The penthouse was too high, and it was freezing. I was shivering in the cold, as I hoped that my lungs won’t fail me. I could not even feel the energy from those around in the same city, because in that penthouse, you were close to only the sky.

However, I was not there because I wanted to view the city skyline of Manhattan, or because I wanted to take in the beauty of the penthouse, I was there because I had to beg a monster.

I had come here because my sister was in debt, and I was the only hope she had to suffice that debt. I was here in a bid to save her, but I did not know that my fate would take another turn here.

‘’Little birdie, you look nervous.’’

The voice I heard was low and dangerous. It vibrated through the marble floor like a warning thunder and sent a chill straight to my bones.

Suddenly, without even hearing the door open, I saw him, standing there. Damon Thorne, the youngest billionaire in the city, and the CEO of Throne industries, was a ruthless man, and an even more ruthless Alpha. He was the most ruthless Alpha in the city.

His jawline screamed of how cruel he was. I saw that in so many photos of him on the internet. His eyes were a death trap, the color of steel. He had a smirk, like a predator that was out to destroy everyone.

However, there was something about Damon Thorne that pictures didn’t exactly capture, and that was the sheer size of the Alpha, his intimidating presence that caused light bulbs to flicker when he entered the room, and most terrifyingly, his scent.

His scent struck me at once. He smelled like rain and leather, wrapped in smoke and pine. But that was not all, there was another scent that oozed out of him. It was ancient, and utterly terrifying. It bothered my sense of security, and all that I knew about the human sanity.

I was currently taking a risk too much for my mind to process. As a human, I knew the consequences of what would happen to me if I upset a powerful shifter known for a nasty temper. I should not be in the same room with him.

Moving slowly and deliberately, Damon Thorne came around the mahogany desk. He wore a suit jacket custom made for him, that spread so perfectly across his extremely broad shoulders.

For such a man who claimed to be about business only, Damon Thorne’s look was too physical.

He commanded me as he gestured at a chair, ‘’sit.’’ It was not a friendly invitation, but a direct command.

I forced myself not to flinch when his eyes rested at the base of my throat. The man had been deeply analyzing me since, but I struggled not to shudder in front of him as I lowered myself on the leather seat.

‘’Ms. Vance, do you understand the terms? There is a loan attached to your sister’s name, and it is defaulted. The collateral for the loan is heavy because it rounds up to the life of your sister. The company that keeps your sister alive is the collateral for this loan, and that company now belongs to me. Your sister owes me.’’

I tasted copper in my mouth. I was frozen in time as I replied; ‘’I have the first payment here. It is not complete, but...’’

‘’Payment?’’ he asked, cutting me off with a mocking laughter. ‘’You think money is the remedy for this?’’ Damon asked, leaning forward with his hands on the desk and caging me in.

‘’You must not know how I operate, Elara!’’

When I heard him call my name, my breathing jump started. He spoke my name as if he had possessed me, as if I belonged to him.

‘’The price of that loan is steeper than the hills,’’ he continued, his wild eyes locking into mine. ‘’Your sister is replaceable. She is weak. Well, all I want is leverage, and not the business per say.’’

‘’What are you suggesting?’’ I asked, my blood feeling chilled in my veins as I could suddenly feel the rush.

As soon as I said that Damon Thorne’s eyes flashed with a terrifying color that I could not even comprehend. The unmistakable trace of the Alpha beneath his corporate facade became evident at once.

The air became dense with power, and his scent flooded my brain until I became dizzy. He wasn’t even trying to curtail his raw power around a mere human like me, he exuded everything.

He didn’t reply to me with mere words, instead, he stretched his arm forward and closed it around my wrist. His fingers were scarred and long, and his touch was agonizing. It felt like electric waves, supposedly subtle, yet enough to scorch my skin.

However, beneath the pain, fear and confusion that I felt, something that had been dormant within me, roared to life screaming, Mate, Mate, Mine.

‘’Let go of me,’’ I said, as I leaned forward, trying as hard as I could not to acknowledge the burn.

Damon suddenly replaced the smirk on his face with a look of an ancient recognition. He tugged at me, pulling me across the desk until my face was only inches away from his. Then that terrifying flash in his eyes returned, but this time, it was not a mere flash, but something that came to stay.

Damon’s eyes shone gold.

Suddenly he growled, the sound of this growl made my teeth rattle as he said, ‘’the debt is settled, you are the payment.’’

He drew in my scent as he inhaled. He could smell my fear, my dexterity, defiance, and above all, my hidden heat. He narrowed his eyes as he focused them on the skin above my collarbone.

‘’Little birdie, I am not after just leverage, you know,’’ he continued with a hot breath against my mouth. ‘’I want my mate, and from what I see, you look like a woman who loves to be owned.’’

My mind screamed No! but my body refused to co-operate with me. My body betrayed me by arching towards him, towards the powerful aura that emanated from him.

His thumb traced the soft curve of my jaw as he lifted his hand and said something to me, something that carried finality in his words and sealed my fate in his dark world.

‘’Elara, you are marked. And I do not share my toys.’’