ENSLAVED TO BE HIS MATE

THE KINGS BITTER LESSON

POV: Mona

We arrived at the Fireball pack at last.

The doors to the Alpha’s wing were massive. More than I ever saw back in the Gust pack.

Two guards stood outside, their faces like stone as they watched Draven lead me inside. I didn't walk willingly. I dragged my feet, my dirty boots scuffing against the polished marble floors.

"Move, Mona," Draven said, his voice low and commanding.

"I’m moving," I snapped.

"But I don't see why I’m here. Slaves belong in the quarters, not the palace."

He didn't answer. He just pulled me into the massive room.

The bed was enormous, covered in thick furs and silk sheets that looked softer than anything I’d ever touched.

"Sit," Draven commanded, pointing to the bed.

I stayed standing. I crossed my arms over my chest.

"I’ll stand. I might get dirt on your expensive blankets."

Draven turned to face me. He started unbuckling his leather gauntlets, his eyes never leaving mine.

"There is a bath waiting for you in the next room. There are oils, clean clothes, and a bed that won't give you backaches. Take them."

"No," I said.

He paused, one gauntlet halfway off. "No?"

"I’m a slave, remember? You reminded me of that at the market. You bought me for five thousand gold pieces. Slaves don't wear silk. They don't sleep in Alpha’s chambers. I’ll go to the quarters with the others."

Draven dropped the gauntlets on a table. He reached me in a stride.

"You’ll go where I tell you to go. Right now, I’m telling you to wash the filth off your skin."

"Why? So I can look pretty while I work your fields?" I laughed, though there was no humor in it.

"You’re just like Tharr. He wanted to sell me to the highest bidder, and you wanted to be the one who owned the most expensive toy. You’re both the same."

Draven’s jaw tightened. He moved so fast I didn't even see it. One second I was standing, and the next, his hand was wrapped around the back of my neck, his thumb pressing against the rejection mark on my collarbone.

"I am nothing like that coward," he hissed.

"Prove it," I challenged, staring right back at him. "Let me go to the slave quarters. Let me work. Or are you afraid that if I’m not locked in here, I’ll find a way to escape your 'ownership'?"

"You think you can bait me?" Draven’s eyes darkened, the gold bleeding into a deep, hungry amber.

"You think that sharp tongue of yours makes you my equal?"

"It makes me more than a piece of property," I spat.

Draven’s growl was deep, vibrating through his chest and into mine.

"You want to be treated like a slave? Fine. Let’s start with the first rule: A slave doesn't talk back to her master."

Before I could react, he hooked an arm under my knees and hoisted me up. I let out a yelp, my hands instinctively grabbing his shoulders. He didn't carry me gently. He threw me onto the massive bed.

I tried to scramble back, but Draven was already over me. He pinned my wrists above my head with one hand, his body weight pressing me deep into the mattress.

He was heavy, hot, and smelled of the forest after a storm. The bond flared between us, a sudden, violent heat that made me start to get wet instantly.

"Let go of me!" I shouted, struggling against his grip.

"Make me," he murmured. He leaned down, his lips ghosting over my ear.

"You talk so much, Mona. Let's see if you can keep that energy when I’m actually touching you."

He didn't wait for an answer. He kissed me, and it wasn't a soft, romantic gesture. It was a claim.

I tried to fight it. I tried to keep my lips closed, but the bond was working against me. My body betrayed me, my mouth opening under his.

His free hand traveled down my body. He cupped my breast, his thumb rubbing on my hard n****e.

"Draven," I whispered, his name slipping out before I could stop it.

"Tell me what you want," he growled against my neck.

"Tell me you want your master to touch you."

"I don't... I won't," I panted, though my back was arching off the bed, seeking more of his heat.

"Your body is saying something else," he said, his voice a low, dark vibration. He shifted, his thigh moving between mine, increasing the pressure.

He was using his strength, his scent, and the bond to break down every wall I had.

I was drowning in him. Everything faded away until there was only Draven. The pleasure was starting to outweigh the anger.

My hands, which had been balled into fists, were now clinging to his shirt, pulling him closer.

"Please," I choked out. I didn't even know what I was asking for. I just knew I needed the ache he was building to stop. I needed him to finish what he started. "Draven, please..."

"Please what, slave? Beg for it," he commanded, his eyes burning into mine.

"Give it to me... please... Draven!" I was chanting his name now, my pride completely shattered by the intensity of the bond. I was begging, my hips moving instinctively against his. His hardness was pressed against my core, and I kept arching into him, rubbing it some more against my wetness.

But as I clung to him even more desperate for more, he ended it.

He stood up, adjusting his clothes as if nothing had happened, leaving me shivering and wide-eyed on the bed.

"No," he said, his voice flat and void of the heat from seconds ago.

I stared at him, my body still trembling, the ache inside me turning into a hollow, painful void. "What? Why did you stop?"

Draven looked down at me.

The desire was still in his eyes, but his control was absolute.

"Because you’re a slave, Mona. And a slave doesn't get to demand things from her master. You get what I give you, when I decide to give it."

I sat up, clutching a handful of fur to my chest, feeling a fresh wave of humiliation. "You're a monster."

"I'm your Alpha and you will only listen to me," he said. He walked toward the door, not looking back.

"Stay in this room after you wash yourself. If I find you’ve left, the punishment won't be as pleasant as this. You’ll wait here until I return. Maybe then I'll decide if you've learned your place."

The heavy door slammed shut, and I heard the lock click into place.

I collapsed back onto the furs, my breath hitching. My body was still screaming for him, every nerve ending on fire.

He had done it on purpose. He had used the bond to make me beg, only to show me that he held all the power.