Chapter 5 You Belong To Me

Adrian watched the tall gates draw open, his pulse swinging in his chest as dread settled in.

Sweat broke through his skin, dampening the brown curls over his forehead.

The mansion came into view, dark, imposing.

"Out," the handsome man said, pulling the door open.

Adrian gulped and quietly got out of the car, fingers curled inside his pocket as he took slow steps toward the house he'd vowed never to return to.

Meanwhile, inside a certain study, the strange scent filled the room before Donovan even heard them knock on his door.

'They found him,' Dark growled lowly.

Donovan ignored his wolf, keeping his emerald eyes on the door.

"Alpha, we found the boy," a man spoke outside his study door.

"Bring him," he said in his deep voice.

His door opened and his response instantly snapped to the hooded figure standing in his doorway, face lowered, hands fisted.

Defiant.

That fleeting lavender scent hit him; this time, it pressed in until it almost choked him. Yet it seemed like he had only imagined it.

He hated lavender, but for some reason, Adrian's strange cologne seemed to be making him rethink if he actually hated it.

"Leave, Riven," Donovan ordered.

The handsome man bowed beside Adrian and left.

"Close the door, Mr. Lennox," Donovan instructed, tapping his own finger steadily on his dark desk, watching Adrian with narrowed eyes.

He was curious… beyond curious.

He did not yet understand why he even asked for Adrian to be brought. But one thing was clear: his wolf believed Adrian could heal them, and that meant everything.

Dark never believed anyone could heal them, and now this human comes along.

Adrian shut the door but refused to turn; he felt ice in his veins, and the sudden urge to turn and run.

The memory of fire flashed behind his eyes, and anger and hate suddenly washed over him.

"Sit," came Donovan's cold order.

Adrian turned, not moving an inch toward the chair.

He was glad he took those pills before running out of the house; if not, the heavy scent of pine and earth would have had him on his knees in front of his enemy.

"I want to know why I've been abducted," he stated calmly, refusing to hold Donovan's gaze.

Donovan's eyes sharpened.

Disobedience… he didn't like it.

"I said… Sit," he repeated, his tone darkening with warning.

Adrian felt the surge of Alpha command rush through his veins like an addictive drug; without his consent, his legs moved.

'Shit, shit, shit! I can't obey him!'

He was a step away from the chair when he forced his legs to stop, his chest rising and falling slowly as he faced Donovan. That slow, steady wave of heat was starting at the base of his neck.

The Alpha's command had been too strong, cutting through his suppressants to start that stupid omega heat. This was dangerous.

Donovan stared at Adrian with a locked jaw; his patience was thinning, and the urge to snap the defiant human's neck in half was building rapidly.

"Did you not hear me, Mr. Lennox?" Donovan asked calmly.

Adrian rooted his feet to the ground. "I know…" he gulped, tugging his hoodie further down to hide his face. "I know you're used to instant obedience, but I am human; I am not under your rules," he stated.

"Your authority does not govern us, and I am demanding to know why you have abducted me," Adrian said, his voice quieting at the end.

Donovan's lips tugged ever so slightly at the corner.

'Interesting,' he thought.

"I'll tell you…" he stood, his 6'2" frame towering over the desk, "after you sit down." He strode around the desk and toward Adrian like a predator sizing up the strength of its prey.

Adrian's breath hitched, his fingers tugging the oversized sleeves of his hoodie.

Each step Donovan took was like a threat to his armor.

If he let that man lay a finger on him, he'd be at risk of exposing himself.

Without waiting for Donovan to reach him, he pulled the chair backward and sat, eyes glued to his lap.

"I… I'm sitting," Adrian murmured.

Donovan quietly came to stand behind the chair, his large hand holding the backrest and slowly turning the chair so Adrian faced him.

Adrian stiffened, feeling his ending flashing across his eyes.

Being in the same room was already a great torture; now he was standing right in front of him!

Donovan frowned down at Adrian’s lowered head. "Face up," he commanded.

Normally, he would refuse, but refusing meant more commands, and commands have proven to be antidotes to his suppressants.

Reluctantly, he lifted his face, holding his breath so he wouldn't take in too much of that pine and earth. His eyes stayed locked on Donovan's forehead, never lowering to his intense eyes.

For a split moment, Donovan's eyes caught the bruises under Adrian's brown curls and the ones hiding in his hoodie, but he ignored it.

None of his business.

He pushed his hands into his pockets, his face expressionless as he locked his eyes on Adrian's face.

"You will live here. You will do everything I ask of you… or your sister dies," Donovan said it like it were the most natural words to utter.

The words hung in the air, heavy and poisonous, suffocating every ounce of oxygen left in the room.

Adrian’s breath hitched, his silver eyes widening in sheer horror. The phantom warmth of his omega heat vanished instantly, replaced by a freezing, paralyzing terror that gripped his heart.

"My… my sister?" Adrian’s voice shook, trembling far more than he wanted it to.

How did they know about Adriana?

Did he figure out who they really were?

"Leave my sister out of this! If you're angry about last night, I am sorry. I should have left when you asked me to. Please, just don't hurt my sister," Adrian breathed harshly, his eyes slowly moistening with angry tears.

Donovan didn't blink. His expression remained a mask of cold, unyielding cruelty, his emerald eyes flashing with the absolute dominance of an Alpha King who held all the cards.

"She has everything to do with it the moment you stepped foot into my home and crossed my path," Donovan replied, his deep voice smooth as glass yet lethal. "Your rent is paid. Your loan shark debts have been settled by my pack. And her hospital bills? Fully cleared. From this moment on, you belong to me, human."

Adrian gripped the edges of the chair so hard his knuckles turned white. Rage, hot and blinding, flared through his veins, threatening to crack his composure entirely.

"Why?" He stared small, his voice shaking. "Why did you do all those things?!" Adrian snapped, glaring at Donovan.

The last thing he wanted was help from a wolf, from the very wolf who was part of his misery.

Donovan didn't flinch; he stood there, watching Adrian grip the edge of the chair. "You needed help. You should be grateful—"

"I don't need your fucking help!" Adrian sprang up, moving away from Donovan's reach toward the wall.

"No, no, no," he shook his head as he thought of the anger that would appear in Adriana’s eyes when she discovered who had paid for her medical bills.

"Riven will show you to your room. Do not leave it unless you're summoned—"

"You're a monster," Adrian whispered, venom dripping from every syllable as he finally met Donovan's gaze head-on, refusing to cower. "If you think I'm staying here any second more, then you're deranged." He turned and arched toward the door.

He held the handle and pulled.

Locked.

"Let me out!" Adrian snapped, turning to pin Donovan with a hateful glare.

Donovan stared down at him, a flicker of something unreadable passing through his green eyes before it vanished behind a wall of ice. The wolf inside him—Dark—purred with dangerous satisfaction, completely enamored by the fiery defiance radiating from the small human.

He covered the space between them in three strides, pausing right in front of Adrian.

"Let you out?" Donovan leaned down slightly, his breath brushing against Adrian's ear, carrying that intoxicating scent of pine and earth. "Where is the fun in that? You're going to earn every single penny of her treatment, Mr. Lennox. And you'll start by learning how to obey."

Adrian shut his eyes, forcing himself to appease the Alpha's ego.

"I beg you. Let me go. I will pay every cent. Just give me a while and I will find a job and pay—"

"Do I look like a fool to you?" Donovan suddenly grabbed Adrian’s chin, his thumb pressing under Adrian's jaw as he forced his face up to gaze into his eyes.

Warmth.

Sweet, tingly warmth shot up Adrian’s spine, and his lips fell open in a shocked gasp. His eyes slowly fluttered shut, and for a frightening second, he leaned into that touch.

Donovan was frozen.

The moment his hand touched Adrian, his wolf, Dark, stirred uncontrollably, just like last night. It was unclear what it wanted from Adrian, but the fact remained that this little human had something not even the greatest doctors possessed.

"You…" Donovan murmured, his hand loosening on Adrian's jaw.

"You will serve me—"

"I won't," Adrian widened his eyes as he heard himself blurt out.

He. Did. Not. Intend. To. Say. That.

It was his stupid wolf!

It wanted him to do something to provoke the Alpha so he'd put his hands on him again.

"No, I’m sorry. I mean, I am ready to work out my freedom. I understand you need my help and had to go the extra mile to get it. I will comply to also keep my sister safe. May I leave now?" Adrian said, anxiously biting his lips as he felt his wolf slowly starting to stir in his head.

Donovan's eyes darkened, the lavender scent getting just a tad stronger.

"Your smell," he slowly leaned in, ready to pin Adrian to the door and sniff out the scent.

"Lavender," Adrian announced in a high-pitched tone, his hands shaking as he reached into his pocket to retrieve a small, transparent bottle.

"It's my cheap perfume; I apologize if you're allergic," he slowly strode away from the door, spreading the fragrance around him and smiling through it like he was so happy to be there.

Donovan frowned; the moment the perfume reached his nostrils, he sneezed and pulled the door open. "Get out!" he growled.

Adrian didn't hesitate; he lunged out of the study, glancing behind in panic as he scurried down the hallway.

Donovan slammed the door shut and headed over to his windows, pushing them open with great force to let the fresh air in.

This was how he reacted to lavender scent…

But why then does he feel the urge to sniff it from Adrian’s skin?