CLAIMED BY THE ALPHA

HIS RULES

CHAPTER FOUR: HIS RULES*

The mansion didn't feel like a home. It felt like a cage made of glass and marble and money. Aria stood in the massive bedroom Lorenzo had given her, her cheap duffel bag at her feet looking pathetic against silk sheets and floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the city. Everything smelled like him — dark, woodsy, expensive.

The door opened behind her. She knew it was him before she heard him.

"You haven't unpacked," Lorenzo's voice was low, calm, possessive.

"I haven't decided if I'm staying," she said, stubborn.

He chuckled, low and dark, and the sound sent a shiver down her spine. He walked around her slowly, like a wolf circling prey. His black shirt was rolled up, revealing thick muscle and dark ink. He looked dangerous and impossibly handsome.

"You signed a contract, Aria. You are staying."

"I signed it under duress. You tricked me at that auction."

"I offered. You accepted. That's business. And in my world, a signature cannot be broken." He stopped inches from her. "And in my business, we have rules."

He pulled a thick black card from his pocket.

RULES FOR 30 DAYS: 1. You live in this mansion. You don't leave without my permission and driver. 2. You wear my mark. The ring. Always. Never take it off. 3. You attend all events as my devoted fiancée. You smile, hold my hand, make them believe you adore me. 4. You sleep in my bed. Every night. 5. No other man touches you.

Aria's cheeks burned red. "Sleep in your bed? That was NOT in the contract! It said fake!"

"The contract said share marital duties. My bed is a marital duty. My wolf doesn't like to sleep alone. And after finally scenting you after searching for years... he won't."

"I'm not sleeping with you," she whispered, shaking.

"Who said anything about sleeping together?" He leaned to her ear, breath hot. "I said sleep IN my bed. What happens there is up to you. But don't test me, little human. My control is thin when you're around."

"Rule 5? You don't own me."

"I do. For 30 days, I own every breath you take." He brushed hair behind her ear, gentle but possessive. "And I don't share what's mine. Ever. Understood?"

She hated how her body reacted. Her knees weakened. Something primal inside her purred.

"Fine. But I have rules too."

Lorenzo raised an eyebrow, amused. "You have rules for me?"

"Yes. One: Don't touch me without permission. Two: Don't kiss me unless it's for show. Three: Stay on your side of the bed with a pillow wall."

He laughed, a deep rich laugh that transformed his cold face.

"Little human, you have no idea what you've walked into." He stepped closer until her legs hit the bed and she fell with a soft gasp. He caged her with his arms, hovering over her. His grey eyes swirled with gold — his wolf was close.

"I'll agree to one and two. For now. But three? No. You will sleep curled against my chest. Because if you don't, I will pull you against me in my sleep. My wolf needs to feel you. To know you are safe."

He inhaled deeply against her neck and she gasped as his nose brushed her pulse. A low growl vibrated from his chest into hers.

"God, you smell so good. Like vanilla and paint and mine. All mine."

"Let go of me," she whispered, hands on his hard chest.

"I don't want to." But he did. With effort he stood, breathing hard, fists clenched. "Dinner at seven. Mrs. Hale will bring a dress. Be ready."

He turned to leave.

"Wait! My mother's bill. You promised-"

"It was transferred an hour ago. One hundred thousand. Your mother is in a private room now with the best doctors. Paid."

Tears sprang to her eyes. "Thank you."

He looked back over his shoulder, soft for a second. "Don't thank me, Aria. You are mine now. I take care of what is mine. Always."

The door clicked shut. Aria fell back onto the huge soft bed, staring at the ceiling. The huge diamond ring felt heavy and real and permanent, like a brand.

One month. She could survive one month with a possessive Alpha billionaire who made her heart race with a single look. Right? She just had to not fall in love. That was the only rule that truly mattered. Don't fall for Lorenzo Kane. Don't let him see how much he affects her.

Downstairs, in his dark office, Lorenzo pressed his large hands against his oak desk, trying to control the violent shaking in his body. His wolf was howling, raging, clawing inside him, furious at him for leaving her alone upstairs.

MATE. CLAIM HER. MARK HER. NOW. TAKE HER. SHE IS OURS. GO BACK TO HER.

"Not yet," he growled to himself, his voice guttural and not human, his eyes glowing bright gold in the dark room. "If I mark her now while she's still human and scared, it will break her. The bond will overwhelm her fragile body. We have to wait. We have to make her want it. Make her beg for it."

But the scent of her fear and arousal mixed together was still on his shirt, on his hands, in his lungs, and it was driving him insane, driving his wolf mad with need. Thirty days of sleeping next to his fated mate, smelling her sweet scent, feeling her soft body against his, without claiming her, without sinking his teeth into that perfect pale neck and making her truly his would be absolute torture. Pure hell on earth.

But he was Lorenzo Kane. He had built a billion-dollar empire with nothing but patience, ruthlessness, and obsession. He never lost. He never let go of what he wanted. And now he had a new obsession. Her. Aria Cole. His little human artist who had no idea she was a wolf's salvation, who had walked into the wrong auction and into his life.

And he would make her fall in love with her captor. He would make her beg to be his forever. Even if he had to ruin her for any other man first. Once an Alpha finds his fated mate, he never lets go. Never. The bond is forever, whether she knows it yet or not. He would show her what it means to be truly owned, truly cherished, truly claimed by a wolf who has waited his entire life for one single girl and will now never ever let go of her again tonight forever and always and forever mine.