The Lost Lycan Princess: Breeder for the King

Claimed by Another

Chapter 4

Neraml Pov

Ryder was still standing there, his eyes dark and fixed on me with a hunger that made my skin crawl. He had called me his mate, but in this world, that word didn't mean love. It meant a target.

Pavel didn't look like a man who had just found out his brother was fated to his new purchase. He looked like a man who had been insulted. He stepped closer to me, his shadow swallowing me whole. He didn't offer a hand to help me up. He just looked down at me, his lip curling.

"A mate?" Pavel’s voice was a low, cruel rasp. He looked at Ryder and laughed, a dry sound that had no humor in it.

"You have always been desperate for what is mine, Ryder. But this? Claiming a scent bond with a wolf-less slave? It is pathetic, even for you."

"I know what I felt, Pavel," Ryder growled, his hands clenching into fists.

"The bond is there. She belongs to me by blood and moon."

"She belongs to me by silver and contract," Pavel snapped back. He turned to George, the Elder who was watching the exchange with a frown.

"The Salvatore pack sold her as a breeder. If Ryder wants to play fated mates, he can do it with someone who actually has a wolf to respond to him. This girl is a vessel. Nothing more."

Ariadne stepped forward then, her eyes gleaming with malice. She looked at me, lying there on the floor with blood beginning to soak into my tattered hem. She didn't say a word at first. She just walked up and kicked my foot out of her way as if I were a piece of trash blocking the path.

"She is disgusting," Ariadne whispered, loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Look at her. She is shaking like a leaf. You really want this to be the mother of the next Alpha? She can't even stand up straight."

I kept my head down. I didn't look at her. I didn't say a word. I honestly didn't have the strength to. My heart was thudding so hard. I just wanted to disappear into the stone floor.

"Get her up," Pavel ordered one of the guards.

I was hauled to my feet roughly. My knees stung, and the weight of the room’s judgment felt heavier than any physical blow.

"Elder George," Pavel said, turning his back on me. "You said I need an heir. You said the council is watching. Fine. We do not wait for the Winter Solstice. We begin tonight."

George nodded slowly, though his eyes darted nervously toward Ryder.

"The laws of succession are clear, Alpha. If the breeding is successful and the moon witnesses the union, the challenge for your title is nullified until the pup is born. But Ryder’s claim..."

"Ryder’s claim is a lie," Pavel interrupted. He looked at his stepbrother.

"And if he mentions it again, I will have his tongue."

Ryder didn't explode like I expected him to. Instead, his expression smoothed out. He reached for a crystal decanter on the side table, pouring two glasses of heavy, dark wine. He walked toward Pavel with a calm that was more terrifying than his rage.

"You’re right, brother," Ryder said, his voice smooth. "I must have been mistaken. The scent of the Salvatore pack must be clinging to her. A peace offering?"

He held out the glass. Pavel stared at him for a long moment, his eyes searching for a trap. But Pavel was arrogant. He believed no one in this house was brave enough to cross him. He took the glass and drained it in one go, tossing the empty crystal onto the table.

"Take her to the ritual chamber," Pavel commanded the healers. "Clean her. Prepare her. I will be there within the hour."

He walked out of the hall without a second glance at me. He didn't care that I was bleeding. He didn't care that I was terrified. To him, I was just a task to be completed.

The healers dragged me away. They took me to a room that was far too beautiful for the purpose it served. It was filled with white furs, scented candles, and a bed that looked like a throne. They stripped me and forced me into a gown of sheer, white silk. It was so thin it felt like wearing nothing at all. They brushed my hair until it shone, ignoring my winces as they pulled at the tangles.

"You are lucky," one of the older women whispered, though her voice held no kindness. "Many would kill to be in the Alpha's bed."

"I am a prisoner," I whispered back, but she just tightened the silk ribbons around my waist until I could barely breathe.

They left me there, alone in the dim light of the candles. The silence was deafening. I sat on the edge of the massive bed, my hands shaking in my lap. I thought about my life at the Salvatore pack. I thought about the beatings, the cold nights in the cellar, and the way Asya looked when she signed the papers. I had thought that was the bottom. I was wrong.

I heard the heavy thud of boots in the hallway. My breath hitched.

The door handle turned. My heart jumped into my throat. I stood up, clutching the silk at my chest, my eyes glued to the floor. I waited for the scent of pine and winter. I waited for the cold, demanding voice of the man who bought me.

"Alpha," I whispered, my voice trembling. "I... I am ready."

The door creaked shut. The lock clicked into place with a finality that made my blood run cold.

The scent hit me then. It wasn't pine. It wasn't cold rain.

It was the smell of damp earth and woodsmoke. It was the scent of the man who had claimed the moon had fated us.

I looked up, my eyes wide with horror.

It wasn't Pavel standing by the door.

Ryder stood there, his blonde hair messy, a wicked, triumphant smirk playing on his lips. His eyes were already bleeding into black, the wolf inside him looking at me with a terrifying level of possession.

"The Alpha is sleeping quite soundly right now," Ryder purred, taking a slow step toward me. "And he won't be waking up until morning."

I backed away until my calves hit the edge of the bed. "What did you do?"

"I took what should have been mine from the start," Ryder whispered. He reached out, his hand wrapping around my throat, not to choke me, but to force my head back so he could see my face.

"He bought your body, Neraml. But tonight? I’m going to make sure the only heir you ever carry belongs to me."

He leaned in, his hot breath against my ear, and I heard the sound of his heavy belt buckle hitting the floor.