Page 13 of Forced By the Alpha

“C-ceremony?” Beth looked from Jonah to Emma and back again. “What ceremony?”

Emma’s smile grew larger. “The mating ceremony, honey. Do you know what that is?”

The world shifted under her feet. Beth caught the arm of the bench to steady herself.

“I see that’s a yes.” Emma clapped her hands together, like a little kid given the best surprise. “Come along then, your beloved mate is waiting. And he doesn’t like to be kept waiting. Wouldn’t want to get this relationship started on the wrong foot, would you?”

She looped her arm through Beth’s, squeezing it tight against her side, and dragged her back toward the house. Pain shot up her leg as she stumbled.

Beth had never fainted before. She didn’t recognize the ringing in her eyes for what it was, a warning sign, and couldn’t have done anything about it even if she had. Blackness swam at the edges of her vision, closing in until it was everything.

***

She woke in a strange place. The air was cold and fresh, blowing in from a half-open window beside the bed she was lying in, her head propped on a soft pillow. Gauzy curtains fluttered in the breeze. Beth squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again. Nothing changed.

White Winter.The realization hit her like a gut punch. She was still a prisoner of the rogue pack. Her leg gave a sudden ache as if to remind her how desperate her situation was. Pushing back the blanket that covered her, she got unsteadily to her feet, testing her weight on her bad leg before setting that foot down. Still couldn’t fully support her, never mind let her run.

Beth crossed to the window and looked down. It was a more than two-story drop with the way the house backed up to a hillside. She’d break her other leg if she tried jumping out there. Trapped. There was no way out except back through the house crawling with White Winter wolves eager to kill her. All that stood between them and her was Devon. The alpha.

The thought of him made her skin flush hot, then cold.How could anyone that looks that good be that awful?It seemed unusually cruel, the way her body reacted to him despite every bit of her brain screaming out in fear. He was dangerous. He was callous. He was her captor. The reason she was not running free with her pack then. She missed Adria. Spencer. She just wanted to go home.

Then she saw it. In the corner of the room, a white shift dress hung over the back of an armchair. It was delicate, airy, with a fabric that shimmered in the sunlight streaming in. She walked toward it with shaking legs.The mating ceremony.Emma’s words punched through Beth’s daze. She grabbed the dress and threw it across the room. It floated down mockingly.

“I won’t.” She said it out loud. “I won’t!”

The door flew open as if kicked. Emma strolled in, wearing a minidress that left little to the imagination.

“If it isn’t Sleeping Beauty. Just when I thought you couldn’t get any more pathetic, you faint? Seriously? Are you a Victorian twat or a fucking wolf?”

Beth shrank back toward the wall. She looked at the open door; the freedom dangled invitingly behind her.

“That’smydress on the floor.” Emma picked it up and whipped it at Beth, who made no effort to catch it. “And it’s expensive. And I don’t even want you to wear it, but Dec insisted, so put it on, and let’s get this over with.”

Beth looked down at the dress puddled at her feet. Like Emma’s dress, it would cling to her body, revealing every curve under the silk.

“I’m not wearing that.” She crossed her arms over her chest.

Emma rounded on her. “Put it on. I swear if you make this thing take onesecondlonger than it needs to, I’ll rip your throat out myself. Pick it up and put it on.”

What choice did she have? She could put the dress on herself and submit to the mating ceremony willingly, or she could refuse and be dragged there, more humiliated than ever. It was no choice at all.

She bent and lifted the dress like it was a piece of garbage, letting it dangle from her fingertips.

“Do you mind?” Beth asked, nodding her chin at the door. “A little privacy.”

Emma rolled her eyes and turned around. “Like I’m giving you a chance to fling yourself out the window. This is all you get. Now hurry up.”

Even though Emma was facing away, Beth reluctantly peeled off her clothes. She felt vulnerable, and being naked only made it worse. Plus, the door was open. Edging her way slightly backward, out of view of the door, she tugged the dress on over her head and smoothed it down her body.

It hugged her curves, more generous than Emma’s, and ended an almost obscenely short distance from the bottom of her panties. She pulled at the hem, but the dress bounced back to where it had been each time.

“Done?” Emma turned around before Beth could respond.

“Don’t you have anything bigger? I look like a prostitute.” Beth covered herself the best she could with her own arms.

“You’re welcome. Let's go.” Emma grabbed Beth by the arm and dragged her out of the room before she could protest.

Beth stumbled to keep up. Getting dragged meant her broken leg was jostled every step of the way, and by the time they made it outside, she was sweating from the pain.

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