When the lock clicked, it was as if a guillotine was dropping on my neck. I considered myself finished. The end of Elara Vance had happened as far as being a human was concerned.

Elara’s position had been replaced by a mate, a prisoner and a prize.

For a long time, I remained still. I was conscious of everywhere that Damon’s body had once been in and touched. That powerful body he had made it as if he was still in the room with me, meanwhile I was alone.

His scent was everywhere on the sheet. His scent that was like rain and nature blended with pine overwhelmed me, as well as his heat. His intense male heat. What was most terrifying however, was that his scent also lingered on my skin as well.

It was intoxicating and sickening, his scent. It made everywhere blurry.

When I touched the key he dropped for me, I could tell instantly that he was daring me. He was taunting me to go after my freedom if I would. I looked at the windows. Damon had warned me beforehand that they were re-enforced, but did that really matter? We were on the fiftieth floor. What will I do with the fiftieth-floor window?

The windows were massive from floor to ceiling, and it gave me a view of the city that I could do absolutely nothing with. I was in the sky, far up in the sky.

There was something dark, slowly welling up in my gut. It had replaced the rage I formerly felt. It was longing. That was what it felt like. My stomach felt unpleasant, with my ribs aching dully. Instantly, I knew that something was amiss.

It was my body. My body was being a traitor to me; my body was betraying me by being upset that the Alpha had abandoned me here. It didn’t matter that my mind tried to convince my body that the Alpha was a monster we were better off without. The Alpha who had torn my life to shreds.

‘Come back safe, mate.’

That whisper wasn’t one. It came from me, but it wasn’t my thoughts. I slammed my hand over my mouth to shut those words back in. It was the damn bond. The Goddess was cruel to create this warfare between mind and body, just to ensure that I submitted to my mate.

The sun was just disappearing from the sky one-hour later when I heard a knock on the door. I stumbled over the duvet as I scrambled off the bed.

It was Rys, Damon’s Beta with his flat voice. He said; ‘’Ms. Vance, I have your things with me, also, dinner is ready.’’

I hurried towards the door, then just some inches away from it, I spat, ‘’Don’t give me anything, I won’t eat it.’’

‘’Elara, that is the Alpha's order.’’ Rys spoke clearly in case I forgot where I was. He spoke my name with the same dormant tone that Damon had used to describe a lot of things to me.

‘’The Alpha does not want you to faint because you are starved. The bond’s pull will worsen if you don’t eat and consume enough calories.’’

‘’You are aware of the bond?’’ I was shocked, recoiling into myself after yelling.

‘’The scent cannot be hidden, Ms. Vance. Everyone is aware of the bond. Moreso, you are being claimed by the Alpha in his territory. Alpha Damon Thorne has waited so long for you little birdie and so have the rest of us.’’ Rys replied as if it was a simple case and I had not been kidnapped.

I felt so humiliated. To think that my fate with Damon Thorne was a public sensation to the entire pack made me feel humiliated to say the least.

‘’You are a monster too,’’ I said with a whisper to Rys.

‘’Damon Thorne signed the papers to set you sister free an hour ago. She is free now. I am just a loyal Beta. The transaction between both of you has commenced and he has fulfilled his end, now, it’s your turn. Fulfill your end.’’

‘’Have a change of clothes,’’ he said as he slid some fabric under the door, alongside a tray. ‘’Alpha Damon would soon return, and he loves all his property to be clean and spectacular.’’

Property? At the thought of that, tears filled my eyes. I became instantly frustrated and kicked the tray away. A bottle of water flew across the room and slid to a distance.

When I picked up the clothes, I was also taken aback. It was not a night-gown, but a lingerie. A cream lingerie that was made to accentuate every curve in my body. It was another way to remind me that I was his little birdie in this cage of his.

He was mocking me. He was giving me all the comfort and luxury I never had, while he stole my soul and my essence.

I had to change to the lingerie. When I took off my old clothes, the captivating scent of Damian filled everywhere. It was so heavy that it almost stopped me from breathing until I threw it a distance away.

As I stared ahead of me in realization, I shook my head as my determination grew. Damon Thorne might have bought me, but he had certainly not broken me. Not just yet.

Just then, I heard the lock click from outside.

Damon arrived majestically. He no longer had his suit on, but now he wore a regular black jean and a grey shirt that held his chest taut. It buttressed his well chiseled body from his torso to his shoulders where I spotted some tribal tattoos.

He looked fierce now, and not like the billionaire I met earlier. He looked like a warrior who had just come from battle.

He just looked at me, scanning me from head to toe to see if I had done well. His eyes settled on my waist and the way my lingerie stuck on me.

‘'Elara, eat the food.’’ Witha voice so rough, he rumbled, exactly like thunder.

‘'No.’’ I crossed my arms with defiance.

That simple word I said, ‘no,’ sparked something in him. Before I could notice that his eyes had narrowed towards me, he closed up the gap between us with just one stride, and then he gripped my jaw, looking into my eyes and raising my head all the way back.

‘’You must obey me, mate. You don’t have a choice.’’

I felt the rumble in his chest as he growled dangerously at me. His voice tugged at that unpleasant feeling I had in my belly just now. ‘'You are mine, and I will make sure you are fed even though you don’t want to feed yourself.’’

He let go of me. He took the tray in a flash and stabbed the steak that looked delicious on the tray. I wanted to protest, and I had just opened my mouth to say something when the Alpha glared at me, causing me to shut up.

There was total command in his eyes as he lifted the fork towards my mouth. The food looked so delicious now that it was right in front of me, and it smelled delicious too. My stomach started to betray me as the hunger I had buried since swelled up.

I was getting weak for him, and I hated it. I hated the fact that the bond was making me submit.

‘’Just one bite,’’ he said to me with a promising voice that was suspiciously low. ’’One bite, and you will understand what it means for the Alpha to care for you.’’