《The Alpha CEO’s Unloved Wife》 Chapter 1: The Unwanted Wife Chapter 1: The Unwanted Wife The Unwanted Wife The jazz singer swayed and crooned into the microphone. She had a nice voice Jane decided, but no one was I listening, they were too busy trying to be noticed and heard. Unlike herself. If it were possible to melt away into the shadows, she would be doing it. Instead, she had found an out of the way corner and just hoped to pass the night unnoticed. The night club¡¯s lights shed off the jewellery on the women, and the sparkles in their clinging dresses. She had dressed wrong, again, she thought miserably, though that was at least partly Baron¡¯s fault. If he had deigned to tell her where they were going, she would have known that it was a ce for slinky, sexy dresses rather than her pretty whitece dress. But then, she thought, if she had known that they were going to the opening of his new club, she would have told him she had a headache, and he probably knew that, and therefore hadn¡¯t given her the opportunity to avoid going. She might be an unwanted wife, but she was still a Corbyn, and that connection was worth the inconvenience of her to Baron. It made sense to show off that connection on such an important night. Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org. The Westerns and the Corbyns had long been rival packs, but the Corbyns had grown in strength where the Westerns had weakened, and when Baron¡¯s grandfather had been murdered, the Westerns had lost their position and much of their wealth, and their pack had been absorbed into other, stronger packs. Until Baron hade, seemingly from nowhere, with a strong alpha¡¯s ruthlessness, and had built his business from the ground up, gradually gaining power and position until he had approached Jane¡¯s father, Matthew Corbyn, wanting to marry and take as mate Jane¡¯s older, prettier sister, Alice, in order to cement his ce in Corbyn¡¯s pack. Matthew, instead, had offered Jane. A take it or leave it situation. Baron had taken it, and her. Reluctantly. She watched him mingle, every bit the alpha wolf, incredibly handsome in his tailored suit, his white teeth shing in a charming smile, and the nightclub lights picking up the night-reflection in his eyes. The most handsome man in the room, any woman would exchange ces with her in a moment, she thought, and they would be wee to her husband and mate, for he hated her, and she knew it. Just watching him, however, made her feel hot and flustered, her nipples sensitizing against the fabric of her dress, and her panties feeling damp and irritating. She shifted ufortably, feeling tense and turned on. She wondered how long the party would go on for as there was nothing she wanted more than to go home and have a cold shower beforeying in bed and bringing herself release. It was, she thought, very unlike her. Her desire throbbed deep within her, and she pressed her thighs together as she stood and tried to be invisible. She saw Baron¡¯s eyes scan the crowd, looking for her. And unfortunately, in her white dress, she was entirely too noticeable. A muscle ticked in the corner of his jaw, and his eyes hardened, his mouth tightened, when he saw her. He gave a slight jerk of his head to indicate that she should be at his side, and she sighed and began to ease her way out of her corner and through the press of bodies. ¡°Oh, for f-k sake, Jane, must you be so clumsy!¡± Angelique Devan eximed loudly as she poured her ss of red wine over Jane¡¯s dress. ¡°You have spilled my wine everywhere!¡± Jane should not have been as surprised as she was, she thought, as she stood with the red wine stain slowly spreading through the whitece of her entirely too innocent and covered up dress for the venue, feeling it puddle into her shoes. Angelique was, none too discretely, Baron¡¯s mistress, and was probably the only person alive who loathed Jane more than her husband did. ¡°You should put some soda water on that,¡± Angelique smirked. ¡°Before it stains.¡± As if soda water had any chance of getting rid of that wine stain. ¡°Jane,¡± Baron had crossed to stand behind Jane. A circle had formed around them, the glittering guests murmuring, and sniggering. Jane felt the crawl of dread through her chest, clenching its fist around her heart. She did not need to look at Baron¡¯s face to know that she had humiliated him. Again. ¡°Don¡¯t just stand there,¡± his fingers closed around her upper arm, and he propelled her through the crowd to the back-area where only the staff and owner could go. The music was muted by the door closing behind them, and the lighting was dim, just illuminating the treads of the stairs. Unlike the main club, this area was very functional and unmourous, concrete painted ck. Her high heels on the cement were loud and frantic as she needed to take several steps for every one of his long-legged strides and it was only when she almost slipped off a step that he seemed to realise that he was going to fast, and he slowed. At the top of the stairs, he opened the door into his office. Here, there was a return to mour and elegance. The floor was carpeted, and the furniture expensive. There was a textured wallpaper on the walls. He released her arm, and she resisted the urge to see if he had left marks with his grip in front of him. He opened a bar fridge and pulled out a small bottle of soda water. ¡°Here,¡± he thrust it towards her, and pushed her towards another door. ¡°Go and do something about that.¡± He sighed heavily and braced a hand on the solid wood office desk, his shoulders tense and his hair falling into his face as his head fell forwards. She took the bottle into the bathroom fighting back angry and humiliated tears. She unzipped her dress and slid it off. There was no point to trying to wash the wine out whilst she was wearing it. She kicked off her shoes and ran water in the sink. The bathroom was very masculine she noted, dark grey tiles, and a dark wood cab. In the mirror over the sink, she was ghostly pale, washed out by the bright light and the shock of having most of a ss of red wine poured over her, her dark hair and the dark tiles making her glow like a ghost. She poured the soda water over the dress trying to rinse out as much of the wine as possible without getting the dress too wet to wear. Hot tears of shame ran down her cheeks as she worked. Through the door, she heard Angelique¡®s voice, and Baron¡¯s answer. She tiptoed to the door. ¡°That was unnecessary and cruel,¡± Baron reprimanded. ¡°You spilled your wine on her on purpose.¡± ¡°She is unnecessary and cruel,¡± Angelique replied haughtily. ¡°What were you thinking bringing her along tonight? Pathetic submissive little she-wolf. Her father was all too eager to palm her off on you. Gave you the runt of the litter. You should do everyone a favour, and drown it, like runts should be drowned at birth.¡± | ¡°Angelique,¡± his voice was hard. ¡°She is in the bathroom.¡± ¡°She can¡¯t hear through the door. She¡¯ll be forever cleaning her dress,¡± Angelique purred the words. There was a long, long silence, and then Angelique moaned, and there was the rhythmic creak of the office desk being used for other purposes. Angelique was not quiet, and Jane leaned her head against the door as the other woman enjoyed Jane¡¯s husband in a way that Jane had never done. When Baron hade to Jane on their wedding night, he had been drunk. His hands on her had been rough, his body against hers clumsy and cruel, and he had abruptly left after consummating the marriage, leaving her bleeding, and weeping in the bed. In the weeks since, things had not approved. He woulde in the night, and she would lie and endure, and then he would go, and she would cry, certain that there was more, better than this, but also sure that he did not think that she deserved more. As Angelique said: Jane was the runt, the reject. The daughter given away, not the wife or mate that he had sought. She moved away from the door and tried to press the water from the ruins of her dress, as her tears scalded her cheeks, salty tracks of pain and disappointment. How different it could be, the thought. In her head, she was Angelique, in a figure hugging, sexy dress, and she would seduce her handsome alpha hubby to the point of f-king her against his office desk, and it would be her name he moaned, and her voice that cried out in pleasure. She pushed the tears away on the back of her hands impatiently, feeling the clench of pain around her heart, and caught the movement in the mirror out of the corner of her eye, looking up and meeting Baron¡¯s eyes in the reflection, before dropping her gaze down, embarrassed and ashamed to be found weeping whilst she scrubbed her dress of the wine his mistress had deliberately poured over her. He closed the door, sealing her into the small room with her pain. Chapter 2 Chapter 2 On Heat She pulled on the dress and looked at herself in the mirror with despair, the thud-thud of her heart hard in her chest. The red wine had faded to pink after the wash, but it was still obvious that the dress was stained. She snarled at herself in the mirror, the flush of frustrating rage rising red hot. She looked, she thought, like a tampon advert, where they were trying to be modern using red instead of blue, and it just wasn¡¯t going to do at all, she simply could not go out into the club in the dress as it was. And, besides, thece prickled, and the dress was too hot, and she¡­ She blew out a breath, her pulse roaring in her ears, recognising that she was bing overwrought and trying to control herself. For a moment she indulged and pressed the heel of her hands against her eyes and cried, shoulder shaking, wracking cries of anguish. She didn¡¯t cry about the ruined dress, or about the humiliation of being such a public victim of bullying, or even about her husband f-king another woman knowing she was only a door away, she cried about the fact that she had been so disposable to her family that they had sold her into such a situation and lied to her whilst doing so. A love match, she had been told, fated mates, and fool as she was, she had believed it, because, from the moment she had set eyes on Baron Western, every fiber within her had told her that he was her One, her Only, and she had thought that such a thing was undeniable, that if it were true for her, it must also be for him. Fool, she told herself now. She had been a fool then, and she was no less the fool now. She drew in a deep breath and grabbed thece cor of the dress, tearing the fabric away. In the vanity she found a pair of nail scissors, and she cut and tore at her dress, until itscey frills and neckline pulled away from the satin lining and then she pulled her hair out of the clip that held her hair back on one side, shaking her head to settle her hair, and shoved her feet back into her high heels. She regarded herself in the mirror. It was far from the polished mour of Angelique, but there was a sexy dishevelment to the outfit stripped as it was back to its lining. She opened the door into Baron¡¯s office. His back was to her as he leaned against the window frame, looking out onto the city, and a couple of fingers of whiskey was in a crystal ss held negligently in his hand, his focus on the city streets. The room smelled of sex, she thought, and pressed her tongue against the roof of her mouth, blocking the scent from her sinuses. ¡°Are you¡­¡± He turned and paused, his expression shifting. ¡°I am done,¡± she told him, deliberately ignoring the shift in his expression. ¡°I am sorry to have kept you.¡± *Jane,¡± he murmured, the ice in his ss rattling against the rim as it hung limp in his grasp. She put her head down and walked across the room, opening the door. He followed behind her, she knew, always aware of his presence, the shift of fabric, the sound of the soles of his shoes against the concrete, his breath, heavy behind her. That sense that had betrayed her in telling her that he was her One also telling her where he was in proximity to herself. *Jane,¡± he said again sounding puzzled as she opened the door into the club, but she stepped out, ignoring him, into the swell of music, and the scent of alcohol and cigar smoke. This belongs ? N?velDra/ma.Org. She threaded between the busy, distracted people, oblivious to them, feeling only his eyes on her. She saw Angelique before her, and the she-wolf¡¯s reaction, the sharply indrawn breath, the reassessment, before Jane caught a ss of champagne off a passing waiter¡¯s tray and took it out onto the dance floor with her. She drank the ss dry in one hit, and Baron took it from her, as a beta caught her eye, his smile shing straight, sharp teeth, his suit disying a body tight and taut, as he moved in on her. She drew in a breath, scenting him, and saw his eyes sh in response. ¡°Mine,¡± Baron growled, shoving the beta back, and blocking him and the others with his body. ¡°Jane,¡± his voice was dark and dangerous, his hands finding her hips. ¡°We need to leave.¡± She didn¡¯t want to leave; she wanted to dance and flirt with the betas. She leaned into him and inhaled. He smelled so good, making the pit of her stomach curl with desire. Alpha, his scent told her. The betas might be nice to y with, but an alpha was what she was after. She stroked her hands up his chest, over his shoulders, and felt him inhale and draw her tightly against him. ¡°We are leaving, Jane,¡± he said, the sh of his eyes, the growl in his voice, all staking his im. She was aware of the change of tone around her, the press of the betas, the sh of alpha eyes, and she resisted his pull against her. She saw the change in his expression as he felt her resistance, the shock. ¡°Jane,¡± his tone changed, became more forceful. He turned her, catching her up so that her back was against his chest, and caught her chin between his thumb and index finger, forcing her to look at the faces around them. ¡°You are on heat.¡± he said into her ear. ¡°Unless you want to be f-cked by every male in this room, you need toe with me right now.¡± Looking around the faces that surrounded them, the feral glint in the males¡¯ eyes, she swallowed hard, fear finding hold within her. When he next pulled against her, she went with him, without resistance. He shoved his way into the cool night beyond the nightclub doors, drawing in heavy breaths as he did so, as if the scent of her was disgusting to him, as if he had held his breath in order not to scent her heat, and she felt the humiliation like a spear to the heart. He snapped at the concierge, and held her tightly against him, snarling at any male that drew too close, as they waited for the car to be brought around, and then shoved her into the passenger side door, before taking the driver¡¯s seat. He wound down the windows and drove with his face into the wind. She turned to the open window, hiding her face as she cried, the contortion of her expression reflected back in the slither of ss that arched out of the door frame. He parked out front of the house, with its ramshackle roof line, its balconies, and gothic towers, and mmed the car door with enough force that the car shook. She had failed him again, she thought, by going into heat during his big night, by disrupting his party, embarrassed and humiliated him. He pulled the passenger door open and turned his face from her as she stepped out, keeping his breath shallow. ¡°Go to you room,¡± he said, his voice low and dangerous. ¡°And wait for me.¡± Chapter 3 Chapter 3 Tied to the Bed She went to her room, passing through the grand entrance hall, her eyes to the precise joins in the expensive marble tiles so that she did not need to meet the butler Heathridge¡¯s eyes. Heathridge usually poised between pity for her, and frustration in her failure to live up to the potential of her heritage. After tonight, she suspected frustration would win. She went up the left arch of stairs, towards the wing that was hers. The right was Baron¡¯s and Angelique¡¯s. She wondered how the blonde she-wolf was getting home, seeing as Baron had not paused in order for her to join them, and then wondered why she cared. She went into her room. A pretty room, decorated in shades of eggshell blue. Decorations selected before she had arrived; she hated the colour herself. It was one of the guest rooms on this wing of the house. Not the mistresses¡¯ room ¨C Angelique slept there, adjoined to Baron through an internal door. This was the room for a wife that was not wanted, and was not loved. She pushed the door closed behind her, her heart racing in her chest, her ws rising and piercing the wood as she Vinhaled heavily. She leaned against that door, sucking in air, anger fierce within her. She screamed her angst into a room lit only by the moon through the windows and gripped the dresser against the wall. Its weight would normally be too great for her, but, in her heat, she dragged and shoved it until it was against the door, and then pushed against it every other piece of furniture until there was an obstacle of furnishings between her and the portal, wedging the door firmly shut. She was sweating, aroused, and frantic after building her blockade, and she shredded the remains of her dress with her ws, before turning on the shower at cold. She stood, sobbing, and dragging in air, under the frigid flow of water knowing one thing, and one thing alone, that she did not want Baron in her rooms. As she stepped out of the shower, she heard the screech of furniture and a curse. *Jane!¡± Baron hit the heel of his palm against the door. ¡°Jane!¡± Material ? N?velDrama.Org. She stood there watching the furniture heave and not give, proud of her construction. Eventually, he stopped trying, and the door stopped shuddering under his attempts. Shey onto her bed, the moonlight silver through the windows, the ss closed to the night, but the curtains open, and writhed under the demands of her flesh. She slid her hand down her body, trying to satisfy its cravings, but without sess and screamed and arced off the mattress in frustration, and heard him again at the door, calling out her name. She found herself crawling across the room, pulling at the furniture, seeking to free it in order to admit him, and angrily tore her bed sheets, using them and her teeth to bind herself to the bed. She shrieked against the gag of cloth that she herself had ced, her body straining to the point that ligaments and bones popped and groaned, sweat breading across her and sticking her hair to her face as she writhed and fought. In the quiet moments, she would lie panting, listening to Baron fighting against the furniture piled against the door in the other room, roaring out her name through the slither of door. And then a window shattered inwards, and she saw him lift himself in over the broken ss, shirtless, muscles standing out against his skin in an impressive disy of strength, his eyes reflecting the light, glowing, as he crossed the room. He had wrapped cloth around the palms of his hands to protect them from the ss. He stood by the end of the bed, panting, growling, looking at her, frustrated into a state more wolf than man. She had tied herself to the bed to prevent this, she thought, and in doing so had made her a perfect victim. He took in the bindings, his expression raw, and turned his face away from her breathing in heavily. ¡°You would do this rather than submit to me?¡± He snarled finally. ¡°You would do this rather than bear a Western baby?¡± She sobbed in a breath against the gag in her mouth that she had tied there too well. ¡°Well,¡± his sneer was savage. ¡°You failed. But if you want it as rape, it will be rape.¡± He tore the towel from her and groaned, his hand closing on her breast, squeezing to the point of pain. ¡°Do you feel that?¡± He snarled at her. ¡°That is a Western with his hands on your Corbyn breast. And this,¡± he groaned as he forced his way into her. ¡°This is a Western, f-king you.¡± She sobbed in against the gag, tears running down her cheeks. ¡°Yes,¡± he said his lips near her ear. ¡°You feel me now, don¡¯t you?¡± His hand closed at her hip, lifting her into his thrusts and she screamed, not because it hurt, but because it was exactly what her body craved, and she came, hard, arcing up against him. ¡°Oh, yes,¡± he groaned, and she felt the pulse of him within her as he spilled his seed. ¡°That is what you needed, wasn¡¯t it, my little omega?¡± He sagged heavily over her, his breath heaving, but then lifted over her again, his eyelids heavy over his blue eyes. ¡°It is very convenient,¡± hemented. ¡°That you tied yourself up so well. I can f-ck you to my fill now, and I will,¡± his expression was violent. ¡°F-ck you to my" ¡°It is what I bought you for, after all,¡± he groaned as she writhed against him, her body seeking its release even as her mind rebelled. ¡°To have f-king Corbyn alpha cubs by.¡± Chapter 4 Chapter 4 An Alpha¡¯s Desire He pulled on his trousers and spent some time in between f-king her, putting the furniture back away, muttering and cursing under his breath as he did so, and then sweeping up the broken ss. He summoned a maid using the servants bell which she mad a point to never pull and requested food and new sheets for the bed. Shey, still tied, his seed seeping slowly from her, peaceful after his taking her, but feeling the burn begin again, a slow fire building in the pit of her stomach. A wolf¡¯s first heat was supposed to be a beautiful thing, spent lovingly entwined with a mate, not tied to the bed and ravished by a man who hated her, she thought as she cried, her tears running into the gag. He returned to the room and stood at the foot of the bed looking down at her, watching her cry, his expression hard and angry. ¡°Such a f-king mess,¡± he said to her, finally. ¡°I -¡± A knock at the external door interrupted him and he went to answer it. ¡°Just put it on the table in here,¡± he said to the maid and Heathridge. ¡°The sheets too, please.¡± ¡°Do you require a first aid kit, sir?¡± Heathridge asked. ¡°No, she¡¯s not injured and neither am 1,5 Baron sighed. ¡°Just bring meals and leave them in here if I don¡¯t answer.¡± Material ? N?velDrama.Org. ¡°Yes, sir.¡± They retreated and Baron closed the door behind them. He brought the tray into the bedroom and slid it onto the bed before closing the bedroom door. ¡°Are you hungry?¡± He asked. She closed her eyes. ¡°No,¡± he picked up the tray and put it onto the dresser. ¡°Maybeter.¡± He returned to the bed, removing the ruins of his suit trousers, and just leaving them on the floor. The mattress depressed under his weight as hey at her side and stroked his hand down the center line of her body, watching his tanned skin against her milky paleness. ¡°Hmm,¡± he murmured, frowning, and reaching across her. He put his fingers around her upper arm, matching them to the bruises he had left on her the night before dragging her to his office. ¡°You bruise too easily,¡± hemented. Weak, snivelling, runt of a she-wolf, she finished for him, having heard it all before. He ced his hand over her breast so that the hard point of her nipple sat in the center of his palm, and the heat of his touch made her moan and arc her body, the heat ring back to life, and hot tears of shame and anger at herself pricking at her eyes. He cupped her breast, stroking his thumb over her nipple, teasing her flesh with the callous of his pad, before he leaned over and ced his mouth over it, the hot, wet of his tongue divine. She sobbed against the gag as he circled the dusky are before closing his teeth on her nipple. His hand slid down her stomach, between her legs, and he sank two of his fingers into where she ached for his c-ck, slowly, and then withdrew, before beginning again, a slow rhythm of pration that taunted but never quite hit where she needed. She mewled against the gag, straining against the bindings, feeling the material pull tighter, lifting her hips so that his fingers sank deeper. He lifted his mouth from her breast and watched his fingers and her reaction to them, his expression all alpha wolf with a mate on heat, fascinated with how her body sought him. He removed his fingers and wiped them on the gag beneath her nose so that she had no choice but to inhale the scent of her heat and hise. ¡°You are on heat,¡± he said unnecessarily. His pupils were dted convex, his wolf rising. ¡°You need to feel an alpha in your body, to be filled with his seed, to come around his c-ck over and over, until the estrus passes.¡± As if she didn¡¯t know that, she thought, angrily, trying to take shallow breaths as the scent made her body throb with need. ¡°And instead of epting me into your body,¡± he said darkly. ¡°You barricaded the door and bound yourself to the bed I should f-king leave you like that. I should let you spend the next two nights writhing and sweating out your needs. But,¡± his returned his fingers to her and she moaned, the sound dragged from her core. ¡°I don¡¯t want to.¡± He lifted over her and kneeled between her legs reaching above her to draw a cushion down and shoving it beneath her hips to angle her how he wanted her. ¡°You are dripping,¡± he told her stroking his fingers through her sex and causing her the writhe. ¡°You are so ready for me.¡± She wasn¡¯t the only one dripping, she thought. Pree beaded on the tip of his c-ck, glistening. He braced a hand on the mattress and used the other the guide his c-ck into her, keeping the pration slow, his eyes on hers until they lost focus and he groaned. His stomach muscles stood against his skin, and his arms and shoulders corded and twisted with muscle as he began to thrust, his chin against his chest as he watched his c-ck slid in and out of her. He was beautiful, she thought with misery even as his body caused hers to tighten and clench as it neared orgasm. Beautiful, and cruel with it. Her heart twisted with pain because it wanted it to be different between them, it wanted him to look at her with love and desire, to touch her tenderly, to listen to her speak, and to speak to her. At least, in estrus, it didn¡¯t hurt when he f-ked her, she told herself as she came, sobbing and weeping. Hey heavy over her as he grunted out his release, pressing his hips tightly to hers, as if seeking to send his seed straight to her womb. That is what I bought you for, after all, he had said, she thought sourly, and imagined his anger if he knew that she had a contraceptive imnted. ¡°Not the best of timing, either,¡± hemented, his lips against her neck. ¡°I could almost think you did it on purpose, if it were possible. Right in the middle of a night club packed with drunk and horny alphas a betas, right in front of all the most important people of the city, you go on f-king heat, and then decide that no, you¡¯d rather participate in a gang bang on the dance floor with a bunch of betas than go home with your alpha husband.¡± ¡°F-king Corbyns snobbish b-tches,¡± he pulled himself up and out of her. Chapter 5 Chapter 5 A Submissive Omega The wind blew through the window, pricking the hairs to standing across her body, causing her nipples to pebble. The cold was a wee counterbnce to the heat that was building within her again as she watched Baron. He sat and picked blueberries out of a bowl from the tray, utterlyfortable in his own skin, unselfconscious, knowing, she thought, that he was breathtakingly gorgeous. He ate a single berry at a time, frowning thoughtfully out the broken window, though what he saw out there to displease him, she did not know, as the extensive gardens were beautifully manicured and up-kept by a team of gardeners. Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org. ¡°We will have to change rooms,¡± he decided. ¡°There is a storming in, and someone will need to board this window up to stop rain damage. I can¡¯t very well have that done with my wife naked, in heat, and tied to the bed, can 1?¡± His eyebrow lifted in amusement. He set the bowl down and found his trousers, moving into the other room and pulling the bell pull. After a moment, there was a knock on the door. ¡°Yes, sir?¡± Heathridge asked. ¡°I need another room prepared and someone to fix this window before the raines this evening.¡± Baron told him. ¡°Let me know when the room is ready, and I will move my wife.¡± ¡°Of course, sir.¡± Baron returned to the bedroom. ¡°You will probably be wanting to use the bathroom,¡± he said and began to un-work the knots around Jane¡¯s ankles. What she wanted was to have a long shower and scrub him from her, or at least, that was what she told herself she wanted. Her body had other ns. He inhaled and grinned. ¡°Or maybe not,¡± he commented sliding his hands up her calf to her knees and then from knees to rest against the curve of her inner thigh, his fingertips tantalizing close but not touching her where she wanted him to touch. His smirk was smug, knowing exactly what he was doing, before he removed his hand and untied the other ankle. ¡°I do like this,¡± hemented, crawling up the bed between her legs, and wrapping them around his hips as he brought himself closer so that the tip of his c-ck pressed against her but did not prate. ¡°Having a submissive omega tied to a bed for my pleasure.¡± He rocked his hips forward so that his c-ck pierced her. ¡°Oh, god,¡± his eyes closed as he savoured the sensation. ¡°And it is a pleasure.¡± The press and stretch of him within her was exactly what her body craved, and she wrapped her legs around his waist, crossing her ankles against his arse, pulling him tighter to her. She could feel the flex of his arse muscles against her heels as he thrusted and longed to run her hands up his stomach where the muscles tensed and released with his movements, to feel them shift beneath the palm of her hands, to stroke up over the tight muscles of his arms and shoulders that held him up over her. His face ckened, the golden-brown of his eyes caught between the sharp points of his eyshes as they narrowed in bliss and sweat dewed his forehead as he ked them both with his body, and she came, crying out against the gag, the wet clench of her around him causing him to groan, deep and filthy with his pleasure, as he followed. Hey on top of her, his breath hot and heavy against her skin, his heart racing between them, and reached upzily to release the knots tying her wrists to the bed. She tugged the gag free, her mouth dry and her lips chapped. Shey, her hands to either side of her head, palm up and fingers curled inwards, with him over her. Now that she was free to touch him, she was too scared to do so, she admitted to herself. The times he hade to her bed between their wedding and this estrus, he hadete in the night, often waking her, pulling her nightgown up and pushing himself into her, and then left as soon as he had spilled his seed into her. A perfunctory mating that had left no time for forey or cuddling afterwards. She did not know if she could touch him and was frightened of being rebuffed if she did, and so she kept her hands to herself and justy beneath him, silent, until he groaned and lifted from her. ¡°Go to the bathroom,¡± he told her. ¡°Then put on a robe.¡± She rolled to her feet, her limbs clumsy and uncoordinated from being bound so long and half- staggered across the room into the bathroom, gratefully closing and locking the door behind her. She used the toilet and then started the shower, washing herself thoroughly despite the heat rising again within her, demanding that she return to the bed with the big alpha on She tried to satisfy the heat herself, leaning against the tiles and rubbing herself against her fingers, but it only exacerbated the demands of her body. She dried and pulled on the robe that hung on the back of the door, fighting back tears of frustration as she stepped back into the bedroom. He was not there, and neither was the tray. For a moment, she did not know what to do, and then she heard his voice. ¡°No,¡± he said. ¡°It all needs to be rescheduled until Wednesday. It is bad f-king timing and send them my apologies¡­ I¡¯m sure they know,¡± he chuckled. ¡°I am sure half the f-king city knows that she¡¯s on heat afterst night¡­ Hmm¡­ Thanks.¡± He walked back into the bedroom. ¡°Ah¡± he nodded, and she saw his nostrils re as he scented her. ¡°At least with the window open in here,¡± hemented, putting a hand on the small of her back and guiding her out of the bedroom, through the sitting room, and out into the hallway. ¡°Your scent should have cleared by the time the repairmen arrive to rece that window, or they¡¯d be too busy wanking to do their job.¡± He opened a door into the next room, this one in neutral whites and creams, with touches of gold in the sashes that held the curtains open, the light fittings, and the diamond patterns on the upholstery. The bed was a four-poster draped with sheer fabric and dressed in creams and golds. Her eggshell blue room, she thought, had not even been the grandest of the guest bedrooms. ¡°You should eat and drink something.¡± he gestured to the tray set on the low, bone iid table before the elegantly Chapter 6 Chapter 6 Please F-k Me She looked at him in rm. ¡°Again?¡± She whispered finding that her voice was hoarse from screaming the night before. His smile was savagely beautiful. ¡°Yes, again,¡± he told her. ¡°Why muck with something that works so well?¡± He took the cloche off the tray. ¡°Eat, drink something, then get back onto the f-king bed before the scent of your need makes me lose f-king control.¡± She sat on the couch before the tray, but nothing appealed to her, the heat coiling tight within her. She tried to fight it back, pressing her thighs firmly together, but it was too much. ¡°I can¡¯t eat,¡± she sighed in surrender. He caught her up from the couch, carrying her in his arms like a child, as if he had found waiting unbearable, andid her onto the bed, pulling the robe open greedily, stroking his hands down her body, before dropping to his knees on the carpet, lifting her legs over his shoulders, and dragging his tongue over her. She cried out, her fingers clenching in the bed clothes, the sensation of his tongue against where she ached for him lifting her hips from the mattress. He chuckled, cing a hand onto her stomach to hold her still, and continued to ravage her with his mouth so that she threw her head back, tossing her head from side to side, feeling the fine strands of her hair matting. Her cries filled the room as she came, and as she sagged in the relief of that release, he rose to his feet and stepped in, thrusting into her in one stroke so that she bit her bottom lip from the pleasure of his c-ck within her, her fingers closing around his wrists where he gripped her hips, using him to lift herself into him. ¡°F-k,¡± he groaned out, his body working hard against hers. ¡°Who knew that you could f-k like this, little one!¡± She did not know what to say back, and so said nothing, focusing on taking from him what she needed to satiate the ache of the heat within her, until her body broke apart and he arched his hips into her as he came. ¡°F-k,¡± he panted, holding her up and tightly to him. His eyes were closed, and his face was spectacr in his release, his hair a heavy mess of dark curls around his face and sweat making his skin glossy. ¡°Your timing is atrocious, but I could imagine worse ways to spend an enforced holiday than f- king like this,¡± his eyes opened, and his grin was wicked. Material ? N?velDrama.Org. ¡°I am sorry,¡± she said as he eased her hips back onto the mattress and stepped away. ¡°Not your fault,¡± he said over his shoulder as he went into the bathroom. After a moment she heard the run of water in the shower. He washed quickly, before stepping out, still drying his hair on a towel. ¡°Use the bathroom quickly if you need to, and then I¡¯ll tie you to the bed.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t really¡­ She began to protest, and then thought better of it, bowing her chin to her chest so that the tangle of her hair fell forwards. She went into the bathroom, cleaning herself quickly before returning to the bed. He had removed the sashes from the curtains, she saw, to fashion into bindings for her wrists and ankles. She removed the robe andy onto the bed. She watched him as he wrapped the sashes around first one wrist and then the other, securing each to a corner pole, and then repeated for her ankles. He leaned back and smiled, his face lighting with his enjoyment. ¡°Very nice.¡± Annoyance shed over his face as his phone rang, and he went to the dresser to check the disy before snarling and swiping it off. After a moment, it buzzed with a message, which he read, scowling. ¡°Is everything okay?¡± She asked. He looked up at her, startled by the question. ¡°Nothing for you to worry about,¡± he said, and brought the phone to the bed. ¡°Business.¡± Hey along her side, his skin against hers making her heart race, and the heat soar within her. He propped himself up on one side and ced the phone onto her stomach and proceeded to answer his emails whilst she squirmed beneath her rising need. She tried to control her breath and body, but the throb or want disrupted her focus. She slid a look at him, and saw that although he was answering his emails, he was also watching her, deliberately torturing her with his skin against hers, whilst denying her his body. ¡°You need to stay still,¡± he told her. ¡°It¡¯s not easy to do this one handed and on a phone.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t,¡± she whispered on the verge of tears because she didn¡¯t want to need him this badly. ¡°Well, then, all you have to do is ask,¡± he said without looking up from his phone. He wanted her to beg for him, she realised, and stubbornly refused to do just that, biting down on her back teeth, and closing her eyes. She drew in a deep breath and released it, and again, feeling sweat prickling between her breasts. ¡°Alright then,¡± he got up suddenly and walked to the bedroom door. ¡°If you don¡¯t want me so badly that you would rather endure the rest of your heat alone, that can be arranged.¡± ¡°Please,¡± it broke from her, a ragged plea, her eyes opening to see if she was toote. He paused and looked over his shoulder. ¡°Please what?¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t leave.¡± ¡°No,¡± he shook his head but he was turning and walking back across to the foot of the bed. ¡°Please, Baron Western, f-k me.¡± Her moan was a sob of despair. ¡°Please, Baron Western, f-k me,¡± she whispered. He smiled. ¡°That wasn¡¯t so hard, was it?¡± Chapter 7 Chapter 7 Baron¡¯s Revenge ns They had both fallen to sleep as the afternoon wore into evening and the storm broke overhead, the steady beat of rain against the window ss soothing them. Hey big, hot, and heavy over her, and still within her, and that sated her heat for long enough that she had slept and woken before him, allowing her the opportunity to enjoy the novelty of her handsome husband sleeping over her. There was a false intimacy to it, she thought with sorrow as she felt the rise and fall of his chest, the steady beat of his heart, the caress of his breath against her skin. False because although theyy skin to skin, and joined, he was not her lover, she could not stroke her hands over the hot silk of his skin, nor feel the tumbled curls wrap around her fingers as shebed them back from his face. He would not wake and lift, smiling, to kiss her. The only kiss they had ever shared had been the perfunctory, closed mouth kiss on their wedding day, and he had kissed her and released her as quickly as possible. And then spent the reception talking business amongst the pack hierarchy, before disappearing when they had returned to his home, only returning to her in the early hours of the morning, whiskey fumes heavy on his breath. N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner. He had never slept the night in her bed. When he came to her, he would leave again immediately after, often without even exchanging a word. Even on the wedding night, when, drunk as he was, it would have seemed natural for him to roll over and go to sleep, he had gotten up, rearranged the clothing he had not fully removed, and left. She had been shocked and bewildered on the night. It was only in the morning when she had gone down to the breakfast table to find Angelique already seated there, beautiful, elegant and alpha, in an almost sheerce slip and matching robe that had slipped off her shoulder and all but exposed her breast, sipping tea and eating grapefruit, that Jane had realised that there were three in the marriage, and she, Jane, the legal wife, was the unwee third wheel. She had skipped breakfast every morning since. He shifted against her, the change in his breathing telling her that he was awake. ¡°I will untie you so that you can use the bathroom and eat,¡± he said softly. ¡°Mmm,¡± she swallowed hard, and turned her face away as he lifted to untie her wrists, in order to hide that she wept. As soon as he released her, she rolled out of the bed, her legs almost giving under her as she stood. ¡°Carefully,¡± he rmended over his shoulder, sitting on the edge of the bed on the opposite side. ¡°You don¡¯t want to cause yourself an injury.¡± She had a shower, washing the slime of seed from her inner thighs. She had lost count of how many times they had f-ked, but she was beginning to ache from it, her stomach muscles sore from the clench of orgasm, and her skin felt as if she had been painted ine and sweat. She had to condition her hair twice before she was able to run her fingers through it without catching on tangles, it had be so matted from being pushed against the mattress and pillows as he thrusted over her. She dried and put on the robe. When she stepped out into the room, Baron was not there, and the scent of sex was thick and heavy inspiring her to open a window despite the rain in order to air it out. The sheets were twisted and tangled, with the tide marks ofe and sweat stains ringing where she hadin causing her to blush and strip off the top sheet, bundling it up and pushing it deep into the hamper in the bathroom. Another day, she thought. Estrus in werewolves normallyst two to three days, although being her first cycle, it could be longer or shorter. Please, she thought, please let it be a short cycle. Baron returned as she finished putting the bed to order, carrying a fresh tray, which he ced on the dresser. There was a pot of tea on the tray. ¡°I wasn¡¯t sure if you took milk, or not?¡± He said, and there was a hint of something to his voice that had her turning her head to look at him. He was embarrassed, she realised, that he did not know how she took her tea. ¡°With lemon, like you, or ck if there is no lemon,¡± she told him. ¡°You know how I drink my tea,¡± he was surprised. She knew, she thought, because of that agonizing breakfast the morning after their wedding. Every detail of that meal was engraved into her mind. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± he was frowning when he turned with her teacup and saucer. She took it from him and sat on the bed to drink it. He leaned his hips against the dresser and flicked through his phone as he sipped his tea. ¡°What am I doing?¡± He asked her. ¡°Working, I guess,¡± she wondered what he expected her to say. ¡°Are you not even the slightest bit curious?¡± He held the phone carelessly in his hand, the heel of his palm against the dresser. She finished her tea and stood to ce it back onto the tray. Under the cloche was cold meat and fruit. She dropped the cloches back into ce, the idea of eating impossible with so much tension in the air. ¡°Yes,¡± she said softly. ¡°But I am an omega. We exist to serve those higher in rank. It is not my ce to interrupt you with questions whilst you are working.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± he caught her around the waist, holding her against him whilst he considered her. ¡°I just bought a building. Asset by asset, I am slowly reiming the position that my family held before my grandfather¡¯s murder. I intend to re-establish the Western pack and discover who murdered my grandfather and masterminded the demise of our pack.¡±, She stared up at him in shock. ¡°That is. quite an ambition¡± she told him nervously. ¡°One that I am well on the way to achieving,¡± he was quietly confident. ¡°Though there is no way to reim the lost treasures of the pack without bringing my grandfather¡¯s murderer to justice.¡± ¡°Whoever killed your grandfather, Baron,¡± she could feel the rise of the heat again creeping slowly through her, the scent of him, the proximity at which he held their bodies with only the thin satin slip of their robes between them adding to its power, but she didn¡¯t want to interrupt such an important conversation, the first real conversation they had had and one that he had instigated. ¡°They would have had to be very powerful, and they will not want this secret toe to the light.¡± ¡°No,¡± he agreed. ¡°So, for now, we will just keep this conversation between us, hmm?¡± He leaned forward and brushed his lips against the side of her neck, and she closed her eyes, leaning her head in order to expose her throat to him, to his touch, his breath and the soft caress of his mouth causing her to moan. Chapter 8 Chapter 8 The Ring The morning sun woke her, her eyshes sticking together and resisting her eyes opening. Her vision was initially blurry, catching the sunlight at points until she blinked, and moisture freed her vision. Barony over her, his breath steady and regr over her skin, his hand resting on one breast, his head on her shoulder. His dark curls brushed against her jaw, and his big body sprawled, his tanned skin stark against her white. He was still within her, even in his sleep, and that, alone, she thought, had given her rest, as if her body¡¯s slumber relied on that tie between them, that joining, that link. For how little that meant, she thought, her heart a raw pain in her chest. His phone ringing was what had woken her, and he grunted, his features scowling in reaction to its jangle. The insistence of its tones had him groaning and lifting from her, sitting up with the heavy posture of one exhausted, and pulling the phone off the dresser with clumsy fingertips. ¡°Yes?¡± He growled into it as he sagged to lie at her side. ¡°Mmm,¡± he reached up and released the knot that bound her wrists. ¡°No that is not eptable. Tell him half that, or I will take it from him, and he will be pleading for me to pay one fourth. Yes. I am not joking. Okay. Bye.¡± He released the phone so that it fell heavily onto the pillows between him and leaned across her to release her other wrist. As she sat up to untie her ankles, hey on his back, his hands cushioning his head, folded behind his skull. ¡°I shall have to leave you for a while,¡± he said. ¡°This deal is¡­ Slippery. I don¡¯t trust that things will go the way I want without me there to supervise. I will be back as quickly as I can.¡± She paused in the bathroom door. ¡°Will you be¡­¡± She rested her forehead against the door frame. ¡°Be calling in someone else to take care of things in your absence.¡± Would he be calling in an alpha or beta who specialised in satisfying an omega during heat, she was asking. They were the reason that she¡¯d had a contraceptive imnt put in. The runt, the washed out, pathetic, weak reject of the litter as she was, she had not expected that she would have a mate for her first estrus, and as such, had the imnt put in, and a standing request with a well-known agency, so that an alpha, or, if they were all booked, at least a beta, would be avable to her should she need him. ¡°I have,¡± she swallowed hard, for it rankled. ¡°A booking.¡± ¡°You do?¡± His surprise was evident. ¡°Isn¡¯t that interesting?¡± He murmured. ¡°No,¡± he decided. ¡°An hour, two at most, which I can do from my office here.¡± She nodded, not sure if she was relieved or disappointed. To continue this estrus with him, would cross a boundary into intimacy, she knew. Already they toed that line, nuzzled over its line every time that they f-ked. If he handed her off to a professional, they would do what was needed, and no more, no emotional attachment, noplications. It would be better, in a way, she thought, as tears spilled again, their taste bitter on her lips. It would be better to have someone paid to pleasure her finish the estrus, than this man, who hated her for all that she could not be, and yet treated her body so perfectly that his touch had her purring for more. He was an addiction, she thought, that she knew was bad for her, but that felt so good, that she was utterly unable to stop inhaling it, despite knowing that it would destroy her. Baron Western would destroy her. He was the end of the line for a railway carriage, and she was a passenger upon it, helpless to stop the collision, no matter how clearly that she saw its inevitability. ¡°Two hours,¡± he repeated, and she was not sure if he said it for her or him. ¡°In this house, Jane.¡± She wasn¡¯t sure what he wanted her to say and stepped into the bathroom, closing the door between them. She showered, taking her time knowing that he would not be there when she opened the door. Did he really have a meeting, she wondered, or did he go to spend the time with Angelique? She copsed to her knees in the shower, her arms wrapped around her middle, and sobbed out her misery. As shey on the tiles, her head cushioned on her crossed arms, watching the water gather and pool beneath her breasts, she wondered what the heroine in a book or movie would do in her position. Nothing realistic, she thought. N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner. Her misery might feel grand and world changing to herself, but it was unlikely to have made any difference to Baron¡¯s world, to his life. It wasn¡¯t even a blip, not even a moment worth pausing over. She couldy on the tiles until he returned from his business meeting, and he would think nothing of it. And so, she stood and turned off the water, and wrapped the towel around herself. He was not in the bedroom when she left the bathroom, and his absence felt significant. She sat on the end of the bed and stared at her own toes, wondering what she intended to do. Just under a month ago, she had been an eager bride, excited to start her new life, certain that the sadness and unworthiness of her past was just that¡­ the past. She had thought that she had found her true mate, the one person who would see value in her even if no one else ever did. The one person who would see her for who she was. The fantasies, she thought, of someone who had always held no value and no power. She was not sure what it was between her and Baron, but she would not tell herself that she held value to him beyond the fact that she was a Corbyn. At least she was no longer tied to the bed, she told herself, as she dressed. The heat had eased, a subtle warmth rather than a scalding demand. She checked her phone. There were twelve missed calls from Alice and her father. She began to yback the messages and groaned as they started from when she went on heat, asking for confirmation, through to more harshly worded demands for updates. She recorded a voice message. ¡°Yes, I entered estrus on Saturday. Almost recovered now, thank you. All is well. Thanks.¡± And sent that in reply with a grimace She pulled on the robe and opened the door into the hall, tiptoeing down the stairs and across the grand hall to the front parlour which opened onto the gardens. She followed the walkway around the house, admiring the roses that were blooming. ¡°Were you sessful?¡± Baron asked and Jane jumped, looking around. She realised that her walk had brought her under his office window, which was open to catch the breeze. ¡°Of course, I was sessful,¡± Angelique purred. ¡°I am not ipetent.¡± ¡°Good, then get to work on the code. We have a function there at the end of the week which will give you the opportunity to see if you can unlock -¡± He was uninterrupted by a phone call. ¡°I have to take this,¡± he said to her. *Alright, darling,¡± there was a moment. ¡°I look forward to when youe to my bed again. When will that be?¡± ¡°Hmm. Jane¡¯s heat should finish tonight, so tomorrow,¡± he said. ¡°Hello?¡± Jane pressed the heel of her hand against her chest, seeking to restrain the pain. Straight from her bed and into Angelique¡¯s she thought woefully. ¡°Ah, Matthew, it¡¯s good to hear from you,¡° Baron¡¯s voice was warm. Her father, Jane noted, and lingered, plucking the petals off a rose that was past its peak bloom Idly. ¡°Yes, Saturday night¡¯s event went well, the club is a sess¡­ Well, yes,¡± Baron¡¯s voice was rueful. ¡°Though I don¡¯t see Jane¡¯s going on heat as a downturn of events,¡± he chuckled. ¡°The timing, admittedly, could have been better.¡± There was a pause and Baronughed, openly and warmly. ¡°Yes, I hope so too,¡± he said. ¡°No¡­ It is easing however, and business is business, so I had to leave her in order to close a deal¡­ Yes, we will be there. I am sure that she will enjoy seeing you and her sister¡­ Great. See you then.¡± Almost immediately after his disconnected, the phone rang again, and he sighed heavily. ¡°Hello? Ah, great. Did you find it?¡­ I will look at them¡­ No¡­ No¡­ No¡­ These are not my ring. But thank you... Yes, maybe next time.¡± Jane walked on before she was caught eavesdropping, but she wondered as she did so what Angelique was sessful in getting, what they nned to unlock, and what ring Baron was searching for¡­ Chapter 9 Chapter 9 Strawberries and Sex This belongs ? N?velDra/ma.Org. When Baron returned to the bedroom, he brought with him a fresh tray of food, and another pot of tea. Jane had returned to the pretty gold and cream bedroom after her walk around the house, and had tried to tidy the bed, though it was impossible to disguise how well the bed had been used over the course of the night. She opened the windows to let in fresh air and out the rich scent of sex, and leaned against window frame looking out over the greenwns and garden beds heavy with roses. The smell ofe and sweat from the bed had caused the heat to rise again, and she pressed her thighs together, trying to control it. She knew the moment he walked through the sitting room door, her instincts immediately identifying the arrival of an alpha, the heat craving him. He ced the tray on the dresser. ¡°You went out,¡± he said. ¡°Yes,¡± she flushed, wondering how he knew and immediately felt guilty that she might have been seen loitering under his open office window like a spy. *That was,¡± he sighed heavily, unbuttoning his cuff links and setting them into a decorative te on the dresser. ¡°Very reckless. You are still on heat, and I only employ staff from the pack. If you have encountered any of our servants or gardeners, your scent might have led to something unfortunate.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± she cringed inwards and edged towards the bed, sitting onto the mattress, chastised. ¡°I didn¡¯t think¡­¡± ¡°No,¡± he agreed as he unbuttoned his shirt, the contrast of his tanned skin against its crisp whiteness as he opened it made the heat curl and dig ws into her belly. He eased it off his shoulders and hung it over the back of the chair as he toed off his Italian leather loafers. ¡°It is your first heat; it takes time to adjust. By your fourth or fifth heat, we will perfect it,¡± he smiled slightly as he poured the tea. We will perfect it. ¡°You¡­ ah¡± she epted the tea. ¡°Haven¡¯t been through a heat before?¡± ¡°You are my first mate,¡± he seemed surprised by the question. ¡°So, of course, I haven¡¯t.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t¡­¡± the teacup shook in her hand, and she lifted it off the saucer and to her lips taking a sip to disguise the tremble that the question caused in her. He waited, patiently. ¡°You don¡¯t see Angelique through her heat?¡± For a long moment he was silent, his expression introspective. ¡°Angelique takes a suppressor,¡± he said atst, turning away from her and lifting a cloche from the food. ¡°On my insistence.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± She wondered why, and what Angelique made of it. A suppressor was not birth control, though it certainly had the side effect of it as it was during estrus that a she-wolf ovted. But a suppressor did not just prevent conception, it prevented the release of an egg and the hormones that went with it, and used long term, there were heavy side effects. He took her empty teacup from her and brought two bowls over to where she sat on the bed. In one was piled strawberries and blue berries, in another whipped cream. ¡°You have not eaten since Saturday,¡± he said. ¡°I know it is not abnormal for heat to suppress the appetite, but, surely, by now, you are hungry?¡± He selected a strawberry and lifted it to her lips. She bit into it, because not doing so had the potential to be embarrassing, with him pushing the food against her mouth. It was ripe and fresh, the vour bursting over her tongue, and she chewed and swallowed, but when he raised an eyebrow and selected another, she shook her head. Her body did not want food. It wanted him. ¡°Ah, well,¡± he set the bowls onto the bedside table. ¡°I am hungry.¡± He stood, but instead of returning to the tray, he pulled her to her feet, and loosened the ties that held her robe closed. ¡°Starving in fact,¡± he observed as he let the robe slide from her shoulders. He scooped her up into his arms andid her onto the center of the bed and then unbuttoned his trousers, removing them and draping them over the chair. He picked up the bowls andid himself out along her side, his c-ck throbbing against her hip. He was, she thought, a magnificent looking man in his own skin, broad shoulders, lean of waist, and heavily muscled. He had not styled his hair since she had begun her heat, and without the styling paste and carefulbing, it formed thick, glossy curls that tumbled around his face, the perfect frame for the strong, regal bones, and his bright blue eyes. His was the sort of masculine beauty that had inspired artists and sculptors throughout history. He dipped a strawberry into the cream but instead of taking a bite, he drew a line of cream between her breasts to her belly button. She inhaled sharply in surprise, her eyes flickering up to his. He wasughing without sound at her reaction, his grin wide and his eyes dancing. ¡°Oh, dear,¡± he chuckled and ced a line of blueberries into the cream, before cing the strawberry over her belly button. ¡°I seem to have made a mess.¡± He leaned over and dragged his tongue over her skin, capturing a blueberry as he did so, and chewed, smiling. ¡°Delicious.¡± She sank back into the cushions her eyes closing as he continued to daub her with cream and fruit, and then lick it from her, taking his time, until she was lost to the sensation of his mouth on her, his breath over her skin, the caress of his tongue. He moved slowly down her torso, until his tongue stroked over the rise of her hip bone, down the crease, to inner thigh, and he parted her legs with his shoulders, leaving the berries and cream to spill over the bed sheets as he feasted upon her, causing her to writhe and plead for his c-ck. His eyes met and held hers as he thrusted his c-ck into her. ¡°Mine, Jane,¡± he said darkly. ¡°No others, not even professionals, do you understand?¡± He rolled his hips grinding against her as he pushed deep, and again so that she moaned. ¡°Jane?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± she would have agreed to anything with him f-king her in such a way. ¡°I will take care of you during all your heats,¡± he would not release her eyes, the alpha in him pinning her gaze so that she could not look away. ¡°Every one of them. Me, and me alone. Jane. Say it.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± she sobbed it out as she came. ¡°Yes, Baron.¡± Chapter 10 Chapter 10 Broken On Tuesday morning, Jane woke beneath Baron, his body over and within her, as all their brief periods of sleep through-out her heat had been spent, and found that, in her sleep, she had put her arms around him, her palms against the skin of his back, holding him tightly to her, and her face was turned in to his, her cheek against his and her lips against the point at which shoulder met neck. She stayed still, her eyes closed, luxuriating in the feel of him against her. This was, she thought, how lovers and matesy, wrapped, and tangled in each out, skin to skin, body to body, cheek to cheek. His phone began to chime, and after a moment he groaned, and reached out over her towards the bedside table without moving his body. She reached up and pulled it down to where he could reach it. "Thank you,¡± he said against her neck, before answering it. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Sorry to disturb you, Mr Western,¡± the woman on the other side of the phone apologised. He sighed heavily. ¡°Yes, Judith?¡± ¡°The paperwork on the purchase of the brewery has arrived and is ready for signing, the jeweller has sent through an estimate on that piece you ordered, the Gleesons have asked to reschedule for tomorrow, the architect has ns on the extension ready for review, an invitation has arrived for a masquerade ball at the Adairs, and the bank called about the¡­¡± Baron inhaled and groaned as he pushed himself up. He rolled over onto his back. ¡°I cane into the office in approximately two hours,¡± he decided. ¡°Thank you, Mr Western.¡± He disconnected and rolled to face Jane. ¡°Your heat has broken,¡± he told her. ¡°Yes,¡± she agreed. His eyes searched her face for a long moment and then he nodded, and rolled away, out of the bed. He pulled on his trousers, shoved his feet into his loafers, and pulled on his shirt as he left the room. She sat in the bed, holding the sheets against her chest, and fought back tears. This belongs ? N?velDra/ma.Org. In her blue bedroom, the window had been fitted with new ss and the bedroom cleaned, the bed remade with fresh sheets. She showered and viewed the contents of her closet with frustrated disgust. in Jane, she thought. She certainly dressed that way, every item seemed designed to avert the eye from her. She pulled on a simple ck dress and heels, before catching up her bag. She would go shopping, she decided. It was not as if she had anything better to do with her day, anyway. In the weeks since marrying Baron, her days had be echoingly empty of activity and people. At least, whilst she had been on heat, she thought, she¡¯d had Baron forpany, but now, his return to work made the emptiness of the day before her seem more so. She took the sensible 4WD from the garage and waved at the guards at the gate as she pulled out of the property into the suburban street. She drove into the city and parked her car in a secured car park before walking down and onto the street. She browsed through the designer shops, buying little, mostly because she seemed to be invisible to the store clerks. By whatever customer valuation system the store clerks used, she thought, she did not register as a serious shopper. Inevitably they would zero in on someone who arrived after her and ignore her completely. In one window, a dress caught her eyes, not because it was something she would normally buy or wear, but because she could see Angelique in it. She set her shoulders, bit back on her teeth, and marched in, finding her size and took it through to the dressing rooms. The store clerk was busy with the woman in the next store, a thick pile of clothing passing in and out, and a hanger already devoted either to purchases or rejects, Jane did not know, as she closed the curtains into her change room behind her, feeling foolish clutching the one dress. She slid the dress on and stared at her reflection in shock, a smile slowly creeping across her face. Not such a in Jane in the right dress, she thought turning to see her reflection at different angles, her hands stroking the dress down her thighs. It fit like a second skin, the sheerce ovey intricately walking a line between underwear and evening wear, the cut-out panels across her torso revealing the skin below. ¡°I don¡¯t know how you can stand it, a woman said. ¡°Knowing that he has been in her bed for thest three days.¡± ¡°The sooner he knocks her up the better,¡± Angelique replied, and Jane froze. The other change room, she realised, that was keeping the store clerk so busy, held her husband¡¯s mistress and one of her friends. ¡°And it¡¯s not as if he is actually attracted to the pathetic creature, or loves her, he just needs the social position and alliance that marrying her provides. It¡¯s fine. He can make her fat with his children all he wants; everyone knows that I am his wife in every other way.¡± ¡°I¡¯d still be tempted to poison her morning coffee.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± Angelique paused. ¡°You don¡¯t have this in red?¡± ¡°I am sorry madam, it onlyes in the one colour, the ckce.¡± ¡°I mean, she¡¯s going to be there your entire life,¡± Angelique¡¯s friend said. ¡°The official wife, mother of his children, and you...¡± ¡°He¡¯ll divorce her eventually, when the connection is no longer important,¡± Angelique told her. ¡°And then I¡¯ll be the official wife. It¡¯s just a matter of patience. Alright, let¡¯s pay and go.¡± There was a great deal of movement as they and the store clerk moved out into the main store. Jane stood, staring at her reflection in the sexy ckce dress, her hand against her heart and tears running down her face. ¡°Madam?¡± The clerk had returned to the change room. ¡°Do you need anything?¡± Jane drew in a deep breath. ¡°No, thank you.¡± She removed the dress and hung it carefully on the hanger. She dressed back into her in Jane dress and picked up her purse. She wiped the tears from her face and walked out of the shop. Chapter 11 Chapter 11 No Escape Jane drove to the beach and spent an hour walking the beach holding her shoes in her hand and letting the waves suck at her feet. She found a little caf¨¦ and ate her sd watching the wash of the waves towards the shore. What was she going to do? She wondered. Just over a month married, and her husband did not want her and openly kept a mistress who believed that it was just a matter of time until he divorced Jane and married her instead. She turned her phone over in her hands. She finished her meal and returned to her car, sitting in the driver¡¯s seat, and dialling her father¡¯s number. ¡°Hello Jane,¡± he answered promptly. ¡°Daddy,¡± she fought back her tears. ¡°I want toe home.¡± He sighed heavily. ¡°Jane,¡± he said with patience. ¡°What is this ridiculousness about?¡± ¡°Baron doesn¡¯t love me,¡± the tears fell free and tracked down her face. ¡°He only married me because of the connection to you. He keeps Angelique openly as his mistress, and she says that he will only keep me as his wife for as long as the connection matters, and then he will divorce me and marry her instead, and, oh,¡± her voice broke on a sob. ¡°Daddy, please.¡± He was silent for a long moment. ¡°Why would Angelique think the connection would cease to matter?¡± He wondered. That was he took from her babbled distress, she thought bitterly. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Well, you need to find out,¡± he was curt with it. ¡°Call me back when you know.¡± He disconnected. She covered her face with her hands and sobbed out her grief. The family home was not without problems for Jane. Her older sister Alice had been born alpha, next in line to inherit from Matthew both the family wealth and the leadership of the pack. Her two brothers, Jason and Anthony, were both betas, and as such had always followed Alice¡¯s lead, and that included keeping their omega sister, Jane, in her ce. Her childhood had been filled with their cruel games, the three excluding her, or telling her that she could y with them and then pretending that they couldn¡¯t see or hear her, or running away, and when she hadined to her mother, innocently telling her that their cruelty was just due to the game they were ying, and that Jane was over-reacting. As they¡¯d gotten older, their meanness had evolved, and any opportunity was exploited to humiliate Jane, from spreading mean gossip about her, to stepping on the hem of her dress as she stood so that it tore. Angelique¡¯s red wine was nothingpared to what Jane had experienced at the hands of her siblings. When she had met Baron, and their wedding had been arranged, she had foolishly thought that finally someone saw her for herself, despite her rank in the pack, and that she would escape the daily torment, and finally be able to rx her guard. N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner. Fool, she thought angry with herself. Of course, there was no escape for her, because she was still her, still part of the pack, and still an omega, the pathetic, washed-out runt. She started the car and returned to Baron¡¯s estate, finding the driveway blocked by a bright array of expensive sports cars, leaving her no choice but to park under a tree, and walk the rest of the way. Angelique had friends over, and they were enjoying the bright day, sun-baking in bikinis and sipping cocktails by the pool. Jane took the back entrance, and the servant¡¯s stairs up, so as to avoid any that might be inside the house. Her bedroom door was open, and she pressed herself against a wall as mockingughter rolled out. ¡°Oh, god, look at these hideous dresses,¡± a woman dered. ¡°This one isn¡¯t bad, actually. Could be cute if done up right.¡± They were going through her things, Jane realised. *These earrings are cute,¡± anothermented. ¡°Do you think these diamonds are real?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t find a diary anywhere,¡± Angelique dered. ¡°Probably wouldn¡¯t be interesting to read anyway, her whole pathetic life is just tedious.¡± ¡°Who is this?¡± ¡°Oh, she looks just like her. That would be her mother. Didn¡¯t she die?¡± ¡°Killed herself, I heard. Oops.¡± They burst intoughter, and Jane felt a sharp strike of fear run through her at the sound of paper tearing. Despite her fear of them, she hurried into the room, startling them. ¡°Oh, Jane,¡± Angelique sipped her champagne. ¡°You are home.¡± The other two womenughed. Angelique knew them peripherally from when the various packs met, Elena Mason and Jessica Horn, but had never spoken to either. ¡°You are in my room,¡± Jane wanted to sound brave and bold, but it came out uncertain and frightened. The bed was strewn with clothing and things from her drawers. Her make-up bag had been emptied on top, thepact of eye-shadows having broken, and the coloured dust covered everything as if it had been deliberately ground in. ¡°You are in my home,¡± Angelique sneered. ¡°Nothing here is yours. This is a room in my home, which you happen to sleep in. But, whatever,¡± she rolled her eyes. ¡°There is nothing of value in here anyway.¡± They crowded around Jane, bumping into her and treading on her toes as they passed, and burst into laughter in the hallway beyond. ¡°Did you see her face?¡± One of them eximed. They had torn the picture of her mother in half. With shaking hands, Jane picked it up and smoothed it carefully onto the dresser top. Her mother¡¯s smile was hesitant and uncertain in the picture, her eyes shadowed. Like Jane, Rose Corbyn had been an omega, and Jane¡®s memories of her were of a woman in a constant state of fear, cringing beneath Matthew¡¯s impatience, and asionally his fists. After Rose¡¯s death, Matthew had destroyed most of the photos of her. Jane did not know if, like her, her siblings had managed to salvage a picture, even if they had cared enough to do so, but this mangled print was the only image that she now had. She needed tape, she decided as she began to clean up the mess that they had left of her room. There might be tape in the kitchen, but Baron¡¯s office was closer, and she would not have to pass through areas where she was likely to encounter Angelique¡¯s guests. She finished putting her room back into order, stuffing the makeup covered clothing into the washing hamper, not sure if washing would just make matters worse, and washed her hands in the sink to get rid of any coloured residue, before taking the two halves of the picture with her into the hallway. She took the servants stairs down and waited a moment against the door when she heardughter on the other side, until she was confident that the path between the stairs and Baron¡¯s office would be clear, before crossing, opening the door, and sneaking within. She pressed her back against the door with a sign of relief. ¡°Well, I am hiding from Angelique¡¯s guests in my study,¡± Baron observed from his winged office chair behind the solid wood desk. ¡°But I am not entirely sure what you are doing here.¡± Chapter 12 Chapter 12 Sex In Baron''s Office He had removed his suit jacket and it was slung negligently over the back of the chesterfield armchair of the less formal sitting area beyond the desk. His shirt sleeves were rolled up to his elbows and his tie knot had been loosened, but his hair was immactely tidy,bed back from his face rather than in dishevelled curls falling over his forehead. In his hand he held a crystal ss with a couple of fingers of whiskey within. Under her gaze, he leaned back in the chair and ced an ankle on his knee, raising his eyebrow. Jane¡¯s heart raced. She remembered vividly the things they had done with each other over the past three days, how his body felt against and within her, and she wanted suddenly to pull off her sensible dress and ce a knee to either side of his hips so that she could free his c-ck from his pinstriped blue trousers and take it into her. ¡°What is it that you have there?¡± He prompted into the silence left by her wandering mind. She moved forward automatically and ced the photo down on the desk. ¡°I need some tape,¡± she told him hesitantly. ¡°There¡¯s tape in the kitchen, no doubt¡­ Ah,¡± he dropped his ankle from his knee. ¡°Like me, you are hiding from Angelique¡¯s guests, and my study is easier to get to than the kitchen. Plus,¡± he looked up at her, a smile creasing theers of his eyes. ¡°They wouldn¡¯t daree in here.¡± ¡°I am sorry,¡± she reached out for the photo, taking thement as a reprimand. She shouldn¡¯t have come into his study, either. ¡°I was not telling you off,¡± he took the photo before she could, setting the whiskey down, and fitting the two halves together. ¡°Hmm,¡± he opened a drawer and took some tape from it, and very carefully lined it up before taping it behind. ¡°I think we can do better than that, though,¡± he said, and stood, walking across to the wall of cupboards, and opening one to reveal rows of neat files, stationery, and a printer. She could not see what he did, his back to her, and did not dare go closer to investigate. She heard the printer start, and after a moment he returned and passed her both the original photo and a copy scanned and printed onto photo paper, the tear a fine line across the print-out. ¡°A spare,¡± he was pleased with himself. ¡°In case of further incidents.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± she said. He did not, she thought, have any idea how precious that spare was to her, his kindness was offhand, because he was bored, hiding out in his office whilst Angelique¡¯s guests took over the house. He stroked a lock of hair back from her face, tracing the line of her cheek down to her chin. For a moment as he lifted her chin so that their eyes met, she thought that he would kiss her, and when he leaned forward, her eyes were already closing, her mouth softening for the caress, but it was not her lips that he kissed, but rather the pulse point below her ear. N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner. He pulled her hips towards him as he sucked and nipped along the line of her neck and she arched her head to the side to grant him free ess, his mouth against her skin causing her whole body to ache with need, as if she were still in heat. He gathered the fabric of her dress between his fingers, bringing it up around her waist, and found the panties that she wore below, sending them sliding down her thighs until they fell to her ankles. She stepped free of them. His palms against her arse were hot. He reached between them, and released the button of his trousers, the pressure of his c-ck against the zip sliding it down. ¡°Do you know how to use your mouth on a man?¡± He asked her, his eyes shing with his wolf and his voice hoarse. He saw the answer on her face. ¡°I am sure you¡¯ll work it out.¡± She dropped to her knees, and he braced against the door with his elbow, angling his c-ck. He watched as she tentatively ran her tongue over the tip of him, where the slit beaded already with pree. His groan was encouraging and, emboldened by that evidence of his enjoyment, she took him into her mouth, keeping her teeth from his skin. ¡°Oh, f-k,¡± he moaned, his hips thrusting. ¡°Press your tongue up against me¡­ Oh, yes,¡± his eyes narrowed to slits but her continued to watch her as he slid his c-ck in and out of her mouth, watching as her cheeks hollowed. She felt drool run down her chin, but ignored it, focused on bringing him pleasure. His fingers clenched into her hair, and he thrust to the point that hisk struck the back of her throat, causing her to gag. His exmation was filthy. ¡°You have a good mouth on you, little one,¡± he groaned releasing his hair and pulling himself free. ¡°But I want toe in you.¡± He lifted her to her feet, his hands sliding down her back until he could pull her dress up, and then he ced his hands on her arse and lifted her so that she wrapped her legs around his hips and her arms around his neck, the change of position pushing his c-ck into her so that she moaned. ¡°Good,¡± he breathed against her neck. ¡°Missed my c-ck today did you, my little wife?¡± He began to thrust, the door vibrating in the frame beneath the force of his movement, and she clung, her fingers in the thick hair at the nape of his neck, holding on for all that she was worth, whilst he pushed them both into orgasm. He panted for a long moment, holding her up against him, his heart racing between them, and then he lowered her until her toes touched the floor and eased out of her. ¡°Well, run along then, I have things to do,¡± he stepped back as she released her grip on him and fixed his trousers, reiming his whiskey from the tabletop, before returning to his seat as she hastily pulled her underwear up to capture the slide of hise before it travelled down her thighs, and smoothed her dress down, embarrassed by his nonchnt return to the office desk and offhand dismissal. He looked out his window, his whiskey held in his hand, as she closed the door between them. Chapter 13 Chapter 13 Angelique¡®s Seduction Heathridge brought Jane¡¯s dinner up to her room on a tray. This belongs ? N?velDra/ma.Org. ¡°Oh, thank you,¡± she said, flustered by the kindness. ¡°My pleasure, madam,¡± he smiled warmly as he closed the door behind him. She sat on the couch in her satin pyjamas and watched a foolish television romanticedy whilst she ate and wondered what Baron did for his meal. She doubted that he ate in the dining room with the drunk women. When she tiptoed out onto thending in curiosity, she could hear their drunkenughter spilling out in raucous tones, but no male voices. It waste when they left, and Jane watched thest tail-lights recede down the driveway with relief. She took the tray down to the kitchen so that Heathridge did not have to collect it in the morning, and did the dishes, before creeping back through the house. Baron¡¯s voice from his office drew her attention. His door was open, and through it she could see him in his wing back chair, his hair dishevelled now and trying to reform its curls, and a ss of whiskey in his hand. ¡°Oh, poor baby.¡± Angelique purred, and Jane saw her cross the open door, wearing only her underwear, red andcey. ¡°Stuck in his office all afternoon and night.¡± She ced her foot on the chair between Baron¡¯s thighs, her toes teasing his c- ck. ¡°I havee to make it up to you.¡± She did what Jane had fantasized about doing, setting a knee to either side of Baron¡¯s hips, and lifting whilst she released his c-ck from his trousers. Baron¡¯s eyes changed focus, over Angelique¡¯s shoulder, meeting Jane¡¯s and she saw the shift of his expression, but then Angelique took him into her with a groan, and his gaze turned inward, distracted. Jane ran, her bare feet silent over the marble tile, up the stairs and into the room that wasn¡¯t hers but to sleep in, closing the door behind her and slid down the wood to press her face into her knees sobbing. She cried herself to sleep against the door and only stirred slightly as it was pushed open. Half in dream, she felt Baron pick her up off the floor and .carry her into the bedroom, sliding her under the sheets, before undressing. He slid in and curled around her. In the grey light of dawn, the warmfort of his body leaving her woke her. She watched him through slitted eyes as he dressed and left, wondering at why the alpha wolf, master of his home and the women he kept in it, would feel the need to sneak in and out of his wife¡¯s bed, and not to f-k, but just to hold her through the night. In his absence she struggled to fall back asleep, and threw back the covers in surrender, dressing in running gear. As she made her way down the stairs, Heathridge returning for the day was letting himself in through the front door. ¡°Good morning, madam,¡± he held it open for her. ¡°Thank you,¡± she was bewildered by the courtesy as always. Heathridge was a beta, and technically outranked her in the pack hierarchy, but socially her family and marriage to Baron, his employer, ced her above him. It created a confusing situation, she thought, for them both. ¡°Sir has asked for your room to be changed.¡± Heathridge informed her. ¡°Changed?¡± She paused, confused. ¡°To the better bedroom, madam. He had not realised that you had chosen the blue room. It is in need of refurbishment. The gold room is much more appropriate.¡± She stared at him. His face gave nothing away. They both knew that she had not chosen the blue room. ¡°I will arrange for your possessions to be transferred,¡± he told her. ¡°Alright,¡± she agreed. What did it matter which room she slept in, none of them would ever be hers. She ran down the driveway to the gates, and the security opened them for her. On the main road, she moved from a jog into a sprint, running until her legs wanted to copse, trying to outrun her life, her marriage, herself. As she sobbed in breath, doubled over, her hands braced against her knees, she realised that she could never run fast enough to escape from what she was, and what that made her to the pack. She either surrendered to it, found a way around it, or, as her mother had done, ended it. There were other omegas, she knew, though she had not encountered any. A rarer rank, the title often wrongly used to designate those who fell out of favour or were junior, a true omega was a submissive werewolf, the opposite to an alpha who existed to lead, dominate, and conquer, an omega served and submitted. With the right alpha or beta mate, her mother had told her, an omega¡¯s existence had the potential to be a happy one. The right alpha or beta would value what omega gave, they would find satisfaction in an omega¡¯s submission, and it would trigger in them a fierce and devoted need to protect. Find your One and Only, your true mate, her mother had told her, and it would lead to happiness and not misery. But the wrong alpha or beta¡­ Her mother¡¯s marriage had been an example of an alpha frustrated by a mating to an omega when what he sought was a strong alpha Luna or a beta to lead the pack with him. An alpha who wanted a co-ruler needed an alpha or beta mate. One who wanted a partner devoted to serving and supporting his or her role as alpha, needed an omega. To the right mate, an omega was a diamond, to the wrong one, quartz. Bound to the wrong mate, when her beta and alpha children had begun subjecting her to ridicule and disrespect, Rose Corbyn had taken her own life, unable to see a path beyond misery and humiliation. Look harder, Jane, she told herself as she would have told her mother. Sometimes a she-wolf needed to look harder and longer at a problem to see her way to a solution. She caught her breath and began to run again, her feet taking her towards the town before her lungs called for surrender. As she leaned against a wall to recover a HELP NEEDED sign in a window caught her eye, for was that not exactly the call that echoed through her own heart, she thought. Help. Needed. ¡®It was a little caf¨¦. Jane began to think as she ran back towards Baron¡¯s estate about what qualifications a person would need in order to get a job. Chapter 14 Chapter 14 Highs and Lows Baron and Angelique were domestically arranged around the small breakfast table in the parlour when Jane ran past on her way to the back entrance to the kitchen. She saw Baron look up from his paper as she ran past, his eyes tracking her through the ss until her progress put him behind her and out of her sight. In the kitchen, Heathridge was not surprised by her arrival, and had a cup of ck coffee ready for her. ¡°Thank you,¡± she panted, taking it with her as she left the kitchen, crossing the hall to the stairs that led up to her wing and room. Instinct had her looking over her shoulder as she reached the top of the stairs, and she saw that Baron stood in the doorway of the breakfast room, looking up at her, his hand on the door handle. She paused, her hand on the banister, their eyes locked, and then Angelique¡¯s voice came from behind him, and he stepped back, closing the door behind him. Jane continued to her new room, finding that her possessions had been transferred as promised during her jog. She drank her coffee before showering and dressing for the day. The clothing she selected was chosen with another purpose in mind, the tailored shirt tucking into the tidy skirt. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail and pushed her feet into a pair of t-heeled loafers, before scrutinizing herself in the mirror. She looked, she thought, like the hundreds, or maybe thousands, of anonymous people that had, over the course of her life, set food and drinks on a table before her, handed clothing over the curtain of a change room, or rung up charges at the till. She looked, she decided, like someone capable of doing such things. Which was a lie. She was woefully under-qualified. But she had the opportunity to amend that. She slunk through the entry hall like a criminal, and eased open the front door, startling Heathridge on the other side. For a moment they stared at each other, and then his eyes dropped, taking in her clothing and then returning to her face, his brows drawing together in confusion. ¡°Madam.¡± ¡°I am just going shopping,¡± she told him hastily. ¡°Of course, madam,¡± he epted it easily and opened the door. ¡°Did you need a car?¡± ¡°I left one up the drive yesterday.¡± ¡°That 4WD has been returned to the garage,¡± he informed her efficiently. ¡°Great, thanks,¡± she nodded, and hurried in that direction. She drove into town and parked at the rear of the caf¨¦. Humans, she thought with relief as she made her way through the customers to the front, not a werewolf to be seen. ¡°Hi¡± an opened faced man greeted her with a bright smile. ¡°What can I get you?¡± ¡°A job?¡± She swallowed hard amazed that her voice sounded so much braver than she felt. ¡°The sign said.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± his eyes scanned her top to toe. ¡°Do you have experience?¡± This belongs ? N?velDra/ma.Org. ¡°No,¡± she admitted. ¡°But I work hard.¡± He considered her. ¡°It¡¯s cash, no benefits, and a half a day trial, no pay.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± she agreed eagerly. After he served thest customer in the queue, he took her behind the counter, ced an apron around her waist and told her: ¡°Foodes from there,¡± he pointed to the kitchen window, behind which she could see three people moving with absolute focus on their tasks. ¡°Check the table number on the docket, take the food to that table.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± she saw a te on the shelf and went to it. For three hours, that was what she did, smiling and apologising for mistakes, exining that it was her first day when she got things wrong. The caf¨¦ shut at 3pm, and she removed the apron, her body and mind exhausted. The man who had hired her, Patrick, smiled and passed her a wad of notes. Well done,¡± he said. ¡°You¡¯re hired.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± she was thrilled but baffled by the notes in her hand. ¡°You said no pay.¡± ¡°I know.¡± his smile widened. ¡°And you stayed anyway, which was audition number one. You¡®ve done well, the customers like you, you are polite, and you work hard. You pass. Take these home tonight and fill them out,¡± he handed her some folded papers. ¡°And we¡¯ll see you again tomorrow at eight?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± she was breathless with excitement, her cheeks aching with her smile. ¡°Yes, thank you.¡± She drove home, grinning, the music turned up and the windows open, and her excitement did not die until she showered and stepped out of the bathroom in the robe, to find her phone shing with messages. Her brothers, her sister, her father, all angrily demanding what she had been up to, with photo attachments. The photo was of her passed out on the bed with the sheets tangled around her not covering anything. Taken during her heat, her wrists still tied to the bed head. There was only one person who could have taken that photo she knew, the person who had bound her to that bed, and whose seed visibly slimed her thighs. She felt her legs give and her hip hit the carpet a moment before her head did, the phone bouncing slightly before lying before her, the screen still showing her herself, in her vulnerable, wanton, blissed out slumber. ¡°Shit,¡± she heard Baron curse, she didn¡¯t know how longter. ¡°Jane,¡± he put his arm under her shoulders lifting her. ¡°Jane.¡± For a moment she did not know where she was or why shey in such a way, and then she remembered and she fought her way free of him, clutching her towel to herself as she crawled across the floor to vomit into the toilet. She felt him pull back her hair, holding it clear of the bowl, and his hand rubbing between her shoulder des as she sobbed, wept and vomited. *Jane,¡± he said quietly when, trembling, exhausted, and empty, she leaned her cheek against the porcin. ¡°I took the picture. It was on my phone. But I did not share it with anyone.¡± Chapter 15 Chapter 15 Ask Don¡¯t Tell She could not find the words to speak to him, locked in her own shocked anguish, and he lifted her from the toilet, held her over the sink and brushed her teeth for her, before starting the shower, and stepping, bare, under the flow of water with her, holding her up against him whilst he washed the vomit from her. Once they were both dry, he carried her out of the bathroom and curled around her in the bed. The contradiction was not lost on her that he was both herfort and the source of her pain. ¡°I am sorry,¡± he whispered. ¡°It was not taken with the intention that anyone other than I ever saw it.¡± She squirmed against his hold, the pain and shame too massive to be contained, her body contorting beneath its weight, the scream that built in her chest seeming to get stuck in her throat, choking her with it so that the sound that broke forth was a strangled sob of pain and betrayal. She suddenly understood the sort of pain that would have inspired her mother to take her own life. She curled tightly into herself, her fists pressed to her mouth, and wept until she slept. It waste in the morning when she woke, and she knew that the job that she had won the day before had been lost in sleep, and that was another cut to add to the multitude of tiny wounds that she bled from that small hope pinched out like the me of candle beneath the cruelty of others. This belongs ? N?velDra/ma.Org. Baron slept next to her, his eyes shadowed, the stubble dark on his jaw, and his hands held onto her even in his sleep, holding her to the bed where he had photographed her spent and soiled by his f-king, and then shared it, so that now, it appeared that every werewolf had a copy on their phone. She wanted to sleep again, to escape the reality of that, but she could hear both their phones vibrating with messages and calls, and she knew that there was no escape. She didn¡¯t want his hands on her. She managed to free herself of his grasp, and rose from the bed, dressing in the closet into an oversized sweatshirt and jeans that she normally only wore when she was sick and staying home. When she walked out of the closet, he was sitting on the side of the bed, the sheet covering hisp but otherwise naked. He ran his nails through his stubble, his expression grim. ¡°I can assure you Jane,¡± he said his blue eyes trying to hold hers, but she would not look at him. ¡°The person who took this image from my phone will be punished, and I will pursue everyone who distributed and ensure that they know how it came to be circted.¡± She felt as if she breathed sandpaper, the sides of her lungs scraping against each other. He rose to his feet, gloriously naked, but his beauty did not arouse her, the taste in her mouth bitter, and her body too tightly coiled in pain. He put his hand on her shoulder. ¡°I am very sorry that this happened,¡± he murmured and waited, seeming to expect a response, but she could barely breathe, let alone talk. He sighed and released her and began to dress. ¡°Stay inside today, Jane,¡± he said quietly. ¡°Until I sort this out.¡± Once he had gone, she returned to the closet and closed the door behind her, folding herself into the tightest corner in the closed, dark space, her heels tucked tightly against her arse, her arms wrapped around her legs, and her cheek against her knees. She stayed there, listening to her phone vibrate on the floor where she had dropped it when she had fainted. She heard the door to the sitting room open, and someone in the bedroom and bathroom, cleaning, opening the curtains, making the bed, and then, a whileter, bringing up a tray and setting it out in the sitting room. ¡°Madam?¡± Heathridge called hesitantly. ¡°Your lunch.¡± There came a yelling from downstairs. Angelique and Baron¡¯s voices raised in anger, distracting Heathridge, and he ran out of the room. Jane fell asleep, curled onto the closet floor, with the argument still raging. She woke when Baron picked her up off the floor. ¡°We are making a habit of this,¡± hemented as he carried her to the bed. ¡°It has been taken care of, Jane,¡± he told her firmly as he undressed her. ¡°An official exnation has been issued. Everyone knows the image was stolen from my phone, the image of a fond husband taken during a first heat, that should never have gone any further. You should feel no shame about that photo,¡± he carried her into the bathroom and closed the door between them whilst she used the toilet and brushed her teeth. ¡°I am not the first, and not the only husband to possess such an image,¡± he said through the door. When she walked out, he caught her chin in his hand. She slid her eyes to the side. ¡°Jane,¡± he said quietly. ¡°Talk to me.¡± ¡°What do you want me to say?¡± She wondered. ¡°Just¡­ talk to me,¡± he replied. ¡°Thank you for issuing the statement.¡± she replied, and got into the bed. He undressed, leaving his clothes over the back of the chair, and got in from the other side on purpose, so that she was facing him by ident and turning would be a deliberate act of defiance. They stared at each other across the pillows. ¡°There is much,¡± he said softly. ¡°That you do not know or understand Jane. Much that I cannot tell you. As your husband and mate, I am asking for your trust and obedience.¡± ¡°I am an omega,¡± she whispered back. ¡°You tell me. You don¡¯t ask me.¡± A muscle worked in the corner of his jaw, picked up by the moonlight through the window. ¡°I am asking.¡± Chapter 16 Chapter 16 Escape ns Baron rose with the dawn, dressing with the golden light over him like a benediction. She watched him, wondering how something so beautiful could be the source of so much pain. He saw that she was awake and came to sit on the side of the bed, putting his hand onto her shoulder. ¡°It is a small thing, Jane,¡± he told her firmly. ¡°My grandfather was murdered, his fortune stolen, my family¡¯s pack scattered, and my family was cast out in poverty. These things happen to us in life. It would be nice if they did not, but they do. If my family can rise from their losses, and my mother and father still stand proud amongst their peers knowing all that was said of them, then you too can rise above this. ¡°Take today to recover, rest, but tomorrow night, I expect you to be ready to go out, do you understand, Jane?¡± He tilted his head until she had no choice but to meet his eyes. ¡°Say: yes Baron.¡± ¡°Yes Baron,¡± she repeated obediently, hating him. ¡°Good,¡± he squeezed her shoulder and rose. ¡°I will see you at dinner tonight.¡± Shey in bed and thought on what he had said. A photopared to the loss of a loved one, fortune, pack, and pride, seemed like a small thing, in theory, but the reality was that its repercussions would be felt for years, she knew. That was what pack life was like. There would never be a time that she could walk into a gathering and not see sly looks and hands covering whispered gossip. Men would see the exposure of her body in that photo as invitation to touch and indecently proposition her. Her children woulde to her after being teased about it by their peers. As an omega, she was a victim who could not defend herself, and her alpha husband, who could offer some protection, openly kept and paraded his alpha mistress and so might as well have publicly dered his indifference to her. She was prey, set amongst natural predators. And they would prey, and prey, and prey until she was stripped to the bone. Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org. At midday, Heathridge brought her tray and set it up in the sitting room. He paused by the bedroom door with his gaze politely averted. ¡°Madam,¡± he said. ¡°If I may speak freely. Bullies feed off the reactions of their victims. At the moment your bully grows fat off your misery. You need to stand up, shake it off, and pretend, at least, to be indifferent to the injury. Otherwise, the bully will continue, not stop, greedy and glutenous off their sess.¡± ¡°You are a beta,¡± she replied. ¡°You do not understand what it is to be an omega.¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t, but I am not a wealthy man,¡± he replied. ¡°And I understand what it is to be in a lesser social position. Think on what I have said.¡± She picked at the sd he had brought her for lunch andy in the bed reading through the messages from her family as they had grew increasing irate, berating her for bringing shame on them. Late in the evening, around the time that Baron would have issued his announcement, the messages went silent. There were no condolences orfort offered, no balm to the insults of their earliermunications, just silence as Baron¡¯s exnation was received, sating their anger. There was one message from the manager of the caf¨¦ she had started working for, telling her tersely not to worry about returning. She had let them down, she thought, feeling the burn of shame in her esophagus. She opened a search page and looked up local short courses and booked herself into one that started the next week, entering her credit card details from memory. She had lost her job, but she would try again, from another direction, she decided. There was an escape from her situation, she just had to take it. She downloaded the course material onto herptop and sat picking at her lunch tray and reading through the requirements. Heathridge knocked at the door,e to collect the tray. ¡°I can return, madam, if you are still eating.¡± ¡°No, take it, thank you,¡± she told him, carefully keeping her screen angled away from him. She worked on theputer following the course material to begin building her resume, though it was frightfully thin on information: her contact details, her education, and the course she had signed up for. No professional references, and no personal references. She sighed and tried not to be discouraged. She had won that first job with nothing; she could win another with a resume and a course. Heathridge brought her dinner up and she ate with more appetite, showered, and went to bed, lying awake and trying not to think of the next evening, but her imagination running wild with images of eyes staring, mouthsughing and fingers pointing. Before midnight, the door to her room opened, and Baron came in, as if it were a normal thing to do. He undressed, hanging his clothing over the back of the chair, and slid into the bed, his skining up against hers in a way that sent her body into a wave of desire. She tried to push it down and away, but knew, from the expression on his face, that he had scented it. He pulled her nightgown from her, baring her to his touch, and tasted his way down her throat to her breast, sliding his skin against hers as he descended, before lifting her legs over his shoulders. She arced, her eyes closing, her fingers pulling at the sheets, gathering them tightly into her fists, as the pleasure of his mouth on her pulled her body into breath-taking orgasm. He braced himself over her, the tip of his c-ck finding entrance without aid, slipping through her easily, and he groaned as he sank into her. She pressed off her heels, arching her back, pushing into his thrusts with energy, desperate to feel something other than despair, wanting another release to ease her into sleep, wanting¡­ Wanting to be loved. ¡°Oh god,¡± he cried out, his head thrown back, and his hand sped her thigh as he thrusted. ¡°Oh f-k.¡± They came within moments of each other, and he sighed, a contented sound, as hey over her. He stayed where he was so long that she thought that he had fallen to sleep. ¡°Heathridge says that you ate today.¡± ¡°I eat every day,¡± she replied automatically, and closed her mouth with a shocked click of teeth, taken aback by her own daring. ¡°Not enough, from what I have seen,¡± he was calm, not angered and she felt some of her tension ease. ¡°If you don¡¯t like the food that is served, Heathridge will adjust the menu to your liking, you only have to say.¡± There were so many things, she thought, that she could say, that she wanted to say, but nothing that would end the conversation, only start new ones, angry ones, hurtful ones, and she did not want him to move, to leave. She did not want to be alone, and if it was a choice between sleeping in the bed on her own and sleeping with his skin warming hers, she would choose that. ¡°I will try to eat more,¡± she offered, not meaning it, but hoping that he would take it as the end of the conversation. His fingers stroked the skin over her cor bone. ¡°When I asked for trust and obediencest night,¡± he said softly. ¡°I | did not mean that you were not free to speak your opinion or that you had to do everything I said.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± she just wanted him to go to sleep, to stop talking and go to sleep, because if he did, then she would know that he would stay, and she could sleep too in that knowledge. ¡°The event tomorrow is at six,¡± his hand closed over her shoulder as if to hold her in ce, as if his big body over her was not already doing that very effectively. ¡°Be ready to leave half an hour before. It is evening dress.¡± She closed her eyes and felt a tear run down her cheek. ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Chapter 17 Chapter 17 Sticks and Stones It was early afternoon when Heathridge knocked on the sitting room door. ¡°Madam,¡± he eased it open peering around the corner. ¡°A delivery.¡± Jane set theptop to the side, carefully minimizing the screen she had been studying. ¡°A delivery?¡± He pushed the door open wider and three women entered carrying between them many shopping bags. Heathridge followed them into the room. ¡°On the bed might be best,¡± he decided, and watched whilst they deposited their parcels onto the bed, before withdrawing, ¡°Madam,¡± he smiled as he closed the door behind them. Jane frowned as she investigated the bags, finding underwear, shoes, a purse, and a dress. An outfit, she realised, for the event that night. She didn¡®t kno w what to make of it. Had Baron grown tired of her dressing inappropriately and decided to take things into his own hands? But there was something¡­ There was something to the fact that he had taken the time out of his day to pick her clothing. Though, she thought, perhaps he had not done so. Perhaps he had simply called the store and told them to arrange the outfit. Either way, the dress was beautiful, a deep navy¨Cblue velvet that was almost ck, its back was scooped low, and it was gathered at the hip, creating a split below. Very daring, very sexy, she thought, but in an understated and elegant way. She tried to return to studying, but the dress kept drawing her eyes back to the bed, and the many bags. Finally, she surrendered and showered, before dressing in the underwear provided, and carefully dressing and curling her hair to sit over her shoulder. There was a jewellery box amongst the bags, its bag standing out amongst the others, and she found a pair of drop earrings inside, the diamonds bright and showy. At five she put on the dress and shoes and stood before the mirror, looking at herself, her heart racing. It was, she thought, a bit like putting on armour. She might be walking into a function where every person present would have seen that photo of her, but in this dress, this outfit, she would look perfect whilst doing it. Somehow Baron had known. She stroked her hand down the velvet and drew in a deep breath before picking up her purse. She touched up her lipstick, touched her pulse points with perfume, and stepped out into the hallway. Baron was in the front hall with Heathridge, his attentio n on the cuff links of his shirt. He adjusted his waistcoat, and tie, before shrugging into the dinner jacket that Heathridge held ready, muttering under his breath, and checking his watch. His eyes fell on Jane, and he stilled, drawing Heathridge¡®s attention. She picked her way carefully down the stairs, feeling his eyes on her like a spotlight. Heathridge stepped back as she crossed the floor. ¡°You look beautiful, Jane,¡± Baron said softly. ¡°Thank you for the dress¡­¡± She felt his attention shift and followed his gaze to the top of the other arch of stairs, where Angelique had paused. She wore red satin that could have been painted on, it fitted so closely. She oozed down the staircase, every inch an alpha she- wolf, regal and haughty. ¡°I am ready,¡± she announced unnecessarily. ¡°Late,¡± Baron told her irritably. ¡°You arete.¡± ¡°It takes time to look this good,¡± she flicked her blonde hair back. ¡°The car is waiting,¡± Baron strode across the hall and out the door, leaving Angelique to follow and Jane to trail at the rear. ¡°It will be fine, madam,¡± Heathridge murmured under his breath in encouragement as she passed him. Jane flicked her eyes up. ¡°Thank you.¡± He knew, she thought ufortably, and had probably seen the phot o for himself. Baron handed Angelique into the car, and then Jane, before sliding in behind her. He sat beside Jane, and his toe tapped against the floor as the chauffeur closed the door behind them. Angelique heaved a sigh and flicked out apact, preening in it, and adjusting her breasts in the dress. ¡°The dress is probably a bit much,¡± Baron muttered. ¡°Drawing too much attention to yourself.¡± ¡°They¡®ll be so busy staring at my cleavage they won¡®t be looking elsewhere,¡± she replied, snapping thepact shut. ¡°Trust me darling. Just keep your pathe tic runt on a leash and out of my way.¡± Baron looked up sharply. ¡°We have discussed this Angelique,¡± he said, his voice full of alpha warning. ¡°You do not want to try my patience on this.¡± ¡°And you need to remember that you need me,¡± she snarled back. ¡°And how tolerant I am being of her.¡± They both fell silent, the air of the cabin heavy with the scent of anger and aggression. Jane sat between them and thought that if she was granted one wish, it would be the power of invisibility. She tried to distract herself from the night ahead by thinking of all the ways being unseen could rescue her from her life. Too soon, the limousine slowed and queued for the loop to the front of the house. The car door was opened for Baron, and he stepped out, smoothing down his dinner jacket before reaching in to hand out Jane. He put Jane¡®s hand on his arm and started up the carpet. The journey from car to event and event to car was the only time, Jane thought, that propriety enforced that Jane, as wife, took precedence over Angelique, and even as insistent as he was that propriety bend to allow Angelique¡®s attendance at these events, Baron did not push the tolerances any further Even as they approached the door, Jane saw their arrival noticed by those handing in their cards to the doorman ahead of them, and their smirks and sniggers. She felt Baron stiffen at her side. Her humiliation reflected on him, she thought woefully, as always. At least this time, the fault did not lie with her, but with him, so he could not be annoyed and angry with her over something that he caused in taking the photo in the first ce, and then leaving his phone somewhere where someone, probably Angelique from his anger at the blonde alpha she¨C wolf, could steal it. They stepped into the entry hall where their hosts waited to greet them. ¡°Baron,¡± Charles Wolston sped Baron¡®s forearm. ¡°Jane,¡± there was a lecherousness in his eyes. ¡°It is lovely to see you.¡± ¡°Baron¡± Lily Wolston kissed the air near each of Baron¡®s cheeks. ¡°Jane,¡± her tone was frosty. ¡°Ah, Angelique,¡± her tone warmed. ¡°My dear, you look lovely.¡± Jane sighed as Baron continued into the hallway. ¡°The worst is over,¡± he said under his breath. Oh, no, she thought, the worst was yet toe. He might be oblivious to the ripple ofughter and whispers that rolled out in waves around them, but she was not, each snigger felt like a blow, every gaze like a pinch, every mocking hand to mouth murmur under the breath a p. Baron kept her at his side through endless greetings, passing her a ss of champagne, but otherwise ignoring her as if she were simply an essory to his outfit for the evening, not trying to include her into the conversations that followed, but determinedly keeping her under the palm of his hand. She stood at his side, his hand on her waist as heughed light¨Cheartedly, and saw her father and sister arrive. She watched them weave their way purposefully through the crowds. Angelique¡®s brightughter drew her eyes from her father and sister, and she spotted the alpha she¨C wolf through the throng of people in formal wear, in the center of a huddle of men in suits, drinking champagne and glittering under the attention. ¡°Baron,¡± Matthew Corbyn greeted his son-in¨C law warmly. ¡°Matthew,¡± Baron was genuinely pleased to see him and shook hands. ¡°Alice,¡± he leaned forward to kiss Alice¡®s cheeks, no sign on his face of the regret Jane knew he must feel, for her sister was stunning in the ckce dress that Jane herself had contemted buying. ¡°An eventful week,¡± Matthew flicked his eyes to Jane and rolled them upwards in irritation. ¡°Unfortunate.¡± This belongs ? N?velDra/ma.Org. ¡°My fault,¡± Baron replied. ¡°I was negligent in leaving my phone where it could be essed by someone with motivation to embarrass Jane.¡± ¡°It would only happen to Jane,¡± Alice sighed wearily. ¡°It is as if she is a ma for trouble. Always has been.¡± ¡°Th rather unfair,¡± Baron frowned. ¡°It was not Jane¡®s fault at all. So, Matthew, did you get the schematics¡­?¡± He turned the conversation back to business, and unconsciously released Jane as he did so. The movement of the people around them jostled Jane slowly to the wall, where she belonged anyway, she thought, almost relieved to find herself there, shielded by a potted palm, in a niche created by the grand piano. She sat on a chair pushed up against the wall and watched the beautiful upper¨Css werewolves mingle and drink. A group of women ced themselves before her. She saw them slide her looks, so knew that they were there deliberately. ¡°Did you see it?¡± One asked, her voice pitched to carry. ¡°Who did is the question,¡± another replied. ¡°I heard it wasn¡®t even Baron who took the photo,¡± the third said. ¡°That he hired someone to f¨Ck her through her heat because he finds her so unattractive, and that the photo was sent to his phone as evidence that the job had been done.¡± ¡°Well, who could me Baron? If you had a choice between Angelique or in Jane?¡± They laughed and, goal achieved, wounds delivered, they moved on. Chapter 18 Chapter 18 The Snuff Box that Isn¡¯t Jane sought escape in the bathroom, but there was a queue already forming, and she saw Angelique amongst them,ughing with the other she¨C wolves. When she saw Jane, Angelique muttered something, and all the heads between her and Baron¡®s blonde mistress turned to look at her with varying degrees of hostility. As Jane retreated, she heard theirughter follow her. ¡°Jane,¡± Alice caught her by the elbow and pushed her into a side room. The moment the door closed behind them, Alice pped her, knocking Jane to the ground. Alice put her foot on Jane¡®s hand, and Jane cried out in pain. ¡°Alice, please,¡± Jane pleaded tugging at her sister¡®s foot. ¡°It was not my fault.¡± ¡°You are a disgrace,¡± Alice said through her teeth. ¡°An embarrassment to our family and your husband. No more calling our father pleading toe home, Jane. Your only use to us is through this marriage to Baron Western. Do you understand?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Jane sobbed out. ¡°Please Alice.¡± Alice stepped off of Jane¡¯s hand and reached down, picking her up. ¡°Now, you said to our father that Angelique says the connection will end. What did she mean by that?¡± This belongs ? N?velDra/ma.Org. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Jane tried to move her fingers, her hand throbbing. ¡°I don¡®t know.¡± ¡°Find out,¡± Alice hissed and sighed heavily, releasing Jane, and smoothing her dress down. ¡°And for f¨C ck sake Jane, get yourself together, you are an utter mess,¡± she said as she closed the door behind her. Jane tidied herself up, using herpact to see if Alice had left a mark on her face, but with her sister¡®s usual skill, she had hit with maximum pain and minimal damage, keeping her hand open to disperse the blow. Jane¡®s fingers were uncoordinated, but she was certain there were no broken bones. She re¨Cjoined the queue to the bathroom, and, without Angelique in the queue, there were whispers and looks, but no open hostility. She made it to the head of the queue and locked the door behind her with relief, using the toilet, washing her hands, and fixing her make- up, the damages of her tears and Alice¡¯s attack disappearing behind powder and lipstick. As she left the bathroom and made her way back into the main room, a drunk Charles Wolston pinned her against the wall. ¡°I have always wanted to try an omega,¡± he breathed alcohol over her. ¡°I am told they submit so sweetly.¡± ¡°Charles,¡± Baron¡®s voice was hard. ¡°That is my wife you have your hands on.¡± ¡°Oh,e now Baron, everyone knows you are f¨Cking Angelique and only married Jane to get in with the Corbyn pack,¡± Charles was unembarrassed and jovial. ¡°I¡®ll pay you ten thousand for her next heat. I¡®ve always had a hankering to f- k an omega through one.¡± ¡°Charles,¡± Baron¡®s voice was icy. ¡°Release my wife before wee to blows.¡± ¡°Alright, then, Baron,¡± Charles Wolston was disgruntled. ¡°No need to get your hackles up.¡± ¡°We¡®re leaving,¡± Baron sneered. ¡°Good night, Charles.¡± He propelled Jane before him, the guests partin g before them with shocked looks as they took in his thunderous expression. ¡°What did she do?¡± Someone asked. ¡°I don¡®t know, but she¡®s going to get a beating.¡± Out the front, whilst they waited for their limousine to pull around, Jane struggled to regain her breath and fought back tears. Baron¡®s grip on her arm was painful and he bristled with anger like a storm about to break. Charles Wolston had put it aptly; if Baron had been in wolf¨C form, his hackles would be raised. ¡°Baron,¡± she pleaded. ¡°Yes, Jane?¡± His eyes searched the driveway for the limousine. ¡°You are hurting me.¡± He looked down at her in surprise and released her immediately. ¡°I am sorry,¡± he murmured, smoothing the sleeve of her dress erasing his fingerprints from the velvet as if he thought to erase the bruises that he had left below the fabric. ¡°I am sorry, Jane.¡± Not angry at her, she thought with relief. The limousine arrived and he opened the door, beating the chauffeur to it, and handed Jane in. As he closed the door behind him, he sank back onto the seat with a sigh, his long legs sprawled before him, and pulled something out of his pocket that looked like a snuff box. He opened it, and Jane saw within an impression of a key. He closed it again carefully, and the tension released from him. ¡°I am sorry,¡± she whispered. ¡°About what?¡± He looked at her in confusion and then his expression cleared. ¡°Oh, f¨Cking Wolston,¡± he grimaced and pushed himself up tugging his dinner jacket back into order. ¡°He is a known lech, Jane, when he gets a few drinks in him. If it wasn¡®t you, it would have been some other poor unfortunate girl trapped against a wall and under his hands. ¡°He¡®s otherwise a bore, but a benign o box that wasn¡®t away into his breast pocket. ¡°He¡®ll ring me first thing in the morning, when he has slept off the drink and recalls his wrongs, and he will be profusely apologetic for feeling up my wife. I will use the want. ¡°I owe you an apology,¡± he put his arm around her shoulder and drew her against his side, pressing his face into her hair and breathing in her scent. ¡°I used you to get Angelique out of a ¡°What situation?¡± She wondered, and then realised that she shouldn¡®t have asked. ¡°I am sorry, it¡®s none of my business.¡± ¡°No, it is,¡± he replied. ¡°And the question is justified, but it is safer for you, and for us, if, at the moment, you don¡®t know the details. I will tell you everything when there is no danger in doing so. Let¡®s just say that Angelique had a key that she shouldn¡®t have had and needed the opportunity to return it where it should have been, and me stomping out of the party like that afforded her the distraction she needed.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± she didn¡®t know wheth he had convinced everyone in the party that she was in trouble. Her reputation didn¡®t matter to him at all, she thought angry tears burning hot trails down her cheeks so that she turned her face to the window to hide them from him. ¡°I am sorry that I frightened you,¡± he said gently, passing her a silk handkerchief. She nodded and dabbed at her cheeks futilely with the silk. ¡°I can¡®t me Charles anyway,¡± he stroked his hand down her arm. ¡°You are a walking temptation in this dress. I think I will need to get it off of you as soon as we get home.¡± Chapter 19 Chapter 19 Promises and Threats By the time the car pulled up outside the house, Jane had managed to stop crying. Baron¡®s phone started to ring as he handed her out. ¡°I have to take this, but it won¡®t take long,¡± he told her, walking across the entry hall to his office. ¡°Angie,¡± he answered as he closed the office door behind him. Jane took the staircase up to her room and removed the beautiful dress, hanging it carefully until she could take it to a dry cleaner, and stepped into the shower to remove her makeup. She brushed her teeth and left the bathroom in her robe, to find Baron already in the bed. He looked, she thought, perfect amongst her pillows, his tanned skin dark ag ainst the pale sheets, his hair dishevelled, and his hands folded behind his head causing his biceps to bunch with muscle. He turned his head and rolled to the side as she removed the robe and slid into the sheets beside him. ¡°I am creatingyers of bruising on this arm,¡± he murmured, leaning over her to touch the arm which wore yellowing bruises from when she had gone on heat and red marks from the party. ¡°We seem to be getting into some patterns of behaviour, Jane, that I don¡®t think are quite healthy for eit her of us. What do you think?¡± What did she think? She stared up at him in bewilderment. ¡°Like a deer in the headlights,¡± he stroked his fingers down her cheek. ¡°I can almost see your panic in your eyes when I ask you a question. Am | so frightening to you?¡± He did not wait for an answer but leaned over and kissed the point of her shoulder, before trailing his mouth up the curve of her neck to below her ear, turning her onto her side so that her back was against his chest as he did His breath warmed her skin as he tasted the lobe of her ear with his ton gue, his hand cupping her breast, teasing the nipple until it hardened, and then rubbing the palm of his hand over the point so that she thought that every nerve of her body existed there. She could feel that he was hard, his c¨Cck throbbing against her back. ¡°The way you look at me,¡± he whispered. ¡°As if you don¡®t know what I will do to you, but you know that you are powerless to resist, drives me insane, makes me want to do all sorts of depraved things to your beautiful body, Jane¡­¡± His hand stoked down her stomach and he wedged a knee between her thighs to open her for him, his c¨Cck positioned perfectly to enter her although he did not. She moaned, arching back into him, feeling the prickle of his stubble against her cheek, the warmth of his skin. ¡°Yes,¡± he breathed. ¡°Moan for me. I like to hear how much you want me to f¨Ck you. You are so¡­ innocent, socking in pretension, when you cry out, I know it¡®s for me, because of me.¡± His finger s prated her slowly and he pushed his knee forward, lifting her leg higher, removing any defense, any obstacle to his possession of her body. He dragged his tongue up her neck as she sobbed in whimpers of pleasure. ¡°So sweet,¡± he growled. ¡°Something so sweet is not designed to survive in this world. You need me, you need my protection. Mine, Jane, every inch of you.¡± He removed his fingers and guided his c¨Cck into her. She cried out his name as he pushed into flesh swollen with need, seeping in readiness. He groaned. ¡°Ah, yes,¡± he held a hand on her lower stomach, his fingers applying pressure to her clitoris as he began to thrust. ¡°Call for me, Jane.¡± He pushed her forward onto her stomach, so that every thrust of his hips into her ground her against his fingers, and she wed the sheets, barely coherent beneath him, feeling much as she had during her heat, as if there was no satisfying her need for him. She came, writhing against him, and felt him follow, heard his cry of sharp pleasure near her ear. He worked his arm out from under her and threaded his fingers into hers where they had rxed their hold on the sheets near her head, andy, hot and heavy over her, keeping none of his weight off of her, and the feel of him against her back was perfect. Utterly, devastatingly perfect. Through the open curtains, the approach of headlights washed through the room. He groaned and lifted leaned against the window frame, watching below as the car paused, and then continued. Angelique returning home, Jane thought, and remained lying as he left her as he finished dressing and left In the darkness, Jane rolled onto her back. Jane, she told herself, don¡®t do it. B door. She creaked the door open. She could hear Angelique and Baron¡®s voices on thending. She crept along the wall until she could peer around corner. ¡°Was it a good impression?¡± Angelique asked. ¡°Let me see. Ah, yes,¡± her grin was brilliant. ¡°Very good.¡± ¡°It was too close tonight, Angie,¡± Baron replied. ¡°You are getting careless, drinking too much before.¡± ¡°Oh, pooh,¡± she scoffed. ¡°I got the key back into his pocket, didn¡®t I?¡± ¡°Only because I distracted him.¡± ¡°We are a good team,¡± she leaned against his chest, her fingers toying with the buttons of his shirt. ¡°All the drama has me excited,¡± she purred up at him. ¡°Care to help me burn off some excess energy?¡± ¡°Not tonight, Angie,¡± he stepped back from her. This belongs ? N?velDra/ma.Org. are spending more nights out of my bed than in it, and don¡®t lie to me and tell me that you are sleeping in your own bed. I have checked, and you are not there.¡± ¡°She is my wife,¡± his voice darkened. ¡°In name only, was what we agreed,¡± she snarled back. ¡°Until we finish this, your family is restored to what they once were, and the Corbyn connection is no longer needed. Or did you forget your promises to me, Baron? You don¡®t want to forget those promises,¡± her voice became dangerous. ¡°Or, perhaps, that would be very stupid, wouldn¡®t it?¡± He caught her chin in one hand and her arm in the other and tugged her up against him roughly, before leaning down and taking her mouth in a passionate kiss. She melted, her arms weaving up aroun satin dress and let the fabric puddle on the ground, lifting Angelique, gorgeous and perfect in just her underwear with her tumble of golden hair falling back, against him. Jane pressed her hand against her mouth to hold back her sob as Baron carried Angelique into the bedroom. Chapter 20 Chapter 20 Bruises and Excuses Jane slept restlessly and woke feeling groggy and dry eyed. She had a quick shower and dressed in her running gear, grimacing in the mirror when she saw that Alice had caused a bruise after all, just the faintest one where she had been wearing a ring. Jane would need to apply foundation, she decided, after her run. It was no use doing it before. She snuck through the house like a thief, although the only noise came from the kitchen where the staff prepared Baron and Angelique¡®s breakfast and hoped that she could return from her run before Baron and Angelique left the breakfast room. Once she was free of the house, she ran across thewn at full speed, wanting to ce as much distance between herself and the upants of the house as she could. She ran past the guarded gates, and down the street with tears streaming down her face. She ran to the town, d that it was so early in the morning that traffic was light, and there were few pedestrians on the streets. As she approached the caf¨¦ where she had, oh so briefly, had a job, she saw the manager, Patrick, putting out the A¨CFrame sign. She was tempted to turn and run away, but he saw her, and she thought that it would be rude. She slowed to a walk, hoping that he would mistake her tears for sweat. ¡°Hello,¡± he said as she reached him. ¡°Hello,¡± she was panting heavily. ¡°I am so sorry... about the other day.¡± He was silent for a long moment a frown gathering between his brows. His eyes went to her arm, bare in her running top, to the bruises that Baron had left there, and then to her cheek. ¡°I know who you are,¡± he said quietly. ¡°Or more precisely, who you are married to. ¡°It urred to me, in the interim, that there is really only one reason a woman with such a wealthy husband would consider a job in a caf¨¦ for minimal wage plus tips,¡± his eyes went back to her arm. ¡°The same reason that woman might not be able to make it to every shift.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± she flushed, shame rising. ¡°Baron doesn¡®t hit me¡­¡± She said, her hand covering the bruises on her arm. ¡°He just forgets how tightly he grabs me, ¡°Some one has hit you,¡± his eyes went back to her cheek. ¡°I have no right to pry into your do mestic situation, but no one deserves to wear bruises ced by others. ¡°I can¡®t afford to keep an employee even for minimal wage who cannot be reliable, for whatever reason. But,¡± he hesitated. ¡°If someone wanted to earn some cash in hand when they could get away for a few hours, there are odd jobs in the kitchen that always need to be done. Kitchen hours run differently t o opening hours, as well, as they need to prepare food and clean up after closing. It might be better for that sort of person, anyway, to be tucked away in a kitchen, rather than where she might be seen.¡± She felt her mouth pull down, and pped a hand over it, fighting back tears. He let her have a moment topose herself. ¡°Thank you,¡± she said when she could. ¡°I don¡®t think I can ever repay that kindness.¡± ¡°I believe in karma,¡± he replied. ¡°A good deed done to another wille back to me when I truly need it. If you go to the back door and knock, they will be expecting you, Jane.¡± She ran back to the house with new hope. She eased open the front door and ran her eyes around the hall, finding it empty. She had one foot on the stair, her hand on the rail, when Baron said her name. She jumped like kicked cat, throwing a fleeting nce over her shoulder. He had come from his office and was fixing his tie as he crossed the marble tiles. She kept her face averted from him as she stepped back down. ¡°Yes Baron?¡± ¡°You don¡®t need to creep in and out of the house,¡± he said to her. She looked up at him in surprise and then away. ¡°Yes,¡± he sounded amused. ¡°I see you. You don¡®t have to be frightened here, Jane. This is your home..¡± He caught her chin suddenly, his expression changing. ¡°Who hit you?¡± ¡°It¡®s nothing,¡± she tried to pull away. ¡°I am ready,¡± Angelique announced from the top of the stairs. ¡°Did you hit Jane?¡± He was furious, releasing Jane in order to round on Angelique as she made her way down the other curve of staircase. ¡°As per our agreement,¡± Angelique sneered. ¡°I have notid a finger on your pet.¡± His eyes narrowed as he considered her, but she met his eyes without flinching. ¡°I am telling the truth,¡± she rolled her eyes. ¡°But whatever. We are going to bete.¡± Jane took advantage of his distraction to hurry up the stairs. ¡°Jane,¡± he said, making to follow. ¡°Late,¡± Angelique reminded him. He sighed heavily and stepped back off the staircase. Jane, her back pressed against the wall around the corner, just out of sight, released her own sigh when he led Angelique out onto the porch. As she stepped out the shower, she saw there was a message on her phone from Baron. She opened ¡°Who hit you?¡± His message demanded. She groaned. ¡°It is nothing,¡± she replied. ¡°It is not nothing, Jane. Who hit you?¡± She dressed, hoping that he would get distracted and forget, but the phone vibrated. ¡°Jane. Answer me.¡± She closed her eyes. It did not vibrate had not known she was holding. They must have arrived, she thought, where¨C ever it was that they were going. Hopefully by the time they were done, the small bruise on her cheek would be forgotten. She used makeup to hide it, hoping to avoid a repeat of the conversation. As if reading her mind, the phone vibrated again, B ¡°We will be going for a run tonight with the pack. You and I will discuss this further before we go.¡± ¡°Shit,¡± she w more frightening, the thought of telling her husband that her sister had hit her because she had pleaded with her father to let her leave him and return home, or a run with the pack that now included Baron and Angelique. As she tried to think of an excuse not to attend, the phone vibrated again, almost shaking itself into the sink. Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org. ¡°No excuses.¡± Chapter 21 Chapter 21 The Pack Run Baron and Angelique werete returning, and there was barely time between their arrival and leaving for them to change into sweats before the limousine was out front waiting to take them to the Corbyn packnd. Angelique was almost fric with energy, her eyes shing with her wolf. ¡°A run is exactly what I need tonight,¡± she wrapped her fingers into the sweat¨Cshirt that Baron wore, and rubbed her cheek against him, as if seeking to scent mark him before the run. ¡°A run and a hard, fast, dirty f- k,¡± she purred. Jane pressed her side against the door and wondered if there would ever be a point where she would wish often enough and fervently enough for invisibility that the universe would grant it to her. ¡°Angelique,¡± Baron jerked his head away from her. ¡°Enough.¡± Angelique threw herself back against the seat, crossing her arms over her chest, petnt. ¡°After today, Baron,¡± she said through her teeth. ¡°I would think you would be a little more appreciative.¡± ¡°I am appreciative,¡± he said. ¡°But you are pushing boundaries that I am unwilling to cross.¡± ¡°I am the wounded party here,¡± she hissed. ¡°I am the one who¡­¡± ¡°Enough¡± his voice was curt. ¡°Enough. Let¡®s just enjoy the run.¡± The interior of the limousine settled into silence and Jane watched their reflections in the tinted window. Angelique was brightest, her shining golden hair and pink velour tracksuit showing clearly in the ss. The lights picked across the ins of Baron¡®s f ace dramatically, highlighting the perfection of his bone structure, his high cheek bones hollowing his cheeks, and his strong jaw just beginning to sh ow stubble. The first time she had seen Baron had been at a run just two months before. As an omega and younger daughter, she had not been included in the social functions of the pack, and the elite of the city, and so she had never encountered him, her only kno wledge of him from snippets of conversation overheard between her father and sister, and the gossip that circted through the packs during the runs. Baron¡®s grandmother had taken her young family to her parent¡®s pack after the loss of her mate, and Baron¡®s father and Baron had been raised on the other side of the country as a result. When Baron had returned, he had already been a sessful businessman with considerable wealth behind him, and in the two years since he had been back, he had continued to build that wealth and through it obtain a social position in the city¡®s elite and the various packs. That first run, she had seen him the moment he had stepped out of his car, and every instinct within her had lit up: mate. He had met her eyes several times during the mingling before the run, and she had thought that he had felt it too, that immediate connection, that fated pairing between mates. After the run, he had somehow been at her side as they had waited for the cars to return, and he had asked her name, quietly, with the conversations of those around them hiding that they spoke together at all. The next day, her father had told her that she would be marrying Baron at the next full moon, as was traditional, and she had been thrilled, believing that she had somehow managed to find her true mate, and would leave her unhappy family home for a happy marriage. She had not seen him again until the wedding ¨C he had not called, made no effort to meet her, and small doubts had begun to edge in. However, it wasn¡®t until the moment that she had been waiting for her cue to enter the ceremony and she had heard Alice remark to one of the other bridesmaids that it could have been her wedding as Baron had asked for her first, and that Jane had been offered instead, like a constion prize, that the doubts had begun to really take hold. The weight of thatment had sat heavily on Jane¡®s heart, but she had told herself that she had felt that connection a nd that Baron had shared it too, and that had kept her going throughout the day, until he had come drunk to her bed, and, in the morning, Angelique had been at the breakfast table. Now, she thought watching him in the reflection, here they were at their first run as husband and wife, with his mistress openly included and epted, and she knew that Alice had been rig ht. Jane had been a fool to think that someone like Baron would see and want someone like Jane, that fate would bring two such opposites together. Baron had wanted into the Corbyn pack, and Jane had simply been the means by which to do so. They were admitted through the gates and the limousine joined the slow crawl of cars up to the meeting ground before the chauffeurs circled away again. Jane wondered what the human chauffeurs thought of this large gathering of people in the center of a private nature reserve at night. Baron kept Jane¡¯s hand on his arm, as if it were a formal gathering rather than just a run, preventing her from slipping to edges as she normally would. ¡°I have not forgotten that you owe me an exnation, Jane,¡± he said under his breath as he made his way to where her family were gathered. Jane flicked her eyes up to him and away, pain and anger wing its way through her chest. ¡°Why does it even matter?¡± ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± He frowned. ¡°Baron,¡± Matthew Corbyn greeted him. ¡°We will talk soon,¡± Baron muttered under his breath to Jane before smiling widely and stepping towards Matthew, releasing Jane in order to shake hands. Jane took the opportunity to let the pack swallow her, easing her way back to the edges where she could slip into the shadows of the trees. She slipped off her shoes and tucked them into the roots of the tree. There had been many pack runs during her life when she had shifted back after to find that her clothing and shoes had gone missing, and so she had learned to undress in secret, hiding her clothing. ¡°Have you got the picture?¡± A beta only a year or two her senior asked his friend as they stopped on the opposite side of her tree. ¡°I didn¡®t get it during the first round. I¡®m told it¡®s really something.¡± ¡°Here,¡± his friend pulled his phone out of his shoe. They were both barefoot, beginning to strip ready for the shift to wolf, and phones and wallets were being stuffed into the toes of shoes for safe keeping. He flicked through, and Jane saw herself on the screen, bare, the sh of the camera picking up every detail. ¡°Oh god,¡± the first guy moaned. ¡°Send it to me. F-K, that¡®s f¨Cking hot.¡± ¡°Isn¡®t it just. You know what they say about omegas though¡± the second replied. ¡°Do you think it¡®s true?¡± ¡°From that photo, yeah, don¡®t you? Western would never say though, lucky bastard,¡± the second turned off his phone and returned it to his shoe. ¡°And there¡®s not exactly a lot of them around, so we¡®re not likely to ever know.¡± ¡°They say she almost caused a mob when she went on heat. Howe we didn¡®t know about omegas until she¡®s already f¨Cking married to Western? I always thought they were, you know, like cubs, mentally deficit or something.¡± ¡°I didn¡®t even know she was an omega, I just thought she was being ostracized for some reason,¡± the other shrugged as he stripped to his skin. The rest of their conversation was carried on in wolf- form as they shifted, sitting next to the neat piles of their clothing, waiting for the signal that the pack was moving into the forest. Jane pressed her back up against the tree, her heart racing in her chest. The signal was given, and there were barks and howls, the ground shaking under the mass of foot falls as the pack raced across the clearing and into the trees on the opposite side to Jane¡¯s position. She stripped off her clothing, pushing them into a knot in the tree, and shifted into her wolf, stretching and shaking out her silvery¨Cbrown coat. The air was heavy with the scent of other wolves, too thick for her to be able to tell if any came to close, and so, as she always did, she picked her way carefully through the forest, following the shadows, until she was sure that she had put enough distance between her and them in order to run. She flew through the undergrowth, lost in the wildness of her own nature, the sound of her own footfalls, the pull of her breath, the feel of the air passing through her coat, the scents of the forest, and the secrets of the night. It was this feeling that she tried to capture in her human form when she ran, the feeling of oneness with the world around her, the sense of ce and belonging, of beingplete and whole in herself. She slowed as she reached her special ce, going down on her belly to wriggle through the ckberries that guarded it, before shifting back to human form. She carefully picked her way through the rocks until she could wade into the water, the chill of it against her skin stealing her breath as she limated and the bank sucking at her toes. She dove under striking out into the center of the pond, turning over under the water in order to see the perfect, bright circle of the moon pulled into distortion by the ripples. She surfaced, and felt hands catch her, pulling her up against a hard body, skin warm against hers. N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner. ¡°Did you think I wouldn¡®t notice you sneak away?¡± Baron wondered. Chapter 22 Chapter 22 Swimming and Drowning He was spectacrly gorgeous, she thought, in the moonlight, with his hair slicked back from the swim, and water beading over his skin. It was almost unfair how beautiful he was, and the effect that just being near him had on her body, let alone whenbined with the sensual slide of his wet skin against hers. ¡°Admittedly,¡± he said bringing her arms up around his neck so that her bare breasts were pressed tightly to his chest. ¡°When I saw you sneak away, my first thought was that you were sneaking off to a lover¡­¡± He lifted her so that her legs wrapped around his hips, and she could feel his c¨Cck hard against her, and he bowed his head to press his lips against her throat, following the line of her jaw to her ear. ¡°It is the perfect little tryst spot that you have here.¡± he murmured, and her head sagged until her forehead rested against her arm as he adjusted, groaning as he prated her. He pulled her hips tightly to him so that his thrusts were into her rather than withdrawals, and she moaned, his body against hers, the waterpping against their skin and the moon bathing them in silver, a headybination. ¡°Yes,¡± he pressed his cheek against hers, against the bruise that her sister had ced there, and his grip on her tightened as his thrusts increased in force. ¡°Oh, yes, my little omega,¡± he ground out between his teeth. ¡°Always so ready for your alpha even when you don¡®t want him.¡± She tightened her hold around his neck, and arched her back, rocking into his thrusts, wanting more, and he moaned, his eyes closing and his head falling back on his neck as he gave into the sensation of their bodies against each other. Her lip s were against his throat, and, lost in the passion, she ran her tongue over his skin, tasting the water that clung to him, before surrendering to her desire and threading her fingers into his hair, exploring without reserve the taste and texture of his skin beneath her mouth, leaving her kisses behind as bruises. ¡°Oh god,¡± he cried out, and she felt hime, his final thrusts and the pulse of him within her pushing her over, so that she sobbed out his name as she followed. His head sagged forward onto her shoulder, and his arms wrapped around her. They remained that way, clinging to each other in the moonlit pond until he sighed heavily. ¡°We will make a habit of this,¡± he decided. ¡°Every full moon. I would have enjoyed pursuing your beautiful little wolf through the trees if it hadn¡®t been for what I was expecting to find at the end of the chase.¡± ¡°I have never had a lover,¡± she whispered. ¡°No?¡± He seemed surprised. ¡°Never taken a lover amongst the undergrowth on a full moon after running as a wolf, when your blood is racing, and your passion is high?¡± ¡°No,¡± she regretted making the confession and wriggled, wanting to be free of him, humiliated by his surprise, and the memory of losing her virginity to him grieving her heart. ¡°Never,¡± he repeated, releasing her, and turning on the spot to watch her as she made her way back towards the bank. She paused, realising that it was still early, and that if she left the water, she would either have to shift to wolf, or sit, naked on the rocks under his gaze, and she already felt raw and exposed as it was. ¡°Our wedding night¡­ Was your first time?¡± She didn¡¯t answer and couldn¡®t look at him. Belonging ? N?velDram/a.Org. ¡°I am a fool,¡± he said under his breath. ¡°It makes sense why¡­ Jane,¡± his voice was gentle, and she couldn¡®t bear it any longer. She shifted into her wolf form, working her way swiftly through the rocks and ckberries, her wolf¨Cself recognising her human name as he called it out behind her, but paying it no heed. She returned to her tree and shifted back to her human self, pulling on her clothing hastily, and shoving her feet into her shoes. She heard women¡®sughter and leaned against the tree in order to look around it without exposing herself. Alice and Angelique, she thought, thick as thieves despite being fairly recently acquainted. ¡°So why do you stay?¡± Alice asked Angelique. ¡°If it were me, and my mate married another, brought her into our home, and paraded her around on his arm, I would leave him with a few scars to remember me by and find myself another.¡± ¡°She might be his wife in name, but I am his wife and mate in truth,¡± Angelique replied. ¡°So, I tolerate her because it is g ood for him. Without the connection to your family, he would not be in the position he is in now.¡± ¡°Surely you will not tolerate her forever?¡± Alice pointed out. She was, Jane thought, trying to ascertain the future of the connection for herself. ¡°Oh, well, you know,¡± Angelique was used to alpha maniptions, and was aware of the direction of Alice¡¯s questions. ¡°Once there is a child or two, the connection will be established, and he will no longer need to be married to Jane. I will be an excellent step¨Cmum.¡± ¡°You will be wanting to remove her contraceptive imnt then, quickly, I imagine,¡± Alicemented. ¡°She has an imnt?¡± Angelique¡®s interest was piqued. ¡°Oh, yes, she had to get father¡®s permissionst year when she had it done as she was under eighteen. It made sense at the time, of course, because we didn¡®t expect her to be married for her first heat, and first heats, as you know, can be difficult to predict exactly when they will ur. Thest thing we wanted was for the family to be responsible for the runt¡®s litter by a contracted stud. Can you imagine?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that interesting?¡± Angelique said thoughtfully. ¡°Isn¡®t it just?¡± Baron murmured into Jane¡®s ear, causing her to jump. Chapter 23 Chapter 23 Omega As the limousine pulled out onto the main road, Angelique stretched and sighed. ¡°Unfortunately, the Corbyn bitch stuck like glue throughout the run,¡± she said to Baron. ¡°I did not have the opportunity to double back. What a f¨Cking waste of a f¨Cking night.¡± ¡°Not entirely a waste,¡± Baron¡®s exploration of the skin of Jane¡®s arm had located the little imnt of the contraceptive, and he stroked over it gently with the pad of one finger. ¡°I overheard a great deal of your conversation with Alice,¡± he released Jane¡®s arm and turned his eyes to Angelique. The blonde woman paled under his hard¨Cgaze. ¡°What the hell are you thinking?¡± He demanded. ¡°I am sorry, Baron,¡± she said hastily, trying to hide her reaction to his displeasure. ¡°The she¨C wolves ask, of course, why I would stay with you married to another¡­¡± ¡°For the money, Angelique, as we both f¨Cking know,¡± he snarled. ¡°For love, Baron,¡± she replied, sliding her hand up his thigh. ¡°For love and adoration of you.¡± ¡°Angelique,¡± he pushed her hand off. ¡°Inappropriate.¡± ¡°How is it f-king inappropriate?¡± She demanded. ¡°For me to show you affection?¡± ¡°We will talk about itter.¡± In the reflection of the car window, Jane saw him turn back to her, and his eyes met hers in the ss. ¡°I want to know who hit you, Jane.¡± ¡°God,¡± Angelique grumbled, ¡°Who cares, Baron?¡± She demanded. ¡°Who cares? She¡®s the pack outcast. Every pack has one. Her own family loathes her. She is the runt of the litter. The only reason she hasn¡®t been cast outpletely is that runt or not, she is still a Corbyn.¡± ¡°She is an omega, not a runt nor an outcast,¡± Baron snapped irritably. ¡°In this pack, there¡¯s hardly a difference,¡± she pointed out. ¡°This pack is brutal, Baron, you know that. The weak perish, the strong rule, and the hierarchy is strictly maintained. She is weak, small, and only her family name protects her from the rest of the pack. The pack is f-ked up,¡± she sighed. ¡°There is a sort of beauty to how f¨Cked up they all are, it¡®s all a little savage and primitive, but f- ked up is what it is. Makes me a little homesick, to be honest.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± he leaned his head back on the seat. ¡°So, Jane,¡± he slid his eyes her way and raised his eyebrows. ¡°Who hit you. No,¡± he said to Angelique when the alpha she¨Cwolf grumbled. ¡°Jane is mine. A strike to her, is a strike to me. Jane,¡± he looked back at her. Jane¡®s nails dug into the palm of her hands. ¡°Who cares?¡± She asked him bitterly. ¡°I am just the pack outcast, just the runt of the litter. It doesn¡®t matter who hits me, or that a photo of me in heat and exposed is still being shared amongst wolves | don¡®t even know by name, nor that my husband married me for my family name and that¡­¡± her voice broke on the words. The limousine pulled up out front of the house and she opened the door and fought against her seatbelt before managing to pull free. ¡°Nobody cares, is the answer,¡± she said, before closing the car door between them and bolting past the startled Heathridge into the house. She made it to her room, and almost managed to close the door before he caught it, and with one movement, forced his way in behind her before closing it behind him. She stepped back, panting, her heart racing, half frightened by her daring, half defiant because she had only spoken the truth. ¡°An omega,¡± he said softly, and she heard the internal lock click as he turned it without releasing her from his alpha gaze. ¡°Is not a runt, and not an outcast. An omega,¡± he stepped away from the door and she retreated. ¡°Is a she¨C wolf who is, by nature, smaller and submissive. ¡°An omega,¡± he was edging her towards the bedroom, she realised, and wasn¡®t sure, caught beneath his blue gaze, whether she wanted to attempt to flee, or whether she wanted to fling herself onto the bed. ¡°Is the precise counter¨Cpoint to an alpha with a dominant nature, the type of alpha who generally ends up leading a pack. ¡°Because an omega,¡± he had backed her up to the bed and he leaned over her, scenting her from the bone of her shoulder, up the curve of her neck to the crown of her head, and then down. ¡°Instinctually knows precisely how to submit to that type of alpha. Stop thinking about ho w you think you should behave,¡± his voice was barely more than a growl and his eyes shed with the backlight of his wolf. ¡°And do what your instincts tell you to do.¡± She inhaled, the air catching in her throat, and fell to her knees. Her hands stroked up his legs, from knee to groin, travelling the sensitive inside edge, and she pulled the waistband of his tracksuit pants down, so that his c¨Cck sprung free. She dragged her tongue up him, from balls to tip, before taking him into her mouth, and heard him groan, the sound deep and filthy with desire. Her hands gripped the back of hi s thighs, dragging his hips into her, until she gagged on him, and then again. His fingers closed in her hair, his head bowed back as he caught the motion of her hands, thrusting into her throat to the point that her eyes watered, and drool ran down her chin. ¡°Oh f¨Ck,¡± his cry was ragged and abandoned, and h? tore himself from her mouth, pulling her up, and throwing her face down onto the bed, driving himself into her so that they both cried out. His fingers clenched into the bedcovers beside her face as he rutted into her, a wild man, instinct overriding sanity. Her orgasm was sudden and harsh, cramping her around him so that she was unsure as he continued to drive against her cervix, whether she was experiencing pleasure or pain until it broke, and she arced beneath it, her muscles wringing everyst drop of pleasure out around him, and she felt his teeth clench on the flesh between neck and shoulder, holding her still down beneath him as he thrust deep and spilled his seed into her. For a long moment, she panted, her mind awash in white noise, and then she felt the drag of his tongue, and realised that he had broken skin beneath his teeth andpped her blood up, still lost in lust and instinct. B?ron was, she thought with sudden rity, a man caught between man and beast. The wolf in him recognised her as his mate, as she had recognised it in him with absolute rity from the moment of meeting. But the man¡­ The man was alreadymitted to another. He had taken her as his wife and as his mate, because of her family and the connections that came from marrying into it, but also because of that instinct, the same instinct that brought him again and again to her bed despite Angelique¡®s avability. Despite Angelique¡®s ims that she was the true wife and mate, the wolf had chosen, and the man had legally married, rendering Angelique¡®s ims impotent. But the man resisted wh wolf led, and as a result, the three of them were locked into unhappiness together. It was, Jane thought, as Alice said, as if Jane was a ma for trouble. Only she would find her mate in a man alreadymitted. A man who saw her as a means to an end, rather than the end goal. She dragged in a breath as a sob, her fingers clenching in the bed clothes. ¡°Jane,¡± he whispered, pressing his lips against the back of her shoulder. ¡°Did I hurt you?¡± No, and yes, she thought, wounds that she might never stop bleeding from. ¡°No,¡± she told him because it was easier. But it was a lie. N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner. Chapter 24 Chapter 24 The First Kiss She examined the bite mark he had left on her neck in the mirror, there was a bruise where his teeth had closed on her, but the skin had only broken at two points where the sharp canines had pierced through. She touched it thoughtfully. She had seen scars like this on other werewolves, both male and female, but most often on the females. Mated pairs often marked each other with their bite, deliberately sinking all the teeth in to cause a scar as unique as a fingerprint. Baron had reacted on instinct, during the passion of their f¨Cking, she acknowledged. She was his wife legally, and he was a possessive man, even if it was just a marriage of convenience. She suspected, however, from his behaviour, from the bite that was only just restrained from being a full iming mark, that Baron did not intend to divorce her, that he liked having an omega Corbyn avable to f¨C k at his pleasure. Which was going to anger Angelique and make Jane the subject of her vitriolic hatred. She sighed heavily and wore a full t-shirt to hide the mark rather than a singlet¨Cstyle running top. She ran to the caf¨¦, and paused at the solid door, framed by foul stinking garbage bins, and hesitated before knocking. It seemed forever before the door swung open. A whip thin man in a frilled apron and pink singlet, his blond hair pink tipped, looked down at her and raised his eyebrows. ¡°Well, well,¡± hemented. ¡°Not what I expected, but it is interesting,¡± he caught her by the elbow and before she had the chance to reconsider, hauled her into the warmth of the kitchen. ¡°This is Jane,¡± he announced whilst wrapping an apron around Jane¡®s waist with astonishing deft efficiency. ¡°Patrick¡®stest stray. Oh, don¡®t be insulted, darling,¡± he whirled Jane so that she found herself before a sink full of soapy water and a pile of dishes. ¡°We¡®re all his strays.¡± That was her introduction to the kitchen and its crew, she found out. There were seven staff, all up, four, like herself, came and went, and did the low¨Cskill work of washing and wiping surfaces, but the other three, which included the pink haired James, were skilled, bakers and chefs, who prepped and cooked in preparation for the day ahead, with the transient help providing gruntbor of washing and peeling. The conversation was sociable, light, and harmless. At the end of four hours, she was set free with another wad of notes, and air kisses. She ran back to the house, bewildered but light¨C hearted and added the new collection of notes to the growing pile inside a hollowed¨Cout book before returning to the course work on herptop. In an idle moment, she flicked through real¨Cestate and quickly decided that buying was out of the question. The best she could hope for, she realised, was a room sharing a house with others. The bond for an apartment, otherwise, was intimidating. She had nothing of value to sell¡­ Or did she? She stood in the door of her closet. It would be dishonest, she told herself, to use Baron¡®s credit card to resupply her wardrobe, when her intention was just to sell her worn clothing online¡­ But when she listed the velvet dress and matching underwear and shoes, the offers made her eyes water. It would take days to earn the same amount at the caf¨¦. She took the dresses out of closet one by one and photographed them on her, with her face obscured, and saw th e bids begin, with a rush of excitement. By early afternoon, she took a bag of clothing down to the local post office and spent an hour parcelling it out and sending it out, watching her ount increase. Why not? She asked herself. Baron had married her despite having a mate who was all but his wife, bec ause he wanted the entry to the Corbyn pack. It was only fair, she thought, that she use his credit card to buy clothing, that she would wear, then sell, in order to fund her future, free of him and the pack It wasn¡¯t like her modest spending would even register, she told herself as she drove to the nearest designer store, when Angelique went out and spent what she did¡­ In the store, she began to drape random selections over her arm. ¡°Madam,¡± the clerk hovered attentively. ¡°Can I start a change room for you?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Jane told her. ¡°A big one, if you can. I need¡­ Oh, everything.¡± She walked out in the ckce dress with its sheer panels, enjoying the swish of the skirts around her ankles and waited whilst the clerks piled the back seat and rear of her 4WD with her purchases. ¡°Thank you,¡± she told them before starting the car. She parked out front of the house and carried in only a handful of bags. As Heathridge opened the front door for her, she paused. ¡°There¡®s a lot more in the car,¡± she told him. ¡°If you don¡®t mind.¡± ¡°Madam,¡± his smile widened. ¡°I am d to see that you have had a pleasant day.¡± ¡°Thank you, Heathridge,¡± she didn¡¯t tell him that all her purchases had been made with the intention to sell them as soon as she had worn them. Or befor e, if the opportunity arose. She leaned against the handrail of the banister as Heathridge summoned the servants to empty the car, the procession of bags upying the left hand of the hall and the staircase. She saw the limousine pull up and Baron and Angelique entered the house, watching the procession of servants with puzzlement. Baron¡®s eyes lifted to where she leaned against the handrail, and she met his eyes, before turning and walking into the gold and cream bedroom. She was hanging the clothing away into her wardrobe, there being plenty of hangers and space created by the sale of her other clothing, when Baron came up behind, stoking his hand down the bare skin of her arm, and pressing his lips against her neck. ¡°I am d to see that you went out today, Jane,¡± he murmured into her ear, his hands cupping her breasts through the dress. ¡°And I like this dress on you, very much.¡± She turned within his arms and looked up at him, and for a moment he inclined towards her as if to kiss her, but she opened the top button of his fly and sat onto the edge of the bed, pulling his hips Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org. toward her, and taking him into her mouth. He groaned, his hands falling onto her shoulders, the palms hot against her skin. She pressed her tongue up against him as he had taught her to do and was rewarded by his sobbed in breath ¡°F¨Ck Jane,¡± he looked down at her and cupped her chin, his thumb resting on her bottom lip before deliberately smearing her lipstick across her cheek. ¡°The t whispered, and then went to his knees, pushing her back onto the bed, amongst the bags of her shopping, and used his teeth to draw her panties down, before standing and lifting her hips from the bed, arcing her like a bow, and thrust into her. Several of the bags of shopping fell off the bed under the force of his thrusts. He leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, lifting her so that he could kneel on the bed with her straddling him, and used the lift from his knees to increase the force of his thrusts, making them both moan breathlessly. She threaded her fingers into his hair stroking it back, and he groaned, his eyes closing beneath the caress. His lips grazed her chin and jaw and along her cheek, but he never kissed her, his mouth hovering there as if in invitation his eyes meeting hers, his breath on her skin. She closed the distance, her lips brushing across his hesitantly, and then with more confidence when he pulled her tighter, his eyes smouldering on hers, and opened his mouth so that she could slide her tongue in to meet his. It was her first kiss, she thought, her first real kiss. He had brushed his lips across hers during the weddin fingers slid through his hair, and she moaned as he deepened the kiss, breath mingling, passion hot and heavy between them. The taste of him was divine. She had not known that a person could taste as good as he did, like fresh rain caught on the tongue. His thrusts changed pace, bing less forceful, so that they rocked together gently, tangled, and lost in each other, as they explored each other¡¯s mouths, the contours of lips, the texture of tongue. Their lips were against each other when she came, the wave of pleasure breaking over her, causing her to gasp. His eyes opened and their gazed locked, their foreheads against each other and breath on each other¡®s lips as he followed, his pupils dting, and his hands holding her hips tightly to him as he pushed deep. She stroked her hand down his cheek, feeling the rasp of his stubble. Chapter 25 Chapter 25 Red Wine and Rings As they re¨Centered the night club, his eyes scanned for Angelique, locating her with a group of other she¨Cwolves, all beautiful and glittering both in their confidence and their jewels and beautiful dresses. Her entire life, Jane thought, she had never been permitted into their cliques, despite being born one of the pack, and yet Angelique had been epted within such a short period of time, and, in fact, had taken up a lead role amongst them. The pain of exclusion was sharp and lonely. ¡°Ah, Baron,¡± Toby Longford greeted him. ¡°I had wondered where you had disappeared off to.¡± ¡°Ah, well, you know,¡± Baronughed, the implication being that he had taken Jane up to his office for a quick f¨Ck, she realised, and cringed, seeing the sneer on Barbara Longford¡¯s face. ¡°What can I do for you, Toby?¡± Jane hovered, not included in the conversation, held in ce by Baron¡¯s hand on her waist. A sudden rush of wet down her front caused her to gasp, and she looked down at the spreading dark stain that dripped down her beautiful dress ¨C one she could not now sell, she added to herself bitterly. ¡°Oh, dear,¡± Angelique eximed. The she¨Cwolves she had been with moments before burst intoughter, and Jane saw Baron and Angelique exchange the notebook. ¡°Jane, you are eternally underfoot when I have a ss in my hand, it seems. I am so sorry, Barbara, I do hope she didn¡¯t spill any on you.¡± ¡°No, thankfully,¡± Barbara assured her, and then shook her head reprovingly at Jane. ¡°Really Jane, you always were such a graceless creature. Her mother was just the same, of course,¡± she told Baron. ¡°Pretty, but always such a pathetic embarrassment to poor Matthew . I think he was grateful when Rose put herself out of her misery.¡± ¡°That is..¡± a muscle worked in the corner of Baron¡®s jaw. ¡°A despicable thing to even say, let alone in front of one of her children.¡± Barbara looked startled by the reprimand, and then embarrassed. ¡°Of course,¡± she said, flustered. ¡°I forg et that you are new to us, you and Angelique have fit in so well and easily. It is not something that is considered a secret amongst our pack, Baron, I am not being rude in stating the truth of it. Rose Corbyn was a pathetic creature whose only one good act was removing herself. That is simply how it was.¡± ¡°Come, Jane,¡± Baron took her hand. ¡°I think we are done here.¡± Out the corner of her eye, she saw that Angelique was dancing again with Davis Wright, her hands against his chest and his inappropriately low on her back, and both looking at where she stood andughing, along with many others, who openly pointed as the red wine trailed down Jane¡®s leg into her shoe. N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner. Jane pulled back against Baron¡®s hand, and he paused looking down at her with a frown. She stepped out of her shoes and caught them up by the heels, following on bare feet. They wove through the patrons towards the entrance. Whilst they waited for the limousine to pull around, he put his arms around her, pulling her back against his chest. ¡°I am very sorry about what that b¨Ctch said,¡± he said near her ear. She let her hair fall over her face. ¡°Ah, Baron,¡± Matthew Corbyn said as he and Alice entered the club. ¡°Leaving already?¡± ¡°Oh, god.¡± Alice saw Jane¡®s dress and sighed in sneering exasperation. ¡°What is it about you, Jane, and red wine? What an embarrassment.¡± ¡°I think the fault lies in the one holding the wine, more than the one left wearing it,¡± Baron replied, his tone hard. ¡°Jane was the victim of someone else¡®s clumsiness.¡± ¡°It is funny how it is always someone else¡®s fault,¡± Matthew observed dryly his expression disapproving as he looked down at Jane. ¡°The same story since childhood. It was Alice, Ben or Jake¡®s fault for the scrape that she was inevitably always the only one caught red¨C handed doing. Well,¡± he looked back to Baron. ¡°A shame to cut your night early, Baron. Send Jane home in the car and join me for a drink.¡°. ¡°Thank you,¡± Baron said, ¡°but I have a busy day tomorrow. An early night is needed. There¡¯s the car now.¡± ¡°Another time then,¡± Matthew and Alice continued into the club as Baron led Jane out. ¡°I can go home alone,¡± Jane told him. It would be a relief, she thought, to have the car to herself and let the tears that threatened have their way without having to worry about being watched, other than by the chauffeur who simply wouldn¡¯t care. ¡°If you wanted to stay.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± he handed her into the car and slid in behind her. ¡°With your luck, Jane, I would rather not risk it. And I don¡®t want to stay.¡± As the car pulled out from the curb he sighed. ¡°I hate every f¨C king one of them.¡± She looked at him in surprise. ¡°You do?¡± ¡°That surprises you,¡± he put his arm around her and pulled her against his side, leaning his face into her hair and breathing in her scent. ¡°Someone in this pack or one of the packs of this city was responsible for my grandfather¡®s murder, the theft of our treasure, and the destruction of our pack. Everyone else turned a blind eye whilst it happened. Even your grandfather, and he was the only one to offer my grandmother aid, did not speak out for my family. ¡°So, when I find out who was responsible, I will take them all down together,¡± he told her threading his fingers into hers. ¡°Everyst one of them. Except for your father, of course,¡± he amended. ¡°David Corbyn¡®s kindness hasn¡®t been forgotten by the Westerns, and your father has continued the tradit in easing my way into this city and his pack.¡± ¡°What are you looking for?¡± She wondered. ¡°A ring. A special ring. One of a kind,¡± he exined. ¡°The ring that my grandfather was wearing the morning that he died and wasn¡®t wearing when his body was discovered. The ring which had the code for my family¡®s strongroom of treasure. Whoever has that ring, has to be the same person who murdered my grandfather and stole from my family.¡± Chapter 26 Chapter 26 Salted Cupcakes He followed her up to the bedroom and dropped his cuff links into the little bowl, with a small exmation of surprise when they rattled against other pairs he had been leaving behind. He chuckled a little as he toed off his shoes. ¡°I was wondering where I had put those,¡± hemented, and then saw her inspecting her dress and shoes. ¡°Buy another one,¡± he said lightly. ¡°You looked beautiful in it. Call the store tomorrow and tell them to send it to you, if you don¡®t feel like going there.¡± ¡°It might wash out,¡± she said hopefully dropping it into theundry hamper. She inspected the shoes and sighed. There were red wine stains in the lining, but the exterior was okay. She put them a way into the closet. ¡°Let¡®s rinse the red wine off of you,¡± he said as he started the shower. She paused in the doorway of the bathroom to look at him. His tanned skin stood out against the white tiles, highlighting the perfection of his body, every inch of him sculpted muscle without w. He nced over his shoulder and smiled as he reached out to draw her against him. ¡°You are overdressed,¡± he observed and sent her panties to the floor so that she stood as bare as he was. He stroked his fingers through her hair, his eyes searching hers as he lowered his mouth and tasted her bottom lip, before pulling her closer and deepening the kiss with a groan. She stroked her hands up his back feeling the flow of muscle over bone beneath the heated silk of his skin, emboldened by his mouth on hers. He lifted her and she wrapped around him, leaning back against his hold in order to adjust his c¨C ck and take him into her. He groaned as he pulled her tightly against him and stepped into the flow of water. She caught his face between her hands and kissed him as he began to thrust, arching his hips into her, the water raining down over them both. His blue eyes held hers as she leaned back from the kiss, and the expression in them caused her breath to catch and her heart to tighten. She stroked her fingers through his hair and down his cheeks, without breaking the lock of their eyes. ¡°Baron,¡± she whispered. Angelique¡¯s shriek of outrage was followed by the thud of her handbag against the ss of the shower cubicle. ¡°I am out there,¡± she screamed, taking off a shoe and throwing it at the ss. ¡°Working my arse off for you, Baron Western, and here you are, f¨Cking that little slut, gazing into her eyes as if she matters¡­¡± Baron ced Jane down, and calmly took a towel from the rack as he stepped out of the shower cubicle. He wrapped the towel around his waist and then caught the outraged alpha she¨C wolf up, throwing her over his shoulder, and carried her out of the bedroom. Jane turned off the shower, and grabbed a towel, chasing after them, to the sitting room door, and to the corner of the wall from which she could see the master and mistresses¡® suites. Baron kicked the door too behind him, but it did not quite click closed. She could hear Angelique¡®s shrieks, and the crash of something being thrown, and then the tone changed to moans. Jane pressed her back against the wall and wept. Eventually the alpha werewolves ceased f¨C king, and she heard their voices resume, the tone gentle, tender, loving, followed byughter. Jane slid down the wall until she curled into a tight ball of pain, her face pressed into her knees. ¡°Madam,¡± Heathridge murmured the word gently, but he managed to startle her, and she looked up at him her hair a tangle, her face tear stained, and suddenly remembering that she wore only a towel. He offered his hand and lifted her to her feet when she epted it. ¡°I am retiring for the night,¡± he said, keeping his voice quiet. ¡°Was there anything you need before I leave?¡± ¡°No, thank you,¡± she rubbed at her face with her hands. He nodded. ¡°Good night, then, madam,¡± and he went down the stairs, crossing the entry hall and out the front door. C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org She returned to her rooms, closing the door behind her, and then wedged one of the armchairs behind it, before pulling on pyjamas and crawling into bed. She had thought that she wouldn¡®t sleep, but eventually she drifted off, only to wake confused, to realise that Baron was sitting on the chair where his clothes had hung. Her armchair against the door had not prevented him entering, she thought. But then, he had broken a window when she hadst tried to stop him from reaching her, so she wasn¡¯t at all surprised. She feigned sleep, watching him through slitted eyes. He sat, his elbows on his knees, his head bowed and resting on his hands. It was the utter dejection of the posture that had her sighing. ¡°Baron,¡± she whispered, and saw his heade up. She opened the bedding. He stood and slid in, wrapping his arms around her. She held him, stroking her fingers through his hair. As the room greyed with dawn, he slipped away. She followed on tiptoes watching from her wall as he returned to his room, and then she crept back and dressed in her running gear. She ran to the caf¨¦ and knocked on the door releasing the scent of cakes baking. ¡°What wonderful timing you have, I have created the most fabulous mess this morning.¡± There was only the two of them in the kitchen, and he helped her by drying the dishes as she washed them whilst he waited for the cakes to bake, and then brewed coffee whilst they cooled. He made her an espresso and she sipped it whilst she watched him ice the cakes. ¡°I am doing a course,¡± she told him. ¡°Online.¡± ¡°What type of course?¡± He nced up from his piping. ¡°Hospitality. I thought it would look good on a resume.¡± ¡°Oh, all courses look fabulous on resumes,¡± he replied switching colours. ¡°Which is about the only thing courses are ever good for.¡± ¡°Well, there really isn¡®t much else on my resume,¡± she admitted. ¡°My high school diploma is all that I have.¡± ¡°You are so young,¡± he pointed out. ¡°You could hardly be expected to have more.¡± ¡°I need to move far, far away from here,¡± she whispered the words, the first time she had confessed them their utterance terrifying her. ¡°I need to go where no one knows me and I can¡®t be found.¡± He paused icing and looked at her across the tabletop. ¡°What about your family?¡± He asked her. ¡°Can they help?¡± She shook her head. ¡°They are the reason that I need to get away,¡± she confessed. ¡°Patrick might have said something to me about your situation,¡± James slid a cupcake across the table to her. ¡°He thinks Baron hits me, but he doesn¡®t,¡± she peeled the paper away from the cake. ¡°Baron doesn¡®t hurt me, or at least, not on purpose¡­ He just,¡± she shrugged awkwardly the gesture far from carefree. ¡°He married me because of my family. He has a mistress,¡± she felt the heat of her blush crawling up her cheeks. She flicked her eyes up to James and half expected to see himughing cruelly at her, but he had his arms braced against the tabletop, watching her with sad eyes. ¡°Who lives in the house, and I think that he loves her.¡± ¡°So you are trying to save money, and get your resume ready so that you can find a job? It sounds like an excellent n.¡± ¡°Does it?¡± She felt lighter for the confession and approval. ¡°Absolutely,¡± he picked up a cake and took a bite. ¡°Every great escape starts with a sound n.¡± The tear thatnded on the cake took her by surprise. ¡°Darling girl, eat your cake, before you salt it.¡± Chapter 27 Chapter 27 A Rose by Any Other Name Jane had just finished dressing after her shower when Angelique walked into the room. The blonde werewolf inhaled and looked around her, scenting for Baron. ¡°Well,e on then,¡± she said to Jane. ¡°We have an appointment, and we are going to bete.¡± ¡°An appointment?¡± Jane asked, staying on her side of the bed. ¡°He married you for Corbyn cubs, runt,¡± Angelique looked her up and down. ¡°The imnt has toe out.¡± Jane remained on her side of the bed. Getting pregnant would end all her ns. ¡°No.¡± Angelique¡®s eyebrows lifted. ¡°I was hoping you would say that. You see, there¡®s a nice way to get it out, involving a doctor and a numbing injection, and there¡¯s a not nice way, involving being tied down whilst we cut it out of you.¡± ¡°Baron wouldn¡®t.. Jane whispered. N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner. ¡°Oh, you don¡¯t know Baron very well at all, do you, stupid, little in Jane,¡± Angelique purred. ¡°Do you know how someone with nothing makes a lot of money very fast?¡± ¡°No,¡± Jane whispered. ¡°A generalck of scruples and an utter disregard for thew,¡± Angelique replied. ¡°I know all his dirty, dirty little secrets,¡± she inspected her nails. ¡°He might be enjoying f¨C king you, at the moment, sweetheart, but Baron and I, we go waaaay back, and he always comes home to his honey. So,¡± she paused. ¡°Are youing? Or do I have to find a sharp knife?¡± Jane picked up her purse. ¡°Yeah,¡± Angelique smirked. ¡°Wise choice, sis.¡± Angelique drove a bright red convertible Porsche. As she whipped them through the streets towards the city, Jane wondered why she was surprised by the car. Maybe, she thought, because she was only allowed to drive the very sensible ck 4WD. They pulled up at a discrete fertility clinic, and Angelique tapped her foot as they waited at the reception desk for thedy before them to check in. When it was their turn, she smiled sweetly. ¡°I have Jane Western, for her eleven o¡®clock.¡± When they were sent to the waiting room with a pen, and a clipboard, Angelique muttered under her breath about dys and waiting. Jane answered the sheet, trying to find a way to signal for help. Surely an imnt could not be removed, she thought, from an unwilling adult. When her name was called, she met the doctor¡®s eyes and shook her head, rolling her eyes to Angelique. ¡°Just Jane, please,¡± the doctor said, smiling firmly. ¡°Oh, but she¡®s my sister and so, so very nervous,¡± Angelique protested, linking her arm through Jane¡®s and smiling charmingly. ¡°I am sorry,¡± the doctor said her eyes dropping from the alpha¡®s but her stance solid. ¡°For appointments of this nature, it¡®s one on one.¡± As Jane followed the doctor she nced over her shoulder and met Angelique¡¯s eyes. The she¨C wolf arched an eyebrow. Jane swallowed hard. In the doctor¡®s room, the female doctor sat and called up Jane¡®s information. ¡°Now, Jane,¡± she said turning her seat to face Jane. ¡°How can I help you today?¡± Jane looked at her for a long moment. ¡°I need help,¡± she whispered. ¡°I am here to help,¡± the doctor replied calmly. ¡°It isplicated¡­¡± Jane did not want the police called, or anything on record. The doctor was werewolf, but that did not mean that she didn¡®t pregnant.¡± ¡°And yet the appointment is to have a birth control imnt removed.¡± ¡°I didn¡®t make the appointment,¡± Jane held the doctor¡®s eyes. She did not recognise her from any of the social functions. Whatever role the doctor held in her pack it was not Elite. ¡°I am not here willingly.¡± The doctor turned her face away. ¡°The rules for us are different to humans,¡± she said quietly. ¡°As a doctor, I must walk the line between when faced with a werewolf patient. I know who your husband is, Jane Western, and I know who your father is.¡± ¡°Please,¡± Jane whispered. ¡°If I go back with the imnt, they will cut it out. I need an imnt somewhere it is not as easily found.¡± The doctor chewed on her bottom lip. ¡°There is an alternative,¡± she said under her breath. ¡°I could get in a lot of trouble, Jane,¡± she slid Jane a look out of the corner of her eye. ¡°If it was found out that I went against an alpha¡®s wishes.¡± ¡°I know. Please, I won¡®t tell. Ever.¡± The doctor considered and drew in a breath. ¡°I will give you a contraceptive injection Jane and remove the imnt. After the imnt¡®s removal and before the injection bes effective, there It is possible that it might trigger a heart, and ideally, I would say to use condoms during that time, but I am guessing that is not possible.¡± ¡°No,¡± Jane whispered. ¡°Well, we will just have to hope, then, won¡®t we?¡± The doctor rose. ¡°One moment.¡± When the doctor returned with a tray of wipes and two injections, she met Jane¡®s eye. ¡°I don¡®t like reproductive coercion, Jane,¡± she whispered as she in despicable.¡± ¡°Mhm.¡± Jane agreed. One of the injections had been to numb her skin and the doctor made a precise incision and ¡°The packs do not protect their weak in this city.¡± the doctor murmured almost under her breath. ¡°Where I grew up, the alphas would defend the weak, here, they prey upon them. You need to get another pack will dly take in an omega. Alphas value them.¡± ¡°They do?¡± Jane was surprised. Some of thements by Baron, by Charles Wolston, by others, had implied that omegas were not viewed by all packs as they were by the Corbyns¡®. ¡°Oh, honey,¡± the doctor chuckled. ¡°You have no idea. You will find another pack in a heartbeat and be taking your pick of alphas to your bed. Getting them out again, that¡®s another problem.¡± As soon as she was in the Porsche again, Angelique tore back the bandage the doctor had ced on Jane¡®s arm. ¡°Good girl,¡± along cheerfully as she drove. ¡°Once you are fat with Baron¡®s child,¡± she crowed as she parked the Porsche in the city. ¡°All this nastiness will be behind us.¡± The doctor¡®s voice echoed in Jane¡®s head. ¡°Oh, honey, you have no idea.¡± Imagine, Jane thought, just imagine a world where omegas weren¡®t just tolerated, but were celebrated. Where an omega had her pick of alphas¡­ Where instead of being the runt, the scapegoat, the pack¡®s outcast, a pack valued and weed her¡­ Her heart raced at the idea. Chapter 28 Chapter 28 Hot and Cold ¡°Out,¡± Angelique ordered. Jane looked around her at the concrete and ss towers, the busy city street, the tightly packed pedestrian paths. ¡°Where are we?¡± N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner. ¡°Oh, dopey Doris,¡± Angelique purred. ¡°We are at the center of the universe. Get the f-k out the car and come along.¡± She grabbed Jane by the elbow and propelled her into one of the glossy buildings, past the reception desk and into an elevator, and swiped a card before prodding the very top number on the long, long columns of numbers. When the elevator opened, Angelique pushed Jane out into a lobby where the floor was the sort of slippery tile that every woman in high heel shoes viewed with dread, and past the receptionist who muttered into her headset even as her eyes followed Angelique¡¯s passage into the bowels of the building. They moved through a wide hallway nked by meeting spaces and rooms where flustered looking people stared atputer screens in consternation, through to a double door, which Angelique shoved open with her hip before half throwing Jane into the chamber so that Jane staggered and fell. Baron sat at a desk near a wall of windows and stood upon their entry, tugging his waistcoat down, his eyebrows pulling together, and Jane realised that the glossy tower was his building from which he ran all the various branches of his business: the center or the universe indeed. ¡°What the f-k Angelique?¡± He demanded, striding around his desk, and picking Jane up off the carpet. ¡°I took care of your little problem,¡± Angelique sneered. ¡°The imnt is gone, the b-tch will ovte in the next few days, and you can f-king f-k her to your heart¡¯s desire, get her fat with your litter, so that we can get the f-k on with what we¡®re here to do.¡± She turned on her heel and clipped out of the room before he could formte a response. Baron looked down at Jane and offered her his hand. She refused it, standing by herself. ¡°Jane¡­¡± He started. She had hit him before she had even realised that the thought had urred to her to do so, and saw the outline of her hand appear on his cheek white and then red. The force of the p turned his face, and he seemed baffled for a moment, before turning back to her. ¡°I hate you,¡± she told him through her teeth. ¡°I hate you, Baron Western. I hate you for making me believe that this was a love match. I hate you for f-king raping me on our wedding night. I hate you for humiliating me by keeping a mistress after you married me. I hate you for forcing yourself on me during my first heat. I hate you for having your mistress drag me to the f-king doctor to have my imnt removed against my wishes. And I hate you for¡­¡± He twirled her in his arms, catching her so that her back was against his chest and his hand closed over her mouth. ¡°I am tempted to let you continue,¡± he breathed into her ear. ¡°But there is just so much to unpack from what you have said that I expect that if I did, we might never end this conversation. ¡°So, let¡¯s start from the beginning,¡± he released her mouth. ¡°From how you thought that this was a love match?¡± She dragged in a breath, and felt her control disintegrate, until she sobbed her grief bitterly, her legs giving beneath it, bringing them both down onto the luxurious carpet, so that he curled over her as she cried her sorrows out into the silken fibers. He murmured and stroked her back. ¡°Jane,¡± he breathed into her ear. ¡°Oh, my Jane.¡± She did not know when his stroking turned into sex, but, before she knew it, he had dragged her jeans down her legs and had thrusted into her, face down on the carpet of his office. She cried out, half in protest and half desire, and he lifted her hips into him as he drove himself into her bringing her on to her knees, the pace unforgiving, iming, taking. She came, her fingers clenched into the carpet, and felt him follow, his cry harsh, and then the sink of his weight over her. ¡°So,¡± he breathed into her ear. ¡°Start from how I misled you into thinking this was a love match.¡± She was crying too hard to answer, the sobs shaking through her, ugly, snot filled tears as she pressed her face into his carpet. She cried until she passed out under him, aware that he continued to f-k her despite the fact that she had faded out beneath his body. She woke in the bed in the gold and cream room, alone, with the night pressing in around her, her pulse leaping in her head, the primal rhythm of its pounding driving her out of the covers and into her closet She pulled on a dress, stroking its fabric down over her body, twisting and turning before the mirror. Part of her knew that something was wrong, and that part of her was an insistent voice to stay home, to lock herself into her room, but the other voice was louder, and she wanted to dance somewhere with a dark beat, and other bodies pressed against hers, her pulse racing. In the front hall, Heathridge took one look at her, and his expression shifted. ¡°Madam,¡± he said, his voice tight. ¡°You need to return to your room immediately.¡± She scented him, feeling him recoil even as his pupils dted, instinct warring against sensibility. She turned away from him and tossed her hair. ¡°Call the car, or I will drive.¡± A limousine pulled up within a minute of Heathridge¡¯s signal, and even as she slid into the cab, she saw that Heathridge was on the phone talking at full speed. The car pulled up out front of Baron¡¯s club, and she stepped out, pausing under the sh of the photographer¡¯s lights, bewildered by them, before walking in past the concierge. Baron and Angelique were not there, she thought immediately. They were somewhere else, and sheughed as she worked her way through the patrons onto the dance floor. Her arrival seemed to scatter the werewolves, as if she had dived into a pond, sending ripples out. And then, as the water swept back in, they were pulled towards her, their expressions reacting to her scent, pupils dting, nostrils ring. She threw her hair over her shoulder and swayed with the music, feeling it¡¯s beat to her soul, writhing beneath the waves of desire that rolled over her from the betas and alphas that gathered, salivating, around her. Fights broke out, brief tussles of dominance, victors edging closer whilst losers backed off, and all the while, she danced, indifferent, giving herself to the music, and knowing that the males that reached her, that sweated over her, fought for their position. ¡°F-king mine,¡± the growl dominated, and blood sprayed. Over the males between, her eyes met Baron¡¯s. His wolf dominated and he carved his way through her would-be suitors with tooth and w his expensive suit showing the tracks ofpetitor¡¯s defenses, shredded beneath ws, skin peeking through rents in the fabric, blood staining where ws had found purchase. And yet, he reached her, his body between her and her suitors, his chest heaving with the effort, the blue dominated by ck and the back-glow of his wolf, as his hands closed over her shoulders and tugged her up against him. ¡°Jane,¡± he growled into her ear. ¡°You are in f-king heat. In my f-king club. Again.¡± Chapter 29 Chapter 29 Begin Again He marched her out of the club, his fingers gripping her upper arm, snarling at anyone who got too close. A red Ferrari waited by the curb. He opened the door, pushed her inside and went to the driver¡¯s door. The engine roared to life, and he pulled out into traffic deftly. He rolled the windows down. ¡°Removing the imnt must have disrupted your cycle,¡± hemented, calmer. ¡°We are very lucky the Heathridge called me immediately. An omega in heat is a powerful thing,¡± he chuckled a little as he said it. ¡°The guys at the club had no chance. No doubt many are trying to soothe their wives and girlfriends as we speak.¡± When she didn¡¯t respond, he sighed. ¡°I didn¡¯t organise it, Jane,¡± he said softly. ¡°I would have left the imnt in ce. You are very young. There is absolutely no need to rush into having children yet.¡± ¡°Except that the sooner I have children, the sooner you can divorce me,¡± she muttered. ¡°And marry Angelique.¡± He pulled up out front of the house but caught her wrist when she turned to try to get out the car. ¡°There will be no divorce, Jane,¡± his blue eyes glowed with his wolf. ¡°You are my wife until death do us part.¡± He released her and got out of the car. She let herself out, and refused his hand when he offered it, tossing her hair, and stalking into the house, past Heathridge and up the stairs. Baron paused to pass the Ferrari keys to the butler and mutter instructions, running effortlessly up the stairs after her and following on her heels, allowing her no opportunity to block his ess to the room. He tossed his cuff links into the little tray with a chuckle. ¡°I am going to run out at this rate,¡± he observed. The heat wed through her, making her hands tremble as she pulled off her dress, her body aching with need, her skin crawling with it. ¡°I am d,¡± he came up behind her, leaning over her in order to draw her dress up and off, and the feel of his body against her back was almost more than she could bear. ¡°That you are being much more sensible about this heat than thest.¡± ¡°It is no use fighting you,¡± she whispered. He stroked his hand down her back to her panties, sending them to the floor. ¡°I had hoped that you didn¡¯t want to fight me,¡± he said softly. ¡°That you fought so hard thest time because you were afraid. Our time together up to that point had not been¡­ the best that I can offer. Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org. ¡°I was very angry,¡± he ran his hand from her wrist to her shoulder, and then lifted her hair back exposing her shoulder and neck to his mouth. ¡°At our wedding, I overheard, as she no doubt intended me to do, Alice remarking about how you thought that you were marrying beneath a Corbyn and had to be dragged to the altar. ¡°People like Alice have an innate sense of what to say in order to deliver the most hurt with their words,¡± he began to kiss along her neck, and she closed her eyes leaning her head to the side, giving in to the heat, to the demands of her body. ¡°And I know that. I should know better than to feed into their poison, but I let those words in, and they festered the night away until I drank too much and came to your bed seeking to punish you for the pain of them.¡± He turned her to face him and framed her face with his hands so that she had no option but to meet his eyes. ¡°I am very sorry for that, Jane,¡± he said and leaned forward to brush his lips over hers, his kiss tender and gentle. She turned her face away. Heid her onto the bed, and kissed her cheek, before following the line of jaw to the pulse point below her ear. She closed her eyes. Was this how he made love to Angelique? She wondered, for his hands were gentle and knowledgeable, coaxing her body to arc into his touch, each caress tantalizing, tender, passionate, his exploration of her skin causing them both to moan. ¡°Please,¡± she pleaded, the heat cramping her for want of his c-ck. ¡°Kiss me, Jane,¡± he lifted over her, the tip of his c-ck dragging against her and causing her to groan and lift her hips, seeking pration. ¡°Kiss me.¡± She threaded her fingers into his hair and dragged his mouth to hers, devouring him without gentleness, making her mouth against his as he had made his body against hers since their wedding day, hard and cruel. He caught her hands, threading his fingers into hers and pulled back, taking the force from the kiss, taking control of it, gentling it, his eyes on hers as he shared breath and the softest brushes of lips that lingered. And only then, when she had stilled under the expression in his eyes, the same expression that she had seen in the shower before Angelique had surprised them, only then did he press his c-ck into her, slowly, so that the stretch, the fill of him, was felt fully, drawn out, exquisite. ¡°Yes Jane,¡± he breathed. ¡°Yes, my Jane.¡± He released her hands, tenderly stroking the hair from her face before lowering his mouth to hers. He did not lift back in order to stroke into and out of her with force, but kept his chest to hers, so that they were joined, eye to eye, lip to lip, skin to skin, stomach to stomach, hip to hip. There was an intense intimacy to the way he rocked into her, and she found herself hypnotized by his eyes, by the taste of him on her tongue, the feel of his body so fully against hers and within her. She pressed against her heels, lifting into him, and her hands stroked up and down his back, enjoying the softness of skin over the hardness of the man who wore it. Her orgasm was profound, building into a divine ache that broke, leaving her arching, head thrown back, her cries soundless as she clenched around him. He kissed the exposed column of her throat and moaned as he followed. ¡°Oh, yes, Jane,¡± he groaned the words as if they were a prayer. ¡°Oh yes.¡± His heart raced and his body strained against hers. He dragged in his breath, every muscle tense as he spilled his seed, until the tension released, as sudden as a line cut, and he sagged over her, his lips against her neck, still pressing kisses to her skin. He dragged his hand down the length of her arm until her caught her hand in his, linking their fingers, and lifting their joined hands to rest near their heads. ¡°We will start over Jane,¡± he whispered. ¡°And pretend that this is our wedding night. I will bring up some champagne and strawberries, and we will drink and make love for the next three days until we copse from exhaustion.¡± ¡°F-k,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡± He lifted his head. ¡°What did you say?¡± ¡°You mean f-k,¡± she repeated. ¡°We will f-k until this heat is over.¡± Chapter 30 Chapter 30 Alice¡¯s Malice He went down to the kitchen in just his trousers, as elegant and gorgeous bare chested and bare foot as he was in his full three-piece suit, and returned with champagne, flutes, and a bowl of berries. Even in the brief absence, her body had begun to ache for his again, and she squirmed, trying to repress the need whilst he popped the cork and poured, dropping a strawberry into the flute to float in the bubbles. He slid onto the bed and handed her one of the flutes. His skin against hers made the rage of the heat almost unbearable. ¡°To my beautiful wife,¡± he said, tapping his ss against hers. He was determined to y his foolish game, she thought sourly. ¡°And to the many decades of happiness before us.¡± She drank the wine, because she could see that he would not give her what she needed unless she complied with his charade. Heughed, watching her finish the ss. ¡°You have no appreciation for wine,¡± hemented taking just a sip from his before setting it onto the bedside table. She didn¡¯t bother replying, rolling to set the ss onto her bedside table before rolling back. She straddled him, seeing his pupils dte and the shing reflection of his wolf rising as he inhaled in surprise. She released the button of his trousers, freeing his c-ck, and took him into her, her eyes closing as the press of the heat immediately eased, her body¡¯s craving met. He used his fingers to collect the wine, painting it along her cor bone, leaning forward to lick it from her, as he pulled her hips to his, lifting into her. ¡°Delicious,¡± he said, and held her to him so that he could roll her under him, his mouth finding hers, his kiss breath taking in its sweetness. Despite herself, despite her anger with him, she reached up, running her fingers through his hair, trailing them over his shoulders, before cupping his face and lifting in order to kiss him back. ¡°So very beautiful,¡± he said as he lifted and stroked his hand down her body, wrapping her leg around his hip before stroking back up and cupping her breast as he leaned down to kiss her. She moaned, her body lighting up beneath his caresses, beneath his kisses, beneath his body on hers. Unlike during the first heat, he was not taking and demanding, he was giving, she thought, and it was beautiful. Heart breaking, but beautiful. She was crying as she came. He cried out his orgasm, and there was a sharp tone of pain behind the pleasure. Hey over her, his head beside hers and watched the tears that ran down her cheeks. He reached up and caught one on his fingertip, bringing it to his lips as if seeking to taste her distress. ¡°Jane,¡± he said softly. ¡°What I need to do is almost done. A couple more weeks, at most, and I will have exposed my grandfather¡¯s murderer. Hold on. my beautiful wife. Hold on until then. Every couple of days, Angelique and I eliminate another family. There are only a few left. The ring, or some other treasure, will be in one of their safes and we will find it and expose them as the murderers that they are.¡± ¡°Is that what you are doing?¡± She was distracted from her own misery. ¡°Breaking into people¡¯s safes?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± he chuckled. ¡°We are getting rather good at it. Angelique pick-pockets them at one function, we determine a list of potential passwords, and then, when the opportunity arises during house parties or meetings¡­ We use the codes to break into their safes and look at what they are hiding. It is actually,¡± he trailed his fingers from her wrist to her shoulder, and down to circle the breast that his position over her left exposed. ¡°Very enlightening the secrets that the werewolves of this city are keeping.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why you married me,¡± she realised. ¡°Because you needed to establish yourself high enough into the Corbyn pack that you would be invited to the house parties. Just being taken into the pack wouldn¡¯t ce you high enough to be invited, but marrying myself or Alice.¡±Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org. ¡°No,¡± he said softly his fingers stilling over her heart. ¡°That is not why I married you. But I am more interested in why you married me,¡± he lifted onto his elbow so that he could look down at her. She bit onto her back teeth and scowled. ¡°Well Jane?¡± He prompted. ¡°You hate me for letting you think that we were true mates, you said. That was a very interesting thing to say, because it implies that you now think that we aren¡¯t true mates, whereas you did before,¡± his eyes searched hers. ¡°And I want you to exin that to me.¡± She managed to tear her eyes away from him despite him being an alpha and wanting to hold her gaze, her humiliation was so strong. ¡°I was upset and angry,¡± she said softly. ¡°I spoke out of turn. We only met the one time, and the only thing that we said between us was when you asked my name, so, of course, I was just being foolish to ever think it was anything more than just because you wanted to marry a Corbyn, and Alice turned you down, so you had to take me instead¡­¡± ¡°Wait, what?¡± He blinked, his expression nking. ¡°I never asked for Alice.¡± ¡°Alice said,¡± she was startled enough to meet his eyes. ¡°Right before the ceremony, that it could have been her wedding, except that she had refused you.¡± ¡°F-king Alice,¡± he muttered, frowning. ¡°Someone should cut out her tongue. I am tempted to do it myself. Jane,¡± he caught her chin in his hand and leaned over to kiss her, lingering, before lifting his head to meet her eyes. ¡°I saw you at the run, which was my official entry into the pack. I saw you. I wanted you. I asked your name because I was determined I would have you and it is generally useful to know the name of your mate in order to approach the right family. I paid just over two million dors in order to marry you. Alice was never part of the discussion. It was always you.¡± Chapter 31 Chapter 31 Deals and Mergers N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner. ¡°Rather inconveniently, so, in fact,¡± he continued. ¡°Not only were you possibly the most expensive bride purchase in werewolf history the timing could not be any worse. But, as my mother says, life doesn¡¯t run to train schedules.¡± Jane was stunned into silence. ¡°Alice¡­¡± She whispered. ¡°Alice is a jealous older sister,¡± he observed dryly. ¡°I imagine she has always been jealous of you. The malicious b-tch obviously set out to ensure that our marriage was as unhappy as possible by setting us against each other, and, she seeded,¡± he scowled, but then heughed. ¡°Thankfully my cid little omega finally lost her patience with me and spoke out of turn,¡± he leaned down and kissed her. ¡°Or we both would still think that the other was in this marriage involuntarily.¡± He rolled over and sat up to finish his champagne and then rose to bring the champagne bottle and berries to the bed. ¡°Something to celebrate,¡± he said reaching over her to retrieve her ss. He refilled it and handed it to her as she pushed herself up to lean against the bedhead. He refilled his ss and put his arm around her shoulders, pressing his face into her hair. ¡°To rity, and omega temper tantrums,¡± he touched his ss to hers. ¡°It was not a temper tantrum,¡± she sipped the champagne hoping that it might stave off the heat for longer. ¡°It was a temper tantrum,¡± he chuckled. ¡°My cheek is testament to it.¡± Car headlights drew a line across the wall, and he frowned, setting the bowl onto the bedside table, and walking over to the window. He leaned against the window frame. ¡°What is she ying at?¡± He murmured, and turned, snatching up his trousers. ¡°I will be right back,¡± he said as he pulled on his shirt. He crossed the sitting room, and out into the hall, the door not quite closing behind him. Jane pulled on her robe and followed him into the hall, pressing herself up against her wall, feeling the ooze of his seed between her inner thighs, reminding her that her body wanted more of him, needed more of him. ¡°What the f-k are you doing Angelique?¡± He demanded from the top of the stairs. ¡°Well, you are going to be busy for the next three days as your little b-tch has conveniently gone on heat,¡± Angelique replied snidely. ¡°You can¡¯t expect me to sleep alone during that time.¡± ¡°This is my f-king house, you want to f-k around with other men, you hire a f-king room in a f-king dive of a motel, you do not bring other males into my home,¡± he snarled. ¡°There isn¡¯t an alpha alive who would tolerate an unrted male under his roof.¡± ¡°Alpha male,¡± she snapped back. ¡°Because right here is an alpha female who is not only tolerating another female under her roof, but she¡¯s tolerating her alpha male f-king her.¡± ¡°This is not the ce, time or audience for this discussion, Angelique,¡± he replied, sounding weary rather than angry. Jane peeked around the corner of her wall and could see that he stood on thending overlooking the hall below, his arms braced against the handrail of the balustrade. ¡°I will, however, point out that you are the one who had her imnt removed and then threw her onto the floor of my office telling me to get on with f-king her full of my litter.¡± ¡°I think I am leaving,¡± a male voice responded. The man, Jane thought, that Angelique had brought back to the house on purpose in order to provoke Baron into an argument. ¡°You tell me that you married her for her connection, and then when you find out she has an imnt, you leave it in ce,¡± Angelique¡¯s attention was still on Baron. ¡°One of us had to do something about it.¡± ¡°Again, not the time, ce or audience, Angelique,¡± he sighed. ¡°I am going,¡± the man said again, and Jane wondered if he expected Angelique to leave with him, or was hoping that she would do so, reluctant to give up his night of passion, and not realising that he had been seduced and brought to the house solely to annoy Baron during Jane¡¯s heat. ¡°Go¡± Angelique told him. The man sighed and muttered something heavilyden with curse words under his breath and Jane heard first the front door and then a car door m, before an engine revved and wheels screamed as he took out his frustration on the driveway. ¡°This is getting ridiculous, Angie,¡± Baron said quietly. The heat was rising insistently within Jane, sweat beading between her breasts and across her brow, an insistent throbbing aching between her legs, her nipples painful under even the slightest pressure of her satin robe. She pulled the fabric free of the tie, opening it, so that her front was exposed to the cooling air. ¡°I need more from you,¡± Angelique replied. ¡°I need guarantees. I am risking myself for you, all but prostituting myself for you, for your revenge. We have been lovers for thest two years, and I thought that meant something, Baron. I thought we were in this together, all the way. I thought we had an understanding, and now I am thinking that you¡¯ve found yourself an upper crust omega to warm your bed and breed your heirs on, and that this thief and outcast¡¯s daughter is going to find herself discarded the moment that this job is done. ¡°And I¡¯m not going to stand for that, Baron,¡± she had reached the top of the stairs. ¡°All it takes from me is the wrong words, to the wrong person, whilst you¡¯re up in your office photocopying their secrets, and your aspirations for revenge are gone, poof,¡± she blew on her fingers, throwing them out as if she had blown away an annoying bug as she stalked across thending towards him. ¡°So, here¡¯s the deal, Baron. I want two million, deposited into my ount, tonight. It¡¯s what you paid for the runt, after all. I think I am owed that much, at least. Compensation.¡± ¡°Two million,¡± he repeated. ¡°A steep cost, Angie, on top of all your expenses over thest two years, your shopping trips, beauty appointments, car¡­ Not to mention the wage that I already, and still, pay to you.¡± ¡°A fraction of what I would be worth as your wife,¡± she replied tightly. ¡°A fraction of what you owe me for having you in my bed for thest two years.¡± ¡°Now, that¡¯s insulting,¡± his voice dropped pitch and tone, bing seductive. ¡°We both enjoyed that.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t want to pay?¡± She challenged. ¡°Then drop the runt over the balcony and marry me.¡± ¡°Somehow I think marrying you will be far more costly,¡± he observed wryly. ¡°And what do I get for my two million, Angelique?¡±. ¡°My loyalty until the job is done, my silence until you have your revenge.¡± ¡°Half now, half when it is done,¡± he replied his tone shifting again, bing crisp and efficient. Negotiations were done. ¡°And you will sign a confidentiality use that, should you reveal any of my secrets now or into the future, you will repay every cent.¡± ¡°Two and half, then, Baron,¡± she replied evenly. ¡°Or maybe I will simply disappear. You know that with my contacts, I will be hard to find.¡± ¡°Two, half now, half when done,¡± he replied. ¡°And I won¡¯t reveal what I have on you, Angelique. I have a great, big, fat fileplete with DNA and voice recordings, confessions whispered in the bedroom.¡± She went to strike him, but he was prepared, catching her wrist, andughing as she spat curses at him. ¡°You didn¡¯t actually think,¡± his smirk was in his voice. ¡°That I wouldn¡¯t be prepared for this?¡± ¡°You never intended to marry me,¡± she whispered. ¡°Even before the runt.¡± ¡°No,¡± he agreed. ¡°It was never going to happen, Angelique. Marrying you would be signing my death certificate, as we both know. Now, I am willing to give you your two million, but you double cross me, even let the thought cross your pretty little brain, and I will ensure that you¡­¡± What he said after was murmured into her ear, and all Jane heard was Angelique¡¯s moan of anguish. ¡°Have we a deal?¡± ¡°I hate you, Baron Western,¡± she was crying as he released her. ¡°Apparently something you and Jane have inmon.¡± Chapter 32 Chapter 32 Liar, Liar Jane turned the shower on full cold and stood beneath the spray, trying to fight back the wing needs of her heat. Baron had been gone for well over an hour, having taken Angelique down into his office and stayed there A thief and outcast¡¯s daughter, she thought as she shook beneath the run of the cold water. The sort of person who knew how to pickpocket men at a party and transfer the items of her theft to her aplice, so that he could photocopy the information, before returning it. The sort of person that would know what people used as their safe codes. The sort of person who could return the item that they had stolen to its owner without detection. The sort of person who could sneak off during a house party and find a safe, especially if her aplice was offering a distraction by dragging his wife out of the house. If Angelique was just an employee with whom he had slept because she was avable, with whom he was trying to maintain peace until his revenge was fulfilled, and not his true mate, not his love, then what did that make Jane? He pulled open the shower door, a towel in his arms, and his face repentant. ¡°I am sorry, Jane,¡± he said as she turned off the water and stepped, shivering, into the cloth. He pulled her against him and held her against him more than dried her. ¡± am sorry.¡± ¡°You weren¡¯t going to marry Angelique,¡± she was shaking so hard the word were jerked from her. ¡°No, I told you that,¡± he replied rubbing her with the cloth to warm and dry her. He paused, frowning. ¡°Didn¡¯t I?¡± He wondered, and then picked her up, scooping under her knees, and carrying her against his chest into the bedroom. ¡°Angelique is¡­¡± heid Jane onto the bed. ¡°Useful, and vulnerable, andplicated,¡± he leaned back, one knee on the mattress whilst he pulled off the shirt, and then the trousers, casting them carelessly onto the floor, before covering Jane with his body. She moaned at the heady divinity of his skin against hers, her arms wrapping around him, her hands stroking from his arse up his back as he made room for himself between her legs and thrusted into her, with a groan, his hand closing on the top edge of the headboard, his muscles standing out as he bowed his head down to kiss her, dragging out her bottom lip. ¡°I need Angelique,¡± his eyes sought hers. ¡°I need what she can do, her skills, But she was never,¡± he stooped to taste her lips again. ¡°She was never my mate.¡± Her cry held a sob of pain in it, and he groaned, dropping his head into the hollow of space between her chin and chest, exposed by her thrown back head. His lips grazed her skin. ¡°Jane¡­¡± his breath against her skin was half a plea. ¡°My mate.¡± She clutched him against her, in a bewilderment of passion and confusion. There were so manyyers of intrigue, lies, and half-truths, she did not know whether she could believe him. Had Angelique been telling the truth? Had Baron always intended to use Jane to gain ess to the elite of the packs and city? It would certainly make sense considering his aspirations for revenge. In the same way, her value would be transitory, and when he had attained his goal, he would cast her off, with any children as guarantee of position. But what would cause him to change his ns and discard Angelique in favour of Jane? Had he really felt the true mate connection as she had, and would that ever matter enough to him to change his ns? She wanted to believe. She wanted to believe in a magic moment that they had shared at a werewolf run a connection, a recognition in each other, a belonging. She wanted to believe that he had identified her as his true mate and had paid over two million for her, as bride price, as a result. That he had wanted to marry her, despite his rtionship with the incredibly beautiful and sexy alpha Angelique. Despite every evidence of an ongoing, sexual rtionship after Jane, his bride, had been brought home, despite the unting of his rtionship to Angelique¡­ She wanted to believe him, that she had mattered, that she still mattered¡­ She pressed her face into his shoulder and tried to find blind faith, hope, and innocence, but those things had long ago been crushed beneath the heels of other alpha werewolves, and, when she searched for them, there were so many contingencies attached that she was, herself, overwhelmed by them. As he lifted over her, his blue eyes meeting hers, she searched them for assurance, but there were too many moments in between to contradict what she hoped for. The morning after their wedding with Angelique at the breakfast table, the wine spilled over Jane twice, the house part where Angelique had torn Jane¡¯s mother¡¯s picture, the many mockeries in between, the removal of the imnt¡­ She dropped her eyes from his and felt the shudder of his exhtion. ¡°Jane,¡± he groaned against her skin as he came, but she did not fall with him despite her heat and felt the sink of disappointed passion in the stillness that followed, unsatisfied, un-replete, un-sated, the heat still wing within her, wanting more than what it had received, and yet she wondered if she was capable of receiving more. Her body felt¡­ ragged and disconnected. Wrung out, limp and uninterested. ¡°I saw you,¡± she whispered. ¡°The moment you got out of your car, I saw you, and I thought: he is mine. And when my father told me that you had asked for me, I was certain that you had felt the same. My mother told me, she told me, that if I wanted happiness in life, I needed to wait for my One, my Only. I waited. I waited, and then you were there.¡± ¡°Jane,¡± it was a moan of pain, and his head sank onto her shoulder. ¡°And then you came to me drunk and hurt me,¡± she barely breathed the words. ¡°And in the morning, I came down to the breakfast table to find your mistress there, to find that she sleeps in the chamber attached to your bedroom, whereas ! sleep in a guest bedroom, and you take her to social functions, sometimes without me, because everyone understands that being married to me isn¡¯t enough, that you need Angelique, because I am insufficient for an alpha¡­¡± ¡°Jane,¡± he lifted his head and tried to meet her eyes, but she would not look at him. ¡°That you were only staying married to me until the connection wasn¡¯t needed any more,¡± she said to him, cruel in her pain. ¡°And then I would be discarded, used up, rubbish.¡± C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org ¡°Jane,¡± he had ceased moving against her. ¡°So, tell me why,¡± she said. ¡°Tell my why and how anything has changed? When all that hase to light this night is the depth and extent of your lies?¡± Chapter 33 Chapter 33 Pillow Talk She woke with her cheek on his chest and his fingers stroking through her hair. The day waste and both breakfast and lunch trays were on the dresser. Like her previous heat, Jane found it hard to eat or drink, her body focused on one thing alone. Baron had summed it up crudely but urately the first heat, she thought. She needed her alpha¡¯s c-ck, to be filled with his seed, over and over, until her body was convinced that conception had urred and the estrus passed. ¡°My father is dying,¡± Baron said quietly. ¡°Cancer. The result of forty years of smoking. He won¡¯t live to see our grandchildren.¡± ¡°I am sorry,¡± she whispered. ¡°Hmm,¡± he pressed his face into her hair, breathing in her scent, a werewolf trait, she thought, seeking comfort from the scent of mate or family. ¡°I want to give him the answer for his father¡¯s murder, to restore our family, before he passes.¡± She caressed his skin offeringfort. ¡°I understand,¡± she said. It made sense, she thought, of his determination, of his risk taking, that he was pushing his agenda of revenge on such a time schedule. ¡°I am sorry. I wish that I could help you.¡± ¡°My grandfather was a shrewd businessman,¡± he said. ¡°Ruthless. People say that I am like him,¡± he was amused and proud of that. ¡°But he had enemies. I have been investigating them first. Quite a list,¡± he sighed. ¡°Down, now, to four. The four that I thought least likely, as they had least motive, and least means.¡± N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner. ¡°And if you find nothing?¡± She wondered cautiously. The heat was rising, tendrils of desire curling through her, and the subtle scent of him that rose warm from his skin, the feel of his body beneath hers, and the sound of his voice, all added to the need for him. She wondered if it would be the same with a hired lover, if the need would rise as strongly and as specifically. She had never had another she-wolf to speak to of it, Alice would never, and it was not the sort of thing casually spoken of. ¡°Then I have missed something from someone earlier,¡± his stroking had turned amorous, responding to the change in her scent almost automatically, bing in tune with her needs. ¡°And we will return to those that I suspected most.¡± He lifted her, the muscles of his arms standing out impressively, so that she straddled him, and she watched his eyes close, the tension in his face ease into pleasure as she took him into her. His hands on her hips encouraged her to the pace and motion that he wanted, and she felt him arch his back, thrusting into her in rhythm with her rocking, his stomach muscles working beneath the palms of her hands. So beautiful, she thought watching him through heavily lidded eyes, her big, alpha husband, his skin golden-brown against the pale sheets, his dark, glossy curls tousled, and his strong jaw shadowed with stubble. His eyes, opening and meeting hers, caught her admiring him, and his strong, white teeth shed in a triumphant smile. ¡°Do you like what you see?¡± He asked her. ¡°Yes,¡± she flushed, breathless with pleasure, the slow ache of an orgasm building. ¡°Good,¡± he was smug. ¡°I like what I see, too. You remind me of the children¡¯s story, the one with the maiden with skin like snow, hair like night, and lips,¡± he reached up, the pad of his thumb stroking over her bottom lip. ¡°Lips like blood.¡± She leaned forward, and kissed him, ttered that he wouldpare her with a fairy tale beauty. He held her against him and rolled so they were on their side, holding himself up on an elbow, and thrusting, his fingertips tracing her cheekbone and his expression gentle. ¡°My little omega,¡± he murmured, and groaned as she came, clutching him to her. She felt the hot rush of his seed, the sensation adding to her pleasure. He lowered himself onto the pillows, sliding his arm under her head so that they were face to face, nose to nose, with her cheek on his bicep. ¡°You still have not told me who bruised your face the other night, he murmured, tracing his fingers over her skin. ¡°The bruise is all but gone now.¡± ¡°Alice,¡± she confessed. ¡°At the Colston¡¯s party.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± he wasn¡¯t surprised. ¡°And why did Alice strike you?¡± Because Jane had pleaded to return to the family home, Jane thought immediately, but then realised that it wasn¡¯t the truth, so she didn¡¯t need to confess it. Alice hadn¡¯t cared about Jane¡¯s wishes to return to the Corbyn home, Alice had cared about why the Corbyn connection might no longer matter to Baron. ¡°Because Angelique had told me that once the connection to the Corbyn¡¯s was not needed, you would divorce me, and Alice wanted to know what she meant by that.¡± ¡°F-king alpha she-wolves,¡± he pulled a face of displeasure. ¡°The most dangerous type of werewolf, not due to strength, teeth or w, but because of the sharpness of their f-king tongues.¡± ¡°Will Angelique betray you?¡± She reached out hesitantly, touching the sharp points of stubble that broke through his skin, and then the softness of his bottom lip. ¡°It is possible,¡± he considered it. ¡°But I do not think so. It would have been safer to let her continue to think she would be my wife, but¡­¡± He reached out and touched her cheek gently. ¡°When I thought that you had not wanted to marry me, humiliating you by keeping a mistress was a petty revenge, and had the benefit of keeping Angelique loyal and happy. ¡°But torturing my mate,¡± his eyes softened. ¡°My beautiful little omega who married me because she knew she was my true mate, is a very different situation. As soon as you yelled those words at me¡­¡± His eyes darkened. ¡°I don¡¯t think I have ever seen anyone cry like that¡­I had to change my ns.¡± Chapter 34 Chapter 34 Lovers She woke to the sound of his voice, her body aching because he had left the bed. Afternoon again, she thought, by the light. The frequent, brief sleeps in between f-king disorientated her, and for a moment, she wondered what day it was, before deciding that it was Friday. Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org. He was in the sitting room, on his phone. Heughed. ¡°No, I don¡¯t know an alpha who wouldin about their mate having two heats close together, though it is a strain on my scheduling, and I apologise for cancelling again¡­ The removal of a contraceptive imnt triggered another heat due to the change of hormones. Apparently, it happens on asion¡­ Ah, of course¡­ Yes, I would say we could schedule it for then. Thank you.¡± He disconnected the call, but he did not return to the bed. She rose, pulling on her robe, and crossed to the sitting room. He was on herptop, and she felt a flutter of fear as she wondered if she had closed down her course material, or just shut theptop, after it¡¯sst use. She was falling behind on her course, she thought grimly, and would have to study hard over the weekend in order to catch up. He looked up and smiled. ¡°I will just be a moment,¡± he returned to what he was doing. ¡°I just need to update my schedule and send some information through to Judith.¡± Judith must be, she decided, a personal assistant or receptionist of some type. ¡°All done,¡± he pressed a button, and then closed the laptop, but remained seated, frowning. ¡°Is everything okay?¡± She was nervous and wanted herptop as far from him as possible. ¡°Yes,¡± his expression cleared, and he set theptop down on the coffee table, rising. ¡°I don¡¯t see that picture of your mother anywhere,¡± he observed as he reached her. ¡°I would have thought that it would be framed and on disy.¡± ¡°I keep it somewhere safe,¡± she said. In the hollowed book with her money, tucked away in the little stack of books that upied a shelf in the closet. His eyebrows raised. ¡°Your bedroom isn¡¯t safe?¡± She swallowed but then lifted her eyes to his. ¡°It wasn¡¯t thest time. ¡°Ah,¡± understanding passed over his face. He reached out and cupped her cheek. ¡°I will ensure that Angelique knows not to enter this room for any reason. I would change your rooms, but it would be salt in the wound if I were to move Angelique at the moment,¡± he said gently. ¡°And I don¡¯t think it would be wise to push her further.¡± ¡°No,¡± she agreed readily. She did not want the room, anyway. She did not want to sleep in the bed where he had f-ked Angelique. ¡°No,¡± his eyes searched hers for a long moment and he frowned slightly. ¡°Is something wrong, Baron?¡± The craving for his body was crawling through her more insistently, but the fear lingered, and his frowns concerned her, that perhaps he had seen something on herptop¡­ ¡°No,¡± his expression cleared, and he leaned forward, inhaling. ¡°Let¡¯s drag the bedding into your sitting room, and we can watch a movie together,¡± he said as he pulled her towards him, and released the belt of her robe, peeling back the satin and stroking his hand down to her breast, teasing the nipple beneath the pad of his thumb. ¡°There is a stupid human movie about werewolves that I have heard good things about.¡± It was, she thought as he leaned over to kiss the pulse point of her throat, such an ordinary thing to do, the sort of thing that humans did, that mates did, in a normal rtionship, watch TV together. He released her and returned to the sitting room in order to move the furniture to where he wanted it, whilst she retrieved cushions and the bedding from the bed. They built a nest in the space between the TV and the couch, and he brought her down onto it, onto her hands and knees, pressing kisses up the knobs of her spine, his hands stroking and teasing as he curved himself over her, thrusting into her just as she was on the point of pleading for his c-ck. He groaned as he pushed deep, the tone gritty with desire. ¡°Next full moon,¡± he said between his teeth as he thrusted and she braced beneath him, moaning at the feel of his c-ck sliding through her. ¡°I will chase you through the trees, until your heart races with prey response, and then I will f-k your sweet little wolf in the undergrowth, until we tie. It is what your body is craving now,¡± he said. ¡°It knows that, inside, you are a wolf, and your mate should knot in you, to ensure¡­¡± He moaned suddenly, and came,ughing as he sagged over her. ¡°Sorry,¡± he said ruefully. ¡°Just the thought finished me.¡± He wrapped his arm around her and stroked her clitoris, pushing her into her orgasm, and groaned as she clenched around him, before copsing them both onto their sides in the cushions and bedding, pressing his lips to her shoulder. He started the movie and arranged her against him. Watching himugh at the utterly unrealistic predicaments of the werewolf on the TV, she smiled, enchanted. His eyes when he looked down at her were bright, happy, and carefree. Emboldened, she trailed her fingers over his jaw, through the cleft in his chin, down the line of his throat. She followed the ridge of cor bone to the hollow point at the base of his throat, and then down the center-line of his body. It was as if, she thought, his body had been sculpted to direct a woman¡¯s touch, the furrow between the muscles of his stomach exactly measured to her fingertip. At his waist, a v of muscle tempted her to trace it to it¡¯s point where his c-ck stood hard and ready. He was no longer watching the movie, his eyes on her, his body stilled, waiting, she thought, to see what she did next. She touched his c-ck, exploring the twist of veins under skin felted so soft, the core of him densely hard. He was beautiful here too, she observed. She had never thought that a man¡¯s c-ck could be a thing of beauty, but his was perfect in every way. Pree beaded, and she spread it under her thumb. His moan was filthy with desire. ¡°Don¡¯t stop,¡± he whispered when she paused, flicking her eyes up to his uncertainly. ¡°Your touch feels so good, my mate.¡± She tried to close her fingers around his c-ck and failed, and his eyes closed, his head arching back. He swallowed, hard, on a groan. She traced the line from tip to balls, the skin-tight to her touch. ¡°Oh f-k,¡± was dragged from him and his c-ck jerked, his hips twitching. His hands were fisted, the knuckles whitened. On the edge, she realised, ofing. He broke suddenly, pulling her beneath him and thrusting into her with a jagged cry, his body bowing with his orgasm, every line of him masculine beauty in perfection. Heughed as he lowered over her. ¡°Twice now,¡± he said wryly. ¡°I have lost control ande without bringing you pleasure, Jane. You will start to think that I am a terribly selfish lover.¡± Chapter 35 Chapter 35 The Hyenas Gather Exhausted, she only woke when Baron leaned over and kissed her cheek. She was on her stomach in a tangle of sheets, as theirst round of sex had left her. He was showered and had dressed, the fresh scent of his cologne still heavy on his skin after recent application. His cheeks were smooth, and his hair slicked back as he preferred it. ¡°I have to go into the office,¡± he told her, stroking his hand down her spine. ¡°Sleep, Jane. It is still early, and we have a function tonight.¡± She could not fall asleep again and so she rose and had a shower before stripping the over-used bedding off the bed and stuffing it into the hamper. She dressed in running gear, and cautiously made her way through the house hoping to avoid Angelique. As she reached the front door, movement on the landing caught her attention, and she looked up meeting Angelique¡¯s eyes, before she dropped her gaze and hurriedly escaped into the morning. She ran to the caf¨¦ and knocked on the kitchen door. ¡°Good morning,¡± James opened it. ¡°We were beginning to worry,¡± he added as she stepped inside. ¡°It has been a few days.¡± His eyes searched her for bruises. She had deliberately worn a long sleeve running top to hide the now yellowing bruise left by Baron¡¯s teeth on her shoulder and so knew there was nothing for him to see. She smiled brightly. ¡°I just couldn¡¯t get away, I am sorry. They would stop me if they knew, so sometimes it¡¯s just harder than others.¡± ¡°They?¡± Patrick was in the kitchen unpacking boxes onto the shelves. ¡°It¡¯splicated,¡± she rolled up her sleeves. ¡°Baron is... Well, that isplicated too, but not in the way you think. I don¡¯t think he will hurt me. Not on purpose. But my family¡­ and Angelique¡­ Well, they would be furious. Baron would be too,¡± she added under her breath. ¡°But I don¡¯t think he would hurt me.¡± ¡°Honey,¡± James exchanged a look with Patrick. ¡°I don¡¯t even know where to start with that.¡± ¡°I just need to¡­ If I can just, somehow, disappear,¡± she dropped her voice to a whisper. ¡°I often fantasize about bing invisible, just¡­ dissolving away, vanishing out of sight, so that no one can find me. I just need to be invisible and then¡­¡± And then what? She asked herself. She did not know. As she washed the endless stream of dishes, she thought through thest three days with Baron. Alice was to me for the unhappy start to their marriage, she thought angrily. Baron had been cold and cruel, and deliberately trying to wound her, because of what Alice had said, and perhaps that made a difference, but she no longer believed that her mother had been right, and marrying her true mate, her One, her Only, would lead to happiness. Life was just not that simple. Even if her marriage to Baron changed, there was still Angelique in the house until his mission for revenge was fulfilled, there was still her pack and the other packs in the city to contend with, and she would still be the runt, the weak, snivelling, pathetic omega of the pack. She would still humiliate and embarrass Baron at social functions because she would still be the subject of the pack¡¯s vindictiveness. At some point, their opinions on her would prate, and Baron would look at her with distaste and wonder what he had been thinking in taking her as a mate and wife. He would curse the fate that had brought him her as his true mate ande to resent Jane as her father hade to resent her mother. She needed to escape that future, she thought, or, like her mother, she would surrender to their hatred. As she ran back along the road, a car swerved and deliberately drove through a puddle dousing her in its spray. She stood for a moment in shock as the cold, filthy water covered her head to toe, and then grimaced and continued towards the house. She was not surprised to see the same yellow sports car parked out front of the house. As she ran across thewn, other cars began to pull up. She groaned. Angelique had called in her friends. They were gathering out front of the house, being greeted by Angelique, exchanging air kisses, theirughter and exmations loud. One of them spotted her cross thewn, and all turned in unison to stare at her, wearing identical expressions of hostility. Belonging ? N?velDram/a.Org. What had Angelique told them? She wondered. Not the truth, of that, Jane was sure. Not without betraying the secrets Baron was paying the she-wolf to hide. How would Angelique exin her demotion from mistress and future wife to employee? Had she even said that much, or was Jane still the unwanted, unloved wife of Baron Western and Angelique the long-suffering mistress? Jane approached the kitchen entrance and found the staff busily prepping for Angelique¡¯s guests, arranging petit fours and canapes on high tea tes, mixing cocktails, and filling champagne buckets with ice. ¡°Madam,¡± Heathridge met her eyes across the frantic activity. ¡°Best to be to your room quickly now. The hyenas are gathering, and it will not be pretty.¡± The kitchen staff sniggered, and for once, it was not Jane beingughed at, but included in the joke, a part of the pack, rather than the subject of its vitriol. Here, it was Angelique who was reviled and hated, not Jane. This is what it felt like, she thought, to be included rather than an outcast. Baron¡¯s office was closed when she snuck past it on her way to the back stairs. She wondered if he were in it, or whether he had gone to the glossy tower in the city. It was impossible to know. She crept up the servant¡¯s stairs and along to her room. There was no one in it. She closed her door and pushed a couple of the armchairs against it to discourage attempts of entry, before showering quickly and dressing in casual clothes. She sat on the couch with herptop and studied, managing to regain lost ground. She did the practice test and had begun the final assignment when the door handle turned, and the furniture lurched. Baron¡¯s muttered curse had her set aside herptop and hurry to move the furniture aside for him. ¡°Thank f-k,¡± he said entering and closing the door behind him. ¡°When your door did not open, / thought I was done for.¡± He crossed the room to look out the window. ¡°They are everywhere,¡± he muttered and then turned to Jane. ¡°Well, I guess we are prisoners, Jane,¡± he observed. ¡°What is it that you are doing, anyway?¡± ¡°Nothing,¡± she said guiltily as she saved and closed her file. ¡°Nothing important,¡± she lied. He threw himself onto the couch beside her, his big body sprawling and taking up most of the space. ¡°You were working very hard at it when I arrived,¡± he pointed out. ¡°So, I am intrigued. I am curious as to how you spend your day when I am not filling it.¡± Her heart was racing. ¡°I was online shopping,¡± she lied. ¡°Or online selling?¡± His body remained rxed, but his eyes were sharp. ¡°A notification popped up the other day when I borrowed yourputer,¡± he said. ¡°You sold a pair of shoes. Which made me wonder why you were selling them in the first ce?¡± She swallowed, hard. The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!