My snarl fills the chamber, a roar that shakes the torches on their sconces.“I don’t repeat myself.She’s mine.Anyone who wants to test me, step forward and die.”
The silence that follows is absolute.The only sound is the rival Alpha choking, his heels scraping against the marble.I should crush him.Snap his neck like kindling.End him here and now.My own Alpha blood demands it.My omega’s terrified eyes beg for it.My body is ready to do it.
But she whimpers my name.Soft.Broken.Enough to anchor me.
I drop him.He crumples to the floor in a gasping heap, clutching his throat.I don’t spare him another glance.My eyes cut through the chamber, past the elders, until they land on the one person who thought she could orchestrate this.Her mother.
She sits rigid in her seat, lips thin, eyes flashing with fury beneath her composure.But I see the fear there, too.She knows what I am.She knows what I can do.
I stalk forward, every step deliberate, violence dripping from me like oil.I lean down until my shadow swallows her whole.My voice is a blade at her throat.
“Forget she ever existed.If you send another Alpha sniffing at her door, I’ll bury you myself.No council.No trial.Just earth and silence.”
Her face drains of color.She nods, jerky and pale.
Only then do I turn to Evangeline.
The fury in me softens, not much, but enough.She stands trembling, hands clutching her skirts, her breath shuddering as though she’s one heartbeat from collapse.My chest tightens at the sight.I cross the last steps and scoop her into my arms like she weighs nothing, holding her against my chest.Her cheek brushes my throat, her scent wrapping around me, soothing and burning all at once.
“I suggest everyone forget what happened here today.”I say, touching on the council members with a deathly glare.“And lose the fucking paperwork for this farce of a ceremony.I will not hesitate to spill blood if I have to return.”
The chamber watches in silence as I carry her out, each step a declaration, each breath a promise.No one dares follow.No one dares speak.She’s mine.And now the whole world knows it.
As I stride through those doors, rage still burns in my veins.Rage at myself for letting it come to this.Rage at her fear, her tears, her trembling body dressed for another man.Rage that anyone thought they could take her from me.
I tighten my grip, pressing her closer to my chest.She doesn’t resist, instead wrapping her arms around my neck.She will never resist me again.
Because I’ve decided.Evangeline isn’t just my omega for twelve hours.She isn’t just a body I paid for.She’s mine, for life.And anyone who tries to stand between us will drown in their own fucking blood.
Chapter Eight
Owned in the Open
Evangeline
The air in the parking structure is damp and heavy, smelling of oil, concrete, and faint exhaust fumes.My pulse thunders in my ears as Zion ushers me toward the sleek black car waiting in the shadows.His hand is a brand on the small of my back, hot and unyielding, pushing me forward as though he owns every step I take.Because he does.
