The Alpha's love slave

CHAPTER FIVE: BLACKMAILED!

Dastan felt a bout of pity for the woman in front of him as he walked back and forth in front if her with the intention of intimidating her. It was serving its purpose, judging by the terrified look on her face. He felt like a predator toying with his prey before the final blow. Kidnapping her had been a great idea – he felt only disgust for her now, taking great pleasure in torturing her.

“Why are you here?” he repeated in a deliberately slow tone, pretending to consider her question. “Let me consider this. How about you drop the act now, little lamb?” he retaliated sarcastically. “We all know the Hendersons very well here.”

She shook her head in confusion, putting on a great act. She should have been a movie actress instead of an Alpha’s daughter. Come to think of it, any Henderson would make a great actor.

“What are you talking about?” she questioned looking baffled.

“Alright,” he pretended to accept defeat. “You want to play. We’ll have it your way. Let’s pretend you don’t know anything.”

She frowned. “I really don’t know what you’re talking about,” she asserted impatiently, and Dastan had to applaud her determination to keep up with the act.

With a brisk nod, he accepted the treacherous woman’s lies. “Okay, I’ll buy that. Let me spell it out for you then. Your brother seemed to have escaped with my mate. And now as retaliation, I have kidnapped you from your pack.”

If he’d expected terror or a change of attitude, he was sorely disappointed. He got neither. In fact, he got no reaction from her whatsoever. Her golden eyes looked dead and emotionless, completely different to the fiery spirits he’d caught sight of two years ago.

Something uncomfortable shifted in his chest at the prospect of him doing that to her. But that was impossible, surely? She must have moved on from the pain of losing her mate so many years ago. She was an Alpha’s daughter for Goddess’s sake, and suitors would fall over themselves to ally with her.

“I see,” she said after a while. “What do you intend to do with me?” she questioned boldly, and Dastan was impressed with her equanimity. She looked nothing like the frightened rabbit of two years ago.

What enraged him was that there was absolutely no sign of Xander Henderson anywhere. It was like he’d disappeared right under their nose. Dastan was furious with himself for being unable to dig that rat out from his hole. The idea had been to negotiate an exchange: Eden for Maera. The one he loathed because to his greatest dismay, he was enraged to discover that the s****l pull he’d felt for Maera Henderson was still existent.

He didn’t know which was worse. Being an incompetent Alpha or being an incompetent male. Both were a matter of great shame to him.

Rage surrounded him then to fight back against the dark emotion of being incompetent in any way. Rage against the woman in front of him because she was the only one available to bear his wrath.

“That’s up to you, I’m afraid,” he deliberately taunted, enjoying the way her frown deepened at his cryptic remark. He was taking a great deal of pleasure to mock and torture her.

“Up to me? How can I do anything? What help could I possibly be?” she asked in a puzzled frown, biting her lip in worry. He nearly groaned out loud in front of his whole pack. What kind of insane attraction was that? He found his c*ck stretching inside his pants as he found himself wanting those lips and teeth around the shaft.

All he wanted was push her back to the floor and pound inside her s*x until she begged him for more pleasure. For him never to stop. And he was harboring those fantasies, right in front of everyone!!! Uggggggh!

“Come now!” he teased sardonically, masking his desire with a contemptuous smile. “We all know that brother and sister are tied to the womb. So, you must have an idea where your brother went?”

She let out a dry laughter. “I’m sorry to disappoint you, Alpha, but I have no idea where my brother is. I’m not sure I would have told you if I had known,” she retorted heatedly right back at him in front of his entire pack. The air sucked out of him as a general gasp resonated through the room.

She was defying him? How dared she? He’d assumed she was a meek weakling when she’d so readily accepted the rejection of Eaton two years ago. After the Hendersons had left the party that infamous night, Eaton had collapsed on the floor as the pain had overwhelmed him.

He’d been rushed to the clinic where he’d been administered intensive care and had come out of the coma three days later. Three days of Dastan going crazy with the idea that he’d almost killed his brother and Beta. It would have been a better option to accept that wretched woman in their pack instead of losing another one of his own.

“Eaton!” he’d pleaded when his Beta had awoken from his long sleep. “How are you feeling man?”

The doctors had given strict instructions that Eaton was to remain bedridden for a few days, and that he would need frequent dose of hydroxocobalamin to overcome the stress of the rejection. Dastan had been out of his mind with worry.

“Like I walked right under a train,” Eaton had jokingly answered, groaning as he tried to shift from his position. Then his eyes had darkened with remorse. “Did you have any news of her?”

Dastan had gagged over the question, jealousy peeking its green head where it had no business. How could Eaton still care about her under the circumstances? Was he still in love with her? Still attracted to her?

“You misunderstand me. I was only asking about her because her wolf is much weaker than mine. If I am in such a bad position, I can’t help wondering how she’s faring?”

Dastan felt relieved that his friend couldn’t really interpret the reason of his reaction. He would be deeply ashamed to admit that he was jealous of the bond they shared. That he was craving to know how she was too. It was only sheer Alpha willpower which had retained him from checking on her.

“I could send someone to check on her if you desire,” he said in a low voice, despising himself for wanting it as much as Eaton.

“No, that won’t be necessary. I guess if we’ve no news yet, it means that she got better. Thankfully, I would hate to be the one to cause her any more pain than necessary. I regret rejecting her, but I could never accept her in my life.”

Dastan refrained from answering. In fact, he wasn’t sure that they’d done the right thing after all. Seeing Eaton’s condition had made him have second to tenth thoughts over the past few days. How was she keeping up with the bond breaking? Rejection was so rare among werewolves nowadays that the only information they had was in the books.

History was very succinct about the fact that the pain was so unbearable that rejection could kill someone or the wolf within. It would take a strong soul to resist the bond breakage. But he wasn’t about to add fuel to the fire. Eaton was already in a bad position and telling him anything negative was going to break his moral further.

“Take some rest for the moment. We’ll find out about her when you’re better,” he’d reassured before leaving the hospital room. Was it really necessary? Maera was the daughter of an Alpha, and he was sure that the best treatment was being administered to her right now. She would have to survive the bond breakage, there was no other option for her.

He refused to have her death on his conscience. Days later, he received the news that Maera Henderson had flown to an unknown country with her brother for treatment. He was greatly relieved to find that she was being catered for. At least her brother was here for her in the dark days.

That was why he couldn’t believe her when she so openly lied to him. There was no way Xander would have left without a word to his beloved sister.

“Really? Well, it seems that we’re caught in an impasse, my little lamb,” he drawled lightly, although there was mistaking the steely determination in his eyes. “I really need to know where your coward brother went before he harms my mate.”

She snickered derisively. “You think my brother is cut from the same cloth as you? He will never harm your mate. There must be a reason why he left with her. Maybe your mate left willingly.”

There was an ominous silence which followed her accusations, during which Dastan seethed with rage as her dig hit closer home than she’d intended. She had no right to accuse his mate without knowing the truth though. That too in front of his whole pack. How dared she?

“Maybe,” he repeated casually, although he was having a hard time taming his wolf. All the beast wanted was to jump on her and tear her flesh apart. Meir felt no attraction towards her and would have no misgivings about making her mince her own words. “That would be the exact thoughts your brother would have about you, though. Maybe you left your pack willingly?

Another snot of disbelief escaped her. “My brother knows that I would never ally with the likes of you,” she spat. “He’ll be coming to my rescue in a matter of seconds if he knew I was here.”

“Is that so?” Dastan responded gleefully. To his Gamma Norton who was standing behind Maera, he ordered. “Spread the words then. Let the whole community know that Maera Henderson is under my captivity.”

There was a general snicker among his pack members, and Maera sagged back to the floor in fear and defeat. There was still no expression in her deadpan eyes though, it seemed like any sign of light had vanished from them.

“As what, Alpha?” somebody asked loudly with a leer.

He glanced at the one who’d spoken approvingly – they rarely took pleasure over other people’s misery. But they were all aware of who she was. The daughter of the man who’d massacred their families. Probably one of the participants too.

“Maera Henderson, the whole world knows that I am a very fair Alpha,” he announced with sadistic pleasure of what was about to come. A devilish idea had burgeoned in his mind and once it was here, it couldn’t be trampled. How about killing two birds with one stone? “I’ll give you a choice. You can either choose to live in the dungeons with the rats…,” he paused for dramatic effect, waiting for her eyes to lit up with some sparkle.

When nothing happened, he crushed the disappointment he felt to continue. “…or you can live with us in the palace as one of the servants. The choice is yours.”

There was a loud uproar among the people as they speculated over his words. Dastan was fairly sure that Maera would opt for the latter. No princess of her caliber would survive after being chained to a wall without food or water for days. Not that being a servant was worthy of her status, but it was a much better option. After all, his idea was to punish and humiliate.

“If you choose the dungeons, you will be fed only once per day without cloth and only a pot for your basic needs. Whereas, if you prefer the second option, you will have the same food as our servants, but you will be required to toil as hard as them.”

He was waiting for her choice to drive the hammer home.

Her lips slanted in a lopsided snicker catching him off-guard with the jaded smile that she threw his way. “What’s the catch?” she asked casually, seeming totally unaffected by his cruelty.

His eyes gleamed at her wittiness; he’d perceived that under that skinny layer was a woman made of steel. “If you consider the rats, you will be a normal slave.” He allowed her a moment to digest his meaning before he threw his punch. What surprised him was the fact that she seemed to be aware that he was not going to offer her mercy. She was bracing herself for the worst.

“However, if you opt for the latter, you will be my s*x slave.”