Violated By The Beta, Claimed By The Beast

Vesperia's POV

The crushing weight of a shifted guard pinned me hard against the unforgiving stone floor.

"No! Let me go!" I shrieked, kicking and thrashing wildly beneath the suffocating mass of fur and muscle. My panicked gaze desperately sought out Beta Cormac in the crowd.

"F-father!" My voice cracked, raw with the primal terror of my impending death. "P-please! Save me!"

I didn't care if he beat me bloody later for daring to claim him publicly. I just wanted to survive.

"Father, please do something!" I begged.

He stood there like a statue carved from ice. Not a single muscle twitched in my defense. None of them lifted a finger to help me.

Hot tears blinded me, but the sheer apathy on their faces burned clearly into my memory as rough hands yanked me upward. The guards dragged me out of the palace hall.

*Goddess, please. Please don't let this be the end,* I prayed frantically in my head.

One of the brutes shoved a filthy, abrasive rag into my mouth. He tied it so brutally tight around the back of my head that the fabric bit deep into the raw bruises already blooming across my cheek.

They hauled me out into the unforgiving streets. The townsfolk were already waiting. Decaying cabbage, rotting tomatoes, and hard, moldy vegetables rained down on me from every direction, striking my battered body as the mob cheered for my execution.

By the time my captors dragged me to the central execution block, a different faction of guards stepped into our path. They wore pitch-black uniforms and carried themselves with a rigid, lethal discipline.

"Release her to us," their leader demanded, his voice a low, gravelly threat. "We take over from here."

The palace guards gripped my arms tighter, exchanging uncertain glances.

"By orders of the Alpha!" the dark-clad leader barked.

That was all it took. The palace guards immediately dropped me.

The new squad seized my arms. Their grip was like iron clamps, bruising my skin instantly. Instead of marching me up to the executioner's block, they violently jerked me in the opposite direction. Toward the dense, shadowy tree line of the bordering woods.

I thrashed furiously against their hold, my muffled screams dying in the gag. It was entirely useless. They hauled me effortlessly through the thick brush and thorny undergrowth until an isolated, decaying structure came into view. Rusted fencing surrounded the rotting wood, guarded by even more men in black.

They shoved me hard through a splintered doorway. I slammed onto the filthy, dust-caked floorboards, the impact jarring my bones. Metal clanked sharply against the stillness. A heavy iron cuff clamped tight around my ankle, chaining me securely to the thick, immovable leg of a wooden bed frame.

The heavy door slammed shut. The deadbolt slid firmly into place, leaving me entirely alone in the suffocating silence.

Hours bled away as I frantically tore at the tight knot of my gag, my fingers raw and bleeding. Then, the rusted hinges groaned.

The door swung inward. Roderick stepped into the dim light, a sickening, arrogant grin stretching across his face.

"You have always been a maddening temptation," he declared smoothly. "Those hips, the waist, the way you look right now. It drives me utterly insane."

He stepped closer, the grin melting into a sneer of pure, unfiltered disgust.

"Let’s get one thing straight, though," he spat, looming over me. "I never loved you. I never even liked you. You are nothing but a mistake. A vile scourge that shouldn't even be breathing the same air as us."

A cold wave of revulsion crashed through my chest. This was his grand plan. He didn't want the bond; he just wanted to use my body to satisfy his twisted lust. I felt physically sick remembering how deeply I had loved this monster.

"I have my Luna now, but that doesn't change what we can do here," Roderick continued, his voice dropping into a dark, greedy octave. "Tamsin is my partner in power. But you? You get to be my dirty little secret."

A violent shudder ripped down my spine.

Lust flared wildly in his eyes. He lunged forward, his heavy body crushing me against the filthy floorboards. He violently yanked the soiled rag from my mouth and smashed his mouth against mine.

I gagged, pushing frantically against his solid chest. He was simply too heavy. His large hands clamped onto the collar of my gown, ripping the fabric straight down the middle.

Cold air bit into my exposed skin. I screamed into the empty room, thrashing my chained leg and begging anyone to help me. *Goddess, please! Let me die before he touches me!*

Right as the last shred of hope vanished, a profound, heavy scent flooded the dusty room. It was thick, earthy, and violently intoxicating. It bypassed my panic entirely, hooking directly into my deepest senses.

Why was I smelling this now? Roderick had severed everything between us. But this didn't belong to him. This aroma was overwhelmingly seductive, ancient, and possessive.

The scent spiked in intensity, flooding my lungs. A fresh surge of adrenaline exploded in my veins. I shoved my hands hard against Roderick's shoulders.

"Get the hell off me!" I shrieked.

Roderick’s face contorted into an ugly mask of pure, unhinged fury.

"You really think you get a say in this?" he roared.

His hand flew back and cracked viciously across my face. White-hot pain exploded through my cheek, sending the room spinning into a blurry mess.

"You belong to me! Bond or no fucking bond!" he snarled, digging his fingers roughly into my torn undergarments. The thin material shredded instantly under his grip.

Before he could rip the last piece of fabric away, the solid wooden door blew off its iron hinges with a deafening explosion.

A massive, terrifying shadow erupted into the confined space. A blur of lethal muscle and dark fur collided with Roderick, launching him backward like a broken toy.

Roderick smashed into the far wall with a thunderous crash. The heavy wooden beams splintered, and the drywall caved inward around his spine.

Roderick gasped, trying to push himself up from the debris. The towering beast didn't give him a second to breathe. It lunged again, razor-sharp claws slashing brutally across Roderick’s face. A wet, sickening snap echoed off the walls right before Roderick collapsed to the floor, bleeding and completely unconscious.

My heart slammed frantically against my ribs. The blood drained from my face, my entire body violently shaking as I stared at the carnage.

The colossal beast slowly turned away from Roderick's limp body. Its terrifying gaze locked onto me.

*Mate!* my wolf screamed wildly in my head.

My muscles locked tight. Total paralysis seized my limbs. This was the same savage creature that had just torn Roderick apart without a second thought.

The beast stalked toward me, its steps heavy, calculated, and impossibly lethal. I scrambled backward until my shoulders hit the bed frame, desperately trying to cover my exposed chest with the shredded remains of my dress.

The beast pounced.

Its massive, muscular frame trapped me completely against the floorboards. I squeezed my eyes shut and screamed, bracing for the deadly strike of its claws.

The strike never came. Instead, a large, wet nose pressed into the crook of my neck, inhaling my scent with deep, rumbling breaths. The beast dragged its snout along my collarbone, over my bare shoulder, and through my messy hair.

I was absolutely petrified, yet an insane, unnatural wave of calm washed over my racing pulse. My body instantly recognized the predator above me. It felt totally secure in its shadow.

"Please," I whispered to the terrifying monster, my voice breaking. "Please don't hurt me."

The beast stayed firmly pressed against me. The rough fur brushing my skin began to recede, rapidly melting away as the creature initiated the shift.

Bones cracked and reshaped in a matter of seconds. Soon, an incredibly massive, heavily muscled, shirtless man lay intimately across my trembling body.

Large, dangerously warm hands reached up, running gently through my tangled hair as if mapping out every strand. I shivered wildly beneath his heavy touch. He buried his face deep into the side of my neck, taking another long, greedy inhale. His lips brushed deliberately across my sensitive skin, sending a chaotic surge of absolute terror and electric arousal straight to my core.

He finally lifted his head, creating a few inches of space between us.

I stared up, completely mesmerized. Blazing, amber-colored eyes stared right back, burning with the intensity of a dying sun. My gaze traced his violently handsome features, lingering on the sharp, unforgiving cut of his jawline and the thick, jagged scar slicing diagonally from his left eye down his cheek.

He looked like a lethal, merciless god of war.

The longer I looked at his scarred face, the faster the old, terrifying nursery rhymes clicked together in my head.

*Eyes of amber, tyrant's sway.**Scar, terror, endless fight.**Ruthless Beast, cold as night.**Heart of steel, soul of fire.**No mercy given, no love to acquire.**Feared by all, through day and night.*

My throat went entirely dry. My pulse hammered a frantic rhythm against my breastbone as the horrifying realization finally set in.

This was Lycan Valerius of the Valerion Pack. The absolute King of all Lycans across the seven territories.

He was known globally as the most ruthless, bloodthirsty creature to ever walk the earth. The rumors of his atrocities were legendary. The slaughter he orchestrated just last year still paralyzed the surrounding kingdoms with fear.

A violent tremor shook me to my core as the full, inescapable truth locked into place.

This was my destined mate. The other half my soul had just cried out for.

*No. No, please no,* my mind pleaded.

I was tethered to a literal monster. A sovereign who didn't know the meaning of mercy. And right now, he was trapping me against the floor, staring down at me with the focused, unblinking hunger of a lethal predator claiming its prey.

I was mated to the Amber-Eyed Devil.