Chapter 24 THE ALPHA’s POSSESSIVE CLAIM
Ginnie
Every eye in the hall was already on me as I stepped forward, my legs betraying me in the worst possible way.
Six years.
Six years since I’d sworn I would never do this again, that I had buried this version of myself so deep that for a while I almost convinced myself that Ginnie Thorne was never a dancer.
The podium sat at the center of the hall, slightly elevated, encircled by a shallow water meant only for performances, celebrations…not for this.
I climbed onto the podium, the music growing louder as my trembling hands gripped it. I could feel Varkos’s eyes on me even without looking at him.
Stop staring at him, GINNIE!
He’s not going to save you…
I began to move slowly, my hips followed next, a slow, and controlled movement as it swayed to the music. Each movement bled into the next, my hair sliding over my shoulders as I turned, lashes lowered, eyes fixed on nothing at all.
The silk of my dress clung to me as I paused for a bit. Then a bend of my waist, just enough to expose the long line of my back, the vulnerable dip between my shoulders as I straightened slowly, letting the moment stretch until it hurt.
Laughter immediately rippled from the crowd, mocking, cruel. But I swallowed hard and let my hips away to the rhythm of the music.
“Damn! She moves too well for a human slave.” I heard one of the guests whisper.
“Is this what they keep them for now?” Another asked, turning fully to face Kenna. She leaned back in her chair, wine glass lifted in her hands, while her eyes gleamed bright with triumph.
“Looks like that’s what they’re meant for,” she said loudly. “She really hasn’t forgotten.”
My throat burned from humiliation as I kept dancing. Each movement felt like another layer of me being peeled away…my dignity, my past, all stripped bare under their gaze.
The water around the podium rippled as I stepped closer to the edge, the hem of my dress dampening wet from it as it brushed the surface—
Then I felt it.
A presence.
Too close now.
I turned—to see three high-ranking wolves stepping forward from the tables, circling me as power clung to them like a second skin, with the predatory smiles they wore on their faces as they stared me down.
“Easy, pretty little thing,” one of them murmured, circling the podium slowly as his eyes tracked every one of my movements with lustful hunger.
His hand brushed my hip, the mere force of it sending a chill through me as I flinched. “Please,” the word rolled out of me before I could stop it, my voice barely steady. “Stop touching me.”
A mocking laugh rippled from them, and another hand gripped my waist. His fingers pressed tighter as he leaned close.
“You’re here to entertain, aren’t you?” another said. “So don’t be shy.”
I staggered back, my heart pounding violently. “Stop. Please—stop.”
But their laughter only grew louder. The other guests watched like it was just part of the show, amusement on some of their faces…while curiosity flickered on the faces of others.
“Relax,” the third wolf’s voice shattered through my thoughts as his hand reached for my thigh, his breath hot against my ear. “You’re enjoying this.”
“Please, stop..” I pleaded again, panic clawing up my throat, “I’m not, please.” I shook my head, tears stinging my eyes now, “Stop touching me—“
His hand reached again.
But then—
BAM!
The wolf cried out as a grip-like iron hand closed around his wrist, yanking him so violently off balance—flung across the hall like he weighed nothing at all as his body crashed into a table with a deafening crack, the wood splintering as dishes shattered and wine sprayed like blood.
I turned to see a familiar figure as he stood at the center of the dining hall.
Varkos.
He crossed the distance in a blur of motion, hauling the man up by his collar and slamming him back down. The high-ranked wolf barely had time to scream before Varkos struck again.
He hit him once.
Twice.
Then—
A sickening sound tore through the hall as Varkos’s claws were out—slick with blood as he ripped the wolf’s ear clean off. His blood splattered on the marble floor instantly.
“Varkos!” Kenna barked, scrambling to her feet as shock rippled among the crowd of guests and high-ranked wolves. “What are you doing?!”
Lady Ravena rose as well, a brutal flicker of surprise etched into her features. “Varkos—enough!”
He didn’t even look at them, just dropped the man like discarded trash and began to make his way towards me. The atmosphere vibrated with his dominance as he climbed onto the podium.
“She belongs to me!” His voice thundered across the dining hall, his gaze swept over the hall—over the stunned guests, “Ginnie is my personal slave,” Varkos continued, “and no one…no one dare touch what belongs to me.”
“If any of you so much as lay a finger on her again,” he growled, his eyes blazing with rage. “I will rip you apart.”
“Varkos—what the hell are you doing?” Kenna’s voice sliced through the tension, “You’re ruining everything!”
He ignored her, paying her no attention, his eyes still locked on the guests. “The marking dinner is over,” he barked. “Everyone get the fuck out. Now!”
“I will not repeat myself.”
The sound of the chair scraping echoed instantly, and the hall emptied in a rush of fear and whispers as guests began to flee without daring to look back.
Varkos turned to me.
I stood there, staring at him, my chest rising and falling heavily. “Why?” I demanded, “Why did you do that? I was just—“
“Get inside,” he cut in before I could finish. “I don’t want to turn and see you standing here again.”
Kenna stepped forward, her face twisted in fury, “Varkos, how dare you humiliate me—“
“If you try to stop me again,” Varkos stepped closer to her until there was no space between them. “You will not like the consequences.”
Then he turned and walked out of the hall, leaving nothing but silence behind him…
And I stood there, shaking, with the terrible truth that nothing would ever be the same again after tonight.