Her Alpha Soulmate

Prologue: Clara POV (Trigger warning: some content may be upsetting) Soulmates, a romantic notion of having someone else on Earth at the same time who is perfect for you. My dad used to say I'd one day find my soulmate, my perfect equal in life and love. He would look at my mother adoringly and say she was his perfect person, his soulmate. They were both normal humans with a normal romance, but they looked at love as if it were something extraordinary and rare.  Their love was something I admired and I hoped for it too once. I thought I'd found it in Brent Henderson but he was someone who only looked perfect on the outside. Perfect teeth, perfect parents, a cliche All American boy wearing a letterman jacket. The only problem was that his inner self didn't reflect what he projected to the world around him. It started small. He would make an inappropriate joke or comment that made me uncomfortable. Then he started telling me what to wear or who to hang out with. Eventually he was controlling every facet of my life outside of my parent's house.  The first time it got physical was the first time he tried to coax me into s*x and I said no. We were 16. He didn't like that. He never liked me telling him no. He slapped me. He didn't force me that time. He was too angry. But eventually he did. I had turned him down again and again.  He tried to get me to consent on my 17th birthday. I turned away from him, telling him I was not ready. At that point I just didn't want to be with him at all. I tried to end the relationship of 2 years. He grabbed my shoulders, shook me, and slammed my head against his headboard. My head was throbbing and black spots flashed in my eyes. I screamed when I felt him forcing my panties down under my dress. Brent was panting and his face was red. He looked angry as he covered my mouth. He yelled, "You're mine!" I just struggled below him, barely able to breathe. He said things like that to me all the time, reminding me I was not my own person. It hurt like hell when he forced his p***s between my legs. I was not aroused or ready so it was raw, rough, unlubricated, and I bled like I was on my period. When I eventually saw a doctor she told me it wasn't because of the hymen breaking but because he had been too rough. He had laughed at me at the time, saying I was weak for bleeding. "Couldn't handle me, could you?" He had taunted me, cruelly.  I was scared of Brent after that. I became afraid of my own boyfriend and ashamed of what I'd become. I felt less than human. So when someone else some time later told me I was his soulmate I chuckled. What good was a soulmate for a broken person like me? What did I have to offer a soulmate? He met my chuckle with an arrogant grin and said, "I will show you." I hadn't even spoken my thoughts aloud.