Chapter 3

The Alpha’s Claim

His words echoed in the small inn room, rattling the fragile walls of my control.

That makes you mine.

They were so heavy on my chest that I was having trouble breathing.. He hadn’t said it softly. He hadn’t said it like a lover. He had spoken it like an Alpha—like a sentence handed down in a trial. Final. Binding. Irrefutable.

“No,” I whispered, shaking my head violently. My palms pressed against the door behind me as if the wood could swallow me whole, hide me from the storm in front of me. “I’m not yours. I don’t belong to anyone.”

Damon’s silver eyes glinted, catching the light with a predator’s gleam. He moved slowly, deliberately, like a wolf cornering prey. “You crossed into my land. You breathed my air. You walked under my moon.” His voice deepened, thrumming with the resonance of dominance. “That gives me a claim.”

His nearness set every nerve in me on fire. My wolf whined, desperate to bow, desperate to yield, but I locked my knees, forcing myself upright. “I don’t care about your claim,” I snapped, though my voice cracked on the last word. “You don’t own me.”

Something flickered across his expression then—something that made my heart stutter. Amusement? No. Curiosity. He leaned in, his shadow falling over me.

“Defiant little rogue,” he murmured. “Do you know what happens to rogues who cross my borders?”

I swallowed hard. I knew. Everyone knew.

They disappeared.

No stories came back.

My lips trembled, but I forced the words out anyway. “You kill them.”

His smile was slow, sharp, and entirely without warmth. “When they deserve it.”

“And do I?” My voice was little more than a rasp.

Silence stretched between us. His gaze dragged over me—not in hunger, not yet, but in calculation like he was dissecting me piece by piece, stripping me down to the bone.

The bond between us thrummed harder, pulling tighter with every passing breath. My wolf pressed against my skin, tail wagging with humiliating eagerness. She wanted to roll over, to submit, to press her throat against his and claim him as ours.

I suppressed the urge until my mouth was filled with blood.

“Tell me why you’re here,” Damon demanded.

“I told you,” I shot back. “I’m just passing through.”

“Lies,” he said again, the word cutting like a blade.

“I don’t owe you anything.”

His hand shot forward, slamming against the doorframe beside my head. The wood cracked under the force, dust raining down between us. I gasped, my body jerking instinctively, but he didn’t touch me. Not yet.

Instead, he leaned closer until our noses nearly brushed. “You owe me everything. You stepped into my land. You stepped into my law. You stepped into me.”

His words tangled with the bond, each syllable threading deeper into my soul. My wolf shuddered with a whimper that only I could hear.

“No,” I choked out, pushing against the door as if I could melt through it. “I’ll never belong to you.”

Something darkened in his gaze at that. Anger. Frustration. Maybe even a flicker of hurt—but it was gone before I could be sure.

He stepped back suddenly, the space between us slamming wide open. I sagged against the door, chest heaving, knees trembling. For a moment, I thought he’d let me go.

Then he turned, his voice as cold as steel. “Guards.”

The door swung open, and two massive wolves stepped inside, both in human form, both radiating deadly obedience. Their eyes locked on me, waiting for a command.

“Take her,” Damon said simply.

My blood ran cold. “Wait—no!”

The guards surged forward, and instinct roared inside me. My wolf clawed at my skin, demanding release. My hands burned with the urge to shift, to fight, to run.

I barely managed to twist away from the first guard’s grasp, my shoulder slamming into the wall. The second caught my wrist in an iron grip. I snarled, thrashing, but his strength dwarfed mine.

“Let me go!” I screamed, panic lacing every word.

Damon didn’t move. He watched me struggle with eyes like ice, like he was testing me, studying me.

When the guard yanked me toward the door, something in me snapped. Power flared hot under my skin, my wolf pushing forward with reckless fury. My eyes burned, my nails lengthening, the start of a shift tearing through me.

“Enough.”

The single word boomed like thunder.

My body froze mid-shift, the magic shattering under the sheer force of his command. I gasped, falling back against the guard’s grip, trembling.

Damon’s gaze locked on me, silver and merciless. “You will not shift unless I allow it.”

My wolf whimpered, curling into a ball inside me. Whether I wanted it or not, obedience set in as the bond grew stronger. Tears burned behind my eyes, fury and humiliation mixing in my chest.

“I hate you,” I whispered.

For the first time, his expression flickered. Not much—but enough for me to catch it. The faintest crack in the ice.

With a flat voice, he commanded, "Take her to the dungeons.".

The guards dragged me through the door. I thrashed, I kicked, but my strength meant nothing against theirs. The hallway blurred around me, lanterns flashing, shadows stretching. My heart pounded in my ears.

Dungeons.

If he put me in a cell, I’d never get out.

Unless…

Unless he wanted me alive.

The thought burned through me as they hauled me down a narrow stairwell that reeked of damp stone and iron. My mind spun, panic clashing with the mate bond, with the pull that wanted me to turn back, to beg him to keep me close.

But I couldn’t.

Because Damon Blackridge had already made his choice.

He would either break me.

Or he would destroy me.