Stolen by the Alpha

MARA

Kaden unravels our linked arms as we wait in the wings of an erected stage in a big hall.

Even though he is my sworn enemy, his absence unnerves me.

I’m suddenly too nervous to care who accompanies me, even if it is my least favorite person in the world.

He heads to the center of the stage in front of his assembled pack.

They are all cheering and chanting his name.

After a few moments, he manages to calm them down somewhat.

To my eyes, they are nothing more than savage beasts under the rule of an equally savage man.

“Good evening everyone,” he murmurs.

A microphone is unnecessary as his mere presence onstage brings everyone to attention.

Kace is on the opposite side of the stage, waiting for his cue to meet me in the middle.

He doesn’t bother to look at me.

I can’t help but wonder, What would happen if I ran away right now?

I wouldn’t make it out of the building before one of Kaden’s pack members found me and dragged me back to him.

Maybe I wouldn’t even make it back to Kaden alive.

“I have a very special announcement to make,” Kaden states.

Everyone answers with shouts and howls.

Many of his members are criminals from other packs. That’s what he does. He lets them live here, in a place where they can do no harm to anyone but themselves.

I notice that even now Kaden covers his face. He must have to show himself to his pack, right?

No one seems to expect him to take off his hood, however, so maybe they are used to it.

“A guest will be joining us onstage,” he says smoothly.

He turns, gesturing at me to come to his side. It takes me a second to move my feet. To commit.

Nervously, I uncover myself and walk onstage so everyone can see me.

The silence that falls over the crowd is immediate. It is obvious no one expected a Purity Pack member to be here today.

The awe on some of their faces is intriguing.

I stand beside Kaden—not too close though.

“This is Ma—”

The crowd surges forward, cutting Kaden off. They claw at the edge of the stage, all pushing each other away to get a better view.

I had no idea they would react this way. If I had, I might have considered running away as the sensible option.

Kaden grabs my arm and pulls me behind him.

I’m pressed to his back, my cheek against the muscle and bone, and I can feel the warmth coming through his shirt.

This is the closest I’ve ever been to a man other than my father, although fabric still separates us.

“Back off! No one touches her!” he yells at the crowd.

Kaden’s voice is so loud and his tone so vicious they cower away.

Once they are all at a safe distance, Kaden draws me out from behind him.

I anxiously return to my spot, staring at the ground so I don’t have to see the feral looks in the soulless eyes of the pack members.

Kaden then proceeds to ask Kace to walk onto the stage.

He takes up his position on the other side. The look of indifference on his face is frightening.

Why can’t he just stand up to his brother and stop all of this?

“We are gathered here to celebrate our position over the Purity Pack,” Kaden announces.

My heart sinks. The crowd goes mental, responding to Kaden’s words with primal enthusiasm.

The way they are behaving makes it pretty obvious how they feel about my home pack.

They hate us.

“Accordingly, I announce the union of this young lady from the Purity Pack with my brother, Kace,” Kaden declares.

I feel tears welling up in my eyes, but I fight to keep them from spilling down my face.

He doesn’t even tell them my name. That is how little I mean to them.

Everyone cheers. I catch Kace’s gaze. He looks mad or conflicted at least. Maybe he is thinking twice about carrying out Kaden’s wishes.

Please.

Kaden stands back, and Kace walks over to me with his hands extended. Knowing I have no choice, I take them.

I can feel him trembling, and I’m surprised to find he seems even more nervous about it all than I am.

“Mara, of the Purity Pack,” he mumbles, “will you bond with me, and, in the future, become my mate?”

The silence around us is heavy. I want to say no and escape all this. Nothing would make me happier than to be able to just walk away.

Instead, I say, “Yes.”

Kace’s jaw clenches as the audience screams its approval, clapping at the same time.

I turn and glance over my shoulder to see Kaden nodding. Then Kace leads me off the stage, his hand resting on the small of my back to guide me.

“And that’s it?” I ask, once we are safely offstage.

Kaden, who has followed, shakes his head at me. “No, we are to have dinner in the main hall in a few moments.”

I bite back my automatic response. Lashing out seems like a great idea in theory, but in practice I’ll probably be killed immediately.

I’m led down a corridor to a dining hall, already filled with people discussing things in subdued voices. The conversation ceases as we come into the room.

Everyone stands, bowing their heads as a sign of respect.

It’s exactly what would happen back at my pack with Alpha Rylan.

Kace has his arm linked with mine, so it looks like we are actually getting engaged, and mated. It makes me feel sick…

Kaden sits at the head of the table away from the rest of the group, not acknowledging anyone else in the room. While he does this, one by one, the others approach Kace and me.

“Congratulations,” one young man says, shaking Kace’s hand.

He doesn’t even look at me before walking back to his seat. The others do the same.

They walk up, shake Kace’s hand, congratulate him, smile, and retreat without a single glance in my direction.

“They’re ignoring me,” I whisper in Kace’s ear.

He smiles slightly and nods at me. “It’s because you’re a Purity Pack member.”

I’m taken to sit down in a seat beside Kace. On my other side, a man I don’t know takes his place beside me and stares blankly ahead.

I decide against even bothering to spark up a conversation with him, or anyone else. I don’t want to be here as it is.

Dinner is soon served, and I eat it slowly. I’m not hungry, and my stomach is tying itself in knots. I want to cry, but don’t want to make a scene.

In retrospect, I know there was nothing I could have done, but thinking about how I said yes to Kace makes bile start to rise in my throat.

I am eating a potato when I feel something brush against my thigh. I know instantly that it’s Kace’s hand.

He lays it firmly on my upper thigh, his fingers digging into my skin. I glare at him, but he doesn’t even look at me.

“Get off!” I snap, trying to slap his hand away.

But he doesn’t move. The more I try to pry his fingers off me, the more I feel him resist.

“Why?” he demands, finally turning to look at me. “You’re going to be mine officially very soon, Mara.”

I have an overwhelming urge to slap him across the face, but I refrain, knowing it will attract attention.

I just add it to the many reasons I have for hating him.

Once dinner is over, I am ordered to my room to get ready for bed. Kaden announces that it is his duty to escort me.

“Shouldn’t my fiancé be doing that?” I query as we walk.

The hood rustles as he shakes his head. “You may be engaged, but intercourse is forbidden until you are married,” he informs me.

I’m so startled I come to an abrupt halt. He stops a few steps ahead of me and looks at me. At least, I think he’s looking at me.

“You’re certainly very up front about the way you do things,” I observe coolly.

He nods. “I’m just being cautious.”

We walk the rest of the way to my room in silence. Instead of opening the door, I turn to face him.

“I know I’ll never get out of here,” I inform him defiantly, “but I want you to know that I’ll never want to be here.”

His head bows, and I wonder if he’s looking at his feet.

Is he ashamed? Does he feel remorse? Of course not. He is a monster, and always will be.

“I can’t make you like it here, Mara,” he says softly. His voice is oddly strained, as if he’s struggling to get the words out.

He makes as if to walk away, but I grab his sleeve, and he freezes.

“Why won’t you show me your face?” I ask him.

He sighs gruffly. “I thought I told you… You’ll be attracted to me if you look into my eyes. You won’t be able to help yourself.”

He says it so seriously I almost believe him for a second. But then I realize that that could never possibly happen to someone like me.

“You’re lying,” I retort.

He laughs lightly. “You don’t have to believe me. But you’re not seeing my face, no matter how much it irritates you.”

His arrogance infuriates me—and he knows it.

“Do you let your pack see you?” I ask.

A nod is his only response. He opens my door and motions for me to go inside as if I’m annoying him as much as he’s annoying me.

“You should sleep, Mara,” he mutters.

Sighing, I enter my room, closing the door behind me. I lied when I said I knew I couldn’t get out. I will try. I will go on trying until the day I die.