ALPHA THORNE: Claimed by the Billionaire Beast

he room, eyes glued to the door I

the scream that clawed up my throat. I couldn't afford to panic. Could

er banter. Damian Thorne wasn't some swoony antihero with a soft spot. He was a predator in

had dipped beneath the tree line, casting the estate into deep blues and purples. Shadows stretched long ac

luxurious, with a four-poster bed, soft golden lighting, and a plush armchair near a carved bookshelf. It was the not knowing tha

raighten. Then the door creaked open, and

he said with a soft, neutral t

s I pinned her with a glare. A small smile

bookshelf, setting down the tray with careful hands. The scent of food filled the air

water with lemon," she said, arranging ever

hard. "I'm

nreadable. "Of course, you are. Tr

re lectures about fate and som

from the tray and folded her hands in front of her. "

one's been pretty eager to shove the

s real," she

The anger was easier than the fear. Easier than the l

ouldn't be true. None of it even made se

ng," I muttered. "I

inch. "Maybe. B

lder at her. "What's t

e just down the hall if you need anything. You'll find clothes in

ect me to. The door closed behind her with a s

l me

o eat, but... the smell. God, the smell. I sat, picked up

d I didn't want to enjoy. I hated that it made me fe

ce, my thought

the police? Would anyone even care enough to

ents who'd check in. Just a couple of coworkers who p

wonder how she's doing. What they did to her after I was taken

nd leaned back in the

It was soft and gentle, like

attack whoever it was that

her arms and that ever-present calmness in her expression. She looked like she belonged in som

ting to the empty plates at the foot of the bed. "Anyways,

nother trick, or if I could trust the one person wh

ing locked in this r

ep my nerves from showing. As soon as I stepped over the threshold,

Progress,

olden light. Everything in this place was strangely elegant. Old money elegance. With ri

tate has been in the Thorne family for generations," she said. "Hidden from humans, protected by

," I mutt

mpathetic smile but didn't

oared above us, with a glass chandelier shaped like icicles suspended from thick wooden

ks like it belongs in a Go

s Alpha Damian's aesth

id before I cou

dn't d

a large library filled with books that smelled like dust and history, a conservatory with glass walls and a

I asked as we passed the padded

or sport. It's survival. We're not the only

ered with an u

ller private spaces. I noticed how the décor here was warmer, more p

you ever need space to bre

ace to the night sky, and the scent of jasmine floated through the air. A cus

t... p

dream in the mid

ness wash over me. For the first time in d

said, surpris

it now, but you're not a prisoner, Evely

htly. "Damian said something sim

s. "And it's not safe for you out t

he

ile va

cially not those who think the bond should only exist

Once I find a way out of this place

ound, you'll be dragged back here, and trust me, darling, the leniency you've been shown so far will be gone. You belong here.'' W