Alpha's Seductive Deception

Ch 3 - Tyranny

His left hand seized both of her wrists, pinning them firmly against the velvet sheets above her head. His fingers, thick and powerful, were already tipped with hard, dark claws that were visible against the soft skin of her wrist, a silent, savage threat.

"Stop fighting me," he ordered. The words were a command woven directly into the Mate-Bond, assaulting her senses.

Emilia thrashed beneath him, fighting the powerful submission that threatened to drown her. "I will never yield to you! You killed him!"

Kael’s eyes narrowed, the silver flashing. "Liam was weak. I am strength. And strength is what this Pack, and what you, require."

He lowered his body fully, pressing his chest against hers, eliminating every inch of space between them. The sheer, overwhelming force of the Alpha aura paralyzed her. His face was inches from hers; her body, traitorous and alive, responded to the magnetic proximity of its destined Mate.

He didn't need force. He lowered his lips, and this time, there was no command, only seduction.

His mouth crushed hers, hard and deep, a devastating, intimate claim. It was the kiss she had yearned for, the kiss she had waited for in the crypt, but delivered with none of Liam's protective tenderness. This was all possession, demanding a response the Mate-Bond was already begging her to give.

Emilia’s initial resistance crumbled. The kiss was intoxicating, overwhelming her logic and her fear with raw, primal instinct. Her lips softened beneath his; her trapped hands twitched, desperate to reach out and hold him. Her body arched, yielding to the dominant weight pressing her into the mattress.

No. Stop. He is a lie!

The thought barely registered, yet it was enough. She tasted the lie, the sharp, metallic undercurrent of steel over cedar, and the tiny flicker of revulsion was enough to give her soul leverage. She clamped her mouth shut, refusing to kiss him back, allowing only submission, not participation.

Kael pulled back slightly, his breathing heavy, his silver eyes dark with frustrated desire. He saw the fire in her eyes, the last desperate ember of resistance holding out against the tide of the bond.

He could have finished the act. He had her pinned, commanded, and half-submitted. But his goal was total, willing surrender. He needed her to break, not just comply.

Kael released her wrists and stood up, his heavy, coiled tension radiating off him. He towered over the bed, his face a mask of cold fury and simmering desire.

"The bond will win, Emilia," Kael stated, his voice a low, final promise. "You can postpone the inevitable, but you cannot escape it. Tonight, you sleep alone with your resistance. But tomorrow, you will begin to serve your Alpha."

He didn't look back as he walked to the door. He paused with his hand on the knob, his voice slicing through the silence.

"And do not forget my name. It is Kael."

He was gone.

Emilia lay on the bed, shaking uncontrollably, her wrists throbbing where his claws had pressed. She had won the battle for the night, but the taste of his kiss—the dizzying, dangerous truth of the Mate-Bond that had almost consumed her—left her terrified. She knew she had barely escaped giving in, and she had no idea how long she could keep fighting the truth that her body recognized him as her Mate, even if her heart knew he was the man who had destroyed her life.

Emilia spent the night huddled beneath the heavy velvet comforter, the ghost of Kael’s weight still pressing down on her. The primal satisfaction the forced mate-bond had delivered—even in their incomplete exchange—was a physical stain on her spirit, leaving her terrified of her own traitorous instincts.

By morning, Kael had already begun his reign.

The shocking sound of the Pack House being cleaned—truly cleaned for the first time in six months—jolted Emilia from her exhausted sleep. When she ventured into the main hall, the air was sharp with disinfectant and polished wood.

Kael stood by the hearth, addressing the elders and high-ranking wolves with ruthless efficiency. His face was cold, and his commands were absolute.

"Effective immediately," Kael announced, his voice slicing through the room, "The traditional patrols are obsolete. We adopt a Watch System modeled after the Eastern Clans, which is clearly superior. Any wolf found derelict in their duty will be stripped of rank and exiled. Furthermore, the practice of sharing resources with the human village is finished. We hoard our strength and our stores. The humans will learn to pay tribute or starve."

Emilia watched in stunned silence. Liam had been the Pack's greatest humanitarian, always prioritizing alliances and protection over isolation. These were not reforms; they were tyranny. They were the commands of a superior, heartless strategist, shattering everything Liam had built.

The elders were shocked, but utterly compliant. The Revenant authority was too strong, the relief of having a leader too intoxicating.

Later that afternoon, seeking a private space to calm the storm raging inside her, Emilia went to the small, rarely used study on the second floor. She needed the comfort of the Pack’s old, forgotten knowledge, something rooted in the past, safe from Kael's corrosive presence.

She paused outside the study door. The air here was heavy, thick with two clashing scents: Kael’s potent, intoxicating cedar-and-steel aura, and the cloying, sweet scent of a female werewolf.

A knife of icy, savage jealousy instantly plunged into Emilia’s gut, stunning her.

It’s not him! her mind screamed. You don't care!

But the Mate-Bond cared. The powerful, instinctive connection, meant to prevent the mate from being contaminated by others, was violently rejecting the female scent. The betrayal was primal, overwhelming, and absolute.

Her hands shaking with a rage she hadn't known she possessed, Emilia threw the study door open.

Kael was standing near the large, imposing desk, completely naked, his muscled body a flawless, terrifying testament to his Alpha dominance. His silver eyes met hers, utterly calm.

A young female Beta, equally naked and flushed with arousal, was backed against the desk, her expression a mix of terror and thrilling submission.

"Mate," Kael acknowledged, his voice flat, gesturing to the Beta. "I was establishing a new communication protocol with Beta Lyra. Efficient use of time, wouldn't you agree?"

He hadn't touched the girl, but the sheer, overwhelming proximity was enough.

The jealousy seized Emilia, transforming her into something unrecognizable. It was a raw, territorial instinct, driven by the furious, protective compulsion of the Mate-Bond. She bypassed Kael completely, moving on sheer, blinding fury.

She seized the Beta by her hair, yanked her away from the desk, and dragged the screaming girl toward the door.

"Get out," Emilia snarled, her voice low and laced with Omega rage. She shoved the Beta through the door and into the hallway. "You will never set foot near the Alpha, near my mate, or near this Pack House again."

Emilia leaned in, her eyes wide and wild, letting the full force of her primitive threat sink in.

"I saw my Alpha die protecting this territory. Do you understand? I felt the bond shatter. If I ever catch your sickening scent here again, I will forget every law of man and wolf. I will throttle you myself. Now run."

The Beta, recognizing the genuine, homicidal intensity of the Mate’s claim, scrambled away down the corridor, weeping.

Emilia slammed the door shut and leaned her head against the wood, trembling violently. The hatred she felt for the Beta was quickly replaced by a devastating self-revulsion. She had just acted out of pure, primal possessiveness for the man she knew was a liar and a murderer.

Kael watched her, his expression shifting from amusement to something darker, a triumphant appreciation.

"Good girl," he drawled, his voice thick with satisfaction. He walked toward her, his body intimidating and beautiful. "Now you understand what the bond truly means. It means you are mine, and I am yours to protect. Resistance is futile, Emilia. You already belong."