Into the Alpha’s Keep Chapter 30: 29

She stood up, dragging the chair back with the motion. She leaned over the table, spreading her hands across the surface.

"I'm at my limit, little wolf, I suggest you stop playing with me."

"This is not a game. I want to be free, Fenrir. Free from you and everything you represent."

"You know it's impossible to remove the mark."

"No, it's not impossible. It's very possible, actually," I protested.

"I can't and I won't die. I have a whole pack that depends on me."

"Then add another problem to your long list."

"And what's that?" He raised an eyebrow, sharp.

"Me," I stated, lifting my chin in defiance.

A half-smile curved his lips, and a feral glint appeared in his eyes.

"You're not a problem, just a small, insignificant, and irrelevant headache."

I smiled back and raised a finger threateningly.

"Actually, I was."

"Were?" I nodded.

"Because now I'm about to become much more than a headache, a migraine, I would say."

Running away from him while still mated would be foolish. I could hardly reach the city before he got his claws on me.

He laughed and clapped, as if I had just told a funny joke.

"Do you know what's going to happen?" he asked, still smiling. I shook my head. "I'm going to mark you again, and then again, and again. There's no chance you’ll walk around without my mark and my scent."

I raised the wine glass and turned my body to the side.

"Is that so? And why?"

"Because you belong to me since the moment we mated. And no other male in the world will touch you, not while I'm alive." He widened his eyes, mocking. "And, here's the annoying thing: if I die, you die too, so..."

He wasn't jealous of me, nor did he care that someone else might touch me. Fenrir was an alpha, and wolves were extremely territorial. He considered me his property, so just the mention of another male touching me irritated him. It was instinctive, in his nature.

"You can try," I retorted, emptying the glass. "Like I said, you'll never touch me again. And, luckily, my wolf feels the same way right now, so there's no way I'll lose control this time."

"Is that a challenge, little wolf?"

I shrugged and stood up from the table, mimicking his position. I noticed the way his eyes scanned my body, analyzing every curve that the dress highlighted, getting lost in the deep neckline that exposed my breasts.

"See it however you want."

As long as my animal side was angry with his actions, I had some freedom to act. She cared for him, even liked him.

"I’m going to teach you that you should never, under any circumstances, challenge me," he growled, and, a blink later, he was in front of me, having circled the table with his inhuman speed.

"If you touch me, Fenrir, things will get really bad," I accused, feeling the heat intensifying inside me. Partly because of his closeness and partly from the anger flowing from my wolf.

He extended his arm slowly, as if testing her reaction, then gripped my neck. I remained silent, pressing my lips into a thin line, breathing heavily. He pulled my neck to the side, exposing the damaged skin better. I noticed his silver eyes expanding, overtaking the deep blue. He inhaled, flaring his nostrils and let out a growl due to the lack of his scent on me.

There was still some residue, but it was little.

"I can't believe you had the courage to hurt yourself like that."

"Physical wounds are easy to heal," I hissed.

The touch of his hand on my skin was feverish. And I hated that I liked the comforting heat of his fingers.

He brought his mouth closer to my neck, and an involuntary growl echoed in my chest.

"Calm down, little wolf, I’m just going to heal this," he whispered, his warm breath brushing against my skin.

I stood still, completely rigid.

He stuck his tongue out and licked the wound. I felt the rough, warm, and wet touch. I shivered and clung tighter to the table. His healing saliva began to tingle on my skin, numbing some areas.

He licked again, with desire, as if he enjoyed the act.

My core contracted. I pressed my thighs together as I felt my pussy pulse. I closed my eyes and mentally chanted, reminding myself of everything he'd done to me and the very obvious reasons why I shouldn’t feel attracted to him, let alone get excited.

His tongue dragged along the sensitive surface, leaving a wet trail of hot saliva. The fingers around my neck tightened firmly.

I took a deep breath, smelling the excitement in the air. And it wasn’t just mine—Fenrir was as shaken as I was.

He licked me a few more times before pulling away.

I stared at him, his eyes shining, full of excitement. He smiled, with a dark eyebrow arched.

"I'm going to mark you again, little wolf."

I blinked, clearing my mind and focusing on what really mattered.

"I already told you, Fenrir, you can try."

He ran his tongue across his wet lips, still wearing that sharp smile on his face.

"And when I do, you’ll never dare remove my mark again."

"I’ll pay to see that," I spat.

He put his hands in the front pockets of his jeans and laughed, enjoying the challenge I had thrown. Spinning on his heels, he walked toward the stairs.

"Didn't anyone tell you anything today?" I asked, unable to contain myself.

Still with his back to me, he stopped on the first step of the stairs and answered over his shoulder:

"Just that there were... some problems with your cakes. I hope you get it right next time, my wolves like good quality food."

My fists clenched at my sides, nails digging into my palms with such ferocity that I felt the skin threaten to split. A surge of anger roared through me, hot and untamed, trembling in the air like a storm about to break.

I swore I’d shift right there in the middle of the house, my wolf clawing at the edges of my control, fur bristling beneath my skin, ready to tear free in a burst of unchecked fury.

The power pulsed around me, a tangible force that crackled in the silence, and he felt it—I knew he did. The muscles in his back stiffened, a ripple of tension betraying his awareness, though he didn’t turn to face me.

He said nothing more, ignoring my fleeting loss of restraint as if it were beneath his notice.

With a deliberate, unhurried stride, he continued climbing the stairs, each step a quiet taunt.

This time, I didn’t stop him. I let him go, my anger too raw, too consuming to form words that would reach him.

My gaze drifted to the window, catching my reflection in the glass—wild hair framing a face flushed with rage, eyes glinting with a feral edge. My neck was smooth, unmarred, the skin pristine as if I’d never ripped away a chunk of flesh in a desperate bid to erase his mark.

I shifted my stare to the grotesque gifts he’d left behind: severed heads, their lifeless eyes staring blankly from the sideboard, blood congealing in dark pools beneath them.

The sight churned my stomach, a wave of disgust rising like bile in my throat. They were trophies to him, no doubt—tokens of his dominance, his cruelty—but to me, they were an insult, a visceral reminder of his arrogance.

I let out a low hiss, cursing all the generations before him and the ones he wouldn't have, since he couldn't have offspring.

Fury propelled me forward, and I stormed toward the decapitated heads, my hands trembling with rage. I seized them one by one—cold, slick, and heavier than they looked—and hurled them against the floor with all my strength. They hit with wet, sickening thuds, rolling unevenly across the polished wood, leaving smears of crimson in their wake.

I kicked them away from the sideboard, my breaths coming fast and shallow, each exhale a snarl of frustration. My chest heaved as I stopped, fists still balled, the air thick with the coppery reek of blood and my own unchecked wrath.

I was out of control, and for once, I didn’t care.

That damn alpha—arrogant, conceited, a walking monument to his own inflated ego.

The memory of his mark burned in my mind, a phantom sting where his teeth had once sunk into me, claiming what was never his to take.

I pressed a hand to my neck, feeling the unblemished skin, and my resolve hardened into something unyielding, sharp as a blade.

He would never mark me again. Never.