Elias's pov :

A whole day had dragged on like an eternity in this cursed manor, each hour marked by the muffled symphony of her suffering from the room next door. I sat in my study trying to drown out the sounds with the crackle of flames. But her cries pierced through the walls, desperate pleas that twisted like knives in my gut.

"Alpha... please... it hurts..." Over and over, her voice breaking into sobs that echoed my own inner turmoil.

I should have felt vindication, a sweet rush of revenge for her betrayal. After all, she'd run from me three years ago, vanished like smoke, and then that night, slipped away again, no doubt to aid my enemies. But instead of relief, all I felt was her pain.

As her mate-gods, the bond we'd shared before she shattered it. I was wired to protect, to soothe an omega in heat. Yet here I was, denying her, denying us both.

My fists clenched on the armrests, knuckles whitening. Did she really find another alpha behind my back? The thought ignited a fresh blaze of anger in my chest. We'd been destined, our scents intertwining in that perfect fated way only true mates knew. But if she'd never cared, if she'd spread her legs for some rival to spite me. Betrayal burned hotter than any heat.

I paced the room, my alpha instincts roaring to burst through that door, to claim her and end this madness. But no. She needed punishment. She needed to break, to confess why she'd turned against me.

A soft knock interrupted my spiraling thoughts. The beta maid, Lila, poked her head in, her expression neutral as always, betas didn't feel the pull of pheromones like we did.

"Sir, what should I do about Miss Naomi's dinner? She hasn't eaten all day. The staff is worried, her cries... they're getting weaker."

I growled low in my throat, the sound more animal than man. Worried? They had no idea the war raging inside me. "Bring the food. I'll handle it."

She nodded and scurried off, returning minutes later with a tray: steaming broth, fresh bread, sliced fruits-simple fare for someone in her state. I snatched it from her, dismissing her with a curt wave.

The door to her room loomed before me like a gateway to temptation. I steeled myself, drawing on every ounce of cold resolve I'd cultivated as pack leader. She was the enemy now. My enemy.

The moment I pushed the door open, her pheromones slammed into me like a tidal wave of sweet, floral notes laced with desperate need, wrapping around my senses, infiltrating my lungs. The room reeked of it, her slick and sweat mingling into an intoxicating perfume that made my head spin.

My cock twitched instantly, straining against my pants, the alpha in me howling to respond. If I were any other normal alpha, less disciplined, I'd have given in by now, pinned her down, knotted her until she screamed in relief instead of agony. But I wasn't. I was Elias, the one she'd betrayed, and I wouldn't crumble.

I set the tray on the side table with a deliberate clatter, my eyes locking onto her. There she was, still tied to the bed as I'd left her, wrists and ankles raw from straining against the ropes. Her body glistened with sweat, the thin shift she'd worn now translucent, clinging to every curve like a second skin. She breathed heavily, chest rising and falling in ragged gasps, her full breasts heaving with each inhale, nipples pebbled and visible through the damp fabric. Her thighs were pressed together as much as the bonds allowed, slick glistening on her inner legs, pooling beneath her on the sheets.

Goddess, her pitiful face flushed a deep crimson, tears streaking her cheeks, her once-vibrant eyes now half-lidded and glassy with fever. Her lips, swollen and red from where she'd bitten them raw to stifle her cries, parted slightly as she whimpered. Strands of her dark hair stuck to her forehead and neck, matted with perspiration.

Yet, even in this wretched state, she was sexy as sin. Ravishing. Her omega body, curved and soft in all the right places, called to me like a siren's song-hips flared invitingly, skin glowing with that heat-induced sheen that made her look like a goddess of desire. The way her body arched subtly, seeking relief that wasn't there, only heightened the allure. Pitiful and tempting, a deadly combination that tested my limits.

I approached the bed, my boots heavy on the floor, each step a battle against the urge to touch her. Sitting on the edge, the mattress dipped under my weight, and I reached out slowly, deliberately pushing a few stray hairs from her damp face. My fingers brushed her skin, feather-light, but the contact was electric.

"Ah!" She moaned instantly, a low, throaty sound that shot straight to my groin.

Shameless, utterly tempting. Just a small touch, and she unraveled like that? My pants tightened further, my cock throbbing painfully, demanding release. Her pheromones spiked in response, begging for more, and I had to grit my teeth to keep control.

"I've brought you food," I said, my voice rougher than intended, laced with the strain of holding back. "You should eat. Can't have you wasting away before your punishment's done."

Her eyelids fluttered open slowly, revealing those dazed, tear-filled eyes-hazel depths clouded with pain and need. She stared at me for a long moment, as if struggling to focus through the heat's fog. Then, fresh tears spilled over, tracing salty paths down her cheeks. Her lower lip trembled, and she whispered.

"Elias ... why? Why are you tormenting me like this? What did I do... so wrong?"

I swallowed hard, my hand lingering near her face, thumb hovering just above her cheek. Gods, she looked so vulnerable, so utterly pitiful-tied and trembling, her body betraying her with every quiver, every drop of slick that scented the air. But sexy too, the way her lips parted in that plea, full and inviting, begging to be claimed. Anger surged again, mixing with the ache in my chest.

"What did you do?" I echoed, my tone mocking, though it cracked at the edges. "You ran from me, Naomi. Three years ago, you vanished without a word, leaving me to wonder if you were dead or just... done with me. And that night? You slink away again, right after I catch you consorting with my enemies. Betrayal, that's what. Plotted against your own mate."

She shook her head weakly, more tears falling, her body shuddering as another wave of heat pain hit her.

"No... Elias , please... I didn't... it hurts so much..." Her voice dissolved into a sob, pitiful and heart-wrenching, her eyes pleading with a desperation that clawed at my soul.

I leaned in closer, my face inches from hers, inhaling her scent despite myself. It was driving me mad, my alpha instincts screaming to comfort her, to bury myself inside her and end this for both of us. My hand moved of its own accord, trailing down her neck, feeling the rapid pulse there. She arched into the touch, moaning again, her skin hot as fire under my fingers.

"Look at you," I murmured taunting, though my heart pounded. "Begging like this. But oh, so tempting. Your body's screaming for me, isn't it? Slick everywhere, pussy clenching on nothing. And yet, you betrayed me. Tell me, Naomi, who's the alpha you've been running to? The one knotting you through your heats while I searched for you like a fool?"

Her eyes widened slightly, a flicker of clarity through the daze, but then pain overtook her again. She cried out, body convulsing, hips bucking against the air.

"There's... no one... Alpha, please... touch me... I can't... bear it..." Her words were slurred, sexy in their raw need, drawing my gaze to the way her shift rode up, exposing more of her glistening thighs.

I gripped the sheets beside her, knuckles white, fighting the pull. "Lies," I snarled, anger flaring to mask the pain her words inflicted. If there was no one, then why run? "You never cared that I'm your mate, did you? Just used me and tossed me aside for your schemes. Well, this is your reward, suffering alone, like I did."

She sobbed harder, twisting in the ropes, the movement making her breasts strain against the fabric, nipples begging for attention. Pitiful, her omega allure amplified by the heat, making her irresistible.

"Elias ... I'm sorry... Please, help me... I'll do anything..."

I stood abruptly, the tray forgotten, my cock aching painfully in my pants. I couldn't stay; one more plea, and I'd break.

"Eat if you want," I said coldly, turning toward the door. "Or don't. Your choice. But the torment continues until you confess."

As I slammed the door behind me, her cries followed behind me.

"Elias! Don't leave!"

Naomi's pov :

I woke up to a world that had narrowed to nothing but agony. My body was a furnace, every inch of skin ablaze, but the core of it-the unrelenting fire in my belly-had intensified into something monstrous.

Heat for omegas like me wasn't just desire; it was a biological imperative gone wrong, a storm that demanded an alpha's knot to subside. Without it, the pain built like pressure in a sealed vessel, threatening to explode. And now, with Elias's pheromones lingering in the air from his last visit, it was worse.

So much worse. His scent clung to the room like a cruel tease-smoky cedar and raw power, close enough to tantalize my senses but utterly out of reach. It amplified everything: the throbbing ache between my legs, the slick that wouldn't stop seeping from me, preparing my body for a claiming that wasn't coming.

Omegas were wired to respond to their alphas' presence; it was supposed to soothe, to draw us together. But denied? It turned into torture, like salt in an open wound, making my nerves scream for contact that never came. Every breath I took inhaled more of him, and it felt like invisible hooks pulling at my insides, stretching the pain tauter.

I had no clue how long this heat would drag on. Omegas' cycles were unpredictable beasts-mine especially, after years of dodging them could be three days of this hell, or seven, or more if stress fed it like kindling. The uncertainty gnawed at me, almost as bad as the physical torment.

My hands were still bound tight to the bedposts, ropes chafing my wrists raw, denying me even the smallest mercy of self-touch. I couldn't slip fingers down to my aching pussy, couldn't rub my swollen clit to chase a fleeting release. All I could manage was squeezing my thighs together, clenching hard in a desperate bid for friction. It backfired every time, sending jolts of teasing pleasure-pain that only heightened the emptiness, making more slick gush out in humiliating waves.

The sheets were a drenched disaster beneath me, cold and clammy against my feverish skin, the fabric sticking to my ass and thighs like a second, mocking layer. Tears poured down my cheeks, hot and salty, mixing with the sweat beading on my forehead. Sobs tore from my throat.

Gods, dying would be kinder. Just let the pain swallow me whole, end this endless cycle of need and denial. I'd take oblivion over this any day.

The door swung open with a groan, and my blurred vision snapped toward it. Elias. Even in my delirium, he stole my breath-tall and imposing, his muscular frame clad in a fitted shirt that hugged his chest, his dark hair slightly disheveled as if he'd been pacing. His face was chiseled perfection, high cheekbones and a strong jaw that could make any omega weak.

But those eyes... steel-gray and frigid, like a winter storm with no end. No warmth, no pity. His pheromones crashed over me anew, stronger with his presence, wrapping around me like chains. My body reacted instantly, pussy clenching hard, slick flooding out in a fresh torrent. But he stayed by the door, out of reach, and the denial twisted the knife deeper.

Not getting what I craved from him-my mate, the one fate had bound me to-shattered something inside. He was supposed to be my protector, my relief. Instead, he loomed like the cruel monster everyone warned about alphas: heartless tyrants who reveled in control, breaking omegas for sport. The stories were true. Alphas were beasts, and Elias was the worst of them, toying with my suffering like it amused him. Yet, the heat stripped away my resolve. I couldn't stop the words bubbling up, desperate and broken.

"Elias... please," I whimpered, my voice cracking like brittle glass. "I'll do anything. Anything you ask. Just help me. Make it stop. I can't... I can't take this anymore."

He sauntered closer, each step measured, his boots thudding softly on the floor. That smirk crept onto his lips-not a smile, but a weapon, sharp and derisive. He stopped at the edge of the bed, towering over me, arms crossed as he raked his gaze over my bound, sweat-slicked form. I could see the mockery in his eyes, the way they lingered on the wet sheets, on my trembling thighs.

"Anything, huh?" he drawled, his voice a low, velvety rumble that vibrated through me, stoking the fire even as it teased relief. "Look at you, Naomi. Writhing like a bitch in heat-oh wait, that's exactly what you are. Begging so prettily now. But tell me the truth this time. Do you really have an alpha? Some other knot-head you've been spreading for while plotting against me?"

My mind raced through the fog of pain. Deny it? Tell him the truth-that there'd been no one, that I'd suffered alone all these years? But a desperate thought flickered: What if saying yes made him let me go? Maybe he'd discard me as tainted, shove me out the door to find "my" alpha. Freedom, even if it meant enduring the heat elsewhere. Anything but this cage.

So, I nodded weakly, tears blurring his face. "Y-yes... I do."

The lie hung in the air for a heartbeat. Then, his pheromones shifted spiking with rage, turning from tempting to torturous. It felt like needles pricking my skin, thousands of them, burrowing into every pore. I screamed, the sound ripping from my lungs as the pain amplified tenfold, my body convulsing against the ropes. My pussy throbbed viciously, slick pouring out in response to his dominance, but it was agony now, not preparation.

"Ahh! Elias, no-stop!"

His hand shot out like a viper, fingers wrapping around my throat in a vise grip. Not enough to choke, but enough to pin me down, his thumb pressing into the pulse point where my heart hammered wildly. The contact should have soothed-alpha touch on omega skin but his cold fury made it burn, a mix of relief and torment that left me gasping. His face hovered inches from mine, eyes blazing with icy wrath.

"You lying little slut," he snarled, his breath hot against my cheek. "Again? If you already have an alpha, why deny it the first time? Why spread your legs for me that night, moaning like a whore under me? Not only are you a traitor, feeding secrets to my enemies you're a cheater too. Faithless omega, playing both sides."

I thrashed under his hold, sobs choking me. The pain in my core spiked with his anger, waves crashing through me, making my vision spotty. "No... Elias, please... I didn't-"

"Shut up," he snapped, tightening his grip just enough to make me wheeze. His free hand trailed mockingly down my side, brushing the edge of my breast through the damp shirt, sending unwanted shivers through me. "I was thinking about letting you go after a bit more torment. Let you crawl back to your lover, broken and useless. But now? You've brought this on yourself, Naomi. You'll be caged in this room forever. My pretty little prisoner."

"No!" I cried, the word a wail of despair. Tears flooded my eyes, spilling over as I shook my head frantically. The heat raged on, amplified by his proximity, my body screaming for him even as my mind recoiled from his cruelty. "Please, no... don't..."

He released my throat with a shove, stepping back, but his smirk returned, colder than ever.

"Oh, yes. And I'll make you my sex slave. That's what traitorous omegas like you deserve. Today, I'll relieve this pathetic heat of yours-knot you until you can't think straight. And then? I'll give you more pain. Break you piece by piece until you're begging for my mercy every damn day."

Before I could process, he leaned over and untied my hands with rough tugs, the ropes falling away to reveal angry red welts on my wrists. Freedom-but not really. His hands were on me then, tearing at my clothes with savage efficiency. Fabric ripped under his strength, my shirt shredded, pants yanked down and discarded. He didn't stop until I was completely naked, exposed to the cool air that did nothing to quench the fire inside. My skin pebbled, nipples aching, pussy dripping slick down my thighs in plain view. Humiliation burned in my cheeks, but the heat drowned it out.

"Elias... wait..." I whispered, but he ignored me, scooping me up in his arms like I weighed nothing. His body heat against my bare skin was a torturous tease-relief flickering at the edges of the pain, but his cold demeanor kept it at bay. I whimpered, instinctively nuzzling into his chest, inhaling his scent despite myself.

"Pathetic," he muttered, carrying me to the adjoining bathroom. The tile was cold underfoot as he set me down in the empty bathtub, my legs folding weakly beneath me. I slumped against the porcelain, shivering, slick smearing on the surface. He loomed over me, arms crossed again. "Wash yourself. Clean up that mess between your legs. You reek of desperation."

With that, he turned and strode out, slamming the door behind him. I heard his voice in the outer room, barking orders: "Change the sheets now. And get my assistant in here with the contract. Make it quick."

Alone in the tub, I curled into myself, sobs echoing off the walls. The pain lingered, a dull roar now that his pheromones had faded slightly, but the promise of "relief" twisted with dread.

What contract? What more pain?

My hands trembled as I tried to wash myself in the bathtub. For a brief moment, it felt good icy rivulets soothing the external burn, cooling the sweat that had plastered my hair to my neck and made my body glisten like I'd been doused in oil. I leaned back against the porcelain, gasping, my bound ankles-wait, no, he'd untied my hands but left my legs free now? No, everything blurred.

The ropes were gone from my wrists, but the phantom ache remained, red welts circling my skin like bracelets of fire. I scooped water over my chest, trying to rinse away the sticky residue of slick that clung to my thighs, but my movements were weak, uncoordinated. Every brush of my fingers against my hypersensitive flesh sent unwelcome jolts through me, not relief, but a reminder of the void inside.

I couldn't even bring myself to touch lower, where the need pulsed hottest; my mind recoiled at the thought of doing it alone, without him.

But the respite was short-lived. As the water grew tepid around me, a fresh burning sensation ignited deep in my core, shooting outward like lightning through my veins. It started as a low throb in my abdomen, then spread-my pussy clenching desperately around nothing, slick renewing its flow despite the chill.

This wasn't just the heat; it was the cruel twist of having his pheromones so near yet denied. Elias's scent lingered on my skin from when he'd carried me here, a faint trace of that dominant alpha musk-earthy pine and forged steel-that my omega biology craved like air.

Without his full presence, without his touch to ground it, the pheromones turned toxic, pricking at my nerves like thousands of needles. It amplified the pain, making my body scream for completion. Omegas weren't meant to endure this half-state; our heats demanded total surrender or total agony. I doubled over in the tub, hugging my knees, sobs echoing off the tiled walls.

"Why... why won't it stop?" I whispered to no one, tears mixing with the water. The burn intensified, a vise squeezing my womb, radiating to my breasts, my thighs, even my fingertips. I felt like I was being torn apart from the inside, every cell begging for the one thing that could quench it: him.

The door swung open without warning, and he entered. No sympathy in those piercing blue eyes, just added up detachment. He didn't speak at first, just strode in, his boots clicking on the floor, and scooped me up from the tub like I weighed nothing. Water dripped from my naked body onto his shirt, but he didn't flinch.

His arms around me were a torment all their own-his heat seeping through the fabric, his pheromones enveloping me fully now, easing the needle-pricks into a dull roar but igniting fresh waves of need.

I whimpered against his chest, my face buried in the crook of his neck, inhaling him greedily. "Elias... please..."

He carried me back to the bedroom without a word, the air cooler now, the bed remade with fresh sheets that smelled of crisp linen instead of my desperation. He laid me down gently-too gently, almost mocking in its false care and stepped back, his gaze raking over my exposed form. I curled onto my side, tears blurring my vision as I looked up at him. He was still so handsome, that chiseled jaw, those broad shoulders, but the coldness in his eyes made him seem like a stranger.

A monster. The alpha everyone feared, the one who'd built his empire on ruthlessness. My body betrayed me again, slick pooling anew just from his proximity, but the pain lingered, a constant undercurrent.

Before I could beg again, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a sheaf of papers, throwing them onto the bed beside me with a flick of his wrist. They scattered like accusations.

"Sign them," he ordered.

I pushed myself up on shaking elbows, the movement sending a fresh stab through my core. My hands fumbled for the papers, the words swimming before my eyes.

"What... what are they?"

Elias crossed his arms, leaning against the bedpost with that smirk creeping back onto his lips-cold, mocking, like he was enjoying my confusion.

"Your way out of this pain, little omega. Sign them, and you'll be my legal mate. That means cutting all ties with that alpha of yours. No meeting him, no fucking him or any other alpha or beta. You'll belong to me completely. Body, soul, everything."

My breath hitched, the implications sinking in as the cold wash cleared the fog in my mind just enough. Legal mate? That wasn't just a bond; it was a contract in our world, enforceable by pack law, binding me to him forever. He leaned forward then, his face inches from mine, one hand reaching out to stroke my cheek. His touch was electric, sending shivers of relief through me, but his whisper was venom.

"In reality, Naomi, I'm buying you. You'll be here for me to torment and fuck whenever I want. My personal plaything. Isn't that what a traitor like you deserves?"

My eyes widened, horror cutting through the haze. He wanted to torment me-use me as a vessel for his anger, his revenge. And he still didn't know the truth about his father, about why I'd really run three years ago. I'd discovered the old alpha's betrayal, his plots against Elias himself, and fled to protect us both, infiltrating the enemies to sabotage them from within. If he found out now, after this... what would he do? Break me further? Kill me?

The heat would pass in a few days-omegas' cycles averaged three to five. I could endure a bit more, couldn't I? Clench my teeth through the pain, survive without giving away my whole life to this cold version of him.

"No," I whispered, shaking my head, pushing the papers away. "I won't sign them."

His face darkened, the smirk vanishing into a snarl. He grabbed my chin, forcing my gaze to his, his fingers digging in painfully-meant to hurt, not comfort.

"Really? You're that loyal to him? Rejecting your own mate for some rival alpha? Pathetic. I should have known, a cheater on top of a traitor. You slept with me that night, remember? Moaning under me like you meant it. Was that just part of your scheme too? Stringing me along while you warmed his bed?"

Tears spilled over, the pain surging with his anger, his pheromones spiking aggressively and making my body arch toward him involuntarily. "Elias, please... there's no-"

"Save it," he cut me off, releasing my chin with a shove that sent me back onto the pillows. "Make up your mind while I'm gone. But know this: you're not leaving this room either way."

He turned on his heel and stormed out, the door slamming like a final judgment.

I collapsed into the sheets, sobs wracking my body as the pain crested again. Why was this happening to me? All I'd wanted was to protect him, to unravel the web of lies around his family, but now I was trapped in my own.

The burn returned full force, my pussy aching so badly I squeezed my thighs together, rocking futilely, slick soaking the fresh linens already. Hours blurred-maybe minutes, but it felt eternal. I wondered if he'd really let me go if I didn't sign. No, his cold side wouldn't allow it.

He'd cage me anyway, torment me without the contract's protections. At least signing gave me a legal status-mates had rights, even if minimal. I could bide my time, reveal the truth about my father later, when the heat passed and he might listen. Enduring alone might kill me; omegas had died from prolonged heats without relief. And deep down, beneath the pain, a twisted part of me still craved him-the bond pulling me despite his cruelty. It was the only way out, the valid path through this hell.

Two hours later-or what felt like it-the door opened again. Elias stood there, arms crossed, eyes still cold. "Ready?"

I nodded weakly, tears streaming. "Yes... I'll sign."

He handed me a pen, watching as my shaking hand scrawled my name across the pages. Satisfaction flickered in his gaze, cold and triumphant. He gathered the papers, tucking them away, then hovered over me, his body caging mine against the bed. His scent overwhelmed me, promising relief at last.

"Good girl," he murmured, his voice a mocking purr. "Now, let's help you... as the contract suggests."