FATED TO ALPHA HUNTER BY VENNEH LISAH

𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐀'𝐒 𝐏𝐎𝐕:

The door closed behind Dwight, trapping him inside the stall with me. In a panic, I instinctively tried to cover my body, although I couldn't understand why. When I asked him to close the door, I never intended for him to join me in the shower.

Dwight's eyes scanned my figure, but quickly averted his gaze. My heart sank. This was exactly why I didn't want to turn around. I knew what he would see—my disfigured skin, mangled and pieced together like a broken puzzle. I turned towards the back wall, a lump forming in my throat.

"Could you please leave?" I whispered, knowing full well that he could hear me with his heightened senses.

Embarrassment washed over me, and I suddenly had an overwhelming urge to scrub myself raw, as if I could wash away the repulsive marks that marred my skin.

"Am I frightening you? I would never harm you, Rina," Dwight murmured, his voice near my ear as his chest pressed against my back. He reached past me, retrieving the soap from the niche in the wall.

"I saw the way you looked at me, Dwight. Just go; I don't need your pity," I told him, my voice firm. He growled softly, the sound vibrating against my back.

"The way I looked at you?" he asked, sweeping my hair over my shoulder. He dipped his face into my neck, his nose running up the side of my jaw.

I swallowed before answering, my voice coming out shakier than intended.

"Yes, I know I look disgusting, so please, leave," Dwight growled before his hand held the bar of soap wrapped around my waist, tugging me flush against him. I became startlingly aware that he was indeed naked behind me, feeling every ridge of muscle and bump pressed against my back and a*s.

"I only looked away because I could tell you were uncomfortable with me staring, Rina, not because I didn't like what I could see," he purred.

"But he ruined me. I'm broken," I told him, my voice cracked at speaking those words aloud. Saying them suddenly made the realization sit heavier on my shoulders. I was like a broken doll, the porcelain all broken and cracked, held together with glue, marred and made ugly, never to be whole again.

"We are all a little broken, Rina. You're still beautiful. You always have been, always will be. Nothing he has done to you changes that," Dwight said as he reached for my arm, which was shielding my chest and the stitches. He kissed my shoulder, and I shivered at his gentle touch.

"Don't hide from me. You never have to hide from me, Rina," Dwight whispered, gripping my wrist and rubbing his thumb over the back of my hand. I sighed and dropped my arm, and his hand holding the soap moved over my torn flesh. Dwight purred, and I found his scent soothing as the steam filled the small space.

My body relaxed, and my shoulders dropped as I leaned back against him, allowing Dwight to help wash me. I was so relaxed that I almost fell asleep against him when he washed my hair. My body felt like putty in this man's huge hands. Despite his imposing size and the potential to overpower me, he was gentle, his fingers massaging my scalp and removing the congealed blood and dirt. Dwight chuckled, and the sound jolted me awake, realizing that I had been dozing off.

"I wish I could heal you," he murmured as he turned me around to rinse the soap from my hair. My eyes trailed over him. I had never seen him without at least a tank top on. Of course, I had seen him with no shirt on when he shifted, but he was covered in fur and never in the light. His skin was as ravaged as mine.

It was littered with scars that went all the way to his hips. My eyes went to his honey-colored ones, and then I gasped at the sight of the thick scars branding his skin. My hand reached out to touch the enormous deep scar in the center of his chest. Claw marks raked across his flesh as if someone had tried to rip his heart from him. The lines were brutal and ridged, and his chest rose and fell heavily as I traced my fingertips gently over them. Dwight's hand moved; his fingers slid under my chin, tilting my face up so that I met his gaze.

"Don't hide yours, and I won't hide mine," he whispered, his thumb brushing over my bottom lip.

"Are these from the wars?" I asked, a little shocked; I thought Lycans healed quickly.

"No, self-inflicted," Dwight said, looking down at his torso.

"You did that to yourself?" I asked, horrified. He tilted his head to the side, examining my face.

"Why?" I blurted.

"For the same reason you gave yourself that," he said, his hand moving to the side of my face. His fingertips trailed down the scar behind my ear. My hand moved over his, and I touched the scar, swallowing hard. The memory of how I got it and Ania's will forever haunt me. That day, I wish I could remove it from my memory entirely. If only the rope held and didn't snap.

"More than my life," Dwight murmured.

"That is what you and Ania say?" he whispered. I swallowed and nodded.

"More than my life, Rina, you are worth so much more than mine. You hold on, and I will for you. I have for you," he hissed.

"Ania told you?" I asked him, suddenly feeling dirty.

"No, the King did. Ania wouldn't betray you. She explained how you both shared similar scars and the meaning behind the words you speak with each other. Not what the butcher did, but I got the picture. He confessed when I found him," Dwight told me.

"You met him?" I asked, feeling bile rise in the back of my throat.

"Yes, and we killed him for what he did. Richie, too. He will never come after you again. I will never let anyone touch you again," he promised.

"You killed him?" I asked. I was surprised at how little I felt about that information. He had confessed to murdering someone, but I felt nothing.

"He hurt you, so I made him hurt too," Dwight told me, and I nodded, biting my lip. What do you say to someone who confesses to killing for you? I should be worried that he would, yet I felt nothing. Not sadness, not relief, just nothing.

"I wish I could heal you," he murmured, and my eyes darted to him, his eyes roaming over my marred flesh before moving to the marks on my neck.

"Kelly never deserved you. I hate that his marks lay on your beautiful neck," he whispered. I touched them, and they felt bruised. The movement made me wince.

"You will let me remove his mark from you one day; I can be patient, Rina," Dwight said, and my brows furrowed at his words.

"You can remove them?" I asked him. Dwight chuckled darkly.

"Yes, when I mark you and when you agree to let me be yours," he said, and I stepped back. I wasn't sure I wanted anyone to have that sort of control over me again, not after what Kelly did.

"Shh, not now. When you're ready. I will wait. For now, having you back is enough for me," he said, stepping closer. His arm went behind me, and the water cut off.

"What if I am never ready?" I asked, wondering if he would walk away.

I wasn't sure if I could be with anyone, though I used to want to be with Dwight. I still do; I just wasn't sure how that would be possible now. So much had changed. I had changed, and I knew it wasn't for the better.

"I'm immortal, Rina. I have all the time in the world to wait for you," he said before turning and grabbing the towel hanging on the hook. He wrapped it around me before pulling me closer. His lips pressed to my forehead.

"You're worth waiting for," he murmured, and I sighed, closing my eyes and just enjoying his closeness.

𝐀𝐑𝐌𝐀𝐍'𝐒 𝐏𝐎𝐕

"I heard nothing," Junior said, stumbling over his feet as he entered my room. I had put Ania to sleep and cleaned up, but I only had a towel around my waist. I was resting on the bed beside her, going over some work on my phone.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" he asked, dropping his hand and sauntering over to me. His calculated movements reminded me of a cat. I rolled my eyes at him and waved him forward to show him a file on my phone that I needed clarification for.

He came closer to me, then took a step back at the last second. I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Junior, have you been drinking while on the job?" I asked, sniffing the air.

"Just a smidge, my King. Want some? I won't tell if you don't," he said, sending me a wink.

"Not a good thing to tell the boss," I scolded.

"I may be many things, but a liar I am not. If you don't want to know the answer, my King, don't ask," he said, his eyes glistening mischievously.

"Can you come and check this out, Junior?" I asked. He sighed and quit his mucking around, drawing closer to me. I tapped on the file, but before I said anything, he spoke.

"You seem troubled, my King," Junior said, tilting his head to the side. I looked at him. He was drunk, but even I knew he could handle himself in that state. He passed the guard trial while obliterated, literally waking up when the starting gun went off, having dozed off at the line, and still placing 5th.

I bit the inside of my lip and looked down at Ania.

"Ah, I see. You knotted her, didn't you?" he said, and I nodded, stroking her hair. Junior wandered off into the bathroom, and I heard the bathtub turn on as he rummaged around in there.

"Get her cleaned up. You never know, she might be able to wash it off," he said.

"Wash pregnancy off her? That's a myth," I scoffed.

"Hmm, I do have another suggestion, but I would like my limbs to remain attached, especially the right hand. I am rather fond of it," Junior said as if I was going to break his limbs for whatever suggestion he had. He leaned forward, cupping his mouth with his hands. "I dealt with that before," he whispered, and I groaned. That was far too much information.

I rolled my eyes, and he snickered, the scent of vodka reaching my nose. I looked at him, waiting for him to answer.

"Morning-after pill," he whispered. My brows furrowed, and he shrugged.

"I mean no offense by that, but if you are worried, I could bring you one," he said.

"Junior?" I snarled.

"We can keep it on the down-low. No one has to know. I know it is a taboo thing with Royals, but if you think of it, Royals are taboo anyhow, right? Few of you left," he rambled.

"Just ask Doc to keep it to himself, though he knows I just don't want it getting out. Especially with Zara. She would be far too excited, and the place would be baby-proofed tomorrow. I also don't want Ania to feel pressured," I told him.

Junior nodded, rushing out to do my bidding while I got up. I carried a sleeping Ania into the bathroom, climbed into the hot bath, sat her on my lap, and washed her. She moved around, waking, but my calling forced her back under as I washed her the best I could. I heard Junior slip into the room again before shutting the door. When I was sure he was gone, I sat on the edge of the bath, dried her, and set her in the bed, tugging the blanket up.

I noticed a pill sitting on the table alongside a bottle of water. Climbing back into bed, she instinctively moved closer, crawling on top of me and pressing her body against my chest. She grabbed my hand and placed it over her, and I chuckled, running my fingers up her spine.

"I feel cold," she yawned, snuggling against me. "Because your heat has stopped," I told her, and she shivered, nodding her head sleepily. I remembered that I still hadn't asked Junior about that file, but that could wait.

"Do you want kids?" I asked, but she was already asleep, and I knew she would remain in that dreary state for hours. I brushed her hair with my fingers for a while before letting myself drift off. I would have to ask her when she woke up. It wasn't my body or my decision. However, I had to tell her that there was a chance she could get pregnant.