Chapter 6 6

Chapter 6 (Paid)

Tessa's POV

I was taken to a separate room away from the other women and handed to an older female servant who promptly forced me into a bath soon after.

"Get in there," she shouted, pushing me into a bath filled with the captivating fragrance of herbs and petals.

After she was done, she forced me into a dress resembling lingerie with its sheer top and short skirt. Then, I was half-escorted and half-dragged through the dimly lit halls to the Dark Lord's room.

"Wait! Slow down, please..." I said, almost stumbling forward.

Instead of showing mercy, the woman murderously glared at me, instantly making me shut my mouth and blindly follow her.

It was just as dim inside, making me squint. The space was rather massive, with a few strategically arranged chairs and other pieces of furniture. A huge flat-screen TV stood in front of the settee arrangement, too big to be mounted on the wall.

Off to the side on a small platform, a king-sized bed stood, with black silk sheets and metal hooks on the headboard that had me flinching away.

"Stay there and keep quiet!" she shouted as she pushed me hard inside, making me fall onto the ground.

"No! Wait!" I called out, promptly standing up.

I tried the knob on the door, letting out a frustrated sound when it remained closed. I needed to get out of here before he arrived. I glanced over the wall to see if there was another door or perhaps a window through which I could escape.

But I saw nothing.

When I checked, there was only one other door, which led to a large suite bathroom. I lifted the heavy blinds to peek out the window, and my heart shank at its sheer height away from the ground.

I hesitated and climbed onto the window sill, sitting on it and looking down, still considering if I was desperate enough to do it.

Maybe an Alpha would be able to jump down without anything more than a little limp, but omegas have less strength and healing abilities. My bones would surely crumble to pieces if I attempted to land on them from this height.

Even if I didn't die, I'd be severely disabled in the aftermath. That was hardly the life I wanted to live. I closed my eyes, gritting my teeth against my rising panic as I swung my legs back into the room.

I couldn't do it. It looked like I was not only weak but a coward as well. Damn, this life!

There had to be another way I could survive that wouldn't end in my death or disability, and I would find it. I started to edge off the window sill when the door flung open, and that dark, commanding presence stalked in.

Fear and shock nearly had me tumbling to my ultimate death, but I jerked forward before the momentum could carry me too far back. He closed the door behind him but hovered at the doorway. A single, dark brow raised.

"Stay back. O─o─or I'll j─jump!"

He let out a bark of short laughter and stalked towards me. "Try it then. Even if you survive the fall, and I doubt you will with how petite you are, my men have secured around every corner of the perimeter." With every word, he stepped closer, and I swallowed, trembling greatly.

With a devilish smirk, he added, "There's no way for you to escape."

"They know better than to let you escape. And who knows what they might do to you before I come get you."

He was in front of me now, and I leaned back as much as I could without toppling over, my breath coming out in harsh pants.

His large, warm hand lay atop my back, sending shivers down my spine as he slid me slightly away from the sill.

"You can see for yourself," he murmured against the side of my head, and I shuddered at the feel of his hot breath on my cheek.

I turned my head, mostly to lean away from his lips, but it brought into view some guards at a high post to the right of me. It was dark outside, and the sun had completely set by now.

Blinding, yellow light shone strongly from security lamps, illuminating the two heavily armed guards patrolling up and down the guard post.

There were probably posts like that all around the perimeter, ready to snipe anything that moved within fifty feet of them. To my relief, he backed away from me, turning to the sofa.

"You don't need to take my word for it, though. As I said, you can see for yourself," he mockingly said, removing his coat from his well-defined body and draping it all over the back of the chair.

He turned to me while taking off his gold wristwatch, and his dark eyes fell on mine as if trying to invade my soul as he placed his watch on the table.

His white shirt was still pristine despite the fact that he had probably been in it the entire day. It was tucked into his belt, his black trousers hugging his trunk-like thighs rather attractively.

He stalked back towards me, his steps much slower, and I scrambled down from the window sill, tensing when he came near once again.

"So..." He started, snapping my gaze to his face. "You're clearly not the Luna of your pack, seeing as you have neither an Alpha's mark nor scent all over you," he said easily.

My eyes widened, and my heart thumped furiously.

How did he figure me out so quickly? Would I be punished now for my hand in this deceit? Would he go back for Paige and return me to Eric? Or maybe keep us both?

I didn't care much if he harmed my traitorous pack; it would serve them right after all, but I at least deserved a break.

He towered over me in a few short seconds, his breath warming my skin once again.

I tried my best to stay still, but it was hard because his mere presence added to the heat in my skin. A strong, large hand reached for the ends of my hair, slowly wrapping my locks around his finger.

When his fist was firmly knotted in my hair, he slowly tilted my head, revealing the rapidly firing pulse at the base of my neck.

My breaths came out in short, rapid puffs, and I pushed weakly at his chest. It was like trying to budge a stone. His head lowered to me, my breath puffing faster and faster with his every descent. Then, his lips were pressing against my thudding pulse, tongue licking at the area.

My body shuddered, and despite my inner protest, I arched into it.

Suddenly, his teeth clamped down hard on my flesh, canines tearing into my skin.

I cried out, my entire body tensing in response to the pain. I flinched, trying to get away, but he held me tightly in place by wrapping his arms around my bare waist after my shirt rose a little.

I could only squirm and whimper when he released my flesh, licking the injured area over.

"There," he said, exceedingly pleased with himself. "That's just a temporary mark; the permanent one requires more... intimacy. But I've given you a little something to make sure everyone around here knows you're mine."

He leaned down, attempting to capture my lips, but I turned my head away, shoving at his chest again with all my might and anger.

This time, I managed to push him slightly off me, but he only went a step back and grinned. I glared at him, irritated.

"An omega, eh? How interesting. I like it," he said, but his words caused me fear instead of comfort.

"Well, I don't like you."

He smiled. "That's fine. Understandable even but of no real consequence, to be honest."

I swallowed at how casually he told me I didn't have a choice.

"In any case, you're mine now," he said in a finality that made me furious.

"I'm not! I won't just willingly be your woman, you know. I'll die first."

He raised a brow. "If you really meant that, you would have jumped a while ago."

"You'll have to kill me. If not, I'll run. Sooner or later. I won't give up."

He laughed a low, deadly rumble that chilled me to my bones. "Run to where? Didn't your Alpha give you away even when you weren't the Luna? What would you do? Become a lone wolf?"

His eyes glittered with a dangerous sort of amusement. "You know what happens to lone wolves in the outside world? Especially to cute, weak little omegas like yourself?"

I remained quiet, but he did not approach me again. Instead, he strolled to a large dresser I hadn't noticed before. An ornately carved mirror of equal propensity sat on the wall in front of the dresser.

He stood before the mirror, his eyes meeting mine in the reflection as he started to unbutton his shirt. Heat raised unbidden to my cheeks.

"The way I see it, you have very few options. Join my pack, truly and entirely. Or you can return to yours as the rogue who flaunted her Alpha's orders and possibly invited the wrath of the Dark Lord upon them." He gave me a wicked grin that I hated from the depths of my soul.

"Or you could be a lone wolf and see what life is like as an omega without a pack or protector." He finished with a shrug.

"I'd rather be a rogue or a stray than to remain here with you."

He shrugged again, pulling the shirt off his muscled torso. "Shame that what you'd rather be hardly matters. You will never be a Luna." His eyes flashed with a dangerous heat that I could hardly look away from.

"But now that I have you here, I have no intention of letting you go."