Bride of the Sinned Alpha

Alpha Xeres

"It's a pleasure finally meeting you, Regina Madison," he said, his gravelly voice matching the unnerving intensity of his gaze. Every syllable seemed to linger in the air, heavy with unspoken threats and promises.

I swallowed hard, feeling as if the floor beneath me was about to give way. The room felt colder, as if his presence alone could drain the warmth out of the very walls. I tried to muster some semblance of courage, but it slipped through my fingers like water.

"I—" The word caught in my throat. I couldn’t even articulate the simplest of questions, the ones that had plagued me since Ethan disappeared. Instead, I just stood there, rooted to the spot like prey caught in the predator’s sights.

His lips curved into a small, humorless smile as he leaned back in his chair, the leather creaking slightly under his weight. "You’re wondering why you’re here, I suppose?" he drawled, his tone almost mocking.

I nodded, my throat too dry to form a coherent response. My heart pounded so loudly I was certain everyone in the room could hear it.

"Curiosity is a dangerous thing, Miss Madison," he continued, his cloudy eyes narrowing as they bore into mine. "Especially when it leads you to places you shouldn’t be. But I suppose that’s what makes you so… interesting."

His words sent a shiver down my spine. This was the man Ethan had been working for, the man who had haunted his nightmares, the one he had sworn to kill. And now, I was standing in front of him, with no idea what to expect.

I forced myself to speak, though my voice was barely more than a whisper. "What do you want from me?"

His smile widened, revealing a row of teeth that looked almost too sharp. "I could ask you the same thing," he replied smoothly. "After all, you came looking for me, didn’t you?"

My breath hitched. He was right. I had come looking for him, driven by desperation and a need to understand what had happened to Ethan. But now, standing here under his scrutiny, I wasn’t sure if I was ready for the answers.

"Tell me, Regina," he said, his voice softening just a fraction, "what are you willing to do to find the truth?"

The question hung in the air, heavy with implications I couldn’t fully grasp. I felt the weight of his gaze, his cloudy eyes piercing through my facade of bravery.

I hesitated, my mind racing with fear and uncertainty. What was I willing to do? How far was I willing to go to uncover the truth about Ethan, about this man, about everything?

Before I could respond, the woman with the red hair stepped forward, her green eyes gleaming with that same coldness that had unnerved me the moment I saw her. "Careful, Alpha," she said, her voice as sharp as her gaze. "She might not be as strong as you think."

Alpha. The word echoed in my mind, confirming the suspicions I’d been too terrified to voice. This man, this Xeres Ash, was no ordinary criminal mastermind. He was something else entirely, something dangerous, something… supernatural.

"I think she’s stronger than you give her credit for, Scarlett," Xeres replied, not taking his eyes off me. "But there’s only one way to find out."

Scarlett’s lips curled into a smirk as she took a step back, her eyes flickering between me and Xeres. "Very well, then. Let’s see what she’s made of."

My pulse quickened as Xeres stood up, towering over me with his imposing height. He moved with a predatory grace, each step deliberate and measured.

He stopped inches from me, close enough that I could feel the heat radiating off his body, close enough to make my heart race and my stomach churn with a mix of fear and something else, something I didn’t want to acknowledge.

"Are you ready, Regina?" he asked, his voice low and filled with a dark promise.

I didn’t know what he meant, didn’t know what was about to happen. But I knew one thing for certain: there was no turning back now. I had stepped into the lion’s den, and there was no escaping unscathed.

Taking a deep breath, I forced myself to meet his gaze, even as the fear threatened to consume me. "Yes," I whispered, the word trembling on my lips.

His smile was all teeth, predatory and cold. "Good," he said, his voice a mere breath against my skin. "Let’s begin."

“Begin what?” I asked in a croaky voice.

"Do you know why you’re here, Regina?” He asked me.

I swallowed as I mustered up an answer. “N-No.”

I heard him burst into a peal of laughter, it sounded unreal, sounded threatening for some reason. “He didn’t tell you. Ah, that selfish bastard.”

He was talking about Ethan?

“See, I've been looking for someone…" He paused. "A female. See a pathetic bastard has left something of importance to me with her…. Something that could potentially put her in danger."

I remained silent as he spoke.

“Some people have accused me of being cruel in my quest. While all I want to do is help this woman who has no idea what this man has gotten her into,"

I inched back a little, my heart thumping loudly in my ears, and my face probably an embarrassing shade of red as he motioned closer to me. I nearly sucked in a breath as his cologne wafted my senses.

The warmth at the bottom of my stomach intensified. I could swear I was inching closer to what that warmth was but I couldn't exactly put my finger on it.

"Does that seem cruel to you?" He asked, perhaps in a lower tune than he had been talking.

I shook my head before speaking. "You seem like a nice guy,"

Lies, my subconscious sneered, feeling as if I was getting very close to the warmth at the bottom of my stomach.

“Liar,” He remarked with a wolfish smirk.

“You know, I just want to go home now.” I told him while looking anywhere but him.

He chuckled, the sound dark and low, reverberating through the room and sending a chill down my spine. "Home?" he echoed, as if the concept amused him. "Regina, you are home now."

His words hung in the air like a trap closing around me. I felt the blood drain from my face as the realization set in. There was no escape. Not from this room, not from his presence, and certainly not from whatever game he was about to play.

"I—" I stammered, trying to find a way out, an excuse, anything that might convince him to let me go. "I don’t know what you’re talking about. I just want to find Ethan. That’s all."

Xeres's smile faltered slightly, his expression turning more serious, more dangerous. "Ethan?" he repeated, his voice laced with disdain. "You think you came here to find that pathetic rogue, but you’re wrong. You came here because you belong to me now."

My breath caught in my throat. "I don’t belong to anyone," I whispered, but the words sounded weak, even to my own ears.

He leaned in closer, his face inches from mine, his eyes locking onto mine with an intensity that made it impossible to look away. "You’re mistaken, little human, here my word is law. You belong to me, Regina, my property. Whether you like it or not."

His words were a statement, not a threat, and that terrified me more than anything. I could easily tell this wasn’t a man who made empty promises. This was a man who took what he wanted, without question, without remorse.

"I—" My voice was barely a whisper, trembling with fear and something else, something I couldn’t quite identify. "Please… I just want to leave."

Xeres tilted his head slightly, his gaze softening for just a moment, as if considering my plea. Then, just as quickly, the cold mask was back in place. "You’re not going anywhere, Regina. Not until I get what I want."

"And what do you want?" I asked, my voice shaking.

His smile returned, slow and predatory, as he straightened up, towering over me once more. "You’ll find out soon enough," he replied, his voice filled with dark promises.

Before I could react, before I could even process his words, he turned on his heel and strode towards the door. Scarlett, who had been watching the entire exchange with a cold, detached interest, followed him without a word.

As the door clicked shut behind them, the reality of my situation hit me like a ton of bricks. I was trapped. Trapped in a world I didn’t understand, at the mercy of a man who was more monster than human, and there was no way out.

My heart raced, my thoughts spiraling as I tried to figure out what to do next. I had come here to find Ethan, to get answers, but now I was the one who needed saving. But who would save me? Who could possibly stand up to Xeres Ash? The cops? The hell was I going to find a means of communication?

And then it hit me. I was on my own.

I had to be smart. I had to be careful. But most importantly, I had to survive.

Because whatever Xeres wanted from me, I had a feeling it was only the beginning.