Page 5 of Alpha Marked

River's wolf snarled and paced.

Something wasn't right with him. He seemed… feral.

The wolf stepped forward, and River brandished the potato peeler she still gripped.

Awesome, what was she going to do? Peel him to death?

Haha.Maybe it'll make him more appealing.She fought a snicker. Why did she always laugh at the worst times?

She should have been scared of the newcomer but remained eerily calm for some reason. Her wolf, however, started going haywire, and for the first time, River needed to protect not only herself but also her wolf.

"Stay back," River ordered. "There are no unmated females in here." It was a lie, but hell, it was worth a try.

The wolf sniffed again and took a step forward. River slashed at him with the peeler.

"I said, stay away. Trust me, dude; you don't want to mess with any of us. My mom is the pack enforcer, and these women are all mates of the Alpha and Betas."

The air shimmered, and the man shifted to human form. He remained crouched on the floor for a moment and then lifted his head.

He was handsome. Damn handsome. Blond hair with dark eyes. Tanned skin from being outside. Heavy chiseled jaw and cheekbones. Dirt smeared his naked body. Even so, she made out clearly ripped muscles and a dozen or so scars.

"You aren't mated." He stepped forward and sniffed again.

"Doesn't mean I want you."

His odor surrounded her, mixing her wolf up even more.

The man smiled, revealing bright white teeth. "Doesn't matter. I want you, and you cannot refuse me."

Of course, she could refuse him. It was the law. He may be the best-looking guy she'd seen since the Australian Firefighters calendar on her bedroom wall, but that did not mean she would fall at his feet.

"An escape mental patient? I mean, only an insane man would say I can't refuse you. I can refuse anyone the hell I want," she answered. "Also, you'd have to be insane to come here and corner a group of mated females. If you leave now, you'll make it to the borders of our lands before the rest of our pack chases you down."

He took another step forward. "I smell you, wolf. You can hide all you want behind desensitizers with shifters, but not with me. I'm Lycan and an Alpha's son. Lycans take what they want. And I want you."

The man covered the distance between them in one long stride.

She backed up as he pounced and wrapped his arms around her. The women behind her screamed as River fell to the floor, the man crouched over her. He pinned her to the ground with his tremendous weight.

His eyes flashed blue, then yellow, and finally black. "Mine. Omega."

For a split second, everything slowed as he took her in. Her wolf quieted, and they both watched emotions play all over his face. His eyes morphed back and forth between colors as if he couldn't decide what he wanted to be.

Omega? What did he mean Omega? She wasn't an Omega. She wasn't anything.

River opened her mouth to say something, but a sharp pain pierced her throat.

River blinked, frozen in place as her wolf roared to life.

Bitten. He'd bitten her. He'd marked her. The icy chill of violation rained down on her.

No. No. No.Her wolf howled and snarled and fought against the restraint that appeared like a long red rope and snagged one of her legs.

Bonding.He was trying to bond with her.

A commotion sounded behind them, and Cherry roared. River's wolf whimpered as the red rope snaked up her leg.

River. Help.