The Valkin Alphas

Valeria’s POV

"Get up, bitch!" the bearded man snarls. His voice cracks like a whip through the freezing night air.

My bare knees throb against the jagged ice. Blood trickles down my shins, but I force my battered body upright. I refuse to give him the satisfaction of witnessing my terror. I lock my gaze onto his, pouring every ounce of my silent, unyielding defiance into that stare. I do not blink. I do not look away. Seconds stretch in the bitter cold. He shifts his weight, mutters a curse, and finally breaks eye contact, unable to hold my gaze.

He yanks the heavy iron chain linking my wrists. The metal bites into my raw skin. The silver wrist-cuffs are a calculated cruelty, forged to drain my nonexistent energy and suppress my wolf. I stumble forward, dragging my frozen, aching frame through the deep snow. Every step sends a jarring shock of pain up my spine. I struggle to keep pace as he pulls me toward a large, imposing house looming in the dark.

We cross the threshold. A blast of dry indoor heat hits my numb skin, bringing a wave of agonizing pins and needles. The interior is stark and plain, illuminated by harsh, buzzing lights that wash the bare wooden walls in a sickly yellow glow. There is no warmth here, no comfort. The space feels more like a cage than a home.

He does not stop walking. He drags me down a short hall and into a bare room, then turns and shoves me hard.

I crash to my knees, the impact rattling my teeth against my skull. Before I can catch my breath, his thick fingers grab the collar of the grimy blanket wrapped around my shoulders. With a brutal jerk, he rips it away.

The cool indoor air bites at my bare skin. Raw shame washes over me like ice water. I am left exposed, wearing practically nothing, kneeling on the hard wooden floor. No one has ever seen my body like this. My dignity is stripped away in a matter of seconds. Boris, my father’s traitorous Beta, orchestrated this nightmare. He deliberately paraded me half-naked through my own pack just to break me, ensuring everyone saw my humiliation before handing me over to this brute like a piece of discarded meat.

My agonizing internal monologue shatters. Heavy footsteps echo in the corridor behind me.

Three towering, imposing men step into the room.

The oxygen seems to vanish from the air. They radiate a terrifying, commanding aura. Valkin Alphas. They carry the same suffocating, oppressive weight in their presence as my cruel father did. I shrink back.

The first has intense, midnight-dark hair and eyes that pierce right through my skull. The second is a dirty blonde with a stone-cold, unreadable face. The third possesses striking, metallic silver hair that catches the harsh overhead light. They move with lethal grace, their massive shoulders blocking the doorway. Under their predatory, evaluating stares, I feel like cornered prey waiting for the killing bite.

The silver-haired Alpha steps forward. He tilts his head, sniffing the air, taking in the scent of my fear and my blood. A chilling, predatory smile curves his lips.

"So this is the girl?" he asks. His voice is smooth, demanding, echoing off the bare walls.

"Yes, Alpha," the bearded man confirms, bowing his head and taking a submissive step back into the shadows.

The three Alphas take their seats in heavy wooden chairs lined up before me. They command the space, dominating the room with their sheer size and authority. I remain kneeling on the hard floor, shivering and exposed, while they look down at my battered form.

The silver-haired man leans forward, resting his forearms on his thick thighs. His expression remains flat, his tone unreadable. "Do you recognize us?"

My throat feels like rough sandpaper. The silence stretches as I try to force my vocal cords to work. I swallow hard, fighting the dryness, and finally manage to croak a faint, pathetic sound. "No."

He pauses, looking taken aback by my ragged condition. He snaps his fingers and points to an old woman hovering near the edge of the room. "Give her water."

The elderly woman hurries over. She drops to her knees beside me, lifting a metal cup to my cracked lips. I lunge for it, desperate to chug it all, but she pulls it back. She holds the rim steady, forcing me to take small sips so I do not choke. The cool water slides down my burning throat, offering a fleeting, agonizing moment of mercy.

The dirty blonde leans in next. His tone is curious, expectant, as he studies my shivering form. "Don't you remember us?"

I shake my head, deep confusion battling the cold settling deep into my bones. Who are these men? Why am I sitting half-naked on their floor?

The silver-haired Alpha sighs, his eyes scanning my bruised face for any flicker of recognition. "You look different. But we met three years ago. Briefly. Your father introduced us."

I search my fractured memories, but nothing surfaces. Three years ago, I was trapped in my father's endless web of abuse, kept hidden in the shadows. I shake my head again.

A dark, dangerous shadow crosses the dark-haired Alpha's face. His jaw clenches tight. He glares at my exposed body, his eyes swimming with venom.

"The slut has been with too many men to recognize three she met only briefly," he sneers. The insult drips with thick, vile disdain.

The word hits me like a physical strike. The other two Alphas do not correct him. Instead, they look at me with barely hidden disgust. They are judging me, evaluating my worth based on sick, vile rumors of a promiscuous past I never lived. My father’s lies have followed me across the territory.

A thousand defensive words burn on my tongue. I want to scream at them. I want to tell them they are wrong, to defend the shreds of my honor against his stinging accusation. I want to tell them I have never been touched, never been loved, only broken and beaten.

But I bite the inside of my cheek until I taste copper. I swallow the words back. I will not beg. I will not justify my existence to men who look at me like I am filth. I cling to the fractured, bleeding remnants of my pride, locking my jaw and staring straight ahead in total silence.

The heavy silence stretches on. I endure their disgust, my shoulders shaking from the cold, refusing to break eye contact with the dark-haired Alpha who insulted me.

Finally, the silver-haired Alpha leans back in his chair, his face a mask of indifference.

"Give her a room," he orders.

The old woman hooks her hands under my arm. She pulls me up from the floor, her grip firm, and begins leading me away from their crushing stares.