A bite from an Alpha King

Chapter Seven

Octavia

I screamed as his canines sank deep into my marking spot, sharp pain tearing through me. I struggled against the king despite the exhaustion weighing me down, but then an overwhelming warmth washed over me. I felt the connection between us strengthen. Everything about the king intensified—his scent, his touch—it was intoxicating. I was caught in the high of his bite, lost in the sensations flooding my body. A shameful moan escaped me as I went lax against him.

Then I heard voices in my head—voices I hadn’t heard in a long time. The voices of his pack members. For a moment, the noise overwhelmed me. I wasn’t used to blocking out a pack bond. But as I pushed them away one by one, one voice remained: his. A voice I couldn’t escape. His warm tone flowed through me, reaching parts of me I had thought were dead. Parts I had forgotten even existed.

I sighed deeply, letting the warmth of his presence wrap around me. But the euphoria didn’t last. Reality struck me like the hardest blow I had ever taken.

“No!” I screamed.

I shoved him with every ounce of strength I had left, but it was like trying to move a wall of iron. Instead, I was the one who stumbled backward, falling to the ground. I looked up at his dark figure looming over me, his shadow stretching across the sand. His eyes glowed fiercely, sending a shiver down my spine.

“Submit,” he sneered, his voice low and dangerous.

My wolf whimpered inside me. Against my will, my eyes lowered, and my head tilted to the side, exposing the tender mark on my shoulder. Hatred, pure and vicious, flooded me. Hatred toward myself.

“Lock her up,” a deep voice commanded.

Strong hands gripped my arms, hauling me to my feet. This time, I didn’t fight. I lacked the strength. I kept my eyes on the ground as they dragged me away, shame burning through me.

How many had watched me bow to that bastard?

My feet scraped across the sand, then grass, then the cold stone steps leading back into the dungeon. I listened to the hollow sound of my boots dragging as they hurried me back to where I belonged: my cell. Like a discarded rug, they threw me onto the cold brick floor. I landed with a hard thud, a small groan slipping from my lips as my side struck the surface.

Pushing myself up slightly with my uninjured hand, I looked back just in time to see the door slam shut. They hadn’t even bothered chaining me.

Slowly, I crawled toward the wall where I had once been restrained. Leaning against it, I slumped down, feeling as though every ounce of strength had drained from my body. Then the ache in my skin began to demand my attention. It throbbed. Burned. Glancing down, I tried to see the bite, but I could only catch a glimpse of blood flowing steadily down my shoulder. As I stared at it, disbelief flooded me.

He had forced his mark on me. He had made me submit. I bowed to the king.

I couldn’t comprehend it.

“W-What did he do to me?” I stammered.

Shame rose again, suffocating me. My thoughts drifted instantly to my father.

What would he think of me now?

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, lifting my eyes toward the ceiling as tears, something I hadn’t allowed myself in years, slid down my cheeks, burning as they fell.

“I’m so sorry…”

“Come on, Zane, let’s spar!” I grasp my brother’s arm, jumping up and down as he leans against the side of the pack house.

“No.”

“Come on! Father says I’m strong enough to take on the older boys. Let me show you!”

“No,” he replies grumpily.

“Why? Scared?” I tease, sticking out my tongue.

Zane huffs and looks away. I instantly feel bad and tug on his arm again. He turns to face me.

“Sorry. I just wanted to show you how strong I’ve become, like you.”

“Father thinks I’m strong?” he asks, hope flickering in his voice.

But I’ve heard how Father speaks about Zane. I hesitate. “Uhm…”

“Right,” he mutters angrily. He pushes away from the wall and starts walking toward the forest surrounding the pack house.

“Wait up!”

I run after him, but his legs are much longer than mine, and he easily stays ahead.

“Zane!” I shout, but he disappears into the trees, leaving me confused about where I am.

I stop, trying to recognize the area, but it seems unfamiliar. I sniff the air and catch scents I don’t know. Looking down at my feet, I realize I don’t recognize the ground I’m standing on. Suddenly, a branch snaps.

“Zane?” I call.

Silence answers me. The hairs on the back of my neck rise, and I slowly begin backing away.

“Zane?” I whisper.

I keep stepping backward. Another branch snaps. My heart races.

What is that?

“Octavia.”

A hand presses down on my shoulder, and I scream, jumping and spinning around. The moment I turn, I instantly calm down when I see the familiar face looking down at me.

“Father,” I breathe.

My father scans the area, suspicion in his eyes, before focusing on me.

“What are you doing out here at the border? Don’t you have training?”

“I… yes, but I was… um…” I stammer, unsure how to explain how I wandered out here.

His eyes narrow slightly, as if he already knows what happened. But instead of pressing further, he gently rests his hand on my shoulder again.

“Come,” he says, guiding me back. “Let this be a lesson.”

“Lesson?” I ask, looking up at him.

His hand remains on my shoulder, he’s too tall to wrap an arm fully around me.

“You can’t trust anyone. Not even your own pack. In the end, you only have yourself.”

“What do you mean? Zane is family,” I protest.

My father glances down at me. I quickly look ahead, realizing I may have said too much.

“Don’t even trust your brother,” he says firmly. “Don’t trust anyone.”