The Ruthless Alpha's Silent Mate

Claimed Without Desire

Rion's POV

The steam from the hot springs bath clung to my skin as I stepped out of the bathroom, heat curling around me like a second skin. A white towel hung low on my hips, the only thing covering me. The vial’s effects had settled deep…Ray has become a distant muffled shadow in the back of my mind, whining faintly but unable to break through. The world was cold again. Safe. Empty.

I stopped the moment I entered my bedroom.

She was there.

Sophia.

Perched on the edge of my massive bed like she belonged there, legs crossed, back arched just enough to thrust her chest forward. Red lingerie wrapped her body like a gift begging to be torn open…sheer lace cups barely containing her full breasts, the crimson fabric so thin I could see the dark shadow of her n*****s. A matching garter belt hugged her hips, stockings climbing her thighs, ending in delicate lace tops. Her skin gleamed under the firelight, oiled or lotioned, every curve on display. Blonde hair tumbled in perfect waves over one shoulder, lips painted blood-red, eyes smoky and heavy-lidded.

The air was thick with her perfume…roses drowned in vanilla and something cloyingly sweet. She must have dumped an entire bottle, it seemed, because the scent hit me like a wall, overpowering everything else. No trace of wildflowers. No trace of my mate.

She uncrossed her legs slowly as I entered, letting one heel dangle from her toes before it dropped to the floor. Her tongue traced her lower lip deliberately. Then she stood, hips swaying in an exaggerated catwalk, each step a silent promise as she closed the distance.

I didn’t move.

She reached me, close enough that her breasts brushed my chest. One manicured finger started at my collarbone, dragging slow fire down my sternum, over the ridges of my abs. I caught her wrist violently just before she reached my navel and pushed her hand away.

She didn’t flinch. Just smiled, slow and sultry like she expected me to act that way, pressing closer until her body molded to mine.

“Alpha Rion,” she purred, voice honey and smoke. “I’ve wanted this for so long. Ever since that Alphas’ meeting in our pack lands a year ago. You walked in…those broad shoulders filling the doorway, eyes so hard and dark I felt it between my thighs before you even spoke. I couldn’t stop thinking about you. Dreaming about you pinning me down, claiming me.”

Her free hand slid up my arm, nails grazing skin. Her eyes dropped lower, lingering on the bulge beneath the towel. She gulped audibly, pupils dilating.

“We’re a perfect match,” she whispered, rocking her hips forward so the lace between her legs brushed against me. “I’ve been taking such good care of myself…eating right, training my body, keeping everything tight and ready. All for you. To carry your pups. Strong and pure ones. I even forgive you for that little mix-up earlier… thinking that filthy rat Ariella was me.”

Ariella.

The name hit like a blade between my ribs and something thumped inside my chest…sharp, unfamiliar. My mother's expression cards flashed through my mind and I identified the feeling.

Pain.

Ray stirred weakly inside, a distant growl rolling out of him as another emotion crashed into me. I didn’t know what it was this time. Regret? Anger? Longing? It vanished as quickly as it came, swallowed by the vial’s numbness.

Sophia didn’t notice. She rocked against me again, harder, the heat of her core pressing through thin lace and towel. “I can make you feel something, Alpha,” she breathed, lips brushing my jaw.

“I can make you feel pleasure and ecstasy. Imagine it…my mouth wrapped around your c**k, sucking until you’re throbbing down my throat. Then you flip me over, spread me wide, f**k me raw until I’m screaming your name. I’m already so wet for you. I’ll take every inch, milk you dry, and beg for more. You’ll fill me up again and again until I’m swollen with your heir.”

Her words were filthy, calculated, dripping s*x. She ground against me shamelessly, one hand slipping between us to cup the bulge and squeezed.

I growled…low, like I was warning her.

My hand shot up before she could move again, fingers wrapping around her throat. Not hard enough to bruise. Just enough to still her hips, and silence those endless streams of dirty words rushing out her mouth.

I stared down at her, face vacant. Emotionless. The monster everyone feared.

Sophia’s lips parted, breath coming in shallow pants against my grip. Her eyes widened, then hooded with dark, thrilled pleasure. Pulse racing wildly under my thumb. Breath coming in shallow, excited pants. She liked the edge. Craved it like a lunatic.

I leaned in close, voice cold as winter stone, face blank and emotionless.

“Since you know me so well,” I said, grip tightening just a fraction, “you should expect nothing else from me. This is just duty. A union of political benefits. Nothing more.”

Her lips curved against my hold, defiant and coy. She swallowed under my palm and licked her lips.

“I know,” she whispered, her voice calm despite the pressure. “But I’ll make you feel something toward me anyway.”

I stared down at her…letting my usual cold mask seep through without holding back anything…thinking she would run like the others.

But she didn't. Instead, her smile turned victorious.

I released her throat, bent, and slung her over my shoulder in one swift motion. She gasped…half laugh, half moan…legs kicking playfully as I carried her a few steps to the bed.

I threw her down onto the mattress and she landed with a bounce, red lingerie going up, exposing her thighs. Her hair fanned out as she smiled up at me like she’d already won.

“Let’s get this over with, so you will shut up for good," I said.

This is nothing. It means nothing. I won't feel anything after all.

Her coy smile curved…growing wider as I reached for the towel.

And let it drop.