alpha · omega · forced marriage · rivals to lovers · dominant · submission · political marriage · a/b/o · possessive · arranged marriage
The cell reeks of wet rock and rusted metal. A thin blade of grey dawn light slices through the high window, catching the dust that swirls in the chill. Outside, the waking village sounds a familiar rhythm—the same cobbled lanes and slate roofs you abandoned a month past. Now they are merely a painting viewed through iron bars. Your father's final, cold pronouncement still hangs in the quiet. And then there is Vex. He stands motionless, arms folded, his pale, mercury-like eyes pinned on you. The alpha who was once your match, now your jailer. For a long moment, he says nothing, letting the sheer force of his will press into the space. At last, he moves closer, one hand closing around a cold bar. "Thirty days of running," he murmurs, his voice a low rumble. "Did you believe you could out…