Her Broken Alpha - Isoellen Page 0,38

his favorite places in the tower. The idea of not having her near made his spine twitchy and tension spread up to his shoulders.

Fragile and delicate, he loved the feel of her throat under his command, though he noticed she had not once offered it to him in submission. Her pulse beat strong under his palm, quickening with desire, not fear. She went limp when he held her this way, subjugated by her instincts, yielding her will to his.

She trusted his monster.

It was mind-bending.

His data pad beeped, distracting him. He looked down at a message from Mac. A long-time soldier and the youngest son of a poor family, Mac had spent a lot of his life in the Un. He'd ended up on trial after killing a couple of guys. The incident involved a female. Darre hadn’t asked for details. But he'd seen the records and knew they didn't tell the whole story.

Rather than face death for his crimes, Mac had taken banishment, which had landed him back in the Un. He'd eventually found his way back to Sector 2.

Territorial beast that he was, Darre couldn't tolerate rivals. He was driven to challenge any and all males unless they were obviously weaker. When Mac lost, Darre hired him.

Mac had survived fifteen years as Darre's secretary, the longest of any before him. He was ambitious for credits, honest, and ruthlessly exacting with all other males of the household. As a bonus, he hated Rhineholth as much as Darre did.

The double knock at the door startled Naya, but Darre knew it was only Mac.

"Come."

Wearing a breather over the bottom half of his face, light armor, and bristling with knives he never hesitated to use, Mac entered. Behind him one of the drone males carried a loaded tray of food. Without a word, he brought it in and set it down, then slipped out.

Naya turned her head to look at the newcomer. Darre breathed deep, expecting fear or the very least anxiety. Mac was an imposing son of a bitch. But her smell hadn't altered. It still bloomed with the desire that been filling his nose with since he woke.

Amazing girl.

"Alpha." Mac tipped his head down, keeping his eyes off the girl.

"Report."

"What do you want first?"

"Whatever you want, let's just get it done." Darre picked up a cracker from the tray and smoothed goat cheese onto it, took a small bite, and then gave the rest to Naya.

"There was a fight in the dorms. One dead. Want me to hire new?"

"Yes, but no one new in the tower. Have the new guy do something else."

"One of the scabs came in with some goods you might want to see."

"What do you think?"

"Gems with value."

"Send them on, then. You know what to do. Anything else?"

"Berandal, on the Southside? He had men waiting on tithe day. We lost a guy."

Darre looked out the window thoughtfully. Berandal liked to hide behind a wall of men and metal. He ran a few pit fights and a lucrative brothel. He must think he was ready to take down Darre.

"Give him until sunset tomorrow to accept my challenge. If I don't hear from him, take him out—everything but the females and the drones. I don't have time for his games." He picked up an apple slice from the tray and bit off the end, handing the rest to his quiet mate. "Do we have enough men for that?"

"No, but we have enough credit for it. I can get bodies easy. It will be messy, though."

"I like messy," Darre said with relish.

"Since you are setting up a home now, you want me to keep the females and drones?"

Naya's sweet voice piped up. "You're talking about killing people, aren't you?"

"Not females and drones," Darre clarified.

"I usually sell them," Mac said.

"Sell? You're slave traders?" The pitch of Naya's voice climbed in horror.

"This is Sector 2. There are no free females and drones here," Mac said flatly.

Darre felt his mate process Mac's declaration. He'd been holding off telling her where she was or who he was. As a little omega breeder princess from the King's civilized society, she would naturally become outraged at the discovery. She might hate him for it.

"I'm in Sector 2?"

Mac looked around him at the room, at the windows, and at Darre, his eyebrows twitching with confusion. "Miss, where did you think you were?"

"Don't sell them." She was looking at Darre, watching his face.

Naya was already breaking his third rule. Since breeders were known to be soft-hearted, it wasn't surprising.