The Alpha’s Forbidden Valkyrie

Chapter 4

Freya’s POV

I didn't know how much time had passed. There were no windows in this dark, damp hole, and the dim, yellowish lightbulb in the hallway never went out. But my body signaled the passage of time. I had been hanging from these damn chains for maybe three days.

My back was aching, the metal had rubbed my wrists bloody, and I was practically freezing in my thin, tattered velvet dress. But the worst was the hunger and the thirst. My stomach was cramped, and my mouth was as dry as sandpaper.

The Alpha thought I was going to break. He expected me to go mad from the lack of blood, for my vampire instincts to take over, and for me to foam at the mouth and snarl, begging him for a single drop. He had no idea how wrong he was.

Because I was half-valkyrie, my body didn't work like those of pureblood vampires. They desiccated and hardened from blood starvation. I, on the other hand, suffered like a human. I was cold, I was weak, and my head throbbed from hunger.

Suddenly, the heavy thud of boots broke the silence of the basement.

I raised my head. The barred iron door creaked open, and the pack leader stepped in. He wasn't wearing his biker vest now; just a simple black t-shirt stretched tightly across his massive, tattooed muscles. As he got closer, I could see in his eyes that he hadn't slept much either. Dark circles lined his eyes, and his jaw was so tight, it was as if he were constantly fighting something.

His gaze immediately locked onto my face. He was waiting for the monster.

He kept one hand behind his back, then slowly brought it forward. He held a plastic medical bag in his grip. It was full of thick, dark red liquid.

Human blood.

"Game over, Freya," the man said in a cold, measured voice. My name still sounded strange coming from his mouth, carrying a kind of dark edge. "Three days. That's how long your kind lasts before losing their minds."

I didn't say anything; I just breathed heavily.

"I know you're starving," he stepped closer, his eyes practically glowing yellow in the gloom. "I know you're going crazy for it. I want to see your true face. I want to see the bloodsucking monster, so my pack will know why you have to die. Come on. Beg for it."

With that, he suddenly tore off the plastic cap of the bag.

The sweet, thick, iron-like scent of human blood instantly filled the small cell. The Alpha expected my eyes to flash red, my fangs to lengthen, and for me to strain wildly against the chains.

Instead, my stomach immediately and violently turned.

That smell... to me, it wasn't food. It was like rotting meat being shoved into my face.

My throat constricted, and I started to gag loudly, choking. I desperately turned my head away, pressing my face toward the wall to get as far from the bag as possible. I strained against the chains with my remaining strength, just to pull myself back.

"Take it... take it away!" I croaked hoarsely, gagging again. "Get that filth out of here!"

The man froze completely. The mocking, cruel smile faded from his face. He blinked, as if he couldn't understand what he was seeing.

"Don't try this pathetic trick," he snarled, but the uncertainty was already there in his voice. He stepped even closer and grabbed my chin with his free hand. At his hot touch, that crazy spark ran through my body again, but the disgust was stronger now. He forcefully turned my face toward him and raised the bag right to my mouth. "Drink, you mutt!"

The smell of blood was so overpowering that tears welled up in my eyes. With all my might, driven by my survival instinct, I spat straight onto his black t-shirt and furiously jerked my face out of his grip.

"I have never drunk human blood in my life, you i***t!" I screamed at him, my voice cracking from the dryness. My chest heaved up and down violently. "I'm disgusted by it!"

The Alpha's hand hung in the air. The blood bag slowly lowered to his side. He stared at me like he was seeing a ghost.

"What did you say?" he whispered. His voice was barely more than a hoarse growl.

"You heard me!" I panted, fighting back tears from hunger and exhaustion. I could finally speak the truth I had had to hide my entire life. "This is one of the reasons my coven wanted to kill me! This is why they call me a mutt! Because I'm incapable of hurting humans! I'm incapable of drinking this s**t, because I'll throw it right back up!"

The man's eyes widened. His massive chest rose quickly as his mind tried to process my words. His worldview, in which all vampires were murderous monsters, was starting to crumble to pieces right in front of him.

"Then..." he began slowly, as if forming the words was difficult for him. "Then what the hell do you eat?"

I let out a bitter, tired laugh, then exhaustedly leaned my head against the stone wall.

"Normal human food," I whispered. "And if my vampire half absolutely needs blood... then I drink animal blood. So, Alpha... if you want to feed me so badly, bring me a cheeseburger. Or some damn raw venison. But get this garbage out of my face, because I swear I'm about to puke on your boots."

Silence fell. In the dark, damp basement, only our heavy breathing could be heard.

The pack leader just stood there like a statue for minutes. The flame of hatred in his eyes was replaced by something else entirely. Shock. Desperation. And a deep, devastating realization. The girl he had tortured for the past three days, chained up and starved, was innocent. She had never taken a human life.

The Alpha, who up until now had been convinced he was right, slowly began to back away. He didn't say a single word. He just stared at me with those dark, stormy eyes, in which his inner wolf's crazy, protective instinct was now beginning to flare up because of the bond.

Finally, he turned. Without looking at me, he walked out of the cell, taking the blood bag with him. The door closed softly, almost carefully, behind him, and the lock clicked into place.

But I knew that after hearing this, things would never be the same again.