Rite of Submission (Rite #1) Unedited

3: Inventory

The sharp tap-tap-tap of a finger knocking on the door jolted me out of my blank gaze into the dark. My heart immediately started racing, as every nerve in my body became very alert. The tapping came again, with the sound of footsteps coming close. Pushing myself up, I struggled to sit the way Blake had told me to. On my knees, sit back on my feet… braid back, was it palms up or down on my thighs? There was a muffled conversation just outside the doors to the main hall. I couldn’t make out what was being said, except the soft lilt of a woman laughing and then Blake’s acceptance of his dismissal when the doors opened. “Goodnight, Alpha,” then the closing of doors.

I could hear heavy steps as someone walked confidently through all of the dark rooms. He passed before me, disappearing into one of the closed doors I hadn’t been through yet, an adjoining bathroom. Finally, a light flipped on. The sudden brightness blinded me for a moment, making me squint to see. He stood as a silhouette in the doorway, watching me as his hands worked to unbutton his shirt. If he was going to stare at me, I’d stare right back, chin up I stared directly into his eyes, refusing to look away.

An amused smile danced across his lips as he slipped the shirt from his shoulders and tossed it on the floor in front of me. I responded by sitting up straighter. Tucking his thumbs in his pants pockets, he leaned against the door frame. I might have considered him to be handsome if he hadn’t been the misogynistic bastard that abducted me and held me captive. He smiled, drinking in the sight of me, his gaze making my skin crawl.

Keeping his eyes trained on me, he pushed off the door frame and worked his belt free, dropping it on the floor with his shirt. He kicked off his shoes, pushing them aside, and began working his pants free. With a wide grin, he dropped them to his ankles. Standing there stark naked, I refused to look away; he wasn’t going to intimidate me by trying to embarrass me this time! I lifted my chin defiantly, maintaining my glare as I watched him. “Spirit,” he chuckled, walking into the bathroom out of my eye line, “so much spirit.” I really wanted to claw his face off.

The sound of water spraying on tile was followed by steam rolling out through the door. I suddenly felt dirtied by everything that had happened. I had been man handled, wrestled to the ground, stripped down to my underwear and trussed up like b**m Barbie. They’d scented me, violating more than just my personal space with the very intimate act, and searched me for a mark. Even now, I sat in a corner, damn near naked and chained to the wall like a dog. I longed to wash it all away and down the drain, go to bed and wake up in my own, to realize it was all just a very bad dream.

He reappeared in the doorway, water trailing along the lines of each well defined and toned muscle of his body. In a few quick steps, he stood over me, with that damned smirk plastered across his face again. My heart began to pound, and I could hear its thump-thump, thump-thump loudly in my ears. “Come along, Pet,” he cooed, unhooking the chain of my collar from the wall, “let’s get better acquainted.” Without waiting for me to stand he walked back toward the bathroom forcing me to scramble on all fours, crawling after him to avoid being drug across the floor.

The bathroom looked like the whole thing had been carved out of black marble; the stone floor was cold and unyielding beneath my hands and knees. It was jet black with stark white ribbons of quartz threaded through its inky surface. The shower was enclosed by frosted glass with wolves etched into it, water still cascading down inside it. Thick steam clouded the air and the mirrored wall over the vanity and sink. He continued to lead me inside, where warm water fell over us from several shower heads. Pulling up on the chain, he forced me up onto my feet. Once upright, he hooked the chain leash to a hook in the ceiling. There we stood staring at one another for several minutes, the water washing over us. He wasn’t much taller than me, but I was considered tall for a girl.

He moved to cup my chin in his hand, but I instinctively stepped back and away from him, stopped by the length of the chain. A low growl rumbled from the back of his throat, and a dark shadow passed over his eyes. In a blink, he had my body pinned against the cold stone wall. My arms raised high over my head, held in place by one of his hands on the chain that linked the cuffs still on my wrists. His body pressed mine firmly in place as he tore through the fabric of my bra and underwear with a semi-clawed hand as if they were made of tissue paper, tossing the ruined scraps on the floor. Blood raced through my veins and my breath hitched in my chest.

His free hand gripped my chin, turning my head to look me in the eyes. Staring into his cold, blue eyes I felt a warm wave of calm start to radiate from the center of my chest. The feeling crept up into my head, making my thoughts swim, becoming unfocused and dazed. My body began to relax, curling towards his. All I need to do is submit to my Alpha. The thought felt foreign to me, but felt true. Submit to my Alpha, and enjoy all the pleasures he can offer.

The thoughts balked against something inside me, stoking that angry fire again. The bastard was trying to use his Alpha persuasion on me! Every muscle in my body tensed, my thoughts becoming laser focused. “You are NOT MY Alpha,” I ground out around the ball gag, surprising myself with the clarity of the words.

The shadow in his eyes darkened. “It’s already been decided for us. You’ll submit to me, because you’re mine,” he snarled “it’s just a matter of time.” Releasing my chin, he flipped me around, keeping my arms pinned above my head. His free hand palmed my breast roughly as he burrowed his face into the back of my neck, his groin grinding against my ass. The tips of elongated canines grazed the skin where my neck and shoulder met sending a shiver through my body. My blood ran cold as the thought hit, was he going to mark me? We were most definitely not a mated pair!

His hand slid easily over my wet body, pinching and cupping my curves as he explored. His mouth worked along my neck and shoulders, nipping and sucking gently, without breaking the skin. A tingling sensation started to jump between where his lips touched and his fingers trailed, biology betraying me. Sliding a hand between my legs he growled and nipped my earlobe. My n*****s hardened, and a wave of heat flooded my body, concentrating on where his hand cupped. Inhaling deeply to refrain from gasping, the smoky smell of sandalwood and spice filled my nose. My body responded with another wash of heat. What was wrong with me?

Fucking pheromones! They hit me like a ton of bricks. My mind was cut off from the rage that had fueled me. All I could think about were the sensations his hand and lips made me feel. Like caressing a pet, his fingers stroked the mound of curls between my legs, a growing need for something more became drawn out with each touch. He breathed a satisfied sigh into my shoulder when his fingers curled up and slipped between my swollen labia easily, finding it slick and warm. I had to bite down on the ball to keep my own sigh of pleasure in.

“Your body betrays you,” he cooed into my ear, “ask me to give it what it craves. Submit to me.” His voice was seductive, but the hate I felt for him surged through the haze to give me enough strength to shake my head no. Laughing darkly, he stepped away from me and released my arms. Humming as he started to lather soap on his own body, I tried to melt into the wall and disappear. I couldn’t bear to turn and look at him now, but I could feel his eyes looking at me. Instead I tried to focus on the bubbles sliding past me on the shower floor, and disappearing down the drain, ignoring the craving in my body to have him touch it again.

He knew how to work a woman’s body and elicit a physical reaction. No matter what I thought of him, he was able to play my body like an instrument he’d trained on his entire life. It made me hate him more. He was an Alpha, strongest male of the pack, but he would never be my Alpha. I had to hold on to that hate, or I’d lose this battle of wills.

Finished toying with me at the moment and done with his shower, he wrapped himself in a towel and strode into the bedroom. He’d left me alone with the water running, but I was still chained to where I stood. The water stayed warm, but the wet leather of the cuffs and collar chaffed against my skin if I tried to move. I wouldn’t be able to reach any of the soaps and wash away the shame and disgust I felt anyway.

Eventually he’d come back for me wouldn’t he? I should try to enjoy the fact that I was alone while it lasted. I needed to figure out how I was going to keep the willpower to refuse the orders of an Alpha. I had to resist his sway and the chemistry of our biology that seemed primed to accept his advances. If I’d been allowed to be around other wolves growing up, I may have been able to learn some kind of resistance to this kind of thing. Or maybe that’s why my parents were so adamant about not allowing me to date. They had always planned to turn me over, and knew what would happen to me. The thought was almost enough to make bit the ball gag in half.

Was I supposed to be some kind of child bride? Well, maybe not a child. Certainly not a bride if he already had a Luna. But he did specify earlier that only the mated males were called to the public humiliation they called an induction. If I wasn’t meant to join the pack to find a mate, and he already had a mate, what the hell was the point of all this? Why the attempt at seducing me? Why insist that I submit?

They must have an insane water heater; the water was staying warm. Turning carefully, to avoid the leather rubbing, I moved to let the water wash down my back as I rested my head against the cool stone wall. There was a way to get through this, maybe out of it; I just had to figure it out. My head jerked up painfully to the sound of slamming doors and a woman yelling.