by this, but Erik’s face was perfectly blank.

  “Even if I would be inclined to share my den with another alpha, as you’ve already pointed out, Siluit is nothing but pups and juvenile runts. Weak and useless creatures that are incapable of providing for themselves, that do nothing but consume resources—resources that we do not have to spare.”

  Astrid hated that Erik could remain so calm when she felt like she was on the verge of tears.

  “Erik, you have to do something. You can’t let Ginnifer get hurt.”

  “I am not responsible for your sister. She is Zane’s mate.”

  “And my sister!” And I can’t do anything… “If the situation were reversed and it were Sten and Halley, wouldn’t—”

  Erik held up a finger to quiet her. It worked, though as soon as she realized it had, she became all the more aggravated with him.

  “It does not matter what anyone would do in a different situation,” Erik said. “The situation is what it is, and I will not be compromising the security and wellbeing of my pack because Zane cannot protect what is his.”

  The way he spoke was familiar to her. It was his ‘I’m done discussing this with you’ tone, and it morphed her aggravation into fury. Although Erik had given her no shortage of things to enrage her over the past few months, she’d never been quite so angry. She knew it had little to do with what they were fighting over—she could understand Erik’s point, even if she didn’t agree with it. A much bigger part of it stemmed from her own insecurities.

  “You really are serious, aren’t you?” she asked, taking a step away from him. “You’d let my sister die… Do you really expect me to be all right with that? To accept that and stand by while Ginnifer’s in danger?”

  Erik blinked at her, and for a split second, she felt like she wasn’t looking at the mate she had come to care for—more than care for—but the decisive and merciless alpha that had nearly left her to die out on the tundra two months ago. She’d somehow fooled herself into thinking he had changed, but she realized that he’d been there all along, that her mate was only one small aspect of this brutal man.

  As though confirming her hypothesis, he said, “What I expect is for you not to question me. You’re my mate, but you have no right to make any decisions for my pack.”

  “Fine,” she said, matching his calm tone, even though her body was trembling. “But if my sister does die, I will never forgive you.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  “Where do you think you’re going?” Erik snapped as his mate headed for the doorway.

  She pulled up the furs that hung between Sten’s room and the drafty corridor. “Away from you.”

  Erik immediately stood, intent on going after her, but Sten mirrored him, blocking his path.

  “She’s upset,” Sten said. “Give her some breathing room.”

  Erik was getting very tired of people thinking they could order him around. “I’m not leaving her on her own.”

  “No one would try to hurt her while you’re in the den, and you don’t have to worry about her getting lost. She can navigate these tunnels better than some of the wolves in our pack. Besides, we really need to finish our conversation.”

  Erik reluctantly sat down. In the back of his mind, he set a mental timer: five minutes. Wherever she was going, he would catch up to her first, and they would finish what they’d started. He would make her understand his logic, and once she did, she would take back all of the absurd things she’d said to him.

  “This Elena, whoever she is, she could be bluffing. What if the bears are headed here? After all, they must know that they’re going to need a lot of territory if they want to survive up here. It’s not like the south, where there’s forest and ample game.”

  “We’ll prepare for that possibility, but I think it’s unlikely,” Erik said. “They can’t afford to take both territories, at least not right now.”

  He remembered what Zane had said to him on the night they’d agreed to an alliance. That once the bears were done with Siluit, they’d head for Amarok. He dismissed the thought, deciding that if that day did come, he would be ready.

  “They’re going to send scouts,” Erik informed him. “It was agreed that we would take them to Siluit so that they could see the state of the pack for themselves.”

  “How do you plan on doing that?”

  Erik shrugged. “We will tell Zane that they want to discuss peace.”

  “So you’re going to lie to him,” Sten said, appearing uncomfortable. “You’ll lead his enemy right into his den and he’ll have let his guard down. He won’t even have time to prepare for when the bears do attack.”

  “Your point?”

  Sten looked away. “I don’t know. Maybe a year ago, I would have called that brilliant, but…doesn’t this feel wrong to you?”

  “No,” Erik said, feeling his eyes narrow. “As I see it, it is us or them. If you have a better plan, then please, enlighten me.”

  Sten shook his head, and Erik found himself disappointed. He hadn’t realized it, but he’d actually wanted Sten to come up with a better plan. While he in no way felt responsible for the fate of the Siluit pack, it frustrated him that his mate was going to blame him for its demise.

  “If you are going to go through with this, I think you should at least let me go ahead and try to extract Astrid’s sister,” said Sten.

  “How do you intend on doing that?” Erik asked, unfolding his arms. “Zane won’t give her up, not unless you warn him, and even then, he might be too stubborn.”

  “Maybe we should let him know. He might leave on his own.”

  Erik didn’t dignify that with a response. No alpha would give up his territory without a fight, least of all Zane, as his territory had been passed down through multiple generations. If they warned him of what was coming, he’d do everything in his power to combat the bear shifters. If taking Siluit proved to be too time-consuming, they might look elsewhere-towards Amarok. For the safety of his own pack, Erik was relying on Siluit to be conquered.

  “Okay,” Sten said with a frown. “Then, how about I go ahead to inform him that representatives from the bear tribes will be coming to negotiate with him. I’ll advise that he brings Ginnifer to Amarok while everything gets sorted out. I doubt he’ll go for it, but at least then, you’ll have put forth a
n effort to protect Astrid’s sister.”

  And then Astrid wouldn’t be able to blame him if her sister met with an unfortunate end. He liked that idea.

  “Fine. But do not give him any indication of our intentions.”

  Erik stood, and he felt a slight weight lift from his shoulders as he headed for the door. Eager to go find his mate, he was annoyed when Sten stopped him.

  “I feel like you’re projecting yourself onto Zane,” Sten said hesitantly. “Zane isn’t like you. If push came to shove, I don’t think he’d stay to defend his territory. Or at the very least, he wouldn’t let his mate stay there while he did so.”

  Erik hung in the doorway for a moment, and then left without responding. He was convinced that none of this was relevant to him—after all, since when did he ever have to concern himself with the welfare of other packs? All that mattered was his own pack, and to think otherwise would jeopardize everything that he’d built over the past decade.

  ***

  Following his mate’s scent down the dark, winding tunnels, Erik had found her not in her room, or in the main room, but in his own room. He paused outside the narrow crevice and listened. He’d half expected to hear her crying, which would have given him a good excuse to wait outside. But all he could hear was the faint sound of her rhythmic breathing.

  He stepped inside, quietly, so as not to disturb her if she were sleeping. Usually, he had no qualms about waking her, but he didn’t feel inclined to talk to her, he only wanted to make certain that she was safe, and perhaps, to get a brief glimpse of her face.

  The room no longer smelled like his own. In fact, his scent had faded from it almost entirely. Either that, or hers was covering it up. She was the only female he’d ever allowed into his room, as he preferred that it wasn’t adulterated with the scent of another; particularly the smells of sweat and other bodily excretions that tended to go hand in hand with sharing a bed.

  Now, his room was saturated in his mate’s scent, or at least, what his mate now smelled like. He missed the floral undertones of her scent, which had now become overpowered by the saccharine fragrance of her impending motherhood.