"I can," Naya insisted, even though every instinct in her body screamed that was a lie. "I can, I can," she muttered, trying to convince herself more than the Alpha in front of her.

Tears sprung to her eyes, clinging to her lashes as they fluttered. This was the worst nightmare she could ever have imagined, and she knew he was behind it. He’d done something. She didn’t know how. All she knew was that she did not want, could not want him after everything he’d done, after everything he planned to do.

It wasn’t as though she hadn’t been through her heat without an Alpha before. Her mother had insisted that she experience it three times before permanently creating her blocks. Mama wanted Naya to understand how it worked—the fact that she would have no memory of her Haze until hours after it had finished, the fact that she would be a completely different person during it, someone who only wanted an Alpha at the detriment of her own safety, someone who only wanted to be bred constantly, someone who had no care for food or drink sustenance or hydration. All needs became less important except for the need to breed.

Mama had experienced it on her own when she was younger and she knew what to do. Each of the three times, she’d locked Naya in a room and had given her water and food. It had been a shocking and horrifying experience, but Naya understood after going through it that who she was during her Haze was not who she was in her right mind.

Instead she was a needy cock-seeking Omega who just wanted to find an Alpha, who would bring her to orgasm after orgasm in an attempt to sate the frenzied need that was never fulfilled. She was grateful to Mama for making her experience what it was like, but she never wanted to go through it again, at least not without her true mate. And now her true mate was going to use it to abuse the opportunity in front of him.

She was so horrified by the situation that she didn't realize he had moved closer, stalking around the table to get to her, until he was right next to her and sweeping her into his arms.

Instantly she fought him, but his scent surrounded her. It had changed too and, damn it was so good—the deeper, pungent headiness of Alpha going into a rut.

He carried her out of the room, and each step he took brought her nose closer to his neck. Grabbing his clothes, scrunching them in her fists the way she had with her own, trying to hold off. She couldn't so easily submit to him, but she knew that by the time she sank into her heat, she wouldn’t even try to resist.

Her heart sunk into a wild despair. This was the worst outcome that could have happened from her being captured by him. Everything that happened in the desert was better than being out of her mind and a willing participant in what was about to happen.

"Please," she whispered, her nose nestling directly on his neck now. "Please… Please…." She didn't know what she was begging for—for him to let her go, or for him to find somewhere that he could pin her down and fuck her.

Heat between her legs spread up to her stomach, butterflies trembling, the wetness smearing her thighs, increasing at her center preparing her for him. "No," she mumbled.

People were talking, hurried voices around them as he strode down the corridor. The Alpha didn't respond. He turned down a few more corridors before barking at someone and entering a room.

He gently put her down, tilting her head back to look into her eyes.

He was looking for her golden sight—the golden sheen that entered an Omega’s pupils when she was fully in her Haze. The golden sheen that helped her to see which Alpha would breed her successfully, the Alpha who was most suited to her.

She blinked, gaining clarity now that her nose wasn’t against him. "Let me go," she rasped. "Please, I am begging you. Let me stay in here on my own. Just provide me with water. I will be fine in a few days."

Akoro's eyes searched hers. "You think I will deprive myself?"

Naya’s eyes widened in horror. She slammed her hand against him, pushing him as she backed away from him. "I am a treat?" she yelled. "My Haze is something for you to indulge in? A fucking reward?"

Akoro said nothing, simply watched her.

"This is why you do not deserve it!" she hissed. “You are using me… You’re not fit. I—“ She lifted a trembling hand, rubbing her forehead, trying to remember what she was angry about.

"You will be locked in here while I go and get water and food," Akoro said, turning toward the door. “I don’t want anyone coming to the door. Behave.”

"Don't come back!" she yelled, even though her body screamed with dissatisfaction that he was leaving.

When he left, she looked around the room, realizing that she was in a bedroom. It was smaller than the one she’d been using, but blankets and bedding covered most of the floor, as though it had been prepared for her in advance.

Tears tracked down her face and she wiped them away. He had prepared for her heat. This was what he’d been doing since she told him about them. He was using it to take advantage of her again to discard her after he’d taken everything from her. And there was nothing she could do to stop it from happening.

She sucked in a breath and exhaled slowly as her heat came over her, fiery, hungry, desperate. She tried to focus. Yes, she might go into a heat, beg and plead for him, be a completely different person. But he would never have the real her, he would never have his actual mate. No matter what he did, she would never give her real self to him.

The best thing she could hope for was that she didn't come out of her Haze pregnant. It was doubtful that she would, but she couldn't trust anything. All this time she thought that her blocks were intact, but for some reason the healer had been protecting her. Her blocks had also provided her with pregnancy prevention in case she was ever assaulted, but whether that was even a factor now, she didn't know. All she could do was hope.

She backed up against the wall, curling up tight as her heat crashed over her, turning her into a quivering mess of need, want, and sexual frustration.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

It was so warm.

Her fingers fought the buttons and ties that would release her from her clothing. They were much too warm and covered too much of her skin. It took a while, there were so many fabrics and layers, but finally they all lay on the floor.

She looked around the room. Plenty of bedding and blankets and pillows for her to settle into, which lifted her heart. But the biggest problem she could see was that there was no Alpha.

She whimpered in the back of her throat. Her need was rising, becoming overwhelming. She slipped a hand between her legs, then pulled them away. She didn't notice any food in the room; she had to wait. So she found a position against the wall and kneeled, sitting back on her heels, waiting. She didn't have to wait long.

The door opened and a handsome Alpha entered, carrying a pitcher and goblets. His eyes searched her out, freezing when he saw her sitting, waiting obediently. Being good.

He placed the pitcher and goblets down on the table by the door, and locked the door. Eyes sweeping about her, he took in her position—sitting on her heels, her nipples hard, her slick so abundant that her scent filled the room.

The Alpha undressed, loosening his buttons and ties, revealing muscle, taut skin, and allowing his thick scent to claim the room. He shone with the golden glow that told her he was perfect. This was the Alpha that should breed her; she was sure of it. Sighing with delight, a lightness lifted her chest.

But she had to wait. She had to be good.

He unbuckled himself, drawing down his pants and kicking away his shoes, until he was just as naked as her. And every inch of him was spectacular. Beautiful skin, scarred and marked, proving he was an Alpha who had battled. Each scar delighted her, and her slick poured out of her, drenching the pillow underneath her, but still she did not move. She had to wait. It was important.