Contracted To The Alpha: The Last Breeder

I am not prepared for this.

Chapter 6

Ella’s POV

It is strange, the way silence feels so heavy, last night, after my stupid act of vulnerability and getting Cyril more upset that he already was, I thought my body would have grown numb already, I thought my mind would have grown weak in this place, but as I move through the manor today, I don't hear any sound, and it feels almost peaceful.

I am still replaying his voice in my mind. ‘Tell me his name, Ella’ I am still trying to figure out what that had offended him so much.

The memory sends a shiver down my spine. I had not given him the name, of course, I couldn’t. For someone like the Alpha, he could do anything with the information and maybe a part of me wanted to protect what little shred of my past still belonged to me. Or maybe I was afraid of what Cyril might do if he ever learned.

And thankfully, because of that moment I think I will escape notice completely all through the day, he has not called for me, no one has even tried to ask for my audience and I think I might actually like it.

When Dinner time comes, I will eat quietly, and retreat to my chamber before anyone remembers I exist again, and I doubt the Alpha will join me for dinner.

Of course, I was wrong, Alpha Cyril and his parents, and some came, dinner is long, stretched across a table lined with candlelight and heavy dishes I hardly taste. A roasted stag stood at the center, its hide glazed with something that glistened like fresh blood. Wild boar still on the bone had been brushed with honey and clove, its fat dripping onto silver trays. Venison hearts skewered on iron rods smoked faintly, seasoned with charred rosemary. Moonfish with silver skin shimmered under petals of moonflowers, their eyes glassy, as if staring right at me. I wanted to gag.

I had grown up on stale bread, thin broth, and scraps left behind after my foster sister and my family had eaten their fill. Now I sat before more food than my foster family could have afforded in a year. Cyril sits across from me, his expression unreadable. I eat in silence, keeping my eyes lowered, and wishing I could fade into the shadows.

His mother’s voice breaks the quiet.

“Ella.”

I look up quickly, my fork clattering against the plate. Her gaze pins me, pale and sharp. “You look pale. Not unwell, I hope?”

My lips part, but I can’t find the right words. “I. . . I’m fine, my lady. I am just tired.”

Her uncle leans forward, a knowing smile curving his lips. “Tiredness, hm? A common sign in wives of your age. Should we be expecting news soon?”

Heat burns up my neck. I nearly choke on my breath with the outright comment, I shake my head, but no words come.

Cyril’s fork slams against his plate, enough to make me and everyone present jump. “Enough.”

But his mother doesn’t flinch. She lifts her brow in quiet challenge. “We inquire only because it is our duty to the family line. Do not mistake the eagerness for being cruel, Cyril, we just want to know.”

I lower my eyes again, my heart beating too fast in my chest, cruelty or not, I feel so exposed, it just feels like every eye at the table is openly measuring my worth in the curve of my stomach.

When dinner finally ends, I rise quickly, excusing myself under the pretense of needing rest. My steps are very quick, desperate to get away. But then I hear voices behind me so I waited.

His mother’s voice floats out of the room clear enough for me to make out her words “She is young. Her body is fertile now. What excuse is there to wait?”

I know I should keep walking, but my feet won’t move. My body presses against the wall with my ears straining.

Another voice joined in, deeper and it has a mocking hint to it. Of course, the man who joined us for dinner, Lord Darius, Cyril’s uncle. “Unless, of course, our Alpha is. . .reluctant, and that would be a problem, wouldn’t it?”

A loud cruel laughter followed and I stay frozen, still pressing myself against the wall. My fingers dug into the stone as I held my breath, straining to listen.

“Reluctant?” Lady Vivienne scoffed. “Don’t be absurd. Why would he be? He knows his duty. And an Omega’s only purpose is to give us heirs. And this one. . . ” her voice dripped disdain “. . .is replaceable if she fails.

Replaceable. That had always been my role in life, hadn’t it? A shadow in my foster home, a burden dressed in hand-me-downs, now a broodmare paraded in front of wolves who didn't care to know what it felt like to have nothing.

Then came the words that turned my blood to ice. “If she resists,” Lord Darius drawled, “no one would question if he forced her. An Alpha has rights, especially with a breeder, so I doubt the Omega is the one delaying this setup.”

The air left my lungs all at once. I have been here only two days and they are already wondering how it would be better if Alpha Cyril forced me?

My heart pounded in my ears so loudly I almost didn’t hear Cyril’s response. “Lord Darius, I will not let you speak of her like that,” Cyril’s voice cut through the whole room in a dark commanding voice, and I blinked.

Did I mishear?

Lady Vivienne let out a soft laugh. “Defensive, are we? Cyril, she is an Omega, she is not your equal, she is not your mate. She is only here to serve a purpose, I don't expect you to talk to your uncle that way”

“I don't expect him to speak that way of someone who is going to be my wife, I expect that she is given the same respect bestowed upon me” Cyril bit back. His voice sounded chill, too cool even but beneath, it felt like he could barely contain his rage. “She is under my roof, my protection. If any of you so much as suggest again that I should. . . take her against her will, you will answer to me.”

The hall went deathly quiet.

I pressed my hand over my mouth, my chest trembling so hard. Cyril. . . Alpha Cyril. . . the man who had pushed scissors against my throat, who had told me I was disposable only yesterday. . . had just defended me.

Why?

I backed away from the doorway before I could hear more, my legs unsteady. I can't believe I had heard that, I can't believe Alpha Cyril could say those words to defend me against his own family.

And I don't know how to feel, I don't know what I should do with this new discovery.

“Who is there?”

Shit!

I should have walked away sooner, and If I don't walk fast enough, they are going to find out I have been eavesdroping.

I am not supposed to hear that? Or am I?

Every bone in my body screamed at me to keep going, not to look back, just walk, just run.

Oh s**t! My shoulder caught the edge of a vase on a long passage corner to hide away from the steps I now hear behind me.

The vase swayed to fall, and I lunged to steady it with my palm slapping against its cool surface, but it was too late. It fell down, crashed, and the broken parts skittered across the floor everywhere.

The voices inside the dining hall went silent.

My stomach dropped.

I turned and ran.

My slippers slapped against the marble, skirts tangling around my legs. My chest heaved with frantic breaths, my only thought to disappear, to melt into the shadows before they saw. . .

“Ella!”

The call of my name struck like a sharp whip against my back. I didn’t dare look back. My ankle twisted against the uneven stone step at the corridor’s bend. Pain ripped up my leg. My body pitched forward and I hit the floor hard with my palms scraping raw.

A cry burst from my lips before I could stop it.

The sound sealed my fate.

Doors slammed behind me, and I could hear boots thunder behind me. I clawed at the ground, tried to push myself up, but when I put weight on my foot, agony seared through me. My ankle buckled.

Hands seized me, rough fingers biting into my arms.

“Caught you,” a voice sneered near my ear. Lord Darius. I recognized the mocking timbre, the scent of spiced wine heavy on his breath. “Curious little Omega, aren’t you?”

I thrashed in his grip, desperation giving me strength. “Let me go!”

Another cold voice joined Lady Vivienne. “Eavesdropping on matters far above her station. Tsk.” Her nails, long and lacquered, dug into my chin as she forced my face upward. Her pale eyes burned with fury. “Did you hear everything, child?”

I bit my lip, shaking my head frantically. “N. . . no. . . ”

A stinging slap cracked across my cheek. My head snapped sideways, tears stinging my eyes.

“Do not lie to me,” she hissed. “An Omega’s ears are as dangerous as her womb if not controlled.”

Darius’s chuckle slithered down my spine. “Seems Cyril’s little breeder needs a lesson in obedience.”

Obedience? What more do they want from me?

I kicked weakly, but they overpowered me with terrifying ease. My ankle throbbed, every movement sending sharp jolts of pain.

“Please. . Z ” My voice broke, ragged with panic. “I wasn’t listening. I swear!”

Vivienne’s lips curved in a smile that held no warmth. “Of course you were. That is what makes it useful.”

Then, to my horror, she nodded at one of the guards who had followed. “Bind her. Take her to Cyril’s chamber. If she is to be his wife, she must learn the place she belongs.”

My blood turned to ice. “No!” My scream echoed off the stone walls. I struggled, kicked, and clawed, but ropes were already being wound tight around my wrists. My body was hauled upright, dragged like a sack of grain.

“No, please, not him, not there!”

The corridor stretched long, torches casting cruel shadows across the walls as they dragged me along. My cries went unanswered, swallowed by the emptiness of the manor. My ankle dragged uselessly, each step jarring it until tears blurred my sight.

We reached a tall oak door, its surface carved with the crest of Cyril’s line. My stomach lurched, I was brought here on the first day too.

They shoved it open to the Alpha’s chamber.

I had glimpsed it only once before on my first day, and it is still as dark and oppressive with power. The bed stood massive at its center, draped in furs. A wolf pelt stretched across the floor, its glass eyes gleaming in the firelight.

The guards threw me inside. My knees struck stone. I gasped, breath hitching as the ropes cut deeper into my skin.

Behind me, Darius’s voice carried amusement. “Cyril will thank us for delivering his bride properly.”

Vivienne’s reply was colder. “He has been far too lenient. That ends now.”