Chapter 5 Trapped Between Alphas
RILEY'S POV
Ben's booming voice echoed through the shattered office like a death knell.
"RILEY!"
Every muscle in my body locked. Damn it. They had tracked me.
Marcus instinctively surged toward the broken window, but Rex raised a single hand, halting him without a word. The entire room plunged into a suffocating silence.
Rex's piercing blue eyes never left mine. "How many?" he asked quietly, his voice a calm anchor in the rising sea of panic.
I swallowed past the lump of dread in my throat. "Two. Maybe three."
Duda crept to the edge of the window, staying low as he peered into the alleyway below. "Three wolves," he confirmed, his jaw tightening. "All from the Cold Pack."
"They're searching every floor," Chris added, lifting his chin as he caught a scent in the air currents. "They know she's in the building."
A heavy, suffocating tension filled the space. The plan was falling to pieces before it had even truly begun.
Outside, Ben’s voice barked again, closer this time. "Riley! Your father wants you outside. Now!"
I closed my eyes for a single heartbeat. The math was brutally simple. If I walked out there, they would chain me and drag me back home to a living hell. If I stayed... they would eventually storm this room. Neither option ended well.
Rex looked down at me, his expression unreadable. "It's your choice."
I frowned, caught off guard. "My choice?"
"You can walk out that door," his voice remained steady, entirely unbothered by the impending threat. "Or you can trust me."
Trust him. The word tasted strange on my tongue. I barely knew this man. He was a ruthless alpha, a legend cloaked in violence. Yet, looking into his eyes, a bitter truth struck me: I trusted this stranger infinitely more than my own flesh and blood.
I opened my eyes, the fear burning away into a cold resolve. "I'm done running."
The ghost of a smirk tugged at the corner of Rex's mouth. "Good."
He turned to his men, his voice snapping with military precision. "Duda."
"Yeah?"
"Get the healer and the others out the back exit. Now."
Duda nodded instantly, already moving.
"Chris."
"I'm on it."
"Make sure no civilians get caught in the crossfire."
Within seconds, the room was a blur of calculated motion. There was no panic. No shouting. Just absolute, terrifying discipline. I watched them in stunned surprise. For a pack rumored to be made of lawless rogues and discarded outcasts... they operated like elite soldiers.
Rex stepped back into my space, towering over me. "We're changing the plan."
"What?"
"They already know you're here," he said, his voice dropping to a low, intimate rumble. "So now..." He reached into his pocket. "...we give them something they can never question."
My heartbeat quickened, a sudden spike of adrenaline hitting my veins. Rex's fingers brushed the heavy silver chain around his neck, pulling a small silver blade from beneath his shirt. It wasn't a weapon meant for combat; it was a ceremonial knife.
The kind used for marking.
Understanding hit me like a physical blow. "No."
"There isn't time, Riley."
"I said no!"
Down the hall, a loud crash echoed through the building. The club's security had failed. Ben had breached the floor.
"They're coming!" Chris shouted, slipping out the door to secure the perimeter.
The heavy, synchronized thud of footsteps was getting closer. Fast. Far too fast.
Rex stepped closer, his blue eyes hardening into flint. "This is the only chance you'll have. If they see you leave with me unmarked, your father will know it's a lie. He'll never believe you're my mate."
My wolf paced wildly behind my ribs, clawing at the surface. She wasn't afraid of him. She wanted him. The sudden, overwhelming realization terrified me to my core.
Memories of Cody flashed in my mind—the bruising grip of his hands on my neck, the sheer disgust and suffocating anger that had choked me. I braced for that same feeling of entrapment, but as I looked at Rex, it didn't come. He wasn't forcing me down. He wasn't taking what he wanted. He was standing there, holding the blade, waiting.
Waiting for my consent.
Another crash rattled the walls outside. "They're at the end of the hall!"
I squeezed my eyes shut, my breath coming in short, ragged gasps. If I refused, everything ended tonight in blood and chains. If I accepted... nothing in my life would ever be the same.
Slowly, deliberately, I closed the distance between us. His scent enveloped me entirely—pine, rain, and the sharp tang of woodsmoke.
"I have one condition," I whispered, my voice trembling but fierce.
He tilted his head. "Name it."
"If you ever become like Cody..." I looked straight into the endless blue of his eyes, letting him see the steel in my soul. "...I will kill you myself."
A slow, genuinely amused smile spread across his face, a dangerous spark igniting in his gaze. "I'd expect nothing less."
He lifted the ceremonial blade. His thumb brushed my jaw, his touch surprisingly gentle against my skin. "So fierce," he murmured.
BANG.
The office door burst inward, hanging off its one remaining hinge. Ben charged into the room, two massive, snarling wolves flanking him.
"There she—" Ben's voice choked off. He froze.
Every eye in the room landed on us.
Rex didn't flinch. In one smooth, possessive motion, he wrapped a powerful arm around my waist and pulled me firmly against his chest, completely shielding my body with his own. His gaze never wavered from mine, locking me in his focus.
"Ready?" he whispered.
My heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird. I gave the smallest, almost imperceptible nod.
His lips brushed the sensitive skin just beneath my ear, his hot breath sending a shiver straight down my spine.
"Don't fight me."
Then, he lowered his head toward my neck.
