Imprisoned By Alpha Voridian

Imprisoned by the lies.

~VORIDIAN~

I sat back in my chair, watching Elowen’s retreating form with a satisfied smile. She was fighting the pain of being unmated, but I knew that she couldn’t resist it for long. I had seen the desire in her eyes when she ran out.

My mind wandered back to earlier, when I had been in my room, trying to find a quick distraction from the constant thoughts of Elowen. The girls brought into my room by Karius were beautiful and exactly the type I would have picked in the past, but none sparked even a flicker of interest. None of them were like her, and my Lycan agreed. All I could think about was her, the princess who had been haunting my dreams ever since I laid my eyes on her and found out she was my mate. While I was with the girls, Karius mindlinked me about her, and it sent me rushing to the dungeon, only to find out she was in heat.

Just one word from Karius, and I acted like a complete i***t.

“The princess is in trouble.”

And now, here we are—Elowen running out of the room, unable to be around me even though she desired me. I knew I shouldn’t let my emotions control me because that wasn’t her; it was the heat.

“We have to find our mate,” Nightfire’s voice echoed. “She’s in heat, and many unmated wolves are roaming around. She could be in trouble now.”

“She ran out on her own. Do you think she’d want to be in the same space with me?”

“And you would like it if another man touched her?” Nightfire teased, taunting me with images of other wolves touching her.

“Stop it!” I growled at him, my chair scraping against the floor as I stood up. I couldn’t take it any longer.

I knew I had to find her.

Following her scent, I ended up outside the mansion until it stopped at the fountain. There she was, sitting in the water, her clothes clinging to her body as she shivered. At first, I wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it all, but when I approached her, and she noticed me, she recoiled, fear in her eyes.

So, now she’s scared of me? I wondered what had happened to the feisty little human I met just a few days ago.

“Do you hate me that much?” I asked as I drew closer. “You ran out of the room, unafraid of being noticed by guards who hate humans, and thought the fountain was the best place to hide from me?”

She stood up, still shivering, and pointed a trembling finger at me. “It’s all because of you. I am… you made me like this. Whatever spell you’re casting on me is driving me insane!” She let out a scream and pulled at her hair. “Stop whatever it is you’re doing!”

I didn’t say a word. I couldn’t because I was finding it hard to resist her. My c**k hardened at the sight of her, and it was so painful to want something I couldn’t have. She was already afraid of me, and I didn’t want to scare her further, even though I wanted her on my bed, pinning her hands beside her while I kissed her senselessly.

But that was never going to happen. She’d rather kiss a frog than kiss me. I took a step closer, my eyes locked on hers, and she quickly looked away, her cheeks flushing.

Still, I didn’t speak. I couldn’t because I had no idea what would come out of my mouth.

“Who’s there?” A voice called out from the dark, breaking the silence and s****l tension.

I turned to see that Thane, my Gamma, was approaching us. He eyed Elowen warily, flicked his gaze to me, and bowed. “Your Highness, are you alright? Why is this human in the fountain with you?”

Having Thane see Elowen and me together was not what I wanted. Since they were siblings, I knew he would tell Illyana, putting Elowen and me at a significant disadvantage. For me, it would mean getting married fast, and for Elowen, they would target her.

“Yes,” I nodded at Thane. “I’ve got this under control.”

Without another word, I scooped Elowen up in my arms. She started screaming and calling me names, but I ignored her tantrums as I carried her back to my room. I kicked the door open and laid her on the bed while she continued screaming and thrashing about.

“Listen to me!” I shouted at her, pinning her hands to the bed and holding her in place.

“Let me go, you bastard!” she spat as she tried to escape my grip.

I leaned in closer until my lips grazed her neck. “Do you hate me that much, Elowen?” I whispered into her ear.

Somehow, I wanted to hear what she had to say, even though I already knew the answer. “Yeah, I hate your guts!” she shouted at me.''

''Really?''

“Yes, I hate you!” she repeated, her eyes fixed on me with hatred. That shouldn’t have surprised me since we both hated each other’s guts, but the bond played with my conscience, and when she said she hated me, I felt it in my stomach. It was unsettled and felt like a sharp pain.

This was what rejection looked like, and I shouldn’t care about it, but I did. Maybe it was lust or the bond, but I was unhappy that she hated me even when I should have hated her, too. “Just let me go,” her voice brought me out of my thoughts as she trembled under me. “Let me go!” she shouted again.

“Are you scared, little bratty princess? Are you scared of what I might do to you?”

Her eyes widened, and then she screamed, her face turning red from rage. “You shouldn’t force me to do things with you! I don’t want to be here with you. I have to go to Maverick and find out what’s happening to him.”

Maverick? Out of everything she said, the only thing that stuck with me was the boy’s name. The one I always saw around her, the one who saved her from the guards tonight. I knew I should be grateful to him, but somehow, I couldn’t stop thinking about what he meant to her.

I couldn’t help but feel a burning sensation in my chest when I read her mind, filled with thoughts of Maverick.

Why was she so carefree with him? Why did she trust him so easily? The thought sent a surge of jealousy through me, my mind racing with dark, twisted thoughts of attacking the boy tonight and ending his life. I didn’t want Elowen thinking about anyone else except me.

“Let me go!” Elowen cried out again, and this time, I freed her hands and walked into the bathroom. When I returned, I mindlinked one of the guards and instructed him to fill the tub with ice to relieve her pain. I watched as she started shaking on the bed, her body rolling and turning, her mind filled with different thoughts about me. Some were about killing me, and some were about me pretending to be nice so I could kill her. I ignored what she was thinking and instead focused on easing her pain.

Once the guards finished filling the tub, I walked over to Elowen. “Oh, how the princess has fallen,” I teased her, but I only got a painful groan. She raised her pale face to me, wanting to say something, but I silenced her by scooping her into my arms.

“Where… where are you taking me?” she asked weakly, her voice barely audible.

“Stop talking, Elowen,” I said gruffly, trying to keep my emotions in check. Being close to her again tested my sanity, and I was trying so hard to stay in control. “I’m not going to force you to do anything. Just relax,” I promised her, my sincerity evident as I headed into the bathroom. Elowen’s eyes fluttered closed; her body limped in my arms as she sighed loudly. For a moment, I pitied her.

I gently placed Elowen in the bathtub, the ice-cold water enveloping her like a blanket. I knelt beside her, holding her hand in mine, trying to offer what little comfort I could. But as our hands made contact, my body reacted, my c**k fully erect and pressing against my pants. My Lycan, Nightfire, stirred, trying to take over my body. He wanted to claim Elowen by marking her, but I knew that wasn’t what she wanted, and neither did I want a mate who would become my weakness. So, I struggled to stay in control.

“Not now, Nightfire!” I told him, suppressing his inner desires.

“Why are you doing this?” Elowen’s soft voice broke through the tension as she fluttered her eyes open, her gaze locking onto mine. “Why are you taking care of me?”

I smiled, a wicked glint in my eye as I tried to find the best lie that would easily seem like the truth. “Because your death would be too easy, Elowen. I want to torture you, to make you suffer. We are enemies, after all. If you die now, it would be a boring death.” Well, that seemed convincing to me but not to her.

Her eyes narrowed, and she sighed. “Enemies don’t take care of each other like this.”

I laughed. “Oh, princess, don’t get too happy,” I told her. “You and I are still enemies, and I hate you.” That was a lie because I didn’t hate her and never had. The only person I hated was her father, and she seemed too different from him.

She didn’t respond immediately, instead letting out a deep sigh. I knew she had a lot on her mind, and under different circumstances, she would have spoken her thoughts as usual. “What about Maverick?”

A frown formed on my face at the mention of his name. I clenched my free hand, imagining Maverick’s neck in my grip, twisting it. I had never wanted to kill someone so badly before. How could she even think of him at that moment? Hearing her thoughts about him made my blood boil. The only thing stopping me from rushing to kill the boy was that I needed to stay by her side, holding her hand to ease her pain until she was no longer in heat.

“Are you going to kill him?”

“Sleep, Elowen,” I said harshly, not wanting to hear anything more about the boy.

But Elowen persisted, her eyes pleading for answers. “No questions. Just sleep, or I might be forced to end the boy’s life.”

That shut her up, and to my surprise, she closed her eyes, her body relaxing into the water. For the first time since I met her, she obeyed me, and it was because of him. I couldn’t stop thinking about how I was competing with a human who was already in her heart.

“Voridian,” she murmured my name again, her eyes still closed. “Please don’t kill him,” she pleaded, and that only fueled my anger. Even in this state, she wanted him to be safe. The thought of that boy being so close to her drove me mad. If not for my self-control, I would have marked her on the spot and claimed her as mine.