Hybrid Alpha’s Prettiest Obsession

binding chains

My teeth ground together as irritation flared up inside me, burning through the haze of doubt.

“I didn’t ask you to speak,” I growled, lifting my hand before I even knew what I was doing. The slap rang out in the silence, sharp and sudden. Her body crumpled beneath the force of it, flying across the room like a rag doll. She hit the wall with a sickening thud, her small frame slamming into the solid chest of my best man, Conrad, who had walked in at precisely the wrong time.

“s**t,” Conrad muttered, catching her as she fell. The expression on his face was unreadable, but as his eyes flicked between me and Wilhelmina, his lips pressed into a thin line. He said nothing, though. He wouldn’t dare. Not to me.

I hadn’t asked her to bloody speak.

“Get her up,” I barked in a much harsher voice. What was she thinking? That I was going to feel sorry for her? The adrenaline was still coursing through me even as my hand stung from the impact of the blow. I folded it into a half ball, watching as Conrad dragged her back towards me.

I ignored her shaking shoulders, though she tried to stifle the sobs. Her face was red, the imprint of my hand already blooming across her cheek. It looked... it looked bad. Worse than I thought.

“Stop crying,” I snapped, annoyed more with myself than her. “You asked for this. Remember your place.”

Conrad shoved her forward, and she fell to her knees in front of me, her sobs muffled by the sleeves of her pathetic dress. Where did she even get this f*****g dress from? That wasn’t the problem now, was it? You are pathetic, Malakai... I felt a surge of something trying to sneak up on me. Wait a minute. “Pity, is that you? Guilt?” I asked myself, almost scared at the reply. If I wasn’t mistaken, both of them boiled up in my chest, but I quickly buried them beneath layers of anger. Anger was better. Anger for being a halfling. Anger for being powerless. Anger at her for making me feel anything at all. Anger at myself for caring.

“You didn’t have to hit her so hard, Malakai,” Conrad muttered, but I ignored him. He knew better than to question me outright. His loyalty wasn’t up for debate, but even he could see I was spiralling.

“I do what I have to,” I said sharply, though the words sounded like the most foolish thing I had ever said. All my life.

Goddess, this was stupid.

I was stupid.

Conrad gave me a sidelong glance, his lips twitching as though he wanted to say more. But he didn’t. Instead, he reached for the door, pulling it shut behind him and leaving me alone with her again.

The moment he left, the silence in the room became suffocating. She was still kneeling there, her hands trembling in her lap, her face streaked with silent tears. I should’ve felt nothing. I’d convinced myself I wouldn’t, that she was just another insignificance. Like the rest of them. But how could I forget the face that assured me I wasn’t a weak wolf? Damn it all to hell, every time I looked at her, that f*****g ache stirred in my chest.

“Look at you,” I muttered, half to myself. “Pathetic. Absolutely f*****g pathetic.”

I didn’t know if I was talking to her or me at this point. I ran a hand through my hair, pacing back and forth in front of her, trying to make sense of the silly knot tightening in my gut. What was my problem at this point?

I wasn’t that wolf!

One minute I wanted her gone. Sent back to the pit. It was the new haven for halflings and humans—they’ve always smelt like rotten corpses to wolves. Let them have her. Let them break her. But then I pictured what they’d do to her back there, and my fists tightened involuntarily. The pit was no place for someone like her. I should know. I’d built that hellhole myself. I knew what waited for her down there.

I hated that I cared. I hated that even now, watching her crumple in front of me, some part of me wanted to reach out and pull her up. To tell her it’d be alright.

What the f**k was wrong with me?

“You think I’m cruel,” I said, my voice low, biting. “But you haven’t the faintest idea of what they’d do to you in the pit, Mina. You don’t have a f*****g clue.”

She didn’t respond, didn’t move. Just sat there, tears still falling. “I do.” She glanced up with a broken smile. Her crusted lips opened further deliciously. “Or at least I have tasted it.”

My jaw clenched so hard it hurt.

“Stop f*****g crying,” I growled again, my patience snapping. “You’re a slave. That’s all you are. I told you, didn’t I? Don’t bloody forget it.”

She sniffed, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand, but it didn’t make a difference. Her face was already a mess, and the sight of it made me feel sick. Not because of her—no, it was me. It was what I’d done. What I’d made myself become.

Why the hell had I hit her like that?

I stopped pacing, turning to face her fully. “You think this is some game?” I demanded. “You think I enjoy this? That I want to do this?”

She didn’t answer, but her eyes flicked up to meet mine, wide and full of... something. Fear or resignation. It was one of the two. Whichever it was made me furious.

“Don’t look at me like that,” I snapped. “I didn’t f*****g ask for this either.”

She flinched, and I immediately regretted the sharpness of my tone. Damn it all.

I crouched down in front of her, grabbing her chin and forcing her to look at me. “You listen to me, Mina,” I said, slipping my Alpha power into my voice. It made her flinch in ways that made me want to pin her down.

And maybe there was a way. After all, she was here to serve me. “Get this in your skull. I didn’t love you then. If I did, I wouldn’t have created the pit for people like you. I never have, and I never will. Do you understand that? Whatever you think this is, it’s not. It’s nothing. Now, strip and please me.”

I said that wrong. I really said that wrong. Bloody hell.

Her eyes shimmered with fresh tears, and for a second, just a second, I almost—almost—let go of her. But then I reminded myself who I was. What I was. And what she was. Pompeo was probably waiting for my best man to bring the news.

After all, I rejected… what was her name again? She didn’t f*****g matter.

“You’re a slave,” I repeated, more for my own benefit than hers. “That’s all you’ll ever be. I won’t repeat myself again. Strip and do your slavery job.”

Slavery job? That was the best comeback I had. Goddess…

I let go of her, standing up abruptly and turning away before I could change my mind. Before I could let the guilt eat away at me any more than it already had. As I stood there, facing the wall, the air felt oxygen deprived. Every breath I took seemed heavier, charged with the command of what I just asked her to do.

Her sobs had quieted, but I could hear the faint shuffle of her movements behind me. Slowly, carefully. She was hesitating. Good.

I kept my back to her, fists clenched by my sides, and every f*****g muscle coiled tight. It was like I was waiting for something. And then, there it was—the soft rustle of fabric hitting the floor. My chest tightened involuntarily. This was supposed to be simple, a means to remind her of her place, yet it was anything but. How could every nerve in my body be hyper-aware of her? Of the vulnerability she was offering me with each movement?

I wanted to see.

I turned slowly, deliberately. She was on her knees still—not... entirely bare. Hm. She had almost speculated this, right? Because… I eyed her skintight panties and lacy bra. Could she even afford that? But then, could she afford the dress she was wearing? I tilted my head in confusion.

She probably stole it. Her gaze was confident, locked onto mine with a fierce sort of decision that only made me sharper, and hotter. There was something intoxicating about the way she looked at me—those electric blue eyes—as if daring me to do my worst yet knowing I already had.

My eyes travelled down her body, drinking in every curve, every inch of pale, and perfect skin that wasn't marred by the pit.

She hasn't been touched yet.

That was beautiful and fragile in a way that made something dark stir within me. The sight of her like this, exposed, and still... daring. It was like she was daring me to take her apart.

Her breath hitched slightly when I stepped closer. I saw the small shiver that ran through her as I knelt, my hand reaching out to trace a slow, deliberate line down her arm. I watched, fascinated, as her skin goose-pimpled under my touch. She was so sensitive to me, so responsive. I hadn’t even done anything yet, and she was already reacting.

I did that on purpose because I already knew. My fingers brushed against her wrist, then slowly moved up, tracing the edge of her shoulder, and I felt her tremble.

But it was her eyes that held me. She never broke the contact, never looked away, even when I could see her chest rising and falling a little faster. She was nervous, I could tell. Nervous, but not afraid. No, there was something else there—something that looked a hell of a lot like desire.

She wanted this.

That realisation made something snap in me. My grip tightened slightly as my hand slid up to the back of her neck, pulling her closer, just enough so I could feel the heat radiating off her skin.