The Alpha and His Dancer

Chapter 4 - Let Me Go

DELILAH

My legs seemed to have lost their ability to hold me up, and my body was pulled towards the ground with a mighty force.

He had red eyes.

Eyes the colour of blood.

Just like the animal that killed my parents.

Was it him?

Was this the end for me too?

I closed my eyes and braced for the impact, but before it could come, arms wrapped around my waist and the back of my knees, catching me mid-air. A gasp left my lips, my heart raging within my chest as weird tingles filled every inch of my skin. A heavenly scent washed over me, but when I opened my eyes and met the gaze of my saviour, I was in hell.

I screamed, pushing at his chest and struggling in his arms, but the red-eyed werewolf only tightened his hold, holding me flushed against his chest.

"Please," I sobbed, kicking my legs in the air, "please let me go. I didn't do anything."

The werewolf did not reply. Instead his gaze dropped to my lips, and then travelled down my shuddering body.

"Please. Help!" I screamed, now sobbing uncontrollably.

The animal closed his eyes, looking annoyed by my struggles.

"What's going on?" Ryan whispered as he approached us.

But the red-eyed man let out a growl, making Ryan freeze in spot.

"Alpha?" Ryan muttered, looking pale.

"Mine," he repeated, sending shivers through my body.

Almost instantly, Ryan dropped to his knees, followed by every werewolf within the hall. I frowned, looking around frantically, trying to make sense of the situation. My fight was constant, pushing at his chest and kicking my legs, but the giant seemed entirely unfazed, as if he couldn't even feel my struggles.

He looked around once, and then started walking, carrying me away from the crowd of werewolves. That did not make me feel better.

"Where are you taking me?" I cried as we left the hall, surrounded by the eerie silence that got filled by my sobs and sniffling.

"Where you belong." His voice was animalistic, deeper than anything I'd ever heard before. It resonated within my chest, the feeling so uncomfortable I squeezed my eyes shut.

"Please let me go," I tried again, my heart hammering within my chest, breath so ragged I knew I would fall unconscious very soon. My head was spinning, and exhaustion washed over me in waves. But before my lids could get heavy enough to shut, the werewolf carried me inside a room, and slammed the door shut with his foot. I flinched, kicking and struggling harder against him, and finally, he let me down from his arms. I quickly shuffled away from him, staring up at his tall form with wide eyes. My hands and feet shook uncontrollably, my throat burning with muffled cries.

The werewolf silently stared at me, and his eyes slowly stopped glowing, returning to their deep, piercing blue.

"What's your name?" he asked. Even his voice sounded human now. In fact, it was the sexiest and smoothest voice I'd ever heard.

I could not respond to his question with more than a choked cry.

His dark brows furrowed, and he stepped closer to me, making me gasp and back away further. I tripped over a bump in a rug, falling on my ass.

"Woah, relax," he said, coming towards me.

I screamed and backed away, tears rolling down my cheeks, until I was pressed into the corner of the room.

The wolf frowned down at me, before slowly lowering himself, kneeling down in front of me. The ghost of a smile appeared on his lips, and amusement twinkled within his eyes.

"You're afraid of me," he stated.

No s**t.

"What--what do you want from me? Please let me go," I begged, my tone so desperate I wanted to kill myself. I'd promised I'd never bow to a werewolf. I'd promised myself I would die fighting. But the second one stepped near me, all determination and courage went flying out of my body, and got replaced with paralysing fear.

"Tell me your name," he said, eyes once again darting down to my body.

I hugged myself, feeling exposed under his gaze. "Del--Delilah."

I purposely left out my last name, hoping he wouldn't know who I was. If he was the same beast that killed my parents, or if he was related to it, then he didn't need to know I was my parents' daughter. I didn't want to die. I didn't survive that night to get killed.

"Delilah," he repeated slowly, almost as if he were tasting the word on his tongue. "Delilah," he said again, shifting closer to me.

I pulled my knees to my chest, jamming my back and head against the wall so tight it started to hurt.

He reached out towards my face, and I drew in a breath, squeezing my eyes shut and turning away. His warm fingers gently traced against my cheek, then slowly lowered to the side of my neck, covering my arms with goosebumps.

I sniffled, my chest starting to ache now.

His other hand cupped my cheek as well, and then his thumb gently brushed away the tears tha left my eyes.

"Look at me," he said whispered.

I felt him move closer, until I could feel the warmth of his breath blow against my forehead.

"Delilah. Look at me."

He gently turned my face towards himself.

I still didn't open my eyes.

"Delilah," he said again, his hand moving from my neck to under my chin, and he lightly tipped my face up.

Mustering every bit of bravery I had within me, I obliged to his command. Then regretted it instantly.

His face was mere inches away, so close our noses would brush if I scrunched mine up.

A shuddering breath left my lips as they trembled, and his eyes followed the movement.

"I'm not gonna hurt you," he promised, gently caressing my face with his thumbs. "You can relax."

More tears rolled down my cheeks, and a soft sob left my mouth.

"Shh, shh." He frowned, shaking his head. "It's okay. You're alright. You're safe with me, love. No one can hurt you if you're with me. I'm Xavier Crown, the Alpha of the Blood Moon pack. This is the safest place you can be, I promise."

Yeah, I didn't believe him.

"I--I wanna go home," I managed to say between sobs, looking anywhere but him.

"Why?" he asked. "You're meant to stay here, Delilah. With me. Always and forever."

The air felt thinner with every passing second.

"What... Why is your heart beating faster?" he muttered, frowning. "Delilah, calm down."

He continued to speak, but I could no longer hear him. My ears were ringing. Loud. Louder every second.

Darkness started to fill the corners of my eyes, and slowly and gently, enveloped me completely.

- - - -

XAVIER

This was just perfect.

Utterly so.

What kind of a game was the Moon Goddess playing with me?

Shut up. At least we found her. She's perfect.

I woudn't say perfect. I sighed. She has no wolf for you, Hagor. She cannot be a Luna.

The Goddess gave her to us for a reason. Are you questioning fate? Hagor asked me in his usual, condescending tone.

I clenched my jaw. This jerk got onto my nerves at times. I'm not questioning anything. She is perfect for me. But do you not need a wolf to fulfil your needs?

You don't worry about me. I love her. I wouldn't want anyone else to be our mate. Let's mark her. Right now.

Are you crazy? I rolled my eyes. I won't mark her without her consent.

She belongs to us. We can do whatever we want.

Shut the hell up.

I gently scooped the girl up, cradling her into my arms. I stood up, staring at the distressed look on her face even as she slept. Why was she so afraid of us? Something told me this would only go downhill from here. She was a human, not a werewolf. She would always have a fear in her heart, the awareness that if things went wrong, that if anything happened, she could never fight back against me. It wasn't like something would ever happen, but I understood the discomfort that thought could bring. It was why I never wanted a human mate. Always thought of those as a liability, a weakness. And now I'd found one. And she was so beautiful I was barely holding myself back from kissing her.

I laid her down on my bed, and covered her with my blanket. She looked like a little princess even as she shivered and trembled. I'd always thought I would have a fierce, wild mate, someone everyone would be afraid of, a force to reckon with. But instead I'd gotten a fragle little darling, someone who was afraid even of me. She didn't need to be. I would never hurt her. But if I were being honest, her responses and reactions were endearing. I felt the urge to tease her, but I did not like her tears. I didn't want her to cry because of me. But it was alright. I could make her love me eventually.

We should give her space, I thought to Hagor. Give her the time to understand the situation.

We need to have her, Xavier. Right now.

I felt myself drawn towards her, as if an invisible force was pushing me towards her. I clenched my fists and closed my eyes.

Stop it, I snapped at my wolf.

We want her right now. I want her scent to be coated all over your body.

The thought drove me crazy.

I turned away from her, closing my eyes shut.

Hagor. Stop it. Stop doing this. She isn't a werewolf, she doesn't feel the bond like we do. She's afraid of us, and if you make me do anything wrong, she will hate us forever.

That won't be possible once we mark her. Once we mark her, she will start to feel attracted to us. And even if she doesn't, we can use the mark to drive her crazy unless she begs to be with us.

A growl left my lips. "I am not doing any such thing to her. I will not mark her right now, and I will not touch her without her consent. I understand what you're feeling, Hagor, I want her too. But we need to stay calm or we'll lose her forever."

"What... What do you mean?" her frightened voice made me freeze, and when I turned to her, she let out a gasp.

I quickly closed my eyes, taking a deep breath to calm myself down. My eyes must have changed colour due to the animalistic desire I felt towards her.

I opened my eyes when I felt slightly relax, and found her on the far side of the bed, shaking like a leaf.

"I meant nothing, love, don't worry about it. You can calm down."

"No, I--I heard you. Let me go," she said, now sounding more angry than frightened.

Was that progress? I wasn't sure.

"You can't go, I'm sorry."

She kicked off the blanket even as I could see her shiver, but she was doing a good job at hiding her fear now. She glared at me with teary eyes, then grabbed a small vial of perfume and threw it onto the ground. It broke instantly, and I frowned as she bent down and picked up a piece of glass.

"You let me go, or I will kill you."

She was holding onto it too hard.

She's gonna hurt herself, Hagor said in alarm.

"Drop that piece of glass," I stated.

"No! If you dare come near me, I will kill you," she cried.

"I will not come near you if you lose the glass."

She shook her head.

I let out a low sigh. "Have it your way then."

Within seconds I had her pressed against the wall, and a scream left her lips as I pinned her hand beside her head. I gently took the shard of glass from her grip, and tossed it away. And then she did the unthinkable.

She used her free hand to grab my hair, pulling so hard I felt a few hairs break.

- - - - - -