Page 7 of Alpha Marked

The Alpha inspected her and sniffed again. His eyes narrowed and went Alpha golden. What was he looking at?

She moved her shredded sundress to the side, exposing the bite, which had already stopped bleeding but remained open and raw.

"You have two choices," he said. "You can allow his marking to stand and go with him or reject him."

Cherry stood, but Strider pulled her back down and whispered to her.

River's wolf strained against the rope.

Not. Him.Hurt. Forced. Not. Him.

River fixed her eyes on the still handsome but bloodied male and then at her Alpha. "Not him," she repeated.

The Alpha nodded and ushered River forward until her knees connected with the male's.

"Tell him," said the Alpha. "Reject him. It's the only way to break the bond and free your wolf."

River's mouth dried as the crazed look faded from the male's face, and instead, fear replaced it as he blinked at her. His eyes went from black to a beautiful blue. Gone was the beast who had come into the pantry. Gone was the man who had bitten her. Replaced by the face of a terrified, desperate man.

No! He'd bitten her.He'd taken from her one of the only things wolves never took.Agency.

She swallowed hard, but her throat stuck together like she'd drunk super glue.

A Lycan Alpha had tried to mate her. He'd called her his. His Omega.

Terror flooded River, and her body shook. Everyone knew about the Lycans. The elder purebloods of her race. The original werewolves. Bigger. Faster. Filthy rich and utter killing machines. But Lycans didn't live in the States; they lived in Canada and Europe. So, what was a Lycan doing there? And why was an Alpha Lycan a rogue?

"Tell him," her mom commanded. "Tell him you reject him, River."

River regarded her mom and then the male. His scent invaded her again— sweet and musky.

"I…" Why did an Alpha Lycan want her?

He roared and pulled against the men holding him, and his gaze connected with hers again, but this time, there wasn't anger, only pain.

"Don't," he pleaded. "Please."

Those two words crashed down around her like the emotion in his eyes, and she paused.

Her wolf howled.Not. This. One.

The pain and pleading in her wolf's voice spurred River into action.

She let her grip on her wolf slip, and her claws extended and swiped straight across his handsome face, slicing it open from ear to cheekbone. "Not. You."

Anger seared in her bright as the red rope tethering her wolf. The bite in her neck burned like ice.

"I reject you," she whispered.

His eyes went wide, and they both stopped breathing as the rope unwound from her wolf, leaving behind a patch of missing fur where it had first snaked around her leg.

He sucked in a breath before roaring and breaking free from the men. He lunged at River, but she held out the peeler again.

"I said, I reject you!"

She had no idea where the strength had come from, nor the command in her voice, but somehow it made the male stop.

His eyes flashed, and emotions played all over his face for a moment. He reached for her but stopped. His expression changed to one of pain and utter loneliness.

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