“If you don’t believe me you can ask my nursemaid. She woke me up and brought me down here.”
“Vanessa,” My father called. Vanessa walked in, her head bowed, as she stepped in front of the table.
“Yes, Alpha?” She asked.
“Is what she said true?” My father asked.
“Yes, Alpha.”
“Was there anyone in her room?” Ethan asked.
Vanessa’s eyes widened and she looked at me and back to my father.
“No, Alpha. I would have reported anything of that nature to you right away,” Vanessa answered nervously.
“Did you check?” Ethan asked.
“No, but—”
“So you didn’t check. How would you know then?” Ethan asked.
“I can go now. I was up there and her room is bare. There wasn’t anyone in there. Who are you suspecting of being in her room?” Vanessa asked and bowed her head.
“A man,” Ethan growled.
“My daughter is pure,” My father said.
“How can I be so sure?” Ethan asked.
A cold sweat broke out along my back. Goddess. I hated this. He couldn’t be serious. He was asking my father about my purity? The audacity as if I were just mere cattle. Am I nothing but livestock to him? I blanched. I already knew the answer to that. I was nothing but a cow, a womb, someone he could breed with. His obsession with me was sick. He’d been with my sister, a child. My duty as his mate would be to give him children, but not only that. My virginity was a prize he coveted.
Please, Father. I fought the urge to close my eyes tight and show my fear. Please.
“You can check.”
His words were like a death sentence. They were a key to a locked gate. Ethan had permission to check me and the idea of what that meant scared the life out of me. Even my nursemaid looked up with wide eyes. Her eyes dropped to me and I didn’t bother looking to her for help. I wouldn’t receive any from her. I’m glad she had the decency to at least feel pity for me. Even though that wouldn’t do anything for me, that wouldn’t be any help at all.
My father stood to his feet and walked along the table. He stopped behind Ava. For the first time tonight I really stare at her. She looks at me and I search for a shard of the sister I knew and loved. Surely she wouldn’t agree with this. We’ve gone through so much, as a child I protected her from my father’s scorn. I pleaded with her to say something. If anyone could get across to father it would be here.
“Let’s go. This doesn’t pertain to us,” Father said.
“But Daddy,” Ava pouted.
She looked away from me and my hopes were dashed. She isn’t going to help me and it’s like a punch to the gut. This is the highest level of betrayal I’ve ever experienced. This was something we could never come back from.
“No. This is between them. We have no place here. Let’s go. You shouldn’t have been a whore last night, Adealine. Maybe then, this wouldn’t have happened.”
“But I didn’t—”
“Don’t even try lying to me. Your mate has told me what happened.”
“He’s not my mate!” I cried. “He’s not my mate.”
“I am God here. I say what is and what isn’t. Ethan is your mate and I won’t hear anything else on the matter. Test me further and you’ll regret it, daughter.”
Ava glared at me from across the table as she got to her feet. Her eyes darted to Ethan before she bit her bottom lip and turned from us and followed father out.
Goddess. Please, don’t leave me here alone with him.
Ethan’s breathing intensified by my side and I called out to father one last time through a mind-link, which he rejected. The sound of his chair scraping against the floor as he scooted back echoed in the large room. I fought the urge to cry. The tears pricked the corners of my eyes and I took a deep breath and willed them back. My chair was yanked back and I gripped the handles to hold myself up/stop myself from falling forward. Strong firm hands gripped my arms and I was lifted up and thrown down onto the table face first. I cried out as my chest slammed into the meal that had been prepared for me. It was still hot and burned my chest. I reached out, my hands flat on the table, as he gripped my skirt. Tears welled in my eyes and I couldn’t stop them from falling.
I bit back a sob as a cool wind hit the back of my calves. I bit down on my lip and tasted blood as my skirt was bunched at the waist. I hated him, Goddess, I hated him. A sharp inhale of breath told me more about what he thought than I would have liked. I felt him, his fingers on my inner thigh. They were calloused and rough as they slid up, up, up. He sat down behind me and I thought I’d die of shame as the chair scraped along the floor as he scooted forward. The asshole. I didn’t want him to see me, I didn’t want him to touch me. I’d been with Shane last night and he hadn’t even touched me yet. I didn’t want—
I gasped as hard fingers gripped my backside.
“Don’t take your sweet time. Hurry up and check. This isn’t for your enjoyment,” I spat. Wrong choice of words. I knew that as soon as they left my lips but I didn’t care. I don’t know who he thought he was. Was he my intended? Yes. Did that mean he could do whatever he wanted with me before it was official? Before we were mated? No.
“I was going to be gentle with you, but now that you’ve run that mouth of yours, I don’t want to be. I’ll do whatever the fuck I want, and do you know why, Sweet little whore?” Ethan asked.
I could feel his gaze on my most sensitive areas and I wanted to kick him in the face. I wanted to hurt him. I wanted nothing more than to make Ethan bleed. I never liked pain but I think I would have reveled in it.
“Because no one will stop me. Not your little boyfriend, not your father, and especially not you,” Ethan murmured.
Before I could say another word, he spread my cheeks and two fingers pushed inside of me. I cried out at the intrusion. This wasn’t what I wanted and it hurt. He pulled his fingers out of me and just when I thought he was done and I could get up, two wet fingers thrust back into me. I was appalled. All of the fight I’d had in me went up in smoke.
He had spit on his fingers and I now had his juices inside of me. I felt violated. I was going to be sick, if there was anything in my stomach I would have lost it all here, right now. It would have all come up. I didn’t mean to but my insides clenched at the unwelcome invasion.
“You’re liking this, aren’t you?” Ethan asked perversely.
His fingers prodded deeper into me, I cried out in pain as his fingers pressed deeper, and I fought the urge to cry out. He stopped when he felt something and practically purred. The fucking asshole purred. I was still, so still, I couldn’t move. Now that he’d confirmed my purity, he should get off, but he didn’t. He didn’t budge, and waiting for him to get off of me felt like torture.