Chapter Five

Light filters through the thick drapes signaling the rise of the sun and the end of our time together. Shortly she will be free to leave, returning to her life away from me. A thought I have been struggling with for the past thirty minutes. She lies spread across my chest once more, her flaming red hair in a tangle. Her body is full of marks and bruises, the evidence of our night together.

My back is all scratched up and I can't help but smile at the thought of being branded by her in some strange way.

"It's almost time," I murmur running a hand down her back.

"I know," she says, not moving from her spot.

"Tonight might not have been what you were expecting—" I start but she cuts me off with a harsh kiss.

"It wasn't, but I don't regret it." A blush colors her cheeks.

I watch her, assessing whether she is telling the truth, but I can't find a single sign of deception. The only reason she feels this way now is because of the past three hours after she finally accepted me.

"Why did you do it?" I ask, suddenly needing to know what drove her to not only sell her body but her virginity.

It couldn't have been an easy decision to make.

"Do what?" Bella asks with a frown.

"The auction."

Her mood changes and she pushes away from me, getting out of my bed and pacing the length of the room. She runs her fingers through her hair trying to get rid of all the tangles.

"Does it matter? You got what you paid for." Bella tries to make her words harsh, but I can hear the sadness underneath.

"Bella," I call, drawing her attention back to me. "Tell me." There is no Alpha infliction behind my words. I want her to want to tell me.

"I needed the money."

Her gaze slides back to her bare feet. I know she is embarrassed to admit that fact but I was expecting her to say just that. What I want is for her to tell me why she needs the money. I wait for her to continue, using every ounce of patience I have.

"My mother is sick." Tear-filled eyes lift to meet mine.

She hasn't cried in hours and even though I wanted her to cry for me, this was not how. Opening my arms wide, I wait for her to crawl back into bed with me. I hold her against my chest, allowing her to cry softly while I work through the fact that I felt something when I saw her tears. Never in my life have I cared for another living being besides my brother.

But her anguish and despair? The fact that she is frightened and seems to be the only person taking care of her mother tugs at emotions I never knew I had. I'm not sure what it is I am feeling right now, but I do know that I want—no, need—to protect her and help her. My Alpha instincts are pushing me to make sure she doesn't cry again, not unless I want her to.

"How much money do you need?" I ask gruffly.

"More than I could make at ten auctions." Her answer is a low whisper.

A surge of anger flows through me at the thought of Bella with any Alpha, any male, that isn't me.

"I could give you the money."

Fuck knows where that came from. It must be all the sex draining any common sense from my desire-addled brain. Why the fuck would I give her more money?

Her words echo my thoughts. "Why would you do that?"

Lifting her I place her on my lap, her thighs on either side of my waist, my cock hard at the juncture between her thighs. Bella shudders as a moan slips from her lips, slick coating the underside of my already rigid erection. A plan formulates in the dark recesses of my mind.

"You'll be mine," I say. "I will mark you and mate you. Get permission from the government to make it official. I may have to bribe a few people, but I have enough money and power to do this."

Shock covers her features. "Are you nuts?" Bella asks as she scrambles off my lap and toward the door, but she won't get away from me.

I slam into her back hard, trapping her against the door. "Don't you fucking run from me, Bella!" Anger coats my words. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way, it's your choice. But you should know by now that I always get what I want."

"Aiden, you don't know what you're saying. You don't want to keep me, it's just the lust clouding your thinking."

Kicking her legs apart I notch my cock at her entrance once more. "I know exactly what I am doing." I thrust into her wet heat pushing her smaller frame up the door and forcing her to stand on her toes. "You are my omega, and I will be damned if I let you out of this room without my mark marring your beautiful skin."

Bella shakes her head, trying to deny me what I want.

"You should also know by now that I don't give a fuck what you want. I offered you the option as a courtesy."

Pressing her harder against the door I run my teeth across her collarbone.

"I will mate you." Thrust.

"I will keep you." Thrust.

"I will breed you." Thrust.

"Oh, my God!" Bella mewls, her slick coating my thighs.

Keeping her front pressed tightly to the door I continue thrusting, my knot swelling, begging to be locked inside her. My thrusts become harsher and more erratic as my orgasm descends on me. With the first spurt of cum, I bottom out in her channel allowing my knot to swell as I bite down into the flesh of her shoulder.

Bella screams, her own orgasm wracking her body. Her pussy clamps down on my cock and strangles my knot trying to pull me deeper into her, milking me of every drop of my seed.

My knees give out from the pleasure, and we fall to the floor in a tangled heap of limbs. Finally, I release her shoulder from my jaws to take in the mangled mess of her skin. Pride I never knew I would feel swells in my chest at seeing my mark.

"You're mine," I murmur against her hair.

"God save us all."

Bella

Everything hurts. There isn't a single spot on my body that doesn't feel some form of pain with every step I take beside Aiden. The thing that burns, though, is my neck, where he left his fucking mark, and my damn pride.

How did I end up in this situation? All I wanted to do was make some money and take care of my mother. Maybe have a little fun with an Alpha. Well, the experience was worth it but now I am bound to a man I don't know a damn thing about.

All I want to do is go home and see my mother. Pretend that the last twenty-four hours never happened, though I know I won't be able to.

"I need the information for Bella…" Aiden says to a man that looks exactly like him before turning to me. "What's your last name?"

Hysterical laughter bubbles out of me. This is exactly what I mean. We don't know a damn thing about each other. The other man stares at me until the laughter finally fades away.

"Connors."

"For Bella Connors," Aiden says to the man.

"What are you doing?" the man asks with a frown.

"None of your concern. Just give me the damn information."

The man grabs a tablet off his desk, scrolling for a moment before handing it to Aiden. He glares at the Alpha the entire time.

"This is my brother, Zion. Zion, this is Bella," Aiden says in introduction not looking at either of us.

I stare at my feet, the gaze of the other Alpha heavy on me. I don't know if I should say anything or simply keep my trap shut. I can feel the atmosphere change, getting heavier, more charged.

"What did you do?" Zion hisses. My gaze snaps to him only to find his gaze locked to the bite mark on my neck. "Have you lost your fucking mind?"

Aiden doesn't reply, he simply places the tablet on his brother's desk before taking my hand and leading me out of the building known as The Sanctuary. He leads us to a deep-red car that I know costs more than most people earn in five years, before opening the door and waiting for me to slide into the passenger seat.

He rounds the front with long strides before sliding into the driver's seat. The car purrs to life beneath us and we head north. I know where he is headed, embarrassment once more flooding my system. I really, really don't want this Alpha in my home or around my mother.