Alpha Doms Box Set: 9 Delicious Stories + 10 Sexy Heroes = 19 Reasons to Indulge (23 page)

I took a shower and changed into a fresh
pair of clothes. I wasn’t dressed to impress, but then again, I’d
long ago abandoned my chances of attracting my mate on a physical
level. I donned a part of dark grey sweat pant capris, a navy blue
tank top that touched the bottom of my hips, and a pair of Nike
tennis shoes. I tossed my soaked strands into a tight knot on top
of my head.

I glanced around the living room. All the
large furniture had been left behind. It was the tiny details that
were missing. It was the inner pieces of the puzzle that were
missing.

I opened the front door and stepped outside.
I carefully closed the door behind me as I set out towards the
alpha’s domain: a large two-story home in the center of pack
property.

—

Chapter Six

JAYSON

I felt her getting closer. My wolf roused as
my heart kicked up its beating pace. I threw on a pair of athletic
shorts as I jogged downstairs.

The closer I got to the front door, the
louder her footsteps became. I didn’t bother putting up pretenses.
I immediately opened the door before she could knock. She was just
arriving at the steps.

My heart swelled, my mind blanked for a
moment as I took her in. She overwhelmed me. I wished everyone
looked at her the way I did. I vowed to imprint my perspective on
her. She should never hang her head in shame; she should always
hold her head high, appreciating her beauty for its uniqueness.

Her approach slowed as she reached the final
step. Her brows dipped in the center as she pulled her bottom lip
between her teeth.

“
Come in.” I held the door
wide. I inhaled her intoxicating scent as she hesitantly brushed
past me.

She wrung her hands, standing in the center
of the foyer as I closed the door. “Um, I’m sorry to bother you,
but I was hoping you could tell me where my family went.”

I stood behind her, my grip tightening on
the brass doorknob. I released it before I broke the fixture. “I
dismissed them.”

She spun around, her eyes wide with shock.
“What do you mean?”

“
Your family is no longer
welcome in this pack.”

Her eyes glossed over. She immediately
averted her gaze. She fidgeted with her hands as she stared at the
floor. “I, um…” She slowly lifted her face towards me. “I’ll-“

Her features crumpled, and I couldn’t hold
back anymore. I tugged her to me, wrapping my arms tightly around
her.

She lazily pushed at my chest. “Stop.
Please.” There was no fight in her; her words were merely a
plea.

My wolf roared, echoing the outrage I felt.
I would never forgive her family for putting her through this.

“
Jayson, please let me
go.”

“
Why? So you can run away
again?” I didn’t hold back my upset.

She slumped in my arms, finally giving in.
“It should be me.”

I jerked back, feeling as if I’d been
slapped. “What?” I growled.

She kept her gaze downwards. “You should
have kicked me out. It’s not their fault I am the way I am.”

Her self-disgust incensed me, shooting
furious bullets through my veins. “You don’t even know why I
abolished them.”

She peered at me through hooded lashes. “Why
did you?”

I didn’t realize the corner I’d backed
myself into until it was too late. I didn’t want to hurt her. The
last thing I wanted to do was to unleash their derogative comments
on her.

I slid a crooked finger beneath her chin and
lifted her head. She immediately looked away. “Look at me.”

She closed her eyes, taking a breath before
opening them and focusing on me. She was trying to be so strong. I
could see the waterfall of emotions in her eyes, yet she did her
best to veil them.

“
I chose to keep the best
of my pack. I kept the ones willing to comply with my new rule of
unity. There will be no more segregation. Everyone is to be
respected equally, especially you.” I traced the outer edges of her
full cheeks.

Heat colored her creamy skin. “You didn’t
have to do that.” Her voice was barely above a whisper, so full of
pain, so full of worry.

Damn it! She shouldn’t have to worry. She
should just be. I was the alpha. I was supposed to shoulder her
concerns, tend to her needs, and protect her battered spirit.

“
Don’t argue with my
choices,” I clipped.

She moved away right as her dam broke. Tears
openly streamed down her face. She hugged herself. “They’re going
to hate me, Jayson. They know I’m the reason for this. I’m the only
one they’ve ever treated differently, and rightly so. I am
different. You can’t punish all of them for my issues.”

My wolf clawed at my chest, pouncing with
his back legs as he attacked me; he fought to reach the surface and
claim our mate, to reassure her of our allegiance with a single
bite.

My muscles flexed as I shuddered, fighting
for control. She was trying me. Her distress both maddened me and
decimated me. She shouldn’t feel this way. Had I been the alpha I
ought to have been, she wouldn’t have questioned my moves. She
would have enough self-confidence to demand better treatment.

Her silent strength was undeniable to
survive the ridicule she had her entire life, but her soul was
clearly damaged from their lashes.

“
You’re not different;
you’re better,” I stated.

She swiped at the salty water tumbling down
her cheeks profusely. My heart broke as I watched her struggle to
suppress her emotions. I knew this was years worth of tears; I knew
this was years worth of suffering bursting to the surface.

I felt like a worthless piece of shit. Damn
it. I might as well have been the one single-handedly taking swings
at her self-worth. I should have changed this. I should have
protected her. I should have stepped up and leveraged my authority
sooner. I was the reason she was broken. All the while, she blamed
herself for the sins of others.

This was a fucked up situation. I should
have claimed her long ago.

My wolf snapped at me, agreeing with my
latest musing.

I studied Laina. She’d closed her eyes and
fisted her hands; she pinched her eyelids as she bit her inner lip,
obviously trying to regulate her reaction and stunt her tears.

Slowly my own self-deprecation washed away
and was replaced by a fierce determination. What got me into this
mess was me allowing her to prance around freely. What prolonged
her silent suffering was me not claiming her sooner, forcing the
pack, at the least, to give her respect as the alpha’s mate. I’d
come to that realization last night, and nothing had changed this
morning. It was time.

—

Chapter Seven

LAINA

Abruptly, Jayson threw me over his shoulder
and scurried for the stairs.

I pounded on his back, kicking my feet to no
avail. “Put me down! Stop!”

I jumped when he smacked my ass. The sting
of his hand connecting with my sensitive flesh sent tingles of
awareness through me; of warmth and longing rather than fear. My
body’s physical reaction ceased all my fight.

My wolf pranced about, anticipation
silencing four years of crying.

I scowled. She was a traitor. She was so
quick to throw herself at Jayson, tossing her ass into the air.

My pulse fluttered rapidly as he opened the
bedroom door. The alpha was the strongest in many aspects,
including physically; it was why he was the leader. It was why
there was no escaping this.

I dug deep, searching, seeking fear, trying
to find an ounce of concern that indicated I didn’t want this, but
I didn’t find any. The truth was, I wanted Jayson. I craved him. I
wanted to lick every groove, every bulge of his muscles. I wanted
to give in. I wanted to be his, but I couldn’t do that to him.

I heard several locks being slid into place
and finally a metal key being placed atop something. He had me
facing his oversized master bedroom. The furniture matched the
grand size of the space. Dark woods gave it a masculine feel,
especially against the grey walls. A cabernet colored comforter was
the only dot of true color.

He spun around walking towards the bed,
giving me a glimpse of the door. I gasped, my lungs refusing to
expand as I caught sight of the three dead bolts and two keyed
locks on the door; all of which appeared locked and secure. I
really wasn’t getting out of this.

My wolf pranced with delight. I wanted to
smack her senseless.

I jolted as he laid me down on the bed, face
down. He immediately covered me, yanking my hands up over my head.
I jerked on his grip, trying to get away, but failed. I felt the
cold metal slip around my wrists. Knowledge shot through me,
sending a reflex of panic bursting through my chest, making it hard
to breath.

He leaned down next to my ear. “I’m not
going to hurt you. Just relax.” He gently kissed my temple. The
gesture was so sensual; it sent my mind into disarray. He was soft
and hard, rough and careful.

The second he slid off of me, I pushed up on
my knees, trying to gain leverage to budge the restraints. They
didn’t even creaked though.

I studied the handcuffs. Sure enough they
were platinum, one of the few metals wolves lacked the strength to
bend.

I jumped, chafing my skin against the metal
when Jayson pulled my shoes and socks off in quick succession,
before my mind could process what he was doing.

“
What are you doing?” I
couldn’t withhold my indignation. He was my alpha, for now, not my
handler and certainly not my husband.

I turned my head trying to see what he was
doing, but he moved quickly. It was as if he’d planned this. He
knew the angles I would be checking and made sure he stayed in the
shadows, just out of my peripheral vision’s span.

Without warning, he yanked my legs straight,
causing me to plop down onto the mattress. I tumbled, struggling to
break his grasp. I froze the second the smooth metal circled my
ankles. My shoulders slumped as I sighed. I was completely
helpless. I had no leverage, no escape. I was at his mercy.

I listened as he linked the cuffs to the
bed, the same as he did with the ones above. He’d taken my height
into account and all. There was a generous chain between the
restraints and the bed.

The reality of the situation was fresh in my
mind. Knowing what I should feel, I waited for the fear to come,
but it didn’t. I waited for rage to engulf my heart, but alas, it
didn’t. The single thing that won out was defeat.

I shrieked when he dragged down my pants,
stopping just below my ass, exposing the widest part of me. My
lungs refused to expand as cool air kissed my skin. I wanted to
yell, I wanted to know what was going on, but my mind blanked. I
could only focus on the fact that I was tied up and being stripped.
Sadly, I was all too aware of the fact that fear was still absent,
and worse, my body warmed.

His hands caressed the back of my hips. I
held my breath as he pressed his lips against each ass cheek,
kissing my flesh. “I love this part of you.”

Shock registered as chills chased down my
spine. I hadn’t heard him right. There was no way he could like my
double-wide sized rear. I opened and closed my mouth several times,
opting to remain silent rather than make a fool of myself.

He moved away and I immediately felt cold,
empty. I never should have let him touch me. That one tiny intimacy
opened the black hole in my chest, exposing my loneliness.

“
This is how this is going
to work. I’m going to ask you some questions. I demand nothing but
the truth. If you lie to me, I’m going to spank that pretty ass of
yours.”

Why, oh why, did my pussy have to flutter in
response to his harsh tone? This wasn’t how it was supposed to be.
I should have kept my distance.

I struggled to keep the last of my barriers,
the final walls of protection around me. If I gave in, we’d both
lose.

“
Why don’t you stick up for
yourself?”

I turned my head, but he moved to the foot
of the bed. I sighed. “Does it matter?”

I startled when he smacked
my ass. His hand landed a sharp blow to my sensitive skin, creating
a dull throbbing sensation in my lower half. “I said
I’ll
ask the questions.
Now answer me.”

My pulse rocketed. I turned my face into the
mattress. How could I answer that when didn’t even know? I just
didn’t. It didn’t seem worth it. It would always be them against
me, regardless of what I said. “It’s not worth it,” I mumbled into
the sheets.

He slapped my ass again, the same blunt pain
spreading through my center. “Do you think you’re not worth
it?”

I bit my lip, closing my eyes. I shrugged my
shoulders.

Another harsh blow landed on me.

My wolf stilled at the newest hit. Awareness
prickled her. A wilted growl emerged from within her.

“
Answer me, Laina.” His
voice was low and menacing, causing goose bumps to break out on
me.

I remained still and silent. I would rather
have been naked in front of a crowd than to truly expose my inner
insecurities, my true self, the weak little girl who just wanted to
be accepted the way she was.

Another severe smack pricked my rear. “I’m
not letting you go until you answer me, Laina.”

I clamped my lips together, bracing myself
for his next move. I’d rather him be left wondering about me than
to truly know me.

I swallowed hard, tears moistening my eyes,
tugging on my heart. The realization stunned me. That was the
answer. I’d rather be covered in a layer of fat than to allow
anyone to get close enough to me. It was my protection. If I didn’t
love myself, how could I expect anyone else to love me? I couldn’t.
Rather than suffer that rejection over and over, I padded myself
with physical walls of fluff that acted as a barrier. I barred
myself from getting close to anyone. It was a security blanket I
wasn’t about to let go of, especially not in the presence of male
flawlessness.