Claimed by the Demon Alpha

Chapter 11: The m******e

Selene POV

Rain lashes my face. I run through the forest. Barefoot. Nearly naked. The towel barely covers me.

I just need to get away from him. From those red eyes. From that roar.

Istha's words keep pace with my footsteps.

Not a bond. An obsession. One fades. One doesn't.

The incomplete claiming mark on my neck throbs with every heartbeat. A reminder of how close I came. Of what I almost let happen.

I don't belong to anyone. I keep telling myself that. I need to keep believing it.

Thunder rolls. Lightning flashes. I stumble over roots. Branches tear at my skin.

Then I hear it.

Metal clashing. Men shouting. Screams.

Fire flickers through the trees ahead. Torches.

I press against a tree and look.

Oh God.

The forest edge is a battlefield. Dozens of soldiers in black armor attack the castle's outer defenses. Rex's guards fight back but they're outnumbered.

Blood soaks the mud. Bodies everywhere.

On each attacker's chest plate is a blood rose embroidered in crimson.

Rebels.

I need to circle around. Find another path.

My foot comes down on a dead branch.

CRACK.

Three soldiers whip around. Lock eyes on me.

I freeze.

The soldiers advance. Enormous. Armed. Moving like predators.

One grins. "Look what we found."

Another's gaze drags over my bare legs. The marks on my skin. "This one's been marked already."

The third reaches for his belt. "Doesn't matter."

I bolt.

Pure terror. I spin and run. My feet sliding in mud.

Their laughter echoes behind me. Heavy footsteps pounding.

A hand fists in my hair.

Pain explodes. My head snaps back. I hit the ground hard. Mud fills my mouth.

Rough hands flip me over. Three leering faces stare down.

"Please---"

A boot comes down on my chest. Shoves me into the mud.

One soldier unbuckles his belt.

I claw at the boot. My hand closes around something sharp. A broken branch.

I swing it up. The jagged end drives into one soldier's face.

He screams. Blood sprays.

The first soldier grabs my wrists. Slams them above my head. "Hold her down!"

The one with his pants down grins. Nothing human in his eyes.

I scream.

Raw. Desperate. I thrash but his grip is iron.

He reaches for the towel.

This is it. This is how I die.

A roar splits the night.

Not human. Not animal. Ancient and terrible and filled with a rage that shakes the sky.

The soldiers freeze.

The roar comes again. Closer. The ground shakes.

And then---beneath the blood and rain and mud and fear---I smell it.

That scent.

Forest and iron and something without a name. It cuts through everything else like it's the only real thing in this entire forest. My chest does that involuntary thing, that pull I can't explain or stop.

Even now. Even here. Even like this.

I hate my own body.

A massive shadow drops from the sky.

The impact sends mud spraying. The ground cracks.

Rex stands.

Not fully human. Not the dragon from the chamber. Something between.

Nearly three meters tall. Black scales cover his body like armor. Spine curved. Limbs too long. Ending in claws the length of daggers. Massive wings fold against his back.

And his eyes.

Burning red. Glowing like coals.

They lock onto the soldier standing over me.

Rex moves.

One swipe and the soldier's head separates from his shoulders. It tumbles through the air. The body stands for one heartbeat before collapsing. Blood fountains from the neck.

I scream.

The other two soldiers scramble backward.

Too slow.

Rex is on them. His claws punch through the first soldier's chest. Straight through armor and ribs. I hear bone crunch. See blood pour as Rex lifts him off the ground.

The second soldier runs.

Rex's jaws snap forward. Fangs close around the man's throat. The wet sound of tearing flesh. A gurgled scream cut short.

Blood sprays across my face. Hot and thick. I taste copper.

I scramble backward. My hands slipping in mud and gore.

This is him. This is what he really is.

A monster.

More rebel soldiers charge into the clearing. At least a dozen. Weapons raised.

Rex tears through them like death itself. Each swipe opens throats. Severs limbs. Spills intestines onto blood-soaked ground. He moves impossibly fast.

An arrow strikes his shoulder. Bounces off his scales.

Rex's head snaps toward the archer. A growl rumbles so deep I feel it in my bones.

He crosses the distance in two bounds. Grabs the archer by the arms. And pulls.

The man comes apart. Rips in half. Screaming until he can't.

Blood and viscera rain down.

I press my back against a tree. Unable to look away. Unable to breathe.

This isn't battle. This is m******e.

A rebel commander sees Rex and goes pale.

"RETREAT! FALL BACK!"

The survivors run. Rex's guards surge forward. More death.

Rex lets them go. All except one.

He cuts off a fleeing soldier. His massive foot comes down on the man's leg.

Bone cracks like kindling.

The soldier screams. Claws at the mud. "Please---mercy---"

Rex's form shifts. Scales recede. Wings vanish. Within seconds he's human again.

Naked. Covered in blood. Eyes still glowing faintly red.

He picks up a fallen sword. Looks down at the sobbing man.

"Mercy?" His voice barely human. "You were going to r**e an innocent woman. Then kill her. And you dare ask for mercy?"

The sword comes down.

On the man's right arm.

The blade shears through. The severed limb falls. Blood spurts.

The soldier's screams reach a new pitch.

"Go." Rex's voice cuts like ice. "Crawl back to your master. Tell him what you saw here tonight. Tell him the next time he sends his dogs to my territory, I'll take their heads."

He lifts his foot. The soldier scrambles up and runs.

Silence falls.

Rex's soldiers raise weapons. "LONG LIVE THE ALPHA KING!"

Rex turns. His eyes find me.

I'm still pressed against the tree. Covered in mud and blood. Shaking.

He starts walking toward me.

I try to stand. To run. My legs give out. I collapse into the mud.

He doesn't stop. Just keeps coming. Blood drips from his skin.

"No---stay away---"

He grabs my arm. Hauls me up like I weigh nothing.

"Where were you going?" His voice rough gravel. "Running straight into enemy arms?"

"Let me go---"

"Let you go?" He laughs harshly. "You almost got gang-r***d and beheaded. And you want to keep running?"

"I don't care! I'd rather die out here than---"

He throws me over his shoulder.

I scream. Pound my fists against his back. Kick. It's like hitting stone.

"Put me down!"

"No."

He starts walking. Back toward the palace. Carrying me like a trophy.

I'm draped over his shoulder. Upside down. I see the battlefield behind us. Bodies scattered. Blood pooling. Severed limbs in mud.

My stomach heaves. Tears stream down my face.

"You're a monster!" I sob. Beating his back. "A demon! A killer!"

He doesn't answer. Just keeps walking.

I feel everything. The heat of his body. The shift of muscles beneath my stomach. The slick wetness of blood on his skin against mine.

And underneath all of it---that scent. Still there. Still pulling at something in my chest that I can't shut off.

I hate it. I hate him. I hate whatever this is that won't leave me alone.

"I hate you!" The words tear from my throat. "I hate you, I hate you, I HATE YOU---"

He stops walking.

Before I can react he hauls me down. Slams me against a tree trunk. The bark digs into my back. His body pins me.

His face inches from mine. Blood streaks his cheekbones. His eyes burn. Not fully red anymore. Not quite blue. Something between.

"You hate me?" Deadly quiet. "I just saved your life."

"You slaughtered them---"

"They were going to r**e you. Kill you. Dump your body in the mud like garbage." His grip tightens. "Would you have preferred that?"

"I would have preferred to never come to this cursed place!" I'm crying now. Words tumbling in sobs. "I would have preferred to die free than be your prisoner!"

Something flickers in his eyes. Pain. Or rage. Or something I don't have a name for.

"You're not my prisoner." His voice drops. Rougher. "You're mine. There's a difference."

"I don't belong to anyone---"

"Yes." His eyes flash red. Just for a moment. I feel him trembling. Fighting something. "You do. You belong to me. And the sooner you accept that, the better."

I open my mouth to scream at him again.

He crushed his lips against mine.

The kiss was brutal, desperate, and devastatingly possessive. His mouth claimed me like he was trying to brand my soul. Before I could push him away, his rough, blood-slick hand shoved under the torn towel and palmed my breast, squeezing and kneading with expert pressure that sent unwanted sparks straight to my core.

A helpless moan tore from my throat——