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  I knew he was strong. I’d seen him fight in battle, just like he’d seen me fight at his side.

  I could do this. It was just another battle I had to fight. I could take the pain. I’d been wounded in raids before and had my flesh flayed open on the edge of a knife a great many times. After all of that, how bad could it be to take a cock?

  He touched me. I pulled in a shaky breath.

  I felt his fingers grasp the back of my tunic. Slowly, he untied the leather laces, pulling them out one by one and prolonging my torment. My tunic loosened and when he had fully removed the laces, he held my top in place, almost as a reminder that he could do whatever he wished with me, just because he had claimed me as his.

  I seethed in silence.

  The crowd had gone silent. They were looking forward to seeing every last moment. The establishment of a pair bond was a rare and highly anticipated event, especially when it was between a king and his chosen queen.

  This one would be especially memorable for them all because everyone watching knew that I was no omega. They knew this would be an even more rare spectacle than any other mating that had ever been seen before.

  We were both alphas.

  This was something that was going to be talked about for ages. They would sing songs about the fierce shield maiden who was taken by her king after a great victory.

  I shuddered. My fury roiled inside me and I tried to push it away, but it flared forth once he let go of the tunic and it toppled to the floor. I lifted my chin, feeling a flush come over my cheeks as my breasts were bared for the first time. My nipples hardened and I quietly swallowed my shame and rage. I wasn’t reacting to the king. It was the cold air that caressed my breasts, but the crowd roared with approval all the same. They thought I was turned on.

  I wasn’t.

  They wanted to hear me scream my pleasure as I came all over the king’s cock.

  Vageir reached around and lightly pinched my right nipple between his fingers. The only thing it did was to fuel even more fiery anger within me, and I was having trouble containing myself as more time went on. I felt like a volcano, ready to explode at a moment’s notice.

  Next, he released my hardened nipple and reached down to untie my pants. I stood stock still, not wanting to fight him but also not wanting to give in. He slowly slid my combat leathers down my hips, revealing the thin cotton leggings I was wearing underneath. He gathered my leathers at my ankles, binding me with fabric as he pulled one boot and then the other from my feet. Before he took off my leather pants, he ripped my leggings down in one quick motion, revealing my nakedness to him and everyone else.

  I tried to control my breathing. I tried to curtail my fury, but I could feel myself spiraling out of control. The dominant alpha in me snarled in anger at being stripped and put on display like this for my people.

  I was naked. In front of every warrior in our clan, people I considered my equals. In front of those I’d fought and killed with side by side on the battlefield. In front of the servants.

  I was shaking. Everyone probably thought it was from desire for the king to have his way with me. Only I knew that it was from rage and not arousal.

  The king wound a strong hand around my shoulder and suddenly pushed down hard, forcing my upper body against the table. I snarled, this time out loud and the king growled in return. His growl didn’t cow me in the slightest though, as it did with most omegas.

  Instead, I only became even more furious than before.

  His fingers slid in between my thighs, brushing against the folds of my pussy. I shuddered hard, snarling low like a feral cat. He continued exploring me, ignoring my open signs of defiance. I was able to stay motionless as he did this, but he gripped my bottom cheeks and spread me open, revealing the very shameful place that no one had ever seen before. He wasn’t going to get away with this. My shame compounded with my anger and I burst upward, unable to contain myself any longer. My instincts to fight were too strong and I no longer resisted them. Instead, I embraced them.

  I wouldn’t be forced to take his cock. I was going to fight back.

  “Settle down, Freya. Prepare yourself for your first taste of alpha cock,” the king demanded. He grabbed my shoulder and tried to push me down again, but I couldn’t be contained anymore. It was far too late for that.

  My hand groped for something on the table at the same time that the king grabbed the back of my neck. I heard him rustling around with his belt and I felt the very hard, velvety shaft of his dick press up between my bottom cheeks. There was no doubt in my mind that he was quite massive and as a virgin, it was incredibly daunting.

  He growled again and my alpha refused to bow. She wanted to fight. She wanted to taste the blood of vengeance.

  My hand closed tight around an object on the table, and I looked down to see a thick knife meant to saw through a big slab of meat. He moved to try to situate his cock at the entrance to my pussy and my alpha roared with her fury at his blatant audacity.

  I wasn’t going to give him what he wanted to take. My alpha refused to be subdued by him. She demanded retribution. The king had taken me and rendered me into nothing but a naked female on display for her people. I was going to take my power back.

  With a vicious snarl, I whirled around and was deeply satisfied with the look of surprise on the king’s face. He saw my arm swing up and froze, unsure of what to do. It was much too late for him once he saw the glint of the knife in my fingers.

  The crowd hadn’t missed my actions, however. They roared with excitement at the sudden turn of events. This was going to be a far more entertaining night than any of them had anticipated.

  The king was a warrior himself. He was fierce in combat, but he hadn’t had to prove himself time and time again like I had. I hadn’t had anything handed to me ever in my life. I’d had to work for every last morsel of food that grazed my table. Vageir had been born to the royal family and no one had ever had the balls to challenge him.

  Until me.

  He tried to block my blow with his forearm, but I was faster and far more determined to save myself from his nefarious intentions for my body.

  The crowd watching had gone wild. It had been a long time since someone had challenged the king. More important though, a woman had never been the one to do it.

  I was one of a kind.

  The knife glanced off the side of his arm, slashing deep enough so that the warm spray of his blood splashed against my naked body. It was decadently satisfying, but I didn’t allow myself to be distracted even for a second. He tried to grasp at my legs in order to topple me on my back on the table, but my thighs were slick with his own blood. I kicked him hard in the stomach with the flat of my heel, forcing him back several steps. His answering growl was ruthlessly feral, and I returned the sound with just as much aggressiveness. His eyes narrowed in my direction. He was seething with his own fury now and I grinned, looking forward to what was ultimately going to follow.

  “You don’t want to challenge me, Freya,” he said with a snarl.

  “I really think I do,” I answered.

  “You can’t win,” he scoffed.

  “Are you backing down from a challenge, my king?” I asked, making sure that my voice was loud and clear enough for the entire crowd to hear.

  We were a warrior tribe. When one person confronted another with a fight, it was dishonorable to back down. It was seen as a form of retreat. For a king to back down from a challenge was an especially polarizing choice, because it would make him appear weak and unfit to rule.

  He stared at me, his rage even more clear now. This wouldn’t be a fight that ended with one or the other calling for mercy. This would be a fight to the death. I was sure of it.

  Behind me, someone shoved the wooden table out of the way for us. The Great Hall went quiet. Every single pair of eyes was trained on the two of us.

  Me, completely naked.

  Him with his dick barely contained in his loosely buttoned pants.

  It
would be a showdown that would be talked about for ages and I had no desire to lose to him. I wasn’t going to die today nor was I going to be forced to take his cock.

  We circled each other in the newly cleared space. I clutched at the knife in my hand and he reached for one that had fallen to the floor near him. When he stood back up, he sneered at me, his own fury just as strong as mine.

  “You should have just chosen an omega,” I said with a scowl.

  “I will have you, Freya. Before the night is through, I’ll be fucking that defiant alpha pussy until it’s flowing with slick and full of my seed,” he retorted.

  I snarled with my fury and rushed toward him. I swung my fist around, my knuckles just glancing off his cheek, and quickly pivoted to thrust my knife at his throat. He spun just out of my reach and I hurtled forward, pinning him against the wall behind him. He twisted hard, grabbing at my arm and throwing me against the wall too. I screamed as a flash of pain raced down my spine, but I was used to the ache of battle. I shook it off as I rolled into a feint in one direction while quickly transferring my weight from one foot to the other to come at him when he least expected it.

  I didn’t stop pushing him, again and again until the two of us were flushed with adrenaline. I could feel the sweat dripping down my spine, and I used the back of my hand to swipe a few droplets from my eyes, but I didn’t slow down or back down, not even for a second.

  Vageir took a step back, trying to analyze my movements and fighting style, but I didn’t give him the time. Instead, I threw myself toward him, moving as swiftly as I could. I dipped low and burst up toward him, catching him off guard by my recklessly wild approach.

  I slammed my shoulder into him and threw him to the side, making him lose balance and stumble to the ground. With a vicious snarl, I threw myself on top of him and slashed at him with the knife, catching his arm again as he moved to block me. I felt more of his blood paint my skin and I shrieked at my success.

  Quickly though, I tossed the knife to my other hand. I moved so fast that he couldn’t keep up, and I caught him off guard when I brought my elbow down hard enough on his arm that I heard it crack. He growled through his pain, but I didn’t care.

  My alpha wasn’t going to back down. My alpha was ready for a fight to the death.

  Using my other hand, I twirled the knife in my palm and brought it down hard. I blocked his defensive maneuver with my other arm and attacked with everything I had. When the knife slid into the side of his skull, he stared at me with a blank surprise.

  I used enough force that the blade sank all the way in till the hilt. At once, Vageir’s eyes glazed over and the king who once reigned over the kingdom of Valgertha was no more.

  For several seconds, I just stared at those dead eyes. No longer were they full of rage at being denied what he wanted. Now there was nothing. I had won.

  I wasn’t going to be forced to take anything tonight.

  When I was ready, I stood up and gazed out at the crowd. I could feel the king’s blood drying on my naked form, stark against the paleness of my skin. I took a deep breath and peered out at the people I’d fought with all my life. I’d taken down their king. By rights, I was now their queen.

  I met Bjorn’s eyes, the one man who had trained me to fight this way, a man who had been by my side ever since I’d first picked up a sword and shield. Bjorn was like a brother to me. He was a strong fighter. Although he was a beta, he had the build of an alpha and he fought like one. Many of the men and women looked up to him and when he rose to his feet and raised his tankard in a show of respect, the rest followed.

  “Long live Queen Freya!” he shouted.

  The rest of the crowd followed suit until the entire hall echoed with their howls of animalistic excitement of this unexpected turn of events.

  This morning they had fought side by side with their king.

  Tomorrow, they’d be fighting with me, not as another warrior, but as their queen.

  Chapter Two

  Aric

  I stared at the engraved red-eyed wolf mask, tracing my fingers over the intricately carved wooden surface. It was painted with flecks of gray, black, and white, a design that was unique to my own mask. A circlet of grape leaves was carved and painstakingly hand painted at the top of it, a signature of those with status in the Brotherhood. It had taken me a long time to earn such an honor and I would never tire of admiring it every time I took it out of its wooden case. I curled my fingers around the edge and lifted it off the table. I took a deep breath before I pressed it against my face, hiding my identity from whoever would join our circle tonight.

  I stretched the leather cord over the back of my skull, tying it snugly in place. Then I pulled up the hood of my black cape, covering my dark blond hair as I did so. With a sigh, I left the comfort of my room in the inn, keeping to the shadows and slipping out of the back of the tavern. It was late, so there wasn’t anyone awake and moving around. With purpose, I made my way out into the dark of the night. I peered around until I found a dimly lit opening in the trees. Glowing lanterns just barely cast out enough light to see the dirt path beneath my feet, forcing me to be cautious with every footstep. With a heavy swallow, I prepared myself for what the rest of the night would entail.

  It had been a long time since the Alpha Brotherhood had called all of us together for a meeting like this. I had been told that all the members of the main branches would be here as well as all the sages who lead them, sages like me.

  I had been appointed my status some time ago after proving my worth for a number of years. I killed for it and now I led an army of soldiers that carried out my orders. Sometimes, I would have them assassinate the Brotherhood’s enemies, protect certain figures of power that they were assigned to, or even defend our strongholds from our enemies. It didn’t end there, however. They would do whatever I told them, no matter what it was. No questions asked.

  The chanting began, low and heavy. There was a heavy drum that beat at a steady pace as well, pairing alongside the deep voices in a haunting effect that always managed to make me shiver.

  The meeting was about to begin.

  I took my position toward the center of the ring, while my vanguards, scions, and guardians took their places behind me. The other sages gathered around the circle, waiting for our leader to take his position at the center of all of us. By the time we were all in place, there were several rings of the members of the Brotherhood, with one central walkway for one last person, the Ghost.

  Masks hid the faces of every single person there. Even as a sage, I only knew the names and positions of those in the branch that I led. I didn’t know any of the other men and women in any of the other branches. I knew none of the other sages. The only person who knew all of our true identities was the reigning leader of the Brotherhood, but none of us knew anyone outside our own branches. I’d been a member of the Brotherhood ever since I was small. Even I didn’t know our leader’s identity. I’d never seen his face.

  I knew the reason for it. If any of us were ever captured by an enemy, the rest of the Brotherhood would never be betrayed because a single captive couldn’t reveal information that he didn’t knew no matter what kind of torture he was put through.

  I looked up and saw the moon high overhead, just breaching over the tops of the trees and bathing the clearing in a soft light.

  I heard feet shuffling behind me as even more men and women joined the circle. I had my suspicions as to what this meeting might be about, but I had yet to voice them. It was likely a political cause, if I had to guess and there was only one recent event that seemed even remotely possible to be the cause.

  The nearby city of Valgertha had undergone a recent change in their ruling infrastructure. The previous king had been sympathetic to our cause and hadn’t needed much guidance on the trade routes and the surrounding cities and towns that he could raid and conquer.

  But now, there was someone new in place. A woman. Rumors were that she was also an alpha, which was posit
ively unheard of and would require a special sort of handling if that was true.

  Already, she’d begun to move outside of the city walls, moving against the surrounding territories of Kaldar from the central trading Port of Skali. She was strengthening her position as queen in the city, and it was certainly causing tension amongst the members of the Brotherhood. She was proving herself to be quite adept at conquest and if left unchecked, it would eventually work against our cause. She would need to be dealt with. And soon.

  The chanting grew louder, the drumbeat faster and more intense. Everyone pressed their hands together in a divine showing of solidarity as our leader entered the ring.

  The Ghost took his place at the very center of the circle, which was lit by two much stronger lanterns. His mask looked fierce, and the shadows highlighted just how much more ornate his was than anyone else’s. He was our leader and his mask clearly showed it.

  He cleared his throat and raised his hand, signifying that the meeting was about to begin. Both the chanting and the drums ceased to make any sound at all immediately, and the clearing descended into silence. We all waited for him to speak.

  “Tonight, we gather together to give honor to the gods and to ensure that their wishes are fulfilled. I want to remind you that the gods control the universe in two equal parts, through a delicate balance of order and chaos, and without it, the world would cease to exist. It is the mission of the Alpha Brotherhood to safeguard the will of the gods and use our power to protect those that cannot protect themselves. It is our duty,” the Ghost said.

  Every meeting began this way. It was to remind us why we were here and what our central mission demanded. If the balance tilted too much in the direction of order, the world would eventually falter. If there was too much chaos, it would lead to madness. It was seen time and time again throughout history, and it was our role to keep that balance in check.