Page 184 of Ruled By The Alpha

With my head against the alpha’s chest, I feel the moment he begins to purr. The deep, rumbling bass is soothing, and no matter how much I tell myself not to get comfortable, my body doesn’t listen. I sink deeper into his warmth, muscles going completely limp. It almost feels as if my bones are noodles, and I like that feeling way too much.

The alpha—Maddox, I remind myself—strides out of the alley with me tucked against him, and it’s as we move through the slums that the realization hits me. He’s familiar with his path, as if he’s a frequent visitor to the low zone, and the only alphas familiar with this sector of Whitshell are the cruel ones. Yet everything about this male so far has been kind, attentive, and calm, even during our coupling. I’ve heard alphas lost to therut are nothing but savage beasts who are just as likely to tear out an omega’s throat as they are to fuck him, but this male was almost… tender.

I don’t understand it. I’m not sure I want to understand it, because then I’d have to face that maybe not all the alphas in Whitshell are horrible creatures after all. That would mean Eve and I were wrong, and maybe, just maybe, we could have found ourselves an alpha long before now who could protect us all. Maybe our lives could have been easier. Maybe Eve could have avoided the rebels altogether.

Shaking the thoughts away, I come back to myself, only to realize we are in the square and there’s more commotion than usual. I fight through the haze the alpha’s presence and purr invoke to lift my head. The sight that greets me freezes me in place.

“Eve…” Her name comes out on a pained whisper as I take in her battered form. The spotlight focused on her makes her the main attraction of the square, leaving her wounds on vivid display like some kind of fucked-up showcase.

I knew she was in trouble. I knew it! I just didn’t think it was this dire.

I whimper, the sound snapping Maddox’s attention to me, and I fight to get free.

“Calm yourself, little mate.” His purr kicks up, yet it does nothing to penetrate the panic consuming me.

“Eve! She needs help.” I stop fighting and instead grip the alpha’s torn shirt at the collar. “Help her, please. I’ll do anything, just help her.”

Maddox’s brows furrow, and he lifts his emerald eyes to the execution platform, taking in Eve’s bloody figure dangling there from a rope around her waist.

Thinking fast, I blurt, “She’s an omega like me. Help her, please!”

“If she is hanging, little mate, then that means she’s a rebel—a traitor to Whitshell.”

It doesn’t matter that his voice is soft; his words still cut through me, leaving my heart bleeding and broken.

“But she’s all I have!” I cry. “She only joined so we wouldn’t starve. Please, help her!”

He sighs heavily and glances down at me, mouth tight, gaze intent on the tears I didn’t realize were streaming down my face. “I will mark her, then, but this complicates things. Father won’t be happy.”

He mutters the last part under his breath, and I’m not entirely sure whether I was supposed to hear him or not. Not that it matters when I get a sinking feeling in my chest.

“She won’t want to be bonded. She hates alphas,” I scramble to say.

“The only way I can protect her is if I claim her, same as I did you, little mate.” He’s too calm while I’m a frantic, jittery mess. “What would you have me do?”

I swallow, eyes darting back to Eve, and I can’t help but whine. She’s going to hate me for making this choice for her, but I can’t just let her die. I can’t lose her. Even if she despises me, at least she’ll be alive.

“Fine,” I whisper, heart in my throat.

Maddox grunts and starts to move, holding me close to his chest. My heart is pounding, the sound drowning out everything else as I focus on Eve, trying not to wail. The closer we get and the more I can see, the worse her injuries are. If Maddox doesn’t have a healer for her, then Eve is in for a long road to recovery.

It’s hard to tell if her eyes are swollen shut or if she’s just unconscious. Blood coats her, leaving no part of her untouched, and pools beneath her feet. The gaping cut over her brow concerns me most, along with the steady flow of red coming from it because it doesn’t seem likely to stop anytime soon.

We climb the stairs to the platform and are intercepted by two alphas, but before they can bark their warning, Maddox growls. “Give me the omega.”

The two alphas startle and exchange a glance before the blond one says, “She ain’t an omega, and even if she were, what’s it to you?” His nostrils flare and his eyes darken with lust. “Seems to me you already got one.”

Maddox snarls and gets in the male’s face, making sure to turn his body enough that I don’t touch the other alpha. “I’m sure you’ve heard of Harding, yes?” The alpha swallows thickly. “I’m the heir to Whitshell and I don’t take kindly to anyone telling me what I can or can’t do. If I want a powerless rebel omega to fuck, then I’ll take the powerless rebel omega to fuck. Do I make myself clear?”

“Y-Yes,” the alpha stammers.

“Good.” Maddox smiles, but the expression is more like he’s baring his teeth. “Then get the female down.Now.”

Maddox shoves the alpha away from him as the blond scrambles to do as he commanded. The brunette is quick on his heels, and together, the two guards have Eve down and untied in less than a minute. Maddox somehow manages to hold me up with one arm resting under my ass so he can pull Eve over his opposite shoulder, pinning her in place with his thick arm across her legs.

I whimper and start to reach for her, but a stern, “Quiet,” from Maddox stills my hand and quells my whine.

Without another word, he stomps down the stairs of the platform and heads left toward the mid zone.

---