Forced Breeder For Notorious Alpha Dean

Chapter 3. The Alpha's Choice

Aria's POV

Lydia moved gracefully across the dancing mat, her body following the rhythm with a confidence that made every movement look effortless. She stretched one leg, lifted her arms and slowly turned, the silk of her dress swaying around her as she demonstrated the steps we were expected to perform.

There was something almost mesmerizing about the way she danced.

I could understand why she had been chosen to teach us.

She stopped in front of us and turned slowly, her eyes travelling over the twenty women standing around her.

“The essence of dance lies in style,” she began, her voice carrying across the room. “Victory doesn't come from beauty alone. It is about what you bring to the stage and what you are willing to offer the Alpha.”

She snapped her fan shut with a sharp flick.

“Feel the rhythm. Move with the music. Don't fight the beat.”

Her gaze hardened as she looked at us.

“Now, rise.”

We obeyed.

“On your toes.”

We lifted ourselves carefully, balancing on the tips of our feet as Lydia watched.

“One, two, three. One, two, three.”

She moved again, demonstrating the rhythm with her feet before allowing her hips and shoulders to follow.

“At this stage, understand this. You are not simply dancing. You are presenting yourselves to the Alpha. Every movement must speak for you when words cannot. Your body, your grace, your confidence, everything must come together. If you want his attention, you must make him look at you.”

Her words made something inside me tighten.

I didn't want Alpha Dean looking at me.

I wanted him to forget I existed.

Lydia commanded the orchestra to begin, and the musicians positioned themselves at the far end of the room. The soft sound of harps filled the air first, followed by the delicate notes of the violins.

We began moving.

Our feet rose and fell together, the small anklets around our ankles chiming softly with every step. Lydia moved between us, correcting the position of a shoulder here and the angle of a foot there.

“Keep your backs straight.”

“Lift your chin.”

“Follow the rhythm.”

“Don't look at the floor.”

I followed the instructions, although my mind was somewhere else entirely.

The dance itself was beautiful. There was a slow sway at the beginning, followed by a series of turns that required us to move in perfect unison. We were taught to separate in pairs, circle around one another and return to our original positions as the music changed.

The faster the music became, the more deliberate our movements had to be.

We moved our shoulders with the rhythm, allowing our hips to follow naturally as we turned. At certain points, we had to raise our arms above our heads before lowering them slowly, our fingers brushing against the sides of our bodies as we moved.

Lydia insisted that every gesture had to look effortless.

But there was nothing effortless about being watched like an object.

By the time the rehearsal ended, my legs ached, and sweat had gathered along my hairline despite the coolness of the room.

The maids immediately returned to us, touching up our makeup and fixing our hair as though we had not spent the last hour dancing until our bodies hurt.

I sat quietly while one of them applied another layer of powder to my face.

My thoughts were a tangled mess.

I was angry because I had been dragged into this against my will. I was anxious because I still didn't know what Alpha Dean intended to do with me. Yet, beneath all of that, there was a small sense of relief.

Only one woman would be chosen as his breeder.

That meant there was a chance I wouldn't be the one.

My lips curved slightly.

I certainly wasn't going to put in the effort to impress him.

Why would I?

I wanted nothing to do with Alpha Dean, and the last thing I wanted was to become the woman forced to bear his children.

Unfortunately, that tiny bit of hope didn't last long.

I overheard two of the women whispering while the maids worked on their hair.

The women who weren't chosen wouldn't simply be released.

They would be auctioned.

Mighty Alphas from other packs had already arrived, and they were prepared to pay for whichever women Alpha Dean rejected.

My fingers curled against my dress.

They were going to sell us.

The realization sent a wave of anger through me so intense that I nearly stood up.

We weren't women to them.

We were prizes.

Objects to be chosen, displayed and handed over to whoever offered the highest price.

I looked at my reflection in the mirror and barely recognized the woman staring back at me.

My face had been carefully painted, my hair styled and my body dressed for an audience that had already decided what we were worth.

I felt sick.

When we were finally led into the grand hall, I kept my eyes moving, taking in everything around me.

The room was enormous, decorated with elaborate ornaments and glowing chandeliers that cast light over the crowd. Powerful looking men occupied the seats arranged around the hall, their attention fixed on the women being presented to them.

Then I saw him.

Alpha Dean.

He sat at the very center of the hall on an elevated throne, surrounded by guards and several men who appeared to be Alphas from other packs.

My stomach tightened the moment our eyes met.

He looked exactly as I remembered him.

Cold.

Commanding.

Untouchable.

But there was something different about seeing him here, surrounded by people who bowed and lowered their eyes whenever he moved.

This was his world.

And I was trapped inside it.

My gaze shifted toward the men seated nearby, and then I noticed the bags placed beside several of them.

Money.

A strange uneasiness crawled beneath my skin.

So the rumours were true.

They really intended to auction us.

“Begin!”

Lydia's voice snapped through the hall.

The harpist began playing, and the violinist soon joined in, filling the enormous room with the melody we had rehearsed.

We stepped onto the stage.

The anklets around our ankles chimed softly as we rose onto our toes.

My eyes moved across the crowd.

There were so many people watching.

Some drank from their glasses while others leaned forward in their seats, their eyes travelling over our bodies with open interest.

I felt exposed.

The smiles on their faces made my skin crawl.

A chill travelled down my spine as I realized exactly what they were seeing when they looked at us.

Not women.

Not daughters.

Not people.

Just potential breeders.

My feet suddenly felt heavier.

Cold fear crept into my chest, and for a moment I forgot the steps Lydia had taught us.

Then I noticed something.

Lydia was speaking to a slim man standing near the edge of the hall.

She leaned closer to him before lifting her hand and pointing directly at me.

My body stiffened.

Why was she talking about me?

What could she possibly be telling him?

My instincts screamed that something wasn't right.

One of the women beside me noticed my distraction and lightly tapped my shoulder.

I blinked and forced myself to move.

The music was already changing.

I had to dance.

I followed the others as we began the first sequence.

We moved in a circle, our bodies turning together as the music rose. Our arms lifted above our heads before dropping slowly as we swayed from side to side.

Then came the part Lydia had made us rehearse repeatedly.

We separated.

The women around me moved toward the men seated at the front, their hips swaying to the rhythm as their anklets jingled with every step.

I remained where I was for a moment.

My stomach churned.

I shouldn't be doing this.

I shouldn't.

I was an Alpha's daughter, not some common performer brought out for the amusement of men who had come with bags of money.

The music continued.

The other women followed Lydia's instructions exactly, moving their shoulders and hips in the same deliberate rhythm we had practiced.

I stood frozen in the middle of them, my eyes travelling over the crowd.

I could feel their eyes on me.

The humiliation burned beneath my skin.

My hands clenched.

I wouldn't do this.

I took a slow breath, trying to calm the storm inside me.

If they wanted me to submit, they had chosen the wrong woman.

“Will you dance like the rest or not?”

Lydia's sharp voice reached me from across the stage.

I turned toward her.

Her eyes were burning with fury.

I shook my head.

She stared at me for a moment before walking toward me.

When she reached my side, she leaned close enough that only I could hear her.

“You don't want to get on Alpha Dean's nerves, do you?”

I looked at her coldly.

“I don't care what he'll do to me. I'm not bound to live by his rules or expectations.”

Her fingers curled beneath my chin, forcing me to meet her eyes.

A strange smile tugged at the corner of her lips.

“Then I guess you'll have to learn the hard way.”

She released me and snapped her fingers.

A groan came from somewhere behind me.

My entire body went cold.

I turned.

A guard had a sword pressed against the body of a woman I knew instantly.

My sister.

Her frightened eyes met mine.

I stopped breathing.

Then I saw another figure standing behind her.

My mother.

She was being held by two guards, her face pale and strained as she looked at me.

For a moment, I couldn't understand what I was seeing.

They were supposed to have escaped.

My mother was supposed to be safe.

I had spent the entire week wondering whether she had managed to get away.

And all this time, they had been here.

A tear slipped down my cheek before I could stop it.

Lydia stepped beside me.

“Dance,” she whispered.

I stared at her.

“Or we have your sister killed.”

My sister's body trembled beneath the guard's grip.

I felt my chest tighten as I looked at her face.

She was terrified.

And I knew there was nothing I wouldn't do to keep her alive.

The music continued playing.

The crowd waited.

I swallowed the lump lodged in my throat and slowly turned back toward the stage.

My legs felt heavy as I stepped forward.

I had no choice.

I positioned myself at the center of the hall and drew in a deep breath, forcing myself to remember everything Lydia had taught us.

The rhythm entered my body.

One step.

Then another.

I raised my arms slowly, allowing my hands to follow the music as my hips began to sway.

The men watched.

I could feel their eyes following every movement.

I hated it.

But I refused to let them see how much it affected me.

If they wanted a performance, I would give them one.

I twisted my torso with the rhythm, allowing my movements to become more deliberate as the music grew louder.

My hands travelled from the curve of my chest toward my collarbone before I lifted my arms again, my gaze moving across the room with a quiet defiance that dared anyone to look away.

I turned sharply.

My dress flared around my legs as I spun, and the anklets around my feet chimed with every movement.

The orchestra increased its tempo.

I followed it.

I lowered myself slowly, balancing on my toes before rising again with the rhythm, allowing the movement to flow into another turn.

My body moved as though I had practiced this for years, even though everything inside me wanted to stop.

Then came the final sequence.

I turned away from the crowd, my back facing Alpha Dean.

The music slowed.

I lowered my hands toward the waistline of my skirt, making the deliberate motion we had been taught, as though I were about to loosen it.

A few excited sounds came from the crowd.

I ignored them.

I refused to look at them.

Instead, my eyes found Alpha Dean.

He was watching me.

And unlike the other men, he wasn't smiling.

At least, not at first.

Then the corner of his mouth lifted.

A slow, amused smile spread across his face.

Something about it made my stomach twist.

I continued.

The music reached its final notes.

I turned once more, lowered myself toward the floor and finished in the position Lydia had taught us, my head slightly bowed in what was supposed to look like submission.

The music stopped.

The room erupted into applause.

I remained still, breathing heavily as I waited for the humiliation to end.

My heart pounded against my ribs.

Then the applause slowly faded.

A strange silence settled over the hall.

I lifted my head.

Alpha Dean was standing.

Every person in the room seemed to hold their breath.

His gaze travelled across the women before settling on me.

I couldn't understand what I saw in his expression.

He looked almost thoughtful.

Then a servant approached him, holding a piece of white cloth.

Dean took it without looking away from me.

He stepped down from his throne.

One step.

Then another.

The closer he came, the harder my heart seemed to pound.

He stopped several feet away from me and looked directly into my eyes.

Then he threw the piece of cloth.

It landed across my outstretched hands.

My fingers closed around it instinctively.

Dean's voice rang through the hall.

“You, Aria of the Crescent Pack, shall be my breeder.”

A wave of murmurs swept through the room.

I stared at him in disbelief.

He had chosen me.

After everything I had done to avoid this.

After everything I had wanted to escape.

It was me.

But before I could process the words, something strange happened.

Dean's expression changed.

His brows drew together as his body suddenly stiffened.

He inhaled.

Deeply.

His eyes widened.

For the first time since I had seen him, the cold composure of Alpha Dean cracked.

His nostrils flared as he drew in another breath, almost as though he couldn't understand what his senses were telling him.

Then his gaze locked onto me.

Something hot and intoxicating drifted through the space between us.

I smelled him.

The scent was impossible to ignore.

Deep cedar and damp earth after rainfall, softened by something strangely familiar, almost like wild lavender blooming beneath the night air.

It wrapped around me so quickly that my knees nearly weakened.

My wolf stirred.

Not cautiously.

Not curiously.

She surged forward with a force that nearly took my breath away.

Her claws scraped against the inside of my mind as she rose, wild and desperate, recognizing something I couldn't yet understand.

Then his scent changed.

Or perhaps I was finally able to recognize what had been hidden beneath it.

It wasn't simply his natural scent.

It was the scent of my mate.

My heart slammed against my ribs.

Dean took another breath, and his entire face changed.

Shock.

Confusion.

Disbelief.

I had never seen an Alpha look so completely shaken.

His eyes moved over my face as though he were searching for an answer.

For years, he had selected woman after woman.

I had heard the rumours.

Hundreds of women had stood before him.

None had awakened anything in him.

None had made him feel the bond he had been searching for.

Yet now, after all those years, the moment his gaze settled on me, something inside him had finally responded.

His lips parted slightly.

He looked down at the space between us, then back at me, almost as though he expected the feeling to disappear if he looked away.

It didn't.

The bond only grew stronger.

My wolf threw her head back inside me, and the word tore through my mind with such force that I couldn't stop myself from whispering it.

“MATE.”

Dean heard me.

His eyes snapped to mine.

For several seconds, neither of us moved.

The entire hall had gone silent.

Then his face changed again.

His shock gave way to something darker, something that made the air around us feel unbearably heavy.

His fingers slowly curled into fists.

He stared at me as though he had just discovered the one thing he had spent years searching for, only to find it standing before him in the most unexpected place.

I watched his throat move as he swallowed.

Then his eyes darkened.

“Mate,” he breathed, almost as though the word itself was foreign to him.

My heart dropped.

Because if Alpha Dean was my mate...

Then I had just been chosen to become his breeder.