Chapter 2 The Alpha's Claim

I didn't move.

The growl came again, low and threatening, vibrating through the wooden door like a warning. My hand tightened around the knife, my breath caught in my throat. Through the gap beneath the door, I saw shadows moving-paws, large ones, pacing back and forth.

He had left a guard.

Of course he had.

I backed away from the door slowly, silently, until my legs hit the edge of the bed. I sank onto the furs, still clutching the knife, my mind racing. There was no escape tonight. Not with a wolf outside that door. Not without a plan.

I looked at the window again. Too small to shift and climb through. Even if I could shift-which I couldn't control-I'd never make it. The guard would hear. Ronan would hear. And then...

I will drag you back myself. I will break you.

I shoved the knife beneath the furs on the bed and lay down, still in my white dress, still trembling. Sleep was impossible, but I closed my eyes and forced my breathing to slow. I would need my strength. Tomorrow. The next day. Whenever my chance came.

Dawn arrived too soon.

Light crept through the small window, painting the room in shades of gray and gold. I hadn't slept-not really-but I must have drifted at some point, because I didn't hear the door open. I didn't hear him enter.

I only felt his presence.

My eyes snapped open. Ronan stood at the foot of the bed, watching me with those golden eyes. He was dressed now-leather pants, a fur cloak over his broad shoulders-but he still radiated the same predatory intensity as the night before.

"You're awake," he said. It wasn't a question.

I sat up slowly, pushing the furs aside. My dress was wrinkled, my hair a mess, but I met his gaze without flinching. If he wanted fear, I wouldn't give it to him easily.

"Good," he said, a hint of approval in his voice. "You learn fast. Fear is weakness. I don't want a weak Luna."

He moved to the window, pushing aside the animal hide that served as a curtain. Sunlight flooded the room, and I blinked against its brightness.

"Today is your mating ceremony," he said, his back to me. "Tonight, you become mine in the eyes of the pack and the moon. But first, you need to understand what that means."

He turned to face me, leaning against the window frame with his arms crossed. In the daylight, I could see him more clearly-the scars on his chest, the hardness in his jaw, the coldness in those golden eyes that never quite warmed.

"Red River has rules," he began. "Rules that keep us strong. Rules that keep us alive. As my Luna, you will follow them without question."

I said nothing, just watched him.

"Rule one: An Alpha's word is law. When I speak, you obey. Not because you're weak, but because I am your Alpha. Your body, your blood, your wolf-they all belong to me now."

Mare. Broodmare. Property.

"Rule two: You will not speak to other males without my permission. You will not look at them. You will not acknowledge them. They are beneath you, and you are mine."

His eyes narrowed slightly, as if waiting for me to protest. I kept my face neutral.

"Rule three: You will bear my children. As many as it takes to strengthen our bloodline." He pushed off from the window and walked toward me, each step slow and deliberate. "Your half-blood status makes you unpredictable. But unpredictability can be useful. Your pups will be stronger for it. Fiercer."

He stopped in front of me, so close I could feel the heat radiating from his body. "I will breed you until your womb gives me warriors. And then I will breed you again."

My stomach turned, but I didn't look away.

"You're brave," he said softly. "I like that. But bravery without submission is dangerous." He reached out and touched my hair, running a strand between his fingers. "I wonder what you smell like. Half-bloods always have a strange scent-two wolves fighting inside one body."

He leaned closer, inhaling near my neck, and I fought the urge to shove him away. His breath was warm against my skin, and I felt his body tense.

For a moment, something flickered in his eyes. Surprise? Interest? His nostrils flared, and he inhaled again, deeper this time.

"You..." He pulled back slightly, his gaze sharpening. "You smell different."

I didn't know what that meant, so I said nothing.

His eyes roamed over my face, my neck, my body beneath the wrinkled dress. There was disgust there-I could see it-but there was something else too. Something that looked almost like hunger. Not the hunger of a predator for prey. Something else.

He stepped back abruptly, as if catching himself. "Get up," he commanded. "You need to bathe and dress. The ceremony is at sunset."

I rose from the bed, keeping my movements slow and deliberate. As I passed him, his hand shot out and gripped my arm.

"One more thing," he said, his voice low and dangerous. "I know you have that knife."

My heart stopped.

"The old woman-Maeve. She thinks I didn't see. She thinks she's clever." His grip tightened, fingers digging into my flesh. "I let her give it to you. I wanted to see what you would do."

I stared at him, my mind racing. He knew. He knew all along.

"You didn't use it last night," he continued. "That was smart. You would have died. But tonight..." He leaned close, his lips brushing my ear. "Tonight, after the ceremony, you might be tempted. So let me make this clear."

His voice dropped to a whisper, cold as ice.

"If you try to run, I will find you. If you try to fight, I will break you. If you try to kill me, I will make you watch as I destroy everyone who ever showed you kindness." He pulled back, meeting my eyes. "Maeve. The servants who bathe you. Anyone who so much as looks at you with pity. I will kill them all, slowly, and you will watch."

My blood ran cold.

"Do you understand, half-blood?"

I nodded, unable to speak.

"Good." He released my arm, leaving red marks where his fingers had been. "Now go. Bathe. Prepare. And remember-every choice you make affects more than just you."

He turned and walked out, leaving me standing there with his threat echoing in my mind and the hidden knife still beneath the furs, now useless.

Two women entered moments later, their eyes downcast, their movements nervous. They led me to a bathing chamber-a small room with a wooden tub filled with steaming water. They helped me undress, their hands gentle but quick, and I sank into the hot water, trying to wash away the feeling of his touch.

They scrubbed my skin with sweet-smelling oils and washed my hair with herbs. They dressed me in a new garment-not white this time, but deep red, the color of the Red River Pack. It was beautiful, intricate, and it felt like a cage.

As they worked, I caught the eye of one-a young woman, barely older than me, with frightened eyes and trembling hands.

"What's your name?" I whispered.

She glanced toward the door, then back at me. "Elara," she breathed.

"Elara," I repeated. "How long have you been here?"

"All my life. I was born here." She continued braiding my hair, her movements quick and efficient. "Please, my lady, we shouldn't talk. If Alpha finds out..."

"He won't." I reached back and touched her hand briefly. "Thank you, Elara."

Her eyes widened, then softened with something that looked like pity. The same pity I'd seen in the crowd last night. The same fear.

She leaned close as she adjusted my braid, her lips nearly touching my ear. "The old one-Maeve-she says to wait. To watch. To be ready." She pulled back quickly, her face neutral again.

My heart pounded. Maeve had allies here. People who would help.

But Ronan's threat echoed in my mind: I will kill them all, slowly, and you will watch.

I couldn't risk them. I couldn't risk anyone.

When they finished dressing me, Elara and the other woman led me back to Ronan's den. The knife was gone from beneath the furs-someone had found it, or Ronan had taken it. Either way, I was weaponless again.

The day passed in a blur. Women came and went, bringing food I couldn't eat, fussing over details I couldn't care about. The sun crawled across the sky, each hour bringing me closer to sunset. Closer to the ceremony. Closer to him.

As the light began to fade, Ronan returned.

He had bathed and dressed too-leather pants, a fur cloak, his chest bare and gleaming with oils. He looked every inch the Alpha. Every inch the monster.

"Come," he said, holding out his hand. "It's time."

I looked at his hand, then at his face. In his golden eyes, I saw anticipation. Cruelty. And beneath it all, that strange hunger I'd noticed before-not just for my body, but for something else. Something I couldn't name.

I took his hand.

His fingers closed around mine, warm and strong, and he led me out of the den toward the clearing where the pack waited. Torches blazed. Drums pounded. Wolves howled.

And I walked toward my fate, Maeve's word still burning in my mind:

Run.

But how could I run when running meant death for everyone who helped me?

As we entered the clearing, the crowd parted, and I saw the ceremonial platform-the same one where Ronan had introduced me last night, now decorated with flowers and furs and symbols of pack unity. At its center stood an ancient stone altar, stained dark with what I prayed was not blood.

Ronan led me up the steps, and the drums fell silent. The howling stopped. Every eye in the pack was on us.

"Tonight," Ronan's voice boomed across the clearing, "I take my Luna. Tonight, our bloodlines merge. Tonight, Red River grows stronger!"

The crowd cheered, and Ronan turned to me with a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"Kneel," he commanded.

I hesitated for just a moment-one small act of defiance-but then I knelt. The cold stone bit into my knees through the thin fabric of my dress.

Ronan produced a blade from his belt-not the small knife Maeve had given me, but a ceremonial dagger, ancient and sharp. He cut his palm first, letting the blood drip onto the altar. Then he reached for my hand.

"Your blood joins mine," he intoned. "Your wolf joins my pack. Your life belongs to Red River."

He pressed the blade to my palm. Pain flared, sharp and bright, and my blood joined his on the ancient stone. The pack howled their approval, but I barely heard them.

All I could hear was Ronan's voice, soft and private, meant only for me:

"You're mine now, half-blood. Forever."