Chapter One

Kidnapped

“Where am I?” The word escapes my quivering, sore lips the second they took off what they gagged me with when they dragged and dragged me into the van. My eyes are still blindfolded, so I can’t see where I am.

Those men, three of them - huge, scary, with gruesome frowns on their faces, had forced me into their van on my way back from the hospital.

Today started out great. I had a nice time at work, and then my shift ended at 10 p.m. and I was hurrying home, giddy about tomorrow. It’s my 20th birthday tomorrow, and I already made great plans of spending half the day with my family and then spending the other half of the day with my mate.

I had it all planned out, and I never saw this ugly plot twist coming. I never expected to be kidnapped and taken to goddess knows where in the middle of the night.

“Take off the blindfold,” a voice says. It’s raspy and deep, with an intense edge around it, forcing more goosebumps on my skin. The blindfold is taken off roughly and my eyes slowly open, blurry at first. But then I blink, and the vision gets clearer, making me gasp.

The man in front of me instantly has my breathing in a chokehold. His intense dark eyes are harshly pinned on me. His incredibly tall and buff physique has me teary-eyed in panic. The gruesome tattoos peering from his chest and arms amidst his folded sleeves make me even more panicked. His sharply defined face makes him literally the most handsome man I’ve ever seen but also the most terrifying because of that bloodcurdling scowl on his face and the mad twitching on his sharp jawlines.

For a second, I take my gaze away from his face and look around the room. The better half of it is pitch-dark, but I can see some men lurking in the darkness. There’s a small bulb shining above my head illuminating just the spot where I’m kneeling and him.

My hands are chained together and my clothes…what?! They’re gone! I’m dressed in just my panties. How…how didn’t I feel that?

“Where am I?” I dare to ask again, between sobs, taking my gaze back to the man in front of me. “And…and where are my clothes?”

The man slowly crouches in front of me, forcing me to feel every inch of his harsh breath, mixed with the pungent smell of blunt. “I think you should be more worried about what’s gonna happen to you here.” His voice is abrupt and icy. His thick Italian accent sends shivers down my spine.

“Where am I?” I ask again, trying so hard not to flat-out panic.

“You’re in my den. My hell, and I’m gonna be your devil until I make you pay for what you did.” His words are venomously cold.

Every bit of his words make no sense but I’m beginning to freak out. “What…what are you talking about? Who are you…and...and what did I do to you?”

“Diego Morelli.” He says just two words.

The name sends a wild thrashing in my mind. There’s only one man with that name in the region. And it isn’t just a name. it’s a whole menace.

“You’re…you’re…the Rogue Alpha?"

“Fucking yes,” He confirms my fear, and I find it harder to keep calm. I blink rapidly, fighting back the pool of tears lingering at the corner of my eyes.

“What did I do to you?”

"Not to me,” he gruffs out, taking out a phone from his backside pocket and shoving it to my face. “To her…”

There’s a picture of a woman on the screen – a very familiar woman. I think for a second and I recall just where I’ve seen her. She visits the hospital where I work. She’s pregnant and comes for a checkup. I attended to her, that was a few days ago.

“I know her…I attended to her, but…but why is that an issue?”

“Because you didn’t just attend to her, you fucking killed her.” he bellows, teeth clenched in a murderous rage and veiny hands are angrily fisted.

My heart constricts in panic. What? She’s…dead? I stare at the photo again, finding it very unrealistic that the woman with her pretty and exceptional smile is dead. Then again, what does that have to do with me? He just said…wait, what?!

“No,” I shake my head, squirming from the terror building inside me. “I didn’t kill her…”

He yells out a few words in confusing, rogue language and then he hits my face, sending me crashing to the ground. My cheek burns like it’s been literally set on fire.

“Pick her up!” he yells and a man drags me back on my feet. It's impossible to hold back any bit of panic brewing inside me, so I let it out in the form of unabated tears.

“Please…” I bite my lower lip to keep it from quivering too much.

“You know them?” he shoves the phone back in my face. My eyes widened at the sight of my mother, brother, and mate tied up both hands and legs and also gagged. Hysteria grips the best part of me as I stare up at the monster who really intends to ruin my life.

“Please don’t hurt them!” I beg in mad tears, ignoring the sting in my cheek. “I didn’t kill the pregnant woman. All I did was attend to her…”

“if I hear any more of your lies, I’ll have them dead.” He warns seething, grabbing my chin in a hard grip, peering into my eyes with raged-filled ones. “You have ten seconds to tell me the truth.”

I choke on my tears as I fight back the urge to speak. Because whatever I say won’t be me, admitting to the crime he’s accusing me of. And it seems that’s all he wants to hear. He wants me to admit to it. But I can’t do that. I can't..

“Speak up!” he bellows in my face, making me flinch like mad.

“I…I didn’t…”

“Fuck this!” he lets me go and gestured at the men. “Go kill them off.”

“What?! No…please..no! Don’t hurt my loved ones! I didn’t kill the woman..”

“She wasn’t just any woman, she was my damn mate!” He snaps, and for once, I see the broken side of him. I see hot tears, clouding his beastly eyes. “You killed her, and I intend to get that confession from you, however long it takes. I need to know who paid you to do it. And to the goddess, you’re gonna tell me. Sooner or later.”

On cue, one of the men drags me to my feet and forces me into walking further into the dark side of the room. I’m freaking out on all levels, and I let out a yelp when he pushes me down and I plump on a bed. A king-sized bed.

He leaves, alongside other footsteps and then the rogue king appears in front of me. This part of the room may not be very much illuminated, but I can see it. He’s taking off his belt with a terrifying wake of arousal in his eyes.

I unconsciously bite hard on my tongue as I notice the bulge in his pants. Please, goddess, save me from him. I beg you.

“Please…don't do it…”

“You’re not a goddamn virgin, are you? Doesn’t matter. Spread those legs.” His icy order slams at the last straw of hope I’m holding on to.

The pain creeps noin minutes later, setting my insides ablaze.

“Please, stop!!”