Alpha Killian

ELEANOR

I frowned as my bedroom door opened, knowing that it was Elton, my fiancé, coming in.

He didn’t bother knocking. He never did, anyway.

He walked toward me, not saying a word before he grabbed me by the neck from the back, noticing that I didn’t bother turning to face him. It wasn’t like he would want me to; if anything, he might end up bending me over my dresser, taking me as he desired.

He ground against me, making me feel him through my dress, and I closed my eyes, anticipating what was to come.

“Not today, neonata,” he whispered, his voice sending shivers down my spine. “I am keeping the best for tomorrow, when you are officially my wife and I get to mark and take you the way that I desire.”

He squeezed my neck, leaving a bruise, before removing his hand and kissing the area. I had to fight back a flinch, knowing it gave him what he wanted. He wanted me to weaken and crumble, and that was not something I would give him.

“I came to give you this,” he said, taking a step back—silently telling me to turn around and face him. I did as told and looked up at him, my eyes meeting his, despite knowing that it was not something he liked. He raised an eyebrow at my behavior but didn’t comment—something that was unlike him—as he opened a box to reveal an emerald necklace. “An early wedding gift.”

I didn’t say a word as I kept my eyes on the stone. This marriage itself was going to be the death of me, and he knew it. That was something I couldn’t allow. I turned around, not bothering to wait for his command, and looked at him through the mirror as he put the thing around my neck.

“I don’t like your attitude today,” he said, tightening the necklace around my neck, knowing that the diamonds would leave their cuts and marks. They would be healed before the wedding—something he was confident about—and whether or not they did, makeup was always used to cover my cuts and bruises, at least when he wanted them to be. There were times when he refused to let me cover them, wanting to show off his strength. “But I will excuse you for being nervous. You know, it is your big day tomorrow.”

He loosened the necklace, and I couldn’t help but shudder as the diamonds were pulled from my torn skin. My neck bled, but I didn’t move or respond as he clasped the necklace around it.

He looked at me through the mirror, and I looked down at the dresser, avoiding his eyes. This was as far as I could go with challenging him. Considering that he chose to comment, I knew that one wrong move would end up costing me a lot more than I could afford. I had no one to fend for me, so I knew to be quiet and obedient if I wanted the night to pass.

“You understood your lesson well, good girl,” he said, his voice just above a whisper, before lowering his hand to my thigh, digging his fingers in and causing me to wince. “This bruise will teach you not to think of challenging me again. And I think you don’t need me to remind you of what would happen if you do.”

I kept my eyes on the dresser, fighting back the urge to talk back—or to give in to my wolf, who was begging me to stop challenging him. Me challenging him was the one thing that kept me going. It reminded me that, despite everything, I was a free soul who still wanted to fight. And that was something I wasn’t going to let him take from me.

He walked toward the door, not bothering to wait for me to respond, knowing that I wouldn’t. He opened the door just as I looked up at my reflection. I put my hand on the jewel, and he let out an amused chuckle.

“Get some rest, little one. You’ll have enough time to admire the necklace tomorrow. But I do believe you could use all the rest you can get,” he said, his tone mocking, making my chest burn. “Not that it’ll make much of a difference anyway.”

He walked out and slammed the door shut behind him. I glared at the door for a few seconds before ripping the necklace from around my neck and slamming it on the dresser.

My heart raced, and I shook my head at my fate. This was not something I wanted for myself; giving in to the man was not something I wanted.

I looked at the window, knowing that it was my only chance. If I were to marry this man, I’d be deeming my life a prisoner’s—bound to someone who wanted nothing more than to hurt me. That was something I couldn’t live through.

“You can find someone else to toy with, Elton,” I whispered to myself as I tied my hair in a bun, reminding myself of the struggles I had endured up to this moment. Six years of my life had been given to the man, and in those six years, all I had known were tears and pain.

I walked toward the window and slowly opened it. The tree my mother and I had planted years ago, before she passed away, was now two stories high, its branches reaching over my window. It was the one thing she had been able to give me—the one plant that could mask my scent.

I pulled a few leaves off and rubbed them on my neck and wrists before holding up my dress, knowing this was my one chance. “I won’t end up with your same fate, Mama. I promised you I wouldn’t, and I’m going to fight to fulfill that promise.”

I looked down at the ground, knowing this was it. Cowering wouldn’t get me anywhere. So, I did the one thing I could think of.

I jumped.