All Chapters of Captured by the Cruel Alpha: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

*Fiona*The soldiers left the pitch ages ago. Right now, I’m trying to listen to the rest of the grounds, the tower, the forest, anything that will keep my wolf busy and quiet while I think. I haven’t bothered to shift into my human form since this morning. I am grateful that some random guard brought me lunch. They tend to come and leave quickly, leaving me to my thoughts. Ronan’s little visit was hours ago, and I still don’t understand. I know that showing me the contract is meant to be a distraction, something to irritate me or whittle away at me, but the knowledge is useful to me. Or at least it should be, but I can’t understand how. The contract is baffling. Idiotic, based on what I know of Caldara. A patch of remote land, a ceasefire, and me as a political hostage “as a sign of goodwill.”Me. Fine. Goodwill and a ceasefire is often secured with a hostage, but Varek clearly doesn’t need goodwill nor really plan to uphold the ceasefire if he’s going to sell me. He’s not worrie

*Varek*She didn't look at me, and fuck if it didn't irritate me. She didn't even seem to notice me coming in. The urge to get closer and make her more aware of my presence is too strong to ignore. I want her biting her lip and trying to hide how much my presence affected her. I want to smell the sweetness of her desire for me, mingled with her anger and hatred. It is all I have been thinking about since I ordered her brought down. My cock twitches as I stride toward her, glancing at Tamsin, who seems more amused than Ronan does on a normal day. But even as I draw closer, she doesn't look up. She doesn't flinch or even seem to notice me. The wolf in me is ready to growl, the alpha in me wants to drag her close and demand she show me proper respect and acknowledge my presence, yet the human in me simply watches her. She holds a piece of Tamsin's work in her hands like it's the most precious thing. Her eyes trace the delicate curves of whatever pattern is there, seemingly lost in her t

*Fiona*The door opens, and I want to stop laughing, but Tamsin is hilarious. I don’t have to look up to know it’s Varek, and it only makes me laugh harder. As I rock back, I catch a glimpse of him. His jaw is set in a firm line, his glare fixed on me while his hands clench tightly at his sides. He looks furious and frustrated, but his eyes are full of that same heat from earlier. I can feel it burning through my clothes. My stomach clenches a little at the full force of the desire blazing in his eyes. I laugh even more, enjoying it. I wonder if this sense of sadistic pleasure is how he felt every time I argued with him. I wonder if he enjoyed my apparent helplessness as much as I’m enjoying his obvious irritation. I hope the sight of me in Caldaran colors eats at him and keeps him up for days. I had slipped up, but it was too easy and too amusing to take the jab. The point is that the cold, calmness is working. The more I don’t fight, the more he wants me to. I still don’t know

*Fiona*The sound of horns jolts me awake. For a moment, I don’t know where I am, my pulse racing in the dark. Then, the cold stone of the tower wall grounds me, and I remember I’m in Caldara. I curl tighter under the blankets, shivering. Whoever it is arriving at this unseemly hour is an asshole. To be fair, most Alpha Kings are. I sit up, brushing hair from my face, already bracing myself.The lock clicks, and Liora steps in, her face hard and unreadable. Her hands are clenched, her shoulders taut.“You’re being moved,” she says without preamble, her voice clipped and stony. “A room fit for a princess on a lower level. Warmer, at least.”I let out a slow, deliberate breath, curling my lips into the faintest of smirks. Liora’s expression is distant. She’s still irritated from our last conversation—I can see it in the way her jaw ticks, in the way she won’t quite look at me. I stand and head towards her, still wrapped in the blankets. I catch a whiff of Ronan’s scent. It’s an opening

*Fiona *Liora's jaw locks, her eyes shuttering to steel. There's a nervousness in her eyes. She shifts in place but doesn't answer or look at me.“Was the siege of Solara the first time you’d ever been beyond Caldara’s territory?”Her silence is answer enough and appalling. What the hell is going on, Caldara that Liora had never left the territory proper? Had she never been to the lands Caldara had conquered either? She is at least my age, so it isn't as if she is too young to travel accompanied or alone. Elara has left Solara, and she is much younger. Maybe it's something culturally specific to Caldara. If Liora were married, would she be allowed to leave?"I'm sorry, Liora." Her eyes widen. "I suppose I shouldn't have asked that." I hesitate to ask anything further, but I can't hold the question back. "Do you want to leave Caldara?"Conflict and guilt wage war on her face. She wants to answer, but why she can't is something I won't find out right now. Does Varek keep her hostage he