The Alpha’s Forbidden Valkyrie

Chapter 7

Freya’s POV

Daze. Warmth.

These were the first two things my brain could grasp as my consciousness slowly, painfully clawed its way back from the dark. I didn't feel the ice-cold, damp stench of the stone floor. Instead, something soft and thick wrapped around me, and the air was filled with an incredibly spicy, masculine scent. Rain, leather, and pine. The smell of the wolf.

Confusing memories crashed into me, sliding together. The dark cellar, the throbbing headache from hunger, the taste of metal in the air, the plastic blood bag... and then passing out.

Panic hit me. My eyes snapped open. My vision was blurry for a moment, but I quickly realized I wasn't in the cellar anymore. I was lying in a huge, dark bedroom, on a double bed with black sheets.

Where were the chains? I jerked my hands. The iron was missing from my wrists; only the raw, bleeding skin ached as it brushed against the blanket.

You have to escape! my survival instinct screamed.

I tried to jump up, but my body immediately betrayed me. Three days of starvation and dehydration had taken their toll. Dizziness washed over me, my stomach cramped, and my legs shook like jelly. Still, pure adrenaline pushed me forward. I fought my way off the bed. My bare feet touched the cold wooden floor.

I started toward the door, but I had barely taken two steps when a massive shadow broke away from the corner of the room.

"Don't even think about it!" a deep voice boomed from the dark. It was the pack leader. He had been sitting in an armchair in the corner, silently watching me in the dark. He stood up and reached me in two giant steps.

I hissed and punched at him out of pure instinct. No matter how weak I was, I wasn't going to give up my life easily. But there was no power in my punch. The man caught my wrist in the air with a single, effortless move. He didn't squeeze it roughly, he didn't cause pain, he just stopped me like an impenetrable wall.

I tried to tear my hand away, pressing my free hand against his chest, panting and desperately pushing him.

"Let me go!" I croaked hoarsely. "Don't touch me!"

"Stop fighting, Freya!" he told me sharply, but there was no trace of the murderous anger in his voice that I had heard in the cellar. With his free hand, he grabbed my other wrist and easily, but firmly, pushed me back onto the edge of the bed. "You have no strength. You'll collapse."

I sat on the bed, panting and shaking, while he towered over me. His eyes studied me searchingly even in the dark. He was tired, his jaw was clenched, but he didn't want to kill me anymore.

"My name is Jax," he said suddenly, breaking the heavy silence. He slowly let go of my hands and took a half-step back to give me space. "I am the Alpha of this pack."

I blinked. Jax. The monster who chained me up, and whose touch made my skin constantly burn, finally had a name.

I stared at him silently, waiting for his next move. I didn't understand the situation. Why did he bring me up to his own room? Why didn't he finish me off down in the dark?

"I know you don't drink human blood," Jax continued, his voice turning darker and deeper. He took a seat in the armchair opposite me, fixing his gaze on me. "I told my pack. They know you're not the one hunting humans. But that's not enough. I want to know what you really are."

My throat went dry. Involuntarily, I touched my pointed ear, trying to hide it with my hair.

"I want to know what that other half inside you is, Freya," Jax leaned closer. "I want to know why you're a mutt, and why your own blood is hunting you. If you tell the truth... if you prove you are who you say you are, and you really are innocent of shedding human blood, then I'll offer you a deal."

I grimaced. A vampire (even a half-vampire) and a werewolf never make deals.

"What kind of deal?" I asked suspiciously.

"The pack's protection," he answered without blinking an eye. "You get my personal protection, and the club's. No one can lay a hand on you in my territory. Not even the dogs from your own clan. If they come here for you, we will slaughter them. You will be safe. In exchange, you obey my rules and stop keeping secrets."

I completely froze. Protection from a werewolf pack? Our fiercest enemies offering sanctuary? It was absurd. In the cellar, Jax had wanted to tear me to pieces because of his parents.

"Why would you do that?" I whispered, my voice trembling. "You hate me. You hate what I am. Why would you risk your pack for a... a mutt?"

Jax's face hardened. I could see the inner struggle on it. I saw his Alpha pride and his hatred fighting with a much more ancient, overwhelming power. He slowly stood up and stepped back to the bed.

When he spoke, his voice was deep and vibrating so much it made my chest tremble.

"Because I have no other choice. Whether I like it or not, Freya... you are my mate."

The word hit me like a physical punch.

My mate.

Everything fell into place. The unexplainable heat from his touch. The spark that shot into my heart whenever he got close. The attraction that wanted to pull me toward him despite my terror. The wolves' legend about the mate bond was true, and fate had tied me, a fleeing, defective half-breed, to the most dangerous Alpha in the world.

I saw in Jax's eyes how much he hated this fact, but I also saw that he would never let me go. The wolf had made the deal, not the man.

I had no choice. If I walked out the door, my clan would find me and execute me. If I stayed here, I'd have Jax's protection. I was too weak for pride. I wanted to live too much.

I took a deep, shaky breath and slowly nodded.

"I accept," I whispered. "I accept your offer."

A deep, seemingly relieved but tense growl tore from Jax's chest. He nodded, then turned and walked over to a table near the bedroom door. Only then did I notice that there had been a tray there the whole time.

He walked back to me and set it on the edge of the bed. On the tray, a huge, juicy piece of roasted meat was steaming with a side dish, next to a large pitcher of fresh water and a glass. The smell of the food hit my nose, and my stomach growled so loudly I almost felt ashamed.

"Eat," Jax ordered, but a degree softer now. "And drink. You need to get your strength back. Because as soon as you're done... you're going to tell me why you call yourself a mutt."