The Alpha's Oracle (SAMPLE, IronMoon #1)

Gabel's Castle (sort of)

 I spent the rest of the six hour long trip as far away from him as I could be. The backseat was spacious but not nearly large enough. Bond or no Bond, I wanted to be nowhere near Gabel.

He found that amusing, which a tiny part of me enjoyed pleasing him, which disgusted all the rest of me. I would never be his little toy!

Now, though, I understood why Mates went goo-goo all over pleasing the other. Because in pleasing the other you pleased yourself.

Until one of them was a monster who took pleasure in pain.

After the first couple of hours the Mark began to throb, then hurt horribly. I tried not to cry.

The pain made the day churn to the surface of my mind. Shadowless wasn't my pack anymore. I was Iron Moon now. I'd never see my family or friends again.

And I was Bonded to a monster. To a wolf who just wanted to see how long he could fight his own instincts and the will of a goddess.

We arrived at the packhouse after dark, but it was well-lit and even in the darkness I saw that it was landscaped and it had floodlights that sent light up the walls. The packhouse was a mansion. That didn't surprise me. Gabel wanted to be the King Alpha. A mansion in the middle of the forest sounded like what a King Alpha should have. A castle was probably too obvious. Probably announced a little too loudly that all the rumors were completely true.

Gabel didn't want the other packs to know yet. The most powerful ones. He'd gnaw on them a piece at a time, and let everyone keep thinking that no wolf had so much ambition. Once they realized that the rumor was actually the truth, they wouldn't be able to resist him and would collapse like all the others.

One of the goons opened the car door for me. "Ma'am." He offered me a hand.

I didn't think I wanted to touch his hand. Some males got violently possessive, and was Gabel one of those? I didn't want to get hauled back into the car by one of his rough hands, or feel his infernal anger pouring through me like liquid fire. The whole right side of my body hurt from the bruising. Every movement hurt. I shot Gabel a weary glance then took the man's hand. He politely drew me up, but the pain made me yelp and my knees sagged.

"Be careful with her!" Gabel's voice practically rattled the car. I moaned and slumped against the side of the door. My body throbbed and my arm felt like it would fall off. If my head didn't fall off first. The Mark throbbed. It felt like a hundred stampeding horses pounding into me.

The goon stammered out an apology. Gabel swore at him, got out the other side of the car and stormed over to me. "Get." He snapped at the man. "I'll do it."

"Go away." I moaned.

"What's with you, buttercup?"

"The Mark." Was he daft? It was the Mark, of course. I didn't think it should hurt so much. He yanked the collar of my shirt down and ripped it in the process. "Hey!"

"I'm not going to ravish you, buttercup."

I knew that. That would mean he had given in to the Bond. I wasn't even a little bit worried about that happening right now. I just didn't like him ripping my clothes and showing my body to his packmates. The other guy polity averted his gaze.

The Mark had swollen up into a big purple lump right where my shoulder met my neck. Dark, deep purple bruises clouded my neck, shoulder and traveled along the skin to my right breast and disappeared under my bra. I hated how plain my bra was. It seems silly but if I had to show the world my undies, I'd really like to not be in granny panties and a plain old nude-colored bra. And I was in granny panties that had ended up mixed in with the bleach and were a really ugly dingy red.

Gabel swept me up into his arms. I kicked my legs. "Put me down!" I demanded weakly. He had my shoulder crammed right up against his stone chest and it hurt being scrunched up like that.

"Get the doctor." Gable ignored me and addressed one of his goons instead. He didn't bark or snap, just matter-of-factly demanded this be done. I heard feet crunching on the pea gravel. I was used to Alphas who shouted or barked orders. Hearing one who just made simple demands and was obeyed without question scared me- what happened when he had to shout?

"I can walk!" I insisted. I did not like being trapped in his grip.

He ignored me, and my half-hearted squirming. I was no match for him. He was bigger, stronger and meaner. He carried me across the threshold into a brightly-lit marble foyer. I heard the sound of water splashing but I couldn't turn my head to see. But what I could see was impressive to say the least.

This was like some really bad romance novel. Really bad. He carried me up two flights of stair that wound around the wall of the foyer, giving me a clear view of its castle-like state, and then down a long and very quiet, darkened hallway. He came to a door at the end of the hall and nudged it open with his foot.

"This is your room," he told me.

My room? Silly me for assuming I'd sleep in his room. But I was not about to complain. I hoped Gabel slept somewhere far, far away. Like the other side of the world.

He put me down on the bed. I tried to sit up, but my shoulder kept me pinned. He flipped on the lights. From what I could see of the room it was a pale cream-grey color that reminded me of the harvest moon. There was a beautiful painting on the far wall of the ocean. The pillows were soft, and the bedspread a buttery cream color.

I hurt so much I couldn't ask any questions. Every moment that passed the pain seemed to get worse. Gabel waited nearby but out of sight- I couldn't raise my head or move. It sent throbbing pain through the whole right side of my body. I wished he would just go away if he was going to stand there.

The pack doctor was a man old enough to be my grandfather. He had the bushiest sideburns I had ever seen, and shaggy, wiry, white hair. I don't think he liked being summoned at the late hour.

Well, I didn't like being here.

He pushed my head to the side to expose the lump. I whimpered but didn't fight him. "That looks like a mess."

It felt like a mess too. What a coincidence. This doctor's bedside manner was absolutely lousy.

"She's a Seer, if that is relevant." Gabel supplied.

"It is." The doctor said. He moved my arm. I had bruising all under it and in my armpit. "This sort of thing happens when a Bond is hasty." His fingers pushed and pulled at my flesh, tracking the spreading of the purple cloud down my ribs. "You can't just rip up females, Gabel."

"I do not rip up females." Gabel's voice held real menace. The doctor didn't care.

"Hasty Marks rip up females. Especially Seers." The doctor repeated. "But no permanent damage."

Gabel continued to seethe at the accusation he was responsible. It wouldn't have changed what he had done, so I don't know why he was so upset at the doctor speaking the truth.

"I'll lance the contusion," the doctor told me. A scalpel flashed before my eyes. "And you'll feel a lot better."

The pain of the scalpel cutting my agonized skin made me faint. I came to in a few minutes and already the pain improved. The doctor blotted up the bloody mess with bandages and pads. He wasn't very gentle. I kept wincing but he didn't notice. Then he shoved a little cup of some unnaturally yellow liquid at me that stank of acid and laundry detergent.

"What is it?" I asked suspiciously.

"Something to kill the pain and help you sleep."

Even though it smelled like it would kill me, sleeping off this awful day sounded worth the risk. I gulped it down. It tasted better than it smelled but that wasn't saying much.

In five minutes I passed out cold.