THE ALPHA'S PROTECTION

Chapter 6: The Price of Knowledge.

The loud clang of the cell door was a verdict, and I was locked into darkness I hadn't seen since the moment of arrest. Axel's face, all anger and.something else that I couldn't quite read, burned itself into my brain. Betrayal? Disappointment? He'd appeared so devastated by my disobedience, by what I'd discovered.

He did not want to order me about. I was not a witness, a potential source of authority. I was a source of power made weak.

Hours devoured suffocating uniformity. The whispering silence of the cell amplified the furious pounding of my heart. I was a captive. I understood now that Kael's warning was more than a warning.

And then the door creaked open. Axel stood there, a shadow of blackness in the fading light. His expression was unreadable. He came in, his massive frame towering over the cramped room, and I knew the game was barely begun.

"You betrayed my trust," he snarled, his voice growling low and menacing. "You went looking for answers you were never supposed to discover."

"Truth is not betrayal, Axel," I spat, trying to keep my chin up. "What *you're* doing is."

He arched an eyebrow. "And that is?"

I breathed slowly. "Lying, manipulating, hiding. You're not protecting me. You're keeping me imprisoned."

He took a step closer to me, his gaze searing into mine. "You are mine now, Zoe. I will protect you. Even if it means…"

He went still. His fingers brushed over my jaw, and I flinched reflexively. It was a mark, a claim, a chill promise.

"This. is not protection," I said.

"You have no choice, Zoe."

And then, his mouth was on mine. It wasn't a kiss of desire, but of claim, of possession. I pushed at him, bared my teeth and raked them, trying to break free, but in this moment, he was unstoppable.

The kiss was a transgression.

The taste of him, the heat of his skin against mine, was t*****e, and it consumed me.

He finally pushed back, and I shuddered, panting. The room was sweltering. I knew, with bitter knowledge, that flight was now more desperate than ever before.

"It seems you need a lesson," he said.

He turned and departed, leaving me to desperation.