“Where is your courage now, little wolf?” Erik asked, climbing to his feet. Ariyan lifted his gaze at that, unable to ignore the taunt. Peering up at him Ariyan could tell Erik was at least a foot taller than him. His chest was stacked and hard, abs tucked under chiseled pecs. Ariyan had a list of words he wanted to call the demon, but he was too afraid to utter a single one. Instead, his gaze fell back to the wooden floor.

“Lay on your belly.” Ariyan moved in baby steps forward, his breath hastening as he neared the bed. He was not under any illusions about sex or mating. He knew he would not love the person he lost his virginity to, and he convinced himself that was okay. Love was a fanciful thing. What mattered most was securing the bloodline and doing one’s duty. It was the same reason his brother Austin had a woman he was mated to, and a lover whom he’d fallen for. It was the same reason his mother nearly died trying to give his father another alpha child. It was the same reason he’d agreed to marry Rolf. Ariyan’s duty before tonight was to be mated and bred. Having said that, Ariyan’s fear now did not derive from the loss of his virginity, but rather, the man whom he was losing it to.

‘A demon…’ Ariyan thought hopelessly as Erik came behind him to mount. A demon was going to fuck him, hurt him, breed him…

Ariyan paled.

The chances of an omega getting pregnant outside of the heat was one in one hundred.

‘One in one hundred…’ Ariyan repeated the number in his head. He hoped the Gods would at least spare him that.

The demon gripped his hips, and Ariyan gasped as he was yanked to the end of the bed. He arched his back over instead of down, gripping the sheets for dear life as Erik spread him. Ariyan was trembling from fear by the time he heard the lewd sound of Erik spitting onto his cleft. Aside from that he wasn’t wet at all.

The finger felt like a claw ripping through him, shoving past his tight hole and scraping his walls. “Hgnnn!” The whimper was as involuntary as the inhale and the reflex to move. He tried to raise his hips, but Erik held him with that immovable grips on his hips and ass. The alpha pulled out his fingers, wetting them inside of his mouth, before rubbing his tight hole once more. The wetter his fingers, the better it felt. Not pleasurable, nowhere near pleasurable, but not the crushing pain from before.

It was… better.

Not good. But the longer Erik touched him the wetter he got.

It was…humiliating.

Feeling his body opening and adjusting to the fingers diligently spreading him. It wasn’t as if the alpha enjoyed it. Ariyan could hear the annoyed grunts and impatient tuts as Ariyan whined and whimpered when Erik went too deep to fast, or slid in another finger.

By the time the third stretched him, tears had begun to well in his eyes, and down his pale face.

It hurt.

There was no other way to describe it. Each time the alpha pushed in Ariyan whined.

Then there was a pause. A pause in the alphas movements where Ariyan tried to steady his breath. He prayed that Erik had grown tired of his assault. That his obvious lack enthusiasm had turned him off enough that he no longer had the desire.

Austin and he had once argued when Ariyan insisted he could mate with Rolf despite the absence of physical attraction. Austin told him he could never have sex with a man he wasn’t physically attracted to. For one glorious moment, Ariyan thought perhaps the demon didn’t desire him physically. After all, he didn’t grin at him like Rolf did when they met unexpectedly in the gardens, or ogle him lustfully like Otto had earlier. The demon had only stared at him coldly.

No sooner had the thought crossed his mind then he felt something hard press against him. It was warmer than fingers, and denser. Ariyan tried to ready himself, but the alpha pushed in before he could let out his breath.

“Ah!” A strangled cry left his throat as the demon split him. “Ah—please!” Ariyan cried out as he continued to force Ariyan’s hole wider. Erik only drove harder, holding him down as he thrust deeper, and Ariyan let out a silent scream. When the alpha was fully seated he begin to move. Ariyan buried his head into the bedding, his tears streaming hot and salty down his reddening face.

Erik grunted each time he thrust into him and Ariyan choked out a cry. The omega panted, and then the tears gushed. The pain in his chest mounted as Erik’s pace quickened. Then it went from pain, to torture. Then it made him burst into a raw ugly sob that seized his entire body.

‘Savage…’

Ariyan could feel his hole ripping around the sizeable length. It crushed into him, relentless and hard.

‘Savage…’

There was no other word to describe Erik. This was supposed to be his first time. Other omegas that Ariyan knew had said their lovers had taken them soft and gently. They’d doted on them. Kissed them through each thrust. Whispered sweet encouragement in their ears. This was nothing like that.

It was…empty.

All Ariyan could feel was agony.

‘Savage.’

Still…he didn’t scream out after the first time Erik entered him. He didn’t beg. He refused to show him that kind of submission. The demon had already stripped him till he had nothing. Had already broken him when he killed his brother and father. Had already ripped his mother and sisters from his embrace. He couldn’t hold onto any of that emotional loss. It was as fleeting as the stench of smoke he'd washed out of his hair and clothes.

‘This though…’

Ariyan could grasp this pain and suffering. See the evidence of it. Hold on to it, as Erik slashed through his last resolve.

Ariyan cried out once more when the alpha gripped his blond hair, and pulled him back with a hard yank. He clenched his eyes shut, knowing what was coming next. Once an omega was claimed they belonged to their alpha. It was something Ariyan always detested about being an omega. In the hands of a lover, an omega was a blessing. They were the life givers. The nurturers. In the wrong hands he was little more than a prize to be won; little more than a possession. His father had kept him whole and untouched like a virgin bride to give away to Rolf, and now, in a fit of desperation, he gave himself to Erik.

Wasn’t it the same?

He hadn’t loved Rolf, and he certainly didn’t love Erik.

Wasn’t it the same?

But even as those fangs sank into him he knew it wasn’t. The bite was as hard as it was passionate. He let out a short breath as the first real tingle of pleasure skulked up Ariyan’s spine, and made his cock twitch. His body shuddered then, and for one beautiful, or dangerous, moment, everything stopped. The pain in his heart and body had fled, and all Ariyan could see, hear, smell, taste, was Erik.

It was… horrifying.

To think that his brain could shove every intricate emotion he had to the side, in order to shine a beacon on Erik’s presence alone.

Thankfully, the alpha didn’t waste time on licking the broken skin. He continued through to claim his pleasure, and Ariyan, remained silent. He felt when the alpha came. The man’s cock expanded before it pulsed inside of him.

Heat.

A gush.

A gross trickle from the inside of his thighs.

It was… sickening.

He was glad when Erik shoved him away. He laid perfectly still on the bed, not moving. He only listened as the alpha exhaled, struggling to regain his breath. Then the sound of Erik gulping down the sweet red wine. Ariyan didn’t move through it all.

Finally, the door opened and shut. After several moments of pin drop silence Ariyan let his sorrow out. The cry that escaped his throat was foreign even to his ears. Harsh and dejected. It racked his chest, as he coughed and struggled to breathe, screaming into the bedding as the image of his father and brother’s dead bodies swam through his mind. He cried so loudly he didn’t hear when the door reopened, and Anatoly kneeled beside him.

“Ariyan,” the doctor’s warm voice whispered. “Ariyan look at me.” Ariyan couldn’t look at him. He couldn’t breathe. He was huffing, but no air was entering his lungs. The stinging in his chest had surmounted to the point that the pain blinded him. The throb in his head exploded until the ache made him cry out in pain. His face had gone from fiery red to blue.

“Ariyan!” the doctor’s voice grew stern. “Ariyan, you have to breathe! Breathe!” Anatoly demanded as he shook him. Ariyan drew in a small breath, which sounded more like a wheeze. If he didn’t breathe he would die, but somehow the prospect didn’t seem so bad now. Now that he’d had his innocence ripped away from him. Now that he’d been claimed by a demon. Now that he was discarded by his mate… his alpha…like nothing more than a brothel whore.

And yet… he couldn’t succumb to death. That was what the demon wanted. Like all evil beings. Erik /wanted/ Ariyan to die. He wouldn’t give in. He couldn’t. He’d begged on his hands and knees for the alpha to spare his family. He wouldn’t give up now.

“That’s right…that’s right…” Anatoly breathed in and out deep so that Ariyan would mimic him. “Good. Just breathe, Ariyan.”

Just breathe. What an easy concept that should be.

Slowly…slowly...the knot in Ariyan’s chest begin to loosen. He could feel his body relaxing. The tension in his head dissipated some. He could breathe freely again.

Anatoly rushed to the bathing room to grab him water and a cloth. He dabbed Ariyan’s head lightly, wiping away the sweat beaded on his brow and temples. Ariyan finally sat up, not bothering to cover his nakedness. Erik’s cum was now leaking out of his throbbing hole. The potent scent of it, mixed with Ariyan’s slick and blood made Ariyan’s eyes and nose run.

“You should get back in the tub to get the… sweat off you.”

The doctor helped him stand. Ariyan winced with each step, grunting, but not saying a word. After Anatoly helped him into the tub, he sat silently, pale as the alabaster marble of the tub tiles, with a red trickle and blotch of blood oozing from his neck. Anatoly tried to wipe it away, but Ariyan pulled back, shaking his head and glaring menacingly.

‘Don’t touch me…’ The look said more than any words could. Ariyan sat in the water completely still, his eyes watering as he stared at the wall in front of him. Anatoly was talking. He could hear him, but he couldn’t make out the words.

When the water began to grow cold, Anatoly pleaded with him to let him wash off the grime from him and the demons sex. He didn’t refuse, nor did he consent. Instead, he sat perfectly still as Anatoly washed him off, taking care not to touch the mark Erik had left on him. Ariyan stood to wash between his legs, whimpering as he pressed two fingers against his swollen cleft. He curled his fingers upwards, stretching so that he could clean himself properly. Anatoly tried not to stare, but Ariyan could still feel his eyes on him.

When he was finished Anatoly gave him a towel. Ariyan stepped out of the tub with the doctor’s help, wrapping himself up in the robe Anatoly provided. When he stepped out of the bathroom, he noticed someone had already changed the sheets, erasing Erik’s discretions.

“It is…” Anatoly started meekly. “Traditional for the Alpha and Luna of the pack to share a bed. At least on their mating night.” Ariyan turned toward the doctor before he clenched his jaw. He had given up his freedom and his body, but to lay with the demon in this bed—in his father’s bed—where Erik raped him. It was too much, and he couldn’t be held responsible for what he might do to his alpha sleeping beside him.

His own room felt small compared to the illustrious suite his father slept in. He made his way to his bed, wrapping up in his blankets to ward of the chill that continued to make his bones ache.

Anatoly closed the door behind him, carrying his medical bag.

“Drink this,” the doctor gave him a cup of tea that tasted medicinal. “It will help with the pain.” Ariyan drank the tea down slowly, savoring the last drop before he handed the doctor back the cup. He could feel the tingle up his arm and through his limbs, spreading down to the tips of his toes. He felt warm and sleepy. Like he was curled up by the hearth in his brother’s study. His brother would read to them, him and his sisters, with his mother sewing and smiling contently. Would he ever feel that happiness again? That memory seemed so long ago…

“I know this seems hopeless, Ariyan…but it will get better.”

Better. What exactly would get better? The physical pain of sex? The heartache of loss? Or the emptiness? Ariyan wanted to ask, but he didn’t want to know the answer.

“Can I get you anything else?”

‘A way out?’ Ariyan thought. But even that was hopeless. Anatoly worked for the demon, despite how nice he presented himself.

‘And anyway…’

Ariyan had agreed to this. To protect his sisters and mother he’d agreed to be Lord Erik’s mate.

Ariyan shook his head, clenching his jaw before he turned away from Anatoly. When the doctor finally left him, he curled into a tight ball, and wept himself to sleep.