Chapter 3 The Alpha's Hunger

Alpha Kael's POV

The fire's warmth did nothing to chase the chill that had settled into my chest.

She knelt there, slick with oil, the faint scent of jasmine clinging to her skin. The linen she wore was thin, clinging to her body, leaving nothing to the imagination.

Every curve, every swell, every subtle line of her body glistened under the flickering firelight and still, she dared to resist me.

Her eyes, wide and defiant, met mine even as her hands moved slowly, hesitantly, at my command.

I had instructed her to touch herself and she did, inch by inch, tentatively, trembling with embarrassment, fury and something I couldn't quite place just yet.

Who cares? She was being humiliated and that was enough for me.

I watched her carefully, studying the way her heart throbbed at the base of her throat, the way the oil caught the light along her collarbone, highlighting the lines of her body that begged to be claimed.

Every inch of her skin, exposed and glistening, challenged my restraint and my wolf growled low, insistent, coiling through my chest.

I hated her, I hated her parents and I hated everything about the way she existed as the daughter of my enemies.

And yet, in spite of it, or perhaps because of it, my body betrayed me. Heat pooled low into a gnawing tension between my legs I could not deny.

I gripped my already erect cock inside my robe, as if forcing myself to stay still and enjoy the show.

The smell of her filled my senses. Every inhale was a reminder of how dangerously alive she was.

My wolf howled, impatient and ravenous. I clenched my jaw, suppressing the instinct to claim her then and there.

Her lips parted slightly, and I saw her shoulders tighten as she obeyed, reluctantly but inevitably.

The subtle curve of her spine, the way her fingers traced her body with hesitation and shame was intoxicating.

My wolf surged again, sharper, and hungrier.

"You disgust me" I said to her, my face twisted into a terrible frown but she didn't stop.

It was like this humiliating act was fun for her.

I reminded myself hatred first, desire second, or maybe desire was never supposed to follow.

Yet the light gleamed off her oiled skin, highlighting the subtle rise of her breasts, the hollow of her waist, the gentle sweep of her thick thighs.

Every glance fed the hunger I had thought I had satisfied just a couple moments ago with my other playthings, but she was different and my wolf recognized it instantly.

I leaned forward, letting my fingers trace the slick line of her waist, just brushing, enough to cause a shiver that set her trembling.

"You are mine," I murmured, my voice low, but charged with a heat that even I could not entirely suppress.

Her eyes widened, defiance still flickering there, but overshadowed by uncertainty.

She knew she could not truly resist me. Her pulse quickened, her breaths shallow and uneven. Every fiber of her being screamed tension, desire, and fear all at once.

She arched just slightly, responding to me despite herself, and my body reacted before my mind could intervene.

Heat coiled tight in my chest and my loins, making my wolf howl inside me. I bent closer, my lips brushing against her neck, teasing, tasting, claiming.

Her skin was soft, warm, perfumed lightly by oil and sweat. The smell, the taste, the shiver that ran through her as I grazed her shoulder with my teeth was unbearably maddening and intoxicating.

I sank my fangs lightly into her shoulder, feeling the faint pulse of life beneath my bite.

She gasped, instinctively pressing closer, yet flinching at the pain. The mixture of resistance and surrender, of fear and something else made my wolf thrash with a hunger that was entirely unusual.

She is dangerous.

I realized with a sudden, terrifying clarity that she was not merely prey, not merely a girl to punish.

She was fire incarnate, untamed and unpredictable. Every instinct in me screamed at the raw, hungry electricity between us and in that instant, I snapped.

I pushed her away roughly to create distance.

Her soaked silk lingerie shifted against her skin, leaving her exposed, trembling, flushed with a combination of shame, anger, and the heat of desire.

My chest heaved screaming in frustration and need.

"Guards!" I barked, my voice lethal.

Two of my men appeared instantly. They seized her arms, pulling her back despite her struggling, and I could see the flare of indignation and defiance in her eyes.

Her scent, mixed with the heat of her skin, clung to me, and my wolf snarled in frustrated hunger.

I could feel the tension in the room like electricity. Every line of her body was a challenge, every pulse and breath a temptation.

She was more than a woman, she was a threat, a fire that had claimed a piece of me I had spent years guarding against.

"Let me go" she screamed but it was useless. Screams were nothing new coming from my room.

"She is dangerous," I muttered under my breath, watching her struggle against my guards.

The curve of her shoulders, the slight arch of her back, the trembling of her fingers as they pressed against my men was intoxicating.

She had power, raw and dangerous, and it made me aware of every need and desire I had ever denied myself.

I sank back into the leather chair, gripping the arms tightly, trying to tame the storm raging inside me.

My wolf was restless, craving her in ways that disgusted me and yet, I could not deny it.

The daughter of my enemies had done what no one else had dared. She had made me aware of my weakness.