Chapter 11

• Raven's POV:
• "What do you want?" I asked, steeling my nerves to hold Azrael's penetrating stare. I had to know his true intentions here, no matter how disquieting the answer might be.
• His response was immediate and unwavering. "You."
• I recoiled slightly at his stark bluntness. "What?" I sputtered, caught off guard.
• Azrael leaned back in his chair, his massive frame radiating an aura of assured dominance and control. "I want you as my Luna Queen," he stated with lethal calm. "My mate. The mother of my offspring. The one who will rule the werewolf kingdom at my side when I assume the alpha throne."
• The words seemed to suspend in the air between us, their weight rendering me momentarily speechless. This wasn't just about some archaic mating rites...no, Azrael had laid claim to the highest honor a female wolf could attain. To be his Luna - his queen, his equal sovereign over our kind.
• "No..." I gasped out at last, shaking my head adamantly. "It can't be. That's not possible."
• Azrael's expression was unreadable, yet I could sense his rising frustration like a tightening vise. "And why not?" he demanded, his tone taking on an edge of quiet menace. "The Moon Goddess gave you to me as my fated mate for a reason. You are mine, little one. My mate." His piercing stare bored into me with certainty. "And nothing can change that immutable fact."
• I wanted to argue, to rage and scream my defiance until he could no longer dismiss my objections. But his words seemed to reverberate straight through my core, awakening Genesis of my long-suppressed omega instincts. Urges warning me not to challenge the uncompromising Alpha King further.
• No...I couldn't surrender so easily. This was my life, my future that hung in the balance here. I wouldn't simply roll over and play the role of werewolf concubine for his amusement.
• Lifting my chin in a subtle show of stubbornness, I met Azrael's domineering stare. "What if I refuse?" I forced the words out in a tone far braver than I felt. "What then, Your Grace?"
• His expression didn't falter, but I could see the muscle ticking along his clenched jaw as his molten irises seemed to blaze hotter. "You refer to the human concept of 'refusal' as if you have a choice in the matter," he stated, each word dripping with quiet lethality. "You are destined to be my mate, little one. Denying it would only ensure your suffering...although I would take immense pleasure in the breaking process."
• The clinical menace underlying his words caused something to splinter deep inside me. Breaking me? As if I were some disobedient animal to subjugate through pain and depravation? The idea alone was horrific enough, but coupled with the sinful promise in his tone...he was utterly depraved.
• I shoved back from the table, the metal legs screeching against the polished floor. Anger was a more empowering fuel than fear - I would cling to that. "You're insane," I spat in a trembling tone of revulsion. "The Goddess's will or not, I'll never submit to being your...your broodmare!"
• In the blink of an eye, Azrael exploded from his chair, the furniture clattering aside from the sheer force of his movements. He closed the distance between us with three predatory strides, his towering, intimidating frame now looming over me.
• "You forget your place, little mate," he snarled, the command in his timber shaking the very foundations of my being. "I am the Alpha King - supreme ruler over every wolf, alpha and omega alike. You exist solely for my pleasure and purpose. To serve me, obey me in all things. To birth the progeny who will cement my bloodline's reign over centuries to come."
• I couldn't breathe, couldn't think beyond the menacing truth blazing in his eyes. There would be no reasoning or bartering my way out of this. Azrael was determined to possess me, reprogram me into his subservient little mate whether I complied or not.
• "That will never happen," I whispered hoarsely, tears stinging my eyes from the soul-crushing realization. "I'll die first."
• To my utter horror, Azrael's lips curved into a terrifying, almost lustful smile at my words. "No, you won't die, little mate," he refuted in a sinister purr. "You'll live...and you'll beg for me to keep you at my side through every excruciating second of the transformation."
• Transformation? Into what? The thought alone chilled me to the bone. As did the certainty in Azrael's tone. He had no doubts, no inkling that I might somehow escape his twisted designs.
• Because in that moment, neither did I.
• Azrael rose fluidly from his chair, the powerful muscles in his shoulders and back rippling beneath the tailored fabric of his suit jacket. He rounded the table with the same unhurried, predatory grace of a panther stalking its prey.
• I shrank back instinctively as he neared, my pulse thundering in my ears. But there was no escaping the dominant force of his presence, the air around us thickening with an almost suffocating tension.
• To my utter mortification, Azrael claimed the empty chair directly beside me, his sizeable frame turned to face me fully. Our bodies were mere inches apart now, the scorching heat radiating from him raising waves of seared awareness along my skin.
• "Why are you so desperate to reject this mating, little one?" he murmured in that dangerous baritone laced with quiet power.
• His words seemed to unlatch something within me, unleashing the torrent of pain and anguish I had bottled up for years over my torturous past. "Because every other mate I've been bound to has rejected me!" I burst out in a harsh whisper. "They took one look at my defective half-breed existence and severed the bond without a second thought."
• Azrael was silent, his expression unreadable. But the intensity of his piercing stare upon me was overwhelming, seeming to strip away every layer of guarded fortitude I tried to cling to.
• Clenching my fists against the sting of tears burning my eyes, I pressed on in a trembling tone. "Mating with me would be a disgrace to your noble bloodline, your status as Alpha King. So why even entertain the idea? Just reject me like all the others have done so I can be spared the humiliation for once!"
• I half-expected Azrael to erupt in mocking laughter at my impassioned plea. To berate me for daring to believe myself worthy enough to defy his demands as his sovereign alpha.
• Instead, he reached out with one corded forearm, his large hand cupping the side of my jaw to force me to meet his piercing stare. "Listen to me very carefully, little mate," he stated in a timbre thrumming with quiet dominance. "Your past rejections were orchestrated by spineless, worthless curs who could not begin to comprehend your intrinsic value and rarity."
• I tried to turn my face away, but his indomitable grip held me immobile, refusing to let me retreat.
• "I am Azrael Draconis, true sovereign Alpha King over all werewolf packs," he ground out with lethal intensity. "And I will never cast you aside as those unworthy fools have done. You are mine, in this life and every one thereafter. My lunamatra...my mate destined to rule at my side. To birth my heirs and solidify my reign over this realm in a dynasty that will reign for centuries to come."
• His words seemed to slice through me with a searing finality I'd never experienced. There was no anger or derision in his tone, only a terrifying certainty that reverberated through my very core.
• Azrael bent closer, his hot breaths fanning across my lips as his intense amber eyes bored into me unblinkingly. "So cease these futile protestations. You cannot reject a bond fated by the Moon Goddess herself. From the moment you were first presented to me as my mate, any chance of refusal was forfeit."
• My pulse thrummed erratically beneath his touch, a bone-deep weariness seeping through me. He was right...he had to be. As the supreme Alpha King, his decree was tantamount to divine law among our kind. No matter how hard I fought, he would never willingly release me.
• "Please..." The broken whisper fell from my lips unchecked, all feigned bravado now depleted. "I don't want this..."
• Azrael's expression melded into something darker, his eyes burning with a predatory need that made me want to recoil. "Ah, but you will, my lunamatra," he stated with perverse promise. "Once our bond is fully consummated, you'll surrender yourself to me gladly. Joyfully. Until your every thought and instinct exists only to please your alpha."
• He leaned in fractionally closer, the tip of his nose brushing mine as he took an exaggerated inhale through his flared nostrils. "And on that blissful day, I will make you mine utterly and irrevocably. Remake you into the perfect little mate neither one of us can deny desiring any longer..."
• I trembled at the scorching intensity of his words, at the utterly damning resonance that seemed to loosen every tightly-leashed inhibition inside me. I was defenseless against this alpha...this future king who refused to let me escape the immutable fate awaiting us.
• So I did the only thing I could in the face of being so wholly overpowered and conquered. I surrendered in abject defeat, sagging forward into the firm warmth of Azrael's chest as my vision blurred with tears of despair.