“I have the shots you ordered, Saint. Is she ready?” Eryx motioned to an older male with soft, brown eyes that peered over to where I stood.
“Hi, Braelyn?” the man said shyly.
“Yes,” I answered, staring at the tray he held as he entered the room.
“I’m Jacob, Jacob Bardwell. I have a few shots that your mate requested. It will help you become more fertile and kick-start your heat cycle. They’re safe and relatively painless. He mentioned that you would need some assistance to create a babe.” Jacob floundered as I hid the overwhelming need to shove his friendly ass right back out the door.
Did Saint think I couldn’t have children? Or was he in a rush to get rid of me? I had no illusion that he wanted a child and planned to rid himself of the burden of me after he succeeded in creating an heir to the pack.
It was what my father had done with my mother, but Saint probably wouldn’t wait for me to give him a son as my father had tried to accomplish. Everything Saint had said before was in an attempt to appease me and convince me to do what he wanted.
“Yes, thank you,” I replied softly, waiting for instructions as Eryx entered the room, leaning against the wall while Saint settled in beside him.
“If you’d be more comfortable on the bed, you can lay there, and I will administer the shots. I need your stomach exposed, as I will be giving you the injections through your belly,” Jacob stated, his arm straightening to encompass that I should relax.
I nodded, slowly walking to the bed and reclining on my back. My hands trembled nervously as I lifted my shirt, exposing my midriff to him. Jacob placed the tray he’d held on my nightstand, pulling a packet from his scrub top before sitting beside me.
“You wanted the full set of shots, correct?” he asked, as my attention moved to Saint, who nodded. “This will send you into an immediate heat cycle, which should result in conception.” I placed my hands behind my head, holding Saint’s stare.
Eryx grunted, his eyes sliding over my exposed middle before slowly rolling back to my face with a hungry look. I held his gaze a moment longer before moving my attention to Jacob as something cold touched my belly.
Jacob had put on gloves and was rubbing an alcohol pad over my skin while studying me. His nostrils flared, and I didn’t need to know which words he was about to ask because if Saint had paused in his ardor long enough to see beyond the lust, he’d have scented it before his medic had.
“You’ve never experienced a true heat, have you?” Jacob asked. “You suppress it every month?”
“Yes, without a mate here to assist, there was no reason to endure it. I used herbs to suppress both the alpha tendencies and my cycle. Our medic created a shot that prevented the cycle from becoming a nuisance to the unmated females who had chosen not to breed. A lot of women are choosing to remain childless in this day and age. I supported their decision. I hired a scientist to come up here and help develop an antidote if you would call it that, which prevented needless mating. He engineered a tonic that keeps the frenzied need away, and it also kept the birth rate down.”
“Wouldn’t you want the opposite of such if you were selling the unwanted offspring?” Jacob asked, and my eyes narrowed on his side profile while he readied the shots.
“I wanted our women to be free to choose rather than to be forced into unwanted offspring or to mate so frequently that it jeopardized the health of the baby. I had to figure out how to feed the children that were planned and born, and since we mate monthly, that also meant more mouths to feed. As you’re aware, we only carry our children for five months, and at the end of that time, only fifty percent were born healthy. Our breed is on the brink of extinction, and having children born healthy is more important than breeding just to breed, as some alphas seem to practice and expect. Healthy babes will grow and create more life. Unhealthy infants seldom live long enough to be anything less than fucking tragic.”
“That’s wise, and I didn’t mean to upset you with my question. I just assumed…”
“You assumed I was a murderous bitch that bred children for the enjoyment and entertainment of others,” I stated, holding his stare. “You can ask the women here about how hard I pushed for healthy children, rather than the quantity of which they could push out of their cunts, Jacob. If I had been helping my father, I wouldn’t have given two shits if they birthed sickly or healthy babes.”
“I have asked around, and I’m aware you pushed for them to be selective about breeding. I must say, I am impressed with the overall health of your pack. The women I spoke with did say that you kept them in good health and put their needs before your race’s needs. There are less than a thousand Fenrir wolves left, yet you pushed for them to consider the quality of their lives before creating new ones.”
“We’re immortal. There is time to breed more, and the job of the alpha is to ensure the health of the pack.”
Jacob nodded his agreement. “Yet you’re pushing yourself to breed?”
“My mate couldn’t give two shits if I survived the birth of his child or not.” Jacob frowned and glanced at Saint and then Eryx. “Don’t worry about me; it’s my child you will strive to keep alive. I have agreed to the cycle. You’re doing what we both want.” Lie. It should have bothered me, but it didn’t. I didn’t believe his treatment would work, anyway.
“Small pinch,” Jacob stated, pushing the needle into my stomach before recapping the tip and doing the next several shots in the same area. He covered the injection sites with a piece of cotton and exhaled. “You’ll know if it is working within the next twenty-four hours. Your temperature will rise, which is perfectly normal. You may have some irritation where I injected you, and if it persists, we can add some numbing agent to the spot. You’re going to have some mood swings and a craving to reach the end goal. If by the full moon you have not become pregnant, we can try again.”
Saint snorted, sliding his attention to where Jacob held the gauze against the spot where he’d injected the hormones into my belly. Jacob slowly backed up, cleaning up his things before he left the room, leaving me with the two alphas studying me like a science project.
Slipping into the bathroom, I ran my fingers over the red, angry skin before I felt Saint’s heavy stare on me. Turning, I lifted a brow in silent question. Exhaling, he rested his head against the doorframe, watching me.
“Anything else you want me to do? Maybe suck you off before we head on down to dinner so that the pack knows you’re the all-mighty alpha who conquered the evil bitch?” I moved closer to him as he glared down at me. “Maybe you should beat me. That would show them you’re all man and alpha, wouldn’t it?”
“You’d probably get off on it since you like it rough. Do you want to suck my dick, Brae? If you do, you need only ask. I won’t turn your fucking throat down.”
“I’d rather swallow razors and feel them ripping me apart from the inside as they worked their way down through my system. Ahh, but then my father already had me do that once before,” I snorted, realizing my mistake as Saint straightened, looking at me.
“What the fuck did you just say?” he demanded.
“Nothing, forget it. I’m tired, and my body aches from not fully healing yet. If you intend to use me again tonight, you should feed me first,” I stated, moving past him to grab my shoes.
I walked to the door, leaning against it as my stomach clenched. My hand touched it, turning to look at the men. Saint sat in the chair, pulling out a joint while he examined me carefully.
“Sit down, Brat. Dinner isn’t ready, and you’re going to need a few moments to make sure you don’t have an adverse effect from the shots. Smoke with me,” he urged, forcing me to go back to the bed.
My stomach cramped, and I barely contained the groan that slid up to rest at the back of my throat. Saint’s eyes narrowed as I settled in front of him. He tapped on the tin, and Eryx lit a joint, handing it to me.
“Here, it will ease those cramps,” Eryx announced.
“You’ve done this to women before?” I asked, snorting while accepting the weed.
“No, but we’ve seen it used once girls were brought into our facility to be bred,” Saint stated, sitting beside me to stretch his legs out. “They tended to suffer cramps and then became crazed with the need to be mounted. Only, their captors didn’t touch them. They’d let them suffer for days until they were more animal than a girl. We’d hear them screaming, and then the screams would turn to pleads of mercy. They eventually became pregnant after being trained by those who had come and paid to fuck them. They were often killed when they were done using them.”
“Is that your plan for me?” I asked, holding Saint’s stare as I exhaled the smoke. “Tie me to a bed and allow others to use me?” His lips jerked up, and he shrugged as my heart clenched. My eyes dropped, unable to stomach the idea of being helplessly bound to a bed, ever again.
“Would you want to be chained up and fucked by anyone that wanted to use you?” he asked with anger burning in his stare. “How dirty are you, Brat?”
“So fucking dirty that I was untouched until you fucked me, asshole,” I grunted, watching his forehead shoot up as if he’d momentarily forgotten he’d taken my virginity.
“You’ve never gone into heat?” he asked, studying my face and the blush that spread over my cheeks as I sucked my lip between my teeth.
“Once, when you were here still,” I admitted. “I came to you, remember? You turned me down and told me to go back inside. You said it wasn’t time for us to have a babe yet.”
He smirked, nodding. “I remember that day. That was the hardest thing I’d ever done in my life. You were too young for that at the time.”
“I was ready for you, asshole.” I handed the joint to Eryx, who was silently listening to us.
“What did you mean by your father had already made you swallow razor blades?” Eryx asked, forcing me to shut down my emotions and close myself off as those painful memories became visual inside my head.
I shook my head, waiting for Saint to hand me the joint, but he just silently watched me. After a moment had passed, Saint sat forward and offered me the blunt as I looked away from him.
“Did daddy hurt you, Brae?” Saint snorted, standing and heading for the door. “Nah, daddy loved his sweet little girl, didn’t he? That’s why he got rid of anyone she could have grown attached to,” he finished, opening the door. “Dinner is ready. Let’s go.”
Chapter Twenty
Eryx escorted me into the dining hall as Saint walked ahead of us. I predicted what was coming, preparing myself for the sting against my pride as my pack turned, standing for Saint. The moment I entered, they gave me their backs before sliding into their chairs. This was their response to the fact that they didn’t believe Saint had punished me enough.
My attention slid over the pack, knowing that without me informing them of what I’d endured, they wouldn’t see it from my side. Showing them my side though, terrified me. What if they thought less of me, knowing I’d been too weak to defend myself against my sick father? Would their pity stares shred me deeper than their sense of betrayal? I hated the idea of them ever looking at me as less than I was. I wanted them to see me as someone who had survived hell and hadn’t allowed my tormentor to win.
Starting forward, I groaned, watching the alpha females form a line on both sides of the walkway between tables. Swallowing down the uneasiness, I smiled at them.
“We challenge you,” Katie snarled, her eyes alight with excitement.
“Challenge me for what?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest to stare her down.
“Your mate,” she smirked, flipping her copper-colored hair over her shoulder.
I snorted, staring through the female alphas to where Saint had risen from his chair. He hadn’t considered his actions or the ripple-effect they would cause. I was an unwanted mate that hadn’t been allowed to seal the connection, leaving me in a precarious position to be challenged for my place at the alpha’s side. I was connected to Saint, but he wasn’t mine until I rescinded the rejection and marked him.
“Have him,” I laughed without emotion. “No challenge needed. You have my blessing,” I finished, holding his stare as he returned it with an angry glare.
“No, we’re challenging you to the death,” Mabel announced, her wide, blue eyes sliding down my thin frame. “You betrayed the pack, and we are here to claim your life for doing what you have to us. You violated our trust and tarnished our pack’s image. Your life is the cost for the crimes you committed.”
“And you think to be my judge, jury, and executioner? You have proof of my crimes, other than just the words of the new alpha, who also has no proof, correct?” I challenged icily.
Honestly, I was over it already. Saint moved closer, but he knew his mistake and that he couldn’t argue their challenge. Toralei settled beside me, her eyes taking in the six alpha females that stood in line, three on either side, leaving Saint the perfect view of where I stood in front of them.
“Do you want to take a moment and think about this? Look, I’m all for battling to the death, but people are eating here. Shall we take it to the killing fields and let the pack eat without the whole blood and gore thing?” I questioned, hoping they saw reasoning.
“Right here is fine,” Lucy stated, her obsidian-colored hair running in soft waves to her slender hips. “You are finished here. They won’t care how you die, only that you are dead.”
“And you’re certain you want to fight to the death?” I continued, feeling Tora’s uneasiness wafting through me.
“Think this through, guys. You don’t have proof yet. You’re about to challenge our alpha’s mate to the death,” Toralei argued.
“Stay out of it, Tora,” I ordered, holding Saint’s worried gaze.
“This is bullshit, and you know it! It’s six alphas against one. Ask me to assist,” Tora begged.
“No,” I snorted, shaking my head. “This is my fight, Toralei. I don’t need help. They want me dead, and Saint gave them the right to ask for it.”
“Ladies, there’s no reason for this to happen right now,” Saint stated, his eyes holding mine.
“By right, we are allowed to challenge her for you. You cannot intervene,” Lucy returned, her eyes dragging over Saint with lust burning in her stare.
I snorted, watching her heavy lids taking in my mate, anger pulsing beneath the surface that I refused to acknowledge. We didn’t have the numbers to have the pack females challenging me, let alone losing them over baseless claims.
“To the death is so permanent, though. Can we not just fight and call it good?” I asked, hearing Toralei’s low growl while she stared the females down crossly.
“To the death, Braelyn,” she stated, and the others echoed the finality of her claim. “Your pack’s bloodline ends here,” Lucy snapped. “We no longer want you or anyone of your ilk within the ranks of this pack. You’re a monster.”
“This isn’t how this is done,” Saint snapped, his hackles rising as he counted heads and did the math on my odds of survival. “Braelyn carries the bloodline needed to hold this pack and could already be carrying my heir.”
“Which is even more reason to kill her. I would rather take our chances of survival than let her live. The wolf god, Fenrir, would not forsake our pack over this murderous whore,” Lucy sneered and then grinned wickedly. “After I’m done with Braelyn, I will deal with the orphaned whelp you left behind. I will not have any potential heir in line ahead of our child.”
“Death it is,” I stated, and they turned to face me as Saint opened his mouth to speak. My nails descended, and I moved with a violent burst of energy and speed. Pausing at the end of the line of alpha females who had thought to end my life, I turned, smiling at Lucy. Her eyes had widened with fear, and her mouth opened to speak before her head slid from her body.
Lifting my bloodied fingers to my lips, I licked them while holding Saint’s shocke
d gaze. The other alphas heads dropped to the floor, one-by-one, with a loud thud before their bodies followed. I stepped closer to Saint, dodging the pool of blood forming on the ground at my feet.
“What’s for dinner? I’m famished,” I declared, slipping my hand through his elbow and turning him toward the table where his people watched the shit show unfold.
“How the fuck did you do that?” Saint demanded, pulling out my chair for me to slide into it.
“Easy, they threatened Chaos, and I decided to end them. I raised him. He may not be my blood, but he’s my son in every other sense of the word. Lucy knew that, aiming to raise my anger. So I took her fucking head. The speed, it’s a perk of being a Fenrir bloodline wolf, blessed with the power of the god inside my veins. Drink?” I asked, grabbing for the bourbon to pour it into my glass as he stared at me.
Saint reached around, grabbing the bottle from my hand. I narrowed my eyes while he sat beside me silently. I could hear the whispered words of the pack, knowing they were reeling at the fact I’d removed the heads of six female alphas in a matter of seconds. I’d never exposed my speed or my strength to anyone. Not even my beta had been aware of the way I could move. I’d used my speed only a few times, once with Saint recently.
“You… What did you just do?” Xariana’s eyes never left the bodies being carted from the dining hall. “I didn’t even see you move.”
“You wouldn’t have since you’re human, mostly. Fenrir blessed me. Apparently, the pack needed a reminder of why they have remained on this mountain with us for so long. It wasn’t because they cared for my sick, weak-minded father. They stayed because the bloodline protects them. Fenrir descendants, with his power running through their veins, are charged with protecting the pack. Their presence ensures the future of the pack. My child will be born of our god and will also be blessed by him.”
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