Her Tyrant Alpha [EXCERPT]

Chapter One

As soon as Ashelin's bare feet touched the smooth wood of the dock, it was as if an electric storm zapped through her body. She was acutely aware of each hair, each nerve ending, the tickle of the breeze through her sheer white robe and the snug embrace of the silk ropes wound artfully around her arms beneath the garment. Her long crimson tresses hung down her back, the waves unruly from swishing back and forth beneath the robe.

But she'd opted to be completely natural on this day. No clothes, no makeup, no careful hair styling. Just her bound body beneath her ceremonial robe, nothing to mask or taint the scent of her.

She took a step, a step away from the boat, away from her old life. The moment she'd prepared for was now closer than it had ever been—the point of no return.

And her veins thrummed with it.

It was as if her wolf knew this was the place she was supposed to be. And it wasn't just about the undercover espionage mission, either. There was the other thing, the other layer of excitement and anticipation that licked her spine as she took another step.

The thin robe she wore was nothing more than wispy fabric, ghosting over her bare skin beneath, and she closed her eyes as she continued to walk, enjoying the sensation.

Freedom.

Despite the chains she was about to don, despite the ropes currently encircling her upper body, she felt more free than she ever had in her life. The danger ahead set her blood aflame, and it was all hers. She'd spent her life serving alphas, facing danger to protect them, but now it was only her, all by herself.

She was free to enjoy the experience without having to worry about protecting anyone else.

Two sentinels stood a metre apart at the mouth of the dock, their stances identical as if standing at attention. They wore all black, and while the outfits weren't army fatigues, to Ashelin they looked like soldiers. Especially considering the rifles across their backs and the knife and sidearm at their belts.

She stopped an arm's length away from them as a man got out of a white SUV on the parking lot side.

He wasn't dressed like a soldier. He was dressed like a tourist.

"Heyo," he drawled, dragging out the word as he slid his oversized sunglasses onto the top of his head. "Look at you in your ceremonial robes, all trussed up."

He had a swagger to him, but he didn't carry himself like an alpha. He was nothing but a chauffeur, it seemed. The breeze rippled his floral-print shirt as he moved closer, raking his eyes over her easily visible nakedness beneath the thin fabric.

Ashelin's breath caught in her throat as he raised a hand, palm hovering over her breast, quivering as if he were fighting the urge to touch.

"It ain't fair that you get to look like that," he murmured, and then dropped his hand. The unspoken rest of the sentence that she could almost smell on his breath was and I'm not allowed to touch you.

Part of her had been hoping he'd done it, just to see how the sentinels would react. An offering for the alpha was not to be touched by any other wolf once they arrived on the pack's grounds. This ensured that the offering was coming without coercion from the pack, offering herself to be collared by the alpha himself.

This particular man seemed to be having difficulty with the rules, but would the guards defend their alpha, and in turn, her? Or would they have looked the other way?

Despite the drama it could have caused, it would have been useful information to know.

"Well, let's get rollin'," Flower Shirt said, and turned, waving for her to follow.