Page 182 of Ruled By The Alpha

Something isn’t right.

There.

A footstep taps behind me, and I whip around to face the oncoming threat. I’ve pulled the brim of my cap low, inhibiting my vision, but ensuring whoever’s in this alley can’t see much of my face.

Clean combat boots appear out of the darkness, followed by an even cleaner pair of jeans, and stop a mere ten feet away.

Too close.

And those clothes tell me all I need to know.

Fuck.

Without thinking, I lift my head and peer into the alpha’s face. My brain blanks the moment I take in his chiseled jaw, tousled brown hair, and vibrant green eyes. I inhale sharply, consuming the rotten stench of the alley. Underneath that scent, though, is a deliciously spicy fragrance. It’s alluring, and I want more.

I shake my head and take a step back as if that will help. Nothing will help me now if this alpha scents my soft omega perfume under the layers of stinking beta sweat. Just hearing his deep inhale sends panic surging through my veins. I’m shaking, but I can’t help it; I’m terrified.

Alphas never come this far into the low zone.

Never.

I take in another sharp breath and immediately regret it.

Bad idea. Horrible fucking idea.

His scent is stronger than before, that spicy note invading my senses. My cock twitches to life inside my baggy pants, and I mentally curse myself and it for rising to attention. I know it’s a biological side-effect of my omega nature, but why can’t my fear serve as an ice cube against my dick or something?

I peer up at the alpha from under my cap, and his animalistic head tilt and feral grin tells me I’m screwed. Quick as a whip, he closes the gap between us and grasps my upper arm. No matterhow much I tug and pull, his grip doesn’t give. I’m not going anywhere until he’s ready to let me go. Given all I know about alphas, it won’t end until I’m bleeding out on the gravel or being mounted and claimed.

“Well, well, well…” The male’s voice is deep and smoldering, calling to something primal inside me. “What a rare find in the low zone. To think I’d stumble upon a little omega ripe for the taking.”

Faster than I can react, his other hand darts out and yanks my hood down, baring my nape.

Fuck!

Chapter 4

Maddox

What a pleasant surprise. I never expected to come across a little omega on my weekly walk through the low zone. As the next in line to lord over Whitshell, my father expects me to make myself seen. For him, this means punishing the low zone betas until they are nothing more than bleeding lumps of flesh. I’ll admit that in my younger years, in an effort to make my father proud, I did some unspeakable things to betas. But the day my father stopped sending one of his minions to spy on me was the day I stopped causing undue trouble for the innocents in low zone.

Instead I try to help them, bringing some scraps that no alpha in the high zone will miss. I then drop the food to my contact in low zone, who distributes it throughout the marketplace. I’ve made sure he’s truly delivering the food too—after I’ve given him his share, of course, for him and his family. It’s not much, though; taking too much would run the risk of being discovered, and that doesn't help anyone. My father will make an example of me, as well as any of the low zone betas who ate the stolen goods, regardless of whether they knew where they came from.

He’s a bastard like that, one I can’t wait to replace as head alpha in Whitshell. The moment my father is out of power, things will change around here, and for the better. The actions we alphas have taken against the other designations are hideous,and I won’t stand for them any longer than I must. For now, I’m biding my time, playing the part of a good little soldier who “terrorizes the betas” in low zone.

It makes me want to vomit.

I’d already handed off the food to my contact today, so all I had left to do was spend a couple hours hiding in the shadows, watching the betas go about their business. Today must be my lucky day. I’ve been doing this song and dance for nearly ten years now, but I’ve never had the pleasure of stumbling upon an unclaimed omega.

It’s impossible to ignore the scent of fear radiating from the slim male’s body, and I know there are no words I could say to him right now that will ease his terror. The truth is I do intend to claim him. I do intend to rip him away from his life with my mark, sweeping him off to the high zone once he’s fully mine. I don’t relish in stealing his choices from him, but my instincts are riding me hard, and I can’t pass up this chance to claim a nearly extinct omega for myself.

I want a family. I want happiness too.

All it takes is a growl to weaken the knees of the omega in my grasp. His legs give out, and I push him against the wall of the alley as gently as I can. I keep the growl going, and as I do, the scent of his slick grows strong enough to overcome the stench of rotting bodies soaked into his ragged garments—garments I tear from his body, letting them fall to the ground in tatters.

The soft-looking male with long, braided brown hair and soft blue eyes whimpers and writhes as I lean in to smell his tantalizing scent. Almond and oak tease my senses, seducing me.

I glance down and watch as his slick glides down his legs, then slowly work my gaze up to his already-weeping cock. My groan is one of hunger, desperation, and pure need.

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