Claimed By The Enemy Alpha

New Rule

The ringing of my phone woke me in the early hours of the next morning. I groaned, my arm swinging blindly toward my nightstand.

My fingers collided with a crystal water carafe, sending it skidding across the surface with a loud rattle before I finally clamped my hand over the ringing device.

I squinted at the screen. The caller ID was unknown and against every instinct in my body to ignore it, I swiped the screen and pressed it to my ear.

"Good morning, sweetheart. I trust you had a productive night?"

The voice was like a bucket of ice water over my head. Deep, raspy, and utterly loathsome. I bolted upright, my bed covers sliding down my naked torso.

I glanced to the other end of the bed where a human, some blond haired model whose name I could remember slept.

"What do you want, William?" I bit out. Rubbing my temple with my free hand, already feeling the onset of a migraine.

His voice alone caused that.

"Is that any way to greet your fiancé?" I could practically hear the smirk in his voice. "I thought a morning check-in was standard for a couple in our position."

I clenched my jaw so hard I felt my fangs ache against my gums. I hadn't even sent the signed contract because there was no way to reach him.

Yet somehow, he knew the papers were signed. "You’re a parasite," I hissed, kicking the covers off me entirely and padded toward the en-suite bathroom.

I spared the sleeping man one last glance and shut the door, twisting the lock. I stood before the mirror, staring at my reflection. My hair was a mess and my eyes were glowing red. He was really getting on my nerves.

“Parasite? I'm not the one leaching off people's blood to survive.” William hummed. His calm attitude made my blood boil.

"What. Do. You. Want?"

"I’m at your front door, Astrid."

I let out a loud, frustrated groan into the receiver. "It's four in the morning! I don't want to see your face, William. I don't want to see anything that breathes right now."

It really was too early for all of this. But he laughed, a low chuckle vibrated through the phone and the sound made me pause. It was so raspy and effortless that for a split second my annoyance towards him was gone.

"Don't keep me waiting, Astrid."

I hung up without another word and stared at my phone for a second before dropping it onto the vanity.

I took my time splashing cold water on my face, brushed my teeth, and even ran a comb through my hair until I looked somewhere presentable. Then I grabbed my nightgown from the floor of my bedroom and pulled it over my head.

I crossed my living area, my bare feet silent on the hardwood floor, and opened the door.

William walked past me without waiting for an invitation, his eyes scanning the layout of my home as he stopped in the center of the living room.

Finally, his gaze settled on me. It traveled down my body, lingering on the thin material of my gown, before meeting my eyes.

"What?" I snapped, crossing my arms.

His eyes fell down to my arms before he glanced at the small darkened hallway leading to my bedroom. "The document, Astrid. I believe you have them signed for me."

I turned toward my bedroom, just wanting to get him out of my home as fast as possible, even if it meant being compliant. "Where is your dutiful right hand?" I asked, surprised that he wasn't here to glut in my face.

William followed a few paces behind me. "Kaelen is busy making preparations for our engagement event. Everything is moving on schedule. You simply need to show up and look the part."

"Right," I rolled my eyes, walking into my bedroom to grab the document from my bedside table, when William’s voice cut through the air.

"No."

I turned to William but he wasn't looking at me. He was standing at the foot of my bed, his shadow stretching over the sleeping form of the man in my bed.

"You don't get to do that anymore," he said, gesturing to the man. "From this moment on, your appetites are my concern. Get him out."

"What?" I asked, the word coming out as a flat, incredulous puff of air. Then, the absurdity of it clicked and I let out a mocking laugh that bounced off the walls. "You think because I put my name on a piece of paper that you get to dictate who I have in my bed? You’re delusional, William. I do what I please, when I please, and with whoever I please. You’re a business partner, not my keeper."

"I certainly control everything you do from the moment you signed those papers, Astrid. You are mine now. And I don’t like other people touching what belongs to me."

"I don't belong to anyone," I hissed, my fangs pricking the inside of my lip. "And I certainly don't belong to a mutt who thinks he—"

In a flash, he was standing before me, his hand clamped around my throat. I gasped as my air got cut off as he shoved me backward.

What the hell, how many times would he catch you off guard Astrid? You're beginning to look weak!

My hands flew up to grab his forearm, my nails digging into the sleeve of his shirt, and just like before, it did nothing to pry his hand off me.

The commotion finally made the human on the other side of my bed groan, rubbing his eyes as he sat up. "What’s going on? Who is—"

William tilted his head toward him. “Leave,” he growled. His eyes glowing gold.

The man didn't ask questions, he didn't even grab his shirt. He scrambled off the bed, stumbling over his own feet, and bolted out in fear.

William turned back to me, his grip tightening for a fraction of a second before he surged forward and slammed me down onto the mattress, pinning me there with the weight of his stare alone as he stood over me.

"The next man I see in your bed dies, Astrid," he said, his voice a low, raspy snarl that bypassed my ears and went straight to my core. "And I mean it."

I was too stunned to speak. My heart, that useless, dormant organ was thumping against my chest with so much force it was difficult to miss.

I hated him. I hated the way he looked at me, hated the way he spoke to me. But as I lay there, looking up at this predator looming over me, the treacherous, dark part of my nature hummed in response to his display of dominance.

William didn't look at me again. He simply stepped back, moving to the foot of the bed, where he fully turned his back to me.

He stood there for what felt like minutes, just staring out the window. And I didn't move. I lay exactly where he’d dropped me, my throat stinging, and heart racing. I was terrified to get up, though I would have let the A.S.A. burn me alive before I admitted it.

Finally, William turned around. The gold in his eyes was gone, replaced by his deceptive green. He reached up and casually straightened his shirt, adjusting his cuffs as if he hadn't just lost his cool.

"Be ready for pickup at eight tonight," he said, his voice back to its calm tone. "I will have someone send over a dress."

He walked over to my nightstand, picked up the folder containing the contract, and without glancing at me again he walked out of the room. And I heard the heavy click of the penthouse door closing a few seconds later.

I slumped back into my pillows, staring up at the ceiling. The silence of the apartment felt deafening now as I ran a hand over my neck, tracing where his fingers had been.

"f**k," I whispered into the empty room.