Claimed by the Damned Alpha King

Chapter 4: The Alpha King's Arrival

The next morning, I was dragged from my cell by two guards who looked at me like I was diseased.

"Clean her up," one of them barked to a maid waiting in the corridor. "The Alpha King arrives today, and she needs to look... presentable."

Presentable. Like I was a piece of meat they were preparing for slaughter.

They threw me into a bathing chamber where three maids waited with buckets of scalding water and rough brushes. They scrubbed my skin raw, not caring when I winced from the pain of the rejection mark on my neck.

"Disgusting," one of them muttered, pouring water over my head so hard it felt like stones hitting my skull. "Can't believe the Alpha King would want this... thing."

When they were done torturing me with their version of cleaning, they shoved a white dress at me. It was beautiful-silk and lace, with long sleeves that would hide the bruises on my arms. But it felt like a burial shroud.

"Here," another maid said, roughly grabbing my neck. "This should help with that ugly mark."

She dabbed some kind of ointment on the bite wound, and immediately the throbbing pain lessened. But the emotional scar? That would never heal.

"Don't think this changes anything," she whispered in my ear as she worked. "You're still the wolfless freak. The Alpha King will probably kill you the moment he sees what you are."

When they were finished, I caught my reflection in the mirror. I looked like a ghost bride. Pale, hollow-eyed, and dressed in white like I was already dead. Which, I supposed, I was.

"Come," a guard said, grabbing my arm. "It's time."

They marched me to the throne room where Alpha Desmond sat with all the pack elders. Lily was beside him, wearing a gorgeous blue dress that made her look like royalty. The perfect Luna for the perfect Alpha.

I couldn't help but notice how his eyes looked down my body from the throne where he sat, his father sitting not too far from him, being an ex-alpha but still acting like an alpha.

"Do you, Aveline Nightfall, understand that you will be married off to the Alpha King Thorne Valek to prove your loyalty to the pack and be found useful to the pack?" Elder Eleanor said, her voice sounding as before, like always; my eyes slowly moved up to stare at Desmond beside him sat Lily, her lips turned up into a smirk as she looked at me; his eyes darkened the moment they met his. I'd noticed his stares right from the moment I had walked into the throne room.

"Yes, I do," I whispered, my voice sounding stronger than I could imagine, even though it was the opposite of how I felt, because I was breaking inside.

Lily leaned forward in her seat, her smile cruel. "You look so beautiful in white, Aveline," she said loud enough for everyone to hear. "Like an angel going to meet her maker."

Some of the pack members chuckled at her words. They were enjoying this. Enjoying watching me being sold off to what they all believed was certain death.

Then, suddenly, we heard a loud thud of footsteps approaching from behind; they weren't just one set of footsteps, but many, and one of them stood out. There was a new presence in the room that stood out more than the others; his footsteps were powerful, which led to a change in the aura of the room. The strong scent of power, danger, and most of all, the intoxicating smell of dominance-that scent of whiskey and cedar, laced with leather and the sharp, clean scent of impending storm-and I felt my wolf stir within me.

The temperature in the room seemed to drop ten degrees. The very air became thick, suffocating. I felt my legs shake with the intensity of the change in aura.

I've heard stories about him, after the battle between the sun and the moon, about how he was the only one of the Valek's blood and how he had conquered nations and kingdoms, and he became not just the alpha king but was rumored to be a Lycan, the forbidden gift passed down from the Valek's family.

Everyone knew of this history, but never would anyone believe that the Dominion Crescent pack would ever have anything to do with my pack, now a low-class pack like mine, and then be married off to one.

"Alpha King Thorne Valek," I heard Desmond whisper as he quickly stood up from his throne, his eyes leaving me for a second as he brushed past me. I dared not lift my head.

Not because of Desmond but because of him, who was behind me, for his aura made me freeze, and for some reason, I felt my wolf stir inside me.

'That was strange,' I thought.

I watched as the members of my pack bowed down to him. It was so easy for us to submit to the presence in the room.

"Welcome to the Duskfall Pack," Desmond said, standing a few meters apart from the alpha king, and I felt myself almost chuckling at the thought that Desmond wasn't as powerful as he thought he was.

But I didn't hear any response from him; rather, I felt footsteps start walking in my direction. It was that same heavy footstep, and each one made my heartbeat increase sporadically.

Then I felt him, his magnificent self, standing beside me, and then he stopped, not moving. My eyes were bent to the ground, my legs not moving as I bowed my head down, like I was too shaken to even move. His presence was so overwhelming that I felt like I would squirt in his presence. I hadn't felt any sort of energy like this.

"Is this my bride?" I heard him speak for the first time; he hadn't responded to their greetings, he hadn't even spoken a word since his arrival, and his voice sounded like ice-thick, commanding, and filled with so much power that I felt my insides shiver and my wolf purred within me, like she wanted to push herself back, for some reason she had awakened and was now trying to make herself known to the alpha king. I didn't know the reason behind all of this, but I will find out from her.

"Yes, she is your bride; she will be obedient and do whatsoever you want her to do, and she can also be your slave," Desmond said so fast, like he was on the verge of breaking apart. Suddenly, the alpha growled at his words, quickly shutting everyone up, and he hadn't left where I was standing, which made his growl, in fact, more fearsome than I could imagine.

"I asked you a question, and you do not speak to my bride like that," he said, his words shocking me to the core, and I heard everyone in the room gasp at his words, not believing what he was saying.

Then I felt him moved forward and I let out a breath I felt like I've been holding for what felt like ages but then that was a short one because instantly, I felt a hands gently being placed on my chin and I felt my chin being lifted up slowly from its bowing position and instantly I felt loads of shocks spasm through my body, the place where he was touching me felt like I had electric shocks past through me in a hurried stride and I felt my lips parted at the sensation and the moment my eyes found his, my eyes widened with shock, his eyes was the coldest I've ever seen, energetic shining silver eyes with a red fearthery vertical slit in the middle that looked so divine that I felt my legs loosed its firm for a second and my heartbeat radically increased so fast that I felt like my breathing had stopped for a moment.

His eyes never left mine for one second, and I felt like I saw his face muscle twitch and then quickly recoil back to itself as he stared at me for another second, his thumbs came caressing my side lips, which made my lips part with shock, and I knew if he continued with this, I might make a fool out of myself and perhaps fall to the ground instantly.

His hands then dropped down from my face, and I gave out a short breath, which I believed he saw, and then he turned and looked back at the elders and every member of my pack present.

"I will take her as my bride, and the deal is closed. This deal officially makes me not just your alpha king but also opens doors for any sort of trades and formalities. My Beta will take care of the deal, and you shall be settled in kind."

I felt my heart drop at his words; my pack was selling me off to the cursed alpha, and I couldn't do anything about it.

That was when my eyes caught Lily; for some reason, I felt her lips pressed in thin lines as she glared at me, her murderous gaze meeting mine, and then she smirked, her eyes still shining with hate, and for a moment, I wondered what the problem was. Wasn't this all what she wanted-to kick me out and become Luna?

But it was the Alpha King, Thorne Valek, and he was my birthday gift.

But as I stared into those silver eyes, I couldn't shake the feeling that I wasn't the only one who had just received a gift.

Something told me he had gotten exactly what he came for, too.