Page 13 of Cruel Alpha: Season One

“Hell it is.”

5

Let’s Try This Again

Annalise

I awakenon a blanket in the middle of a stone floor. The space is small and morecagethan cell. Bright light shines between the bars, right into my eyes. Squinting, I make out a foreboding silhouette just beyond the bars and sit straight up, remembering where I am and the circumstances that landed me here.

When my wolf comes forth, announcing herself with a low growl. The feel of it resonates within my chest. She doesn’t like this any more than I do. A deep laugh hits the air—a rich, throaty sound that rouses goosebumps all over my skin.

Caspian.

“Relax, Little Wolf,” he rasps. “How is it that you find being held in this cellar more unsettling than being on foreign soil last night? Had a Clan Eris wolf stumbled across you before wedid, no doubt I’d beviewingyou right now instead ofseeingyou. Didn’t your uncle teach you about the dangers of wandering outside our territory?”

His tone is infuriating, implying that I,a lowly woman, need looking after. “I’m an adult,” I hiss. “I’m fully capable of looking after myself.”

“On the contrary,” he scoffs. “The only thing last night’s charade proved is that you, and all women, do indeed require the guidance and protection of a man. But that shouldn’t upset you. It’s nature’s way.”

The flagrant chauvinism, the shearaudacityof his statement,leaves me feeling sick to my stomach.

He shifts his hand and the blinding light he holds is aimed toward the wall, away from my face, allowing me to finally see.

He’s clothed this time, wearing the typical light tones of the North—a crisp, white button-down tucked into tan slacks, a chestnut-colored belt cinching his taut waist. The sight of him calls attention to myownattire—the same khaki cargo pants and white tank top from last night. Only, filthier.

I lift my gaze to meet his, only to find that he’s already staring. His eyes narrow as he scans me, and I feel everywhere they settle on my skin—my breasts, my throat, and then up to my lips. So, while he’s staring so intently at my mouth, I speak, knowing I have his undivided attention.

“Get me the fuck out of here!” The words are cold and hard as they force their way through my clenched teeth.

Apparently, the alpha finds humor in my frustration, because he laughs again.

“Such course language for a lady of your status,” he scolds playfully.

“You can’t keep me here! I’m not your property!”

He isn’t moved by my screams. In fact, he steps a little closer, casually tucking his free hand into his pocket. “On the contrary,” he croons. “Your very existence is mine to decide.”

The truth in those words incites a bout of nausea, but my expression doesn’t change because I will give him nothing.

“I’m curious, Annalise. Most women would literally kill for a proposition like the one I’ve given you—the promise of my protection, access to all the finer things this life has to offer. And yet, you seem to despise it.”

I hold his gaze, but don’t speak. Because the answer I want to give comes with consequences. I’d love to tell him that I’m suffocating here.Allwomen are suffocating here. The rules, the restriction, the oppression. Emotion tightens my chest as I let myself feel the entire weight of it.

“Maybe I didn’t make myself clear yesterday, so allow me to be evenclearertoday,” he says, seeming to take my silence as another act of defiance.

He’s close to the bars now. Close enough for me to grab and hurt him if I had a better plan.

“My offer to have you as my mate was never up for debate. As the alpha, as…youralpha, it is myrightto take whatever I want andwhoeverI want. Including you.”

Theres zero amusement in his tone, and a chill races down my spine. Now that his wolf has retreated, his eyes no longer glow blue. Instead, they’re dark as night and terrifying as they bore a hole through me.

“Now, whether you realize it or not, I’ve done you animmeasurablecourtesy. I’ve brought you here, to this cell,” he says. “When what Icouldhave done was end you right there in those woods last night, put you down like the disobedient dogyou are,” he growls. “Is that what you want, Annalise? For me to gut you? Tear you limb-from-limb so you can die in some elegantly poetic display of martyrdom?”

He tilts his head, as if he’s genuinely deep in thought.

“I’m not a bad man,” he says. “Or at least… I don’t have to be. But that all depends on you. Your ability to control yourself. Your ability to fall in line and be the good girl I know you can be.”

I’m seething, warm from head to toe as rage filters through my veins. There’s no way he doesn’t sense it,feelit. But just so we’re on the same page, I respond.

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