Chapter 4

"Don't," a voice rumbled, vibrating through the humid air like a low-frequency warning.

I didn't stop. I couldn't. My hand gripped the cold metal railing, my heart a frantic, dying bird in my chest. I was halfway over, my body leaning into the abyss, when a hand like a shackle closed around my upper arm.

The strength was absolute. Before I could draw a breath to scream, I was jerked backward with such violent efficiency that my feet left the ground. I slammed into a chest that felt like armored plating, the air rushing out of my lungs in a sharp wheeze.

Rowan Kingsley didn't let go. He spun me around, pinning me against the side of his armored SUV, his body a wall of dark, suffocating heat that blotted out the entire world. His hand moved from my arm to my throat, not squeezing, but hovering with a terrifying promise of control.

"Move again," he hissed, his face inches from mine, "and I’ll make sure you can’t move for a week. Do you think I took you just to watch you paint the pavement with your brains? You’re smarter than this, Veda. Act like it."

"Let me go!" I thrashed against him, my palms striking his shoulders, his chest, anywhere I could reach. "You don't want me! You just want to own me! I’d rather be nothing than be yours!"

"Silence."

The word wasn't shouted. It was a command backed by the full, crushing weight of an Alpha’s Will. My jaw snapped shut instinctively, my muscles locking as my omega wolf whimpered and curled into a ball of pure terror. My eyes welled with tears of frustration and helplessness. I hated how easily he could dominate me. I hated that my body recognized his authority even when my mind screamed for rebellion.

Rowan leaned in closer, his scent filling my lungs until I couldn't breathe anything else. His eyes were slate-grey storms, swirling with a dark, predatory intelligence that seemed to strip away my skin and look directly at my soul.

"Listen to me, and listen well," he murmured, his voice dropping to a gravelly silk that made my skin prickle with a heat I didn't want to acknowledge. "You are done with Julian. You are done with being the pack's punching bag. You belong to the Enforcer Division now. You belong to the High-Rise. And that means you follow my rules."

"I am not one of your soldiers, Rowan," I spat, the defiance in my blood warring with the submission in my bones. "You can't just order my life into a schedule."

"I can do whatever the fuck I want with you, Veda. I bought your debt. I bought your life. If I want you to sit at my table, you sit. If I want you in my bed, you're there." His gaze dropped to my lips, lingering there for a second too long, a flash of something raw and hungry crossing his features. "But I don't want a corpse. I want the girl who looked at the future Alpha and told him she hated him. That’s the version of you I’m keeping. Don’t let her die because you’re feeling dramatic."

"Dramatic?" I laughed, a jagged, hysterical sound. "My mate rejected me in front of everyone! My sister is in his bed! And I’ve been handed to a man they call the Butcher like I’m a piece of meat! What part of this is supposed to be handled with grace?"

"The part where you survive," Rowan growled. He shifted, his thigh pressing between mine, pinning me even firmer against the vehicle.

The contact was electric. Through the thin silk of my ruined dress, I could feel the hard, unrelenting muscle of his leg. My breath hitched, my heart rate spiking for a completely different reason.

"Julian is a boy playing at being a king. He wanted a mirror to reflect his own vanity. I don't want a mirror, Veda. I want a partner who knows how it feels to bleed and keeps standing anyway."

The tension between us shifted, the air growing thick and heavy, charged with a sudden, violent magnetism. I looked into his eyes and for a moment, the fear vanished, replaced by a terrifying curiosity. He wasn't looking at me like I was a broken thing. He was looking at me like I was a challenge. Like I was a prize he hadn't quite figured out how to unlock yet.

His thumb brushed along the line of my jaw, a slow, deliberate movement that sent shivers racing down my spine. "You think I’m a monster," he whispered, his lips almost brushing my ear. "Maybe I am. But I’m the monster that keeps the other ones away from your door. Remember that."

I reached up, my hand trembling as I gripped the front of his tactical shirt, bunching the fabric in my fist. I wanted to push him away. I wanted to pull him closer. The conflict was a physical ache in my chest.

"Why me, Rowan?" I breathed. "There are a hundred elite omegas who would kill to be in your high-rise. Why take the one who was thrown away?"

Rowan’s grip on my throat softened, his fingers curling into the hair at the nape of my neck. He pulled my head back slightly, forcing me to expose the pale line of my throat. "Because they’re all hollow, Veda. They’re all ghosts in expensive jewelry. You... you have enough fire in you to burn this city down. I just want to see who you decide to light up first."

He stayed there for a heartbeat longer, the heat of his body radiating into mine, the proximity so intense it felt like a brand. I could see the pulse jumping in his neck. He wanted to do something, I could feel the restraint vibrating off him like a live wire.

Then, as quickly as he had pinned me, he released me.

The loss of his warmth was like a bucket of ice water. I swayed, my back hitting the SUV as he stepped away, his expression hardening back into the impenetrable mask of the Enforcer Alpha.

"Get in the car," he commanded, his voice cold and professional once more.

"Where are we going?" I asked, my voice still shaky.

Rowan opened the passenger door, his eyes fixing on mine with a finality that brooked no further argument.

"To the High-Rise. You’ll be assigned a floor and a security detail. You’ll have clothes, food, and whatever else you need. But don't mistake my hospitality for freedom, Veda. You are a Kingsley consort now."

He paused, his hand on the doorframe, his gaze dropping to the ruined ivory silk of my dress.

"Clean yourself up," he said, his voice flat. "The Council has already processed the paperwork. In two weeks, there will be a ceremony. A real one. No cameras. No crowds. Just the blood oath."

My blood ran cold. "What?"

"The wedding," Rowan stated, his slate-grey eyes locking onto mine with a terrifying intensity. "Two weeks, Veda. You’ll be legally and spiritually bound to me. I suggest you spend that time getting used to the idea. Because once I put my mark on you, there is no going back.”

“No, I’m not following you, only god knows where! I’m going back inside,” I said stubbornly, turning around and walking back towards the door.

I didn’t turn around to see if he followed. I didn’t care.

I am not getting married to a monster and that’s final…