To Rule the Alpha's Heart

6. A Long Night (Part 3)

"Calla."

Her name sounded like sin on his lips, and he spoke it slowly, careful to enunciate it properly despite his accent. She was careful not to let him see her knees shake beneath her white skirts.

"Eat," Alpha Einarr instructed, his voice gruff. He lifted a hand, gesturing toward the seat opposite his own.

Calla obeyed. She had gone to his cabin for dinner, after all. At first, her steps were hesitant, small. She couldn't rip her eyes off of the man seated mere paces away, terrified that he might lurch forward with animalistic speed.

She hadn't forgotten the monstrous wolf that had stalked toward her in the Berlynne courtyard. The animal that was lurking beneath this man's skin...

A fine spread of Eatrelan cuisine sat on the table. Tender white fish, leafed vegetables, even a selection of purple and orange fruits, juicy and tart and grown in only the warmest weather. This was food that he'd undoubtedly pillaged from another city along the Eatrela coast.

That fact, accompanied by her current lack of appetite, made Calla not want to touch the food. Still, she slid into the open seat opposite from Einarr, tucking her hands neatly into her lap as she avoided meeting the male's gaze. She didn't like the warmth that flooded her body when their eyes met.

"Actually," Calla paused to clear her throat, "I'm not hungry."

"Then drink." He pushed one of the goblets from the center of the table forward. Clear liquid sloshed at the goblet's rim, but Calla still eyed it carefully. "It is water, Calla."

A frown was evident in Einarr's voice, and she quickly looked up to meet his gaze. "I– thank you."

She wiped her palms, shockingly sweaty, on her skirts before reaching above the table to take the chalice in her hands. She brought the rim to her lips and, as soon as the cool liquid slipped onto her tongue, couldn't put it down until every last drop of water had been emptied. She might not have been hungry, but gods, she hadn't realized how thirsty she was.

Einarr's frown deepened, and he pushed the other goblet toward her. More water. This time, she was determined to consume the liquid at a more civilized rate. Calla took a small sip then met the alpha's gaze over the chalice's rim.

"I suppose I should have ensured that you did not poison the water," Calla murmured, placing the goblet back on the table. Her fingers played with the drinking vessel's stem.

Einarr's eyes flickered to her fidgeting fingers, and she immediately stilled. When his stone gray eyes returned to hers, his brow furrowed. "Poison?"

"To kill me." Calla's words were cold again. "Or render me helpless to have your way with me."

This time, one corner of his lips curled, but the crooked smile disappeared as quickly as it appeared. "I will not need poison to mate with you, meraname. You will come to me willingly."

His words struck disgust and fear deep inside Calla. Disgust because she would not ever engage in such an act with this male of her own accord. Fear because his words held conviction, like a promise. And that thought alone was enough to make Calla question her own resolve.

She gripped the stem of her goblet tight to keep her fingers from shaking. "I will not mate with you, animal."

Alpha Einarr released a huff of breath that could have been a chuckle. "The Moon Goddess has declared it so, human."

Moon Goddess? Calla disregarded the strange phrase as another blasphemous belief that she would not tangle with. She certainly didn't care about any declarations made by this 'Moon Goddess.' As a Seer, Calla paid heed to the Seven, the gods and goddesses that reigned supreme over the lands and the seas, heavens and hells.