Danika POV

I watched the day slowly but finally crawl into the night, eating away at its darkness. The morning sun was already coming out of its shelters, casting warm glows on the prison cell. With a far-away look on my face, I suddenly thought about Drake while I was down here, rotting away in a prison cell in a far-away land.

What would he be doing? Probably having the best time of his life with my sister. I chuckled, a self-deprecating chuckle that was filled with so much sadness and sorrow.

When did it all start? Was it when he asked that we make love and I refused? Probably my sister has been giving it to him all along. A soft frown graced my weary face when Silver clouded my consciousness.

Someone is coming, I notified Edgar in a mind link. The Alpha is here. The Alpha is here and has come to rip out our hearts.

We are all going to die. My already numb body immediately became tense, my heart beating rapidly in my chest.

“Here they are, Alpha.”

The warrior I didn’t know pointed at our cell. Of all the faces, his eyes settled on mine with a look of intense scrutiny. His facial reaction was a mix of wonder and astonishment.

“Why are they still locked up in here?” he questioned. His voice was deep and magnetic, withholding power and raw confidence.

Were my ears not working properly anymore, and my eyes maybe playing some sort of trick on me? This was not what I had heard nor envisioned. Rumors had it that he was aggressive in person, painting a grim image of him in my head.

“I’m sorry, Lord Alpha, but I only did as you commanded.”

He bowed, but he received a death glare instead.

“Then what are you still waiting for?”

He growled. “Release them immediately.” And the warrior immediately opened the gate.

What was happening? At that point I was totally confused. Wasn’t he supposed to be torturing us now? That was how he was described — a monster who finds delight in spilling blood.

I crawled out of the cell and tried to stand up, but my legs gave way and I almost fell back down. My legs were numbed, just like my heart had been. But just like the rumor said, his reflexes were as fast as lightning, because he already caught me halfway before I could fall down like a knight in shining armor.

His figure stood tall, his shoulders broad and his arm firmly securing me in place. His eyes were fierce, piercing so deep into my soul that it gave me chills. With just a touch, a shiver wrapped all the way up to my spine. A spark started to rush through me like bolts of electricity.

Damn, what was this feeling? Even with Drake, I’ve never felt nor experienced a feeling so electrifying. What was this?

His scent, a mixture of earthy and floral, washed over me, clogging my nostrils and dominating my senses in a way I could not ignore. I needed to get away from his touch, but Silver rejoiced immensely, and a deep frown found its way to my face.

I knew what it meant, but I didn’t even want to think about it, not now, not ever, not after what I’ve been through. I quickly distanced myself from him. I needed to stay a little far from him for my senses to function properly. A deep frown settled on his face at my actions as he gnashed his teeth, but that didn’t take away any ounce of his gorgeousness.

Did I anger him?

“Why are you here?” he inquired, his deep eyes never leaving me for once.

I straightened my back and looked up to meet his gaze. “We have come to discuss a peace alliance with your pack,” I replied with confidence that I didn’t know where it was coming from. Was I able to convince him?

He looked at me from my head down to my toes, and then, “Follow me,” he ordered.

As we walked along the path that led to his packed house in his huge mansion, I couldn’t help but take notice of the pack structure. His pack and ours were just polar opposites. His pack house was huge and mighty, and its members radiated might and strength, while ours was like an insect house with little pack members with mediocre strength. I sighed. We wouldn’t even last a minute against them.

He abruptly stopped walking as he twisted his body to face me, making me hit my head on his deliciously sturdy chest. I must have dazed out while I was deep in thought, or did he do that on purpose? If he didn’t, then why was there a smirk on his face?

“We’re here. Feel at home. We can discuss the peace alliance later, but we need—”

His sharp, piercing eyes gazed down at me at once, shoving the next words down my throat.

“You are going nowhere,” he purred, his fingers gently caressing my chin, and that electrifying sensation threatened to rack up my spine again.

I tried to step away from him, but I couldn’t move. My legs refused to move. Damn these legs, I cursed internally.

Obviously these damn legs had blatantly betrayed me, but how could they when his eyes were firmly holding me in place, with a scent lodging and intoxicating my senses.

He removed his hands, placed them in his pants pockets. The smirk was back, and right now it was playing on his lips. He already knew the kind of effect he had on me. I can bet that he was enjoying this.

“I just want you to rest and regain your strength and nothing more, so stop being edgy and just feel at home.”

And he left me standing there feeling dumbfounded and more confused.

I blinked my eyes open, feeling well-rested for the very first time in a long while. I did not feel drained as I was yesterday and many other days before, and maybe the prominent scent of earthy and floral contributed to such peace.

I stretched and yawned, the echoes of my yawn resonating across the room, basking in the pleasure of the scent when something rang in my head.

The Peace Alliance.

I quickly sprinted out of bed and threw my clothes on. How could I sleep so comfortably in this pack? And what about my aides?

I opened the door to start walking out but bumped into a deliciously sturdy and strong chest. I rubbed my head as I slowly raised it to reveal the person I least wanted to meet first.

Alpha Jonah. He was still deliciously good-looking, his hair raked back, his hands and ascent didn’t forget to do his bidding, sending tingles and doing things to my body.

When he wasn’t actually doing anything, his deep set of eyes bore into mine. As our eyes collided, peering deep beyond my body and into my soul, and although my clothes were so intact on my body, I felt like I had been stripped by his intense stare. I covered my body more with the fabric, a frown on his face.

He inched closer, and I flinched.

“What? What are you doing?”

“What do you think I’m doing?” He answered my question with a question, his face close enough to feel his breath on my skin. By now I was stiff and had forgotten how to breathe.

It took all my strength to not run my hands through a strong, masculine body, or drag his head lower and press my lips against those thin lips. It must be Silver’s doing and the bond prompting those thoughts.

He chuckled, his laughter so rich in my ears. “Checking up on you, so breathe, you’re almost out of air.”

He inched back with his signature smirk on those lips as he turned to leave.

“What about your comrades?”

“They are fine as well, so you have nothing to worry about.”

He gave me a sideline eye and walked away. After having breakfast, we signed the peace alliance treaty in the blink of an eye with a few terms and conditions, making me surprised yet again. If I didn’t know better, I would believe that this wasn’t the bloodthirsty king I’ve heard horrible stories about. Maybe he was being nice to me to lure me in. Or was it because of the mate?

I violently shook my head, more like shaking off any kind of thought about a mate. I’ve suffered enough to go through another one.

“You’re leaving today, right? About the rogues after my pack borders, you don’t have to worry about them. My warriors will escort you until you get to your own pack borders.”

He offered, making me blink in confusion. Why was he doing this? Why was he being so nice? What was his motive? Anyway, his intentions are none of my concern, since I’ll be gone from here in a heartbeat.

“We don’t need your help,” I declined, raising my head in a defiant way. “We can travel back safely on our own.”

His eyes twitched as he looked at me.

“You are not going to decline,” his voice filled with an irrefutable authority. “And moreover, it’s for your own safety.”

Everything that was seized was given back to us as we finally set off to leave. I twisted my feet to leave when—

“Danika,” he called softly, and I felt butterflies dancing in the pit of my stomach. My name had never sounded so melodious to my ear, not until it came out of this man’s lips.

He gazed at me, his expression solemn. “Do you not feel it too?”

I played dumb. “Feel what? The mate bond? I don’t. I don’t feel anything. I don’t want any mate,” I answered willfully.

“Then reject me,” he growled, inching closer, and I could hear my heart skip a million beats. “But you should know that I will not accept that rejection. You are mine, mine alone, and nothing will stop me from claiming you. Nothing.”

I’d successfully succeeded in pissing him off, and the look in his eyes says it all. There’s no escaping him at all.