Claimed By The Alpha Heir

The scent of blood and sandalwood hit me before I saw him. Lot 17. That was me. Caged with three other omegas under lights too bright for secrets. The air stank of sweat and fear. I’d bitten two guards on the way here and broke a third’s nose. My knuckles were still split. “Starting bid: 50,000 credits,” the auctioneer drawled. “Who wants the wild one?” Hands went up. Corporate reps. Slavers. Money changed hands like I was nothing. Then the room went quiet. He didn’t walk in. He _arrived_. Darian Kade. Six foot four of controlled violence in a black coat. Scars on his hands, molten silver eyes, and a presence that sucked all the air out of the room. “I’ll take her,” he said. One sentence. The gavel never fell. “Sold. To Mr. Kade. No returns.” The cage door clanged open. A guard grabbed my arm. I wrenched away. “I walk myself,” I said. Darian’s gaze didn’t leave me. “Good. Keep that.” --- The rain hit my face the second we stepped outside. It smelled better than the auction house. A black aircar waited at the curb. Darian was already inside, leaning back like he owned the night. “Where are we going?” I asked. “Home,” he said. Simple. Final. The aircar lifted off. Sector 7’s neon blurred below. “You have a name?” he asked. “Aria Vale.” “Aria,” he repeated. “I’m Darian Kade. You’ll remember that.” “I already do. You’re the guy who bought me.” “To keep you out of worse hands,” he said. “Worse than you?” He didn’t answer. He just looked at me, and the weight of it made my skin prickle. The aircar descended toward the Kade estate. Black stone and glass on a cliff, cold white light, no warmth. Just power. Darian stopped me in the hallway. Black marble, recessed firelight, no art. Built for war, not living. “From this moment, you’re under Kade protection,” he said. “You answer to me. You obey me. You don’t run.” “And if I do?” “Your brother dies,” he said quietly. My blood went cold. “How do you—” “I know everything about you, Aria. That’s what happens when your brother tries to crack my vault.” Kael. “So this is ransom.” “This is insurance,” he corrected. “And one more thing. You’re mine now. Don’t forget it.” He opened a door. No windows. A table. Two chairs. I walked in. The doors shut behind me with a sound like a prison closing. --- “You’re not like the others,” Darian said, sitting across from me. “No. I bite back.” “Good. I don’t want a doll.” He leaned forward. “Obedience. For one year. Then you’re free. And your brother walks.” “And if I don’t sign?” “Then Kael dies at dawn.” His scent filled the room. Sandalwood and smoke and something wilder. Alpha pheromones meant to break you. It didn’t break me. It made me want to fight. “You don’t even know me,” I said. “I know enough,” he said. He tipped my chin up with two fingers. “You didn’t scream once. You’re not broken, Aria.” “I’m not yours.” “Not yet.” He left. The door locked. One year. One year and Kael walks free. That was the lie I told myself to keep breathing. --- Morning came gray and wet. Darian handed me a datapad. The Kade Pack seal burned red in the corner. I scrolled fast. Ownership terms. Obedience clause. Then Clause 12. _“The omega shall present herself to the Alpha upon request, for the purpose of producing an heir.”_ “You want a baby,” I said. “I want insurance,” he said flatly. “My father’s dying. Rourke’s circling. If I don’t produce an heir before the Blood Moon, the pack goes to him.” “Rourke?” “The cousin who sells omegas for sport,” he said. “You’re healthy. Strong. Your scent drives me insane.” “I’m not livestock.” “No. You’re worse. You’re mine.” I threw the datapad down. “And if I refuse?” “Then Kael dies at dawn.” I pressed my thumb to the scanner. The datapad beeped. Accepted. Darian’s scent changed. Satisfaction. Possession. “Good,” he said. “You’ll stay in the east wing. Don’t leave the estate. Don’t contact anyone outside.” “And if I don’t?” “Then you’ll learn why I don’t repeat myself.” He left. The door locked behind me.On its own --- Night fell fast. I was drying my hair when the door opened without a key. Darian stood there, hair damp, setting a tray of real food on the table. “Eat,” he said. I didn’t move. “You can hate me, Aria. You should. But you’ll eat.” He sat down like he had all night. “I don’t want a dead omega. Rourke gets those.” I ate. “Tomorrow you meet the pack,” he said. “Be ready.” “The pack doesn’t want me.” “No. But they’ll accept you. Because I said so.” He started to leave, then stopped. “Don’t make me lock you in,” he said quietly. “I don’t want to do that to you.” “And I don’t want to be here.” His mouth twitched. Not quite a smile. “We’re even then.” The door shut. Locked. Downstairs, I heard voices. Low. Angry. And one voice I knew. Rourke Kade. He was already here. And he’d just said, loud enough for me to hear through the door: “She’s not leaving this house alive.”