The Alpha’s Unwilling Mate

iii

The bedroom they had confined me to was draped in luxury, a stark contrast to the desolate feeling clawing at my insides. Rich, heavy drapes framed the windows, and the bed was an expanse of plush pillows and soft, inviting linens. But the opulence was a gilded cage, and his scent permeated every inch of the room, a constant, suffocating presence that clawed at my senses. He just had to keep me in his room so I could recognize him, his scent as my mate and it was working because Sky was going crazy wanting to break through the barrier I had set between us so she could run into his arms, the same arms that are covered in my father’s blood.

As I listened to the distant murmur of voices and occasional footsteps outside, my mind raced, plotting. The door was solid, outside the window was a three-story drop. My options were limited, but I wasn’t going to give up. I had to get out.

Standing up, I paced the large space. Each step was measured, my eyes scanning for anything I could use to my advantage.

"No one’s coming to save you, Sasha. It's all on you," I whispered to myself.

But looking at the time it was now almost midnight. The estate was covered by luscious woods I'd get lost running in those unfamiliar woods late at night so I decided to get some sleep, after locking the door.

I got into the big soft bed, I never thought I'd ever spend a night on such a bed my whole life.

As I got into the covers I noticed his scent was everywhere: in the linens I wrapped myself in, in the clothes that had been provided for me, and even lingering in the air I was forced to breathe. It was a mixture of wood smoke and pine. It was his way of marking territory—of marking me. a scent that might have been comforting if not for the circumstances, if not for the man it belonged to. escape is a necessity, not a choice. I couldn’t allow the plush carpets and silk sheets to lull me into complacency. I couldn’t let his scent seep into my resolve, weakening it.

I held the heart-shaped locker that contained the picture of my dad and me and began sobbing. Because of my spiraling emotions, Sky was able to break through and I could feel her sadness and desire to move past what happened. But not me even though the mate bond would make it difficult now that we found each other I was not willing to forget.

He killed him, he killed my father and I hated him, I was never going to forget that even if he was my mate.

I was never going to love him.