I set down my fork after forcing in another bite, ignoring his glare that I could feel was directed at me. It had been two weeks since I had been here and yet my appetite was still close to nonexistent. I never felt hungry, but forced myself to eat as much of the meals he brought in as I could muster.

One would think being locked up in a room with nothing but my own thoughts to entertain me I would look forward to eating, if for no reason other than it gave me something to do, but I hated it. Perhaps it was because with each meal I had to tolerate his presence. Feel the weight of his piercing unavoidable gaze, deal with his quick temper and bite my tongue at his domineering words.

A few days ago he had forced me to eat more, refusing to leave until I had finished off one of the plates he had brought up for dinner. Seeing no other option, I had forced down bite after bite despite the rising sick feeling in my stomach, and satisfied he had left, the smug look on his face only seeming to increase my nausea.

Just a few minutes later I had run to the bathroom, only just barely making it to the toilet before I had thrown up everything in my stomach. Eyes watering and legs trembling I had come back out into the room only to see him standing at the doorway, looking as though he had come running at the sound of me being sick.

After that day he had never forced me to eat more once I had pushed my tray away, but his glaring eyes told me he was just barely restraining himself. This supposed urge to care for me was highly curious to me. It seemed to be driving him mad to see me not eating properly and yet he didn't seem at all bothered by how sick I was becoming trapped in this house away from everyone I had ever known and loved. It seemed to be the way a butcher would care for a lamb to be slaughtered, feeding it and protecting it for his own use, not caring if that arrangement was bad for the creature.

I pushed the tray away and turned my head to stare out the window, waiting for him to leave. I turned to face him when even moments later I hadn't felt the bed move as he got up, or the sound of his footsteps leaving.

He was staring at me silently, the tray still resting beside my feet where I had pushed it. I frowned in confusion, wondering why he was just staring at me, perhaps this was a strange way of forcing me to eat more.

I didn't bother to indulge him, just turned my face away again, hoping he would get the hint and leave me be.

"It's been two weeks since you came here and you haven't set a foot outside this room after your first night." The Alpha stated. I clenched my hands in the blankets pooled around my waist waiting for the verdict. Knowing full well I wouldn't like where he was going with this.

"I'm running out of patience waiting for you to start treating this as your own home."

The only thing that kept me from saying this wasn't my own home was the memory of me saying I wasn't his. Listening to his deluded bullshit was better than aggravating him and having him attack me.

"Come watch a movie with me." He ordered.

I looked up at him with a frown, wondering what in my behaviour for the past two weeks had given him the idea I would want to watch a movie with him.

"No." I responded, my voice coming out sounding like a croak after having not used it in days. It was strange thinking about not having spoken in so long, I hadn't even realized it all these days that I hadn't been speaking. Considering I didn't want to talk to him and he was unfortunately the only person around, I had no choice.

"I'm tired of this behaviour Athena, I've let you wallow in your misery for long enough. It's clearly making you sick, so either you follow me out of this room on your own, or I carry you." He threatened.

I glanced up at him, wondering if he was serious, and then pushed the covers off of my legs at the look on his face. He looked to be barely holding himself back from scooping me up in his arms, and I wanted to give him as few excuses as I could to touch me.

I glanced away in disgust at the way his gaze travelled leisurely over my bare legs. The way one would survey the land they owned, with entitlement and ease.

I hated that none of his pants would stay up on my hips and I was forced to wear only his tops that although fell to just an inch or two above my knee, left more of my skin bare than I ever wanted him to see.

Every time he came into the room I made sure to be sitting under the blankets on the bed because I hated the way he looked at me. I could tell it fed some possessive instinct of his to see me in his clothing. It was another way for him to stake his claim on me, but even less than wanting to feed that part of him, was my urge to speak to him, and so I said nothing about the clothing.

I followed a few paces behind as he walked out of the room, carrying the tray of food in his arms as he led me down the hall and the stairs.

The day I had arrived I hadn't been in the right state of mind to take in my surroundings, so it seemed as though I was looking at the house for the first time now. The entire house was done in greys and blacks with some bursts of white here and there. Everything looked sleek and expensive, like one of those modern homes in the home magazines my mother loved looking at, but to me it was the ugliest place I had ever seen.

He walking into a living room, settling down on a couch opposite the large, thin TV that hung up on a wall on the far end of the room and turned to look at me expectantly. Ignoring him, I walked around the glass table to the furthest couch from him, not caring that it wasn't facing the TV considering I had no interest in the movie anyway.

I had just settled down and pulled my legs up to my chest when my forearm was grabbed in a vicelike grip and I was pulled abruptly to my feet. The Alpha dragged me over to the couch he had been sitting on, not letting go of me until he had forced me into the seat right next to him, far too close for my liking.

I scooted away from him over to the end of the couch as soon as he let go of my arm, clutching it to my chest. He grabbed me by the wrist , fingers grazing against the swell of my breast making a shiver of disgust run down my spine, my breath catching in my throat. He yanked me back towards him until I was pressed against his side, not even seeming to take notice of my efforts as I tried futilely to pull my wrist from his grasp.

"Mate you can either sit next to me or sit in my lap. Personally I'd really prefer to have you in my lap, move again if you agree." He warned, keeping his eyes on the television as he went through a list of movies.

I gulped nervously, hating being so close to him, but not moving because being in his lap would be so much worse.

My entire side was pressed against his, the heat that seemed to be emanating off of him searing into my skin but I didn't move in fear of him making good on his threat.

He settled on a movie I hadn't seen before, but recognized some of the actors. Generally most actors were werewolves. I didn't know why that was, but most of them were. You could tell because they were generally larger than humans in build and usually better looking too in an unnatural way. It made me think of the magnificence of a lion, they had the same kind of predatory beauty.

The movie started and I sat as stiffly as I could, holding myself rigidly to allow as little of my skin to press against him as possible when sitting so close. I forced myself to focus on the names appearing on the screen instead of how close he was to me.

My muscles tensed to the point of being painful as he leaned forward and grabbed the tray of food from where it sat on the table before us and pulled it onto his lap. His large arm rubbing against the side of my body as he leaned forwards and then back.

I glanced at the tray from the corner of my eye, fully expecting him to try to push it onto my lap and force me to eat again. My eyes widened in surprise as I saw him pick up the fork I had been using and twirl some noodles onto it before bringing it up to his mouth. Bile rose up from my stomach at seeing him eating from the plate I had eaten from, and even using the same fork.

"I-I ate from that." I said shakily, hoping he had somehow just forgotten and would at the very least get another fork for himself when I reminded him.

"Mates share food all the time." He answered simply.

I couldn't help but recoil from him at that, not getting very far before he wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me back in close to his side. I squirmed under his grip but he only tightened it, giving me a warning look as he chewed his food, narrow jaw tensed in a way that looked painful.

"Do not test me mate, I've been craving to hold you."

Each reminder of what he felt towards me filled my veins with ice. The cold dread of what I feared most happening creeping up on me and making it difficult to breathe. I forced myself to stay very still, trying not to think about his words.

I only ever touched one of the meals he brought up, and never even finished that but it had never occurred to me that he ate the rest. I had only ever shared food with family, or with Ethan after we had started dating. I kept my mouth shut though as he continued to work through the pasta I had left as the movie started.

I hated seeing him eating from my plate with my fork as though he had any right to share food with me. Acting as though we were some happily mated couple instead of a prisoner and her captor. I knew to him I was his mate, but I refused to acknowledge a bond that was forced on me, a bond that had done nothing but cause me pain.

He finished off the noodles and even the rice and chicken curry in the other plate, drinking the rest of the water in the glass before finally putting the tray down on the table. Wrapping his arm around my shoulders again.

Even though I had been staring at the television screen this entire time, I couldn't for the life of me figure out what the movie was about. With him so close all I could focus on was forcing myself to stay still so he didn't get an excuse to pull me onto his lap.

His hand began gently stroking up and down the length of my upper arm causing goosebumps to appear on my skin and my breathing to go labored. The memory of his claws ripping through the skin of my arm the day I had met him replaying in my mind.

"Always so scared little mate." He muttered lowly, not stopping his ministrations.

"I don't like to be touched." I responded.

"Lies." He hissed into my ear.

"I could smell that filthy bastard's scent all over you the day we met." He said.

I glanced at him from the corner of my eyes, staying very still, able to hear the cold fury in his voice as he recalled that day. His eyes flashed red before returning to their whisky brown but it was enough to set off my heart.

I dreaded being this close to him when he seemed so unstable. Not that anytime was a good time to be close to him considering he was the most irrationally angry individual I had ever come across, but any reminder of Ethan seemed to infuriate him beyond all else.

I stayed silent, turning my gaze back to the screen, and not looking back at him even when I could see from my peripheral vision that he was looking at me. He leaned forwards and inhaled the scent of my hair deeply making my stomach drop and hands begin to tremble.

"Your hair smells so lovely without his scent in it, and it's so fucking beautiful but I couldn't stand it when I could smell traces of him in it the day we met."

Tears formed in my eyes causing them to burn but I didn't want to cry before him. I wanted desperately to run away from him, out the door preferably, but at the very least back up to the sanctuary of the room.

"Your sweet scent is always bitter with the smell of sadness. I hate it, I want you to be happy." He muttered into my hair.

"Y-you scare me when you're so close." I said shakily, hoping he would move away if he really wanted me to be happy. My true happiness lay back at my own home away from him, but even personal space would do for now.

I gasped in surprise as he wrapped his arm around my waist and with just one mighty tug yanked me into his lap.

I flailed violently, fighting to get out of his grip but my efforts didn't even seem to phase him. He kept his tight hold on me with ease, burying his face into my hair.

His muscled legs were hard under me and never had I wished more fervently that I had any type of pants to wear to provide more of a barrier between us. The hoodie I wore had been driven up by the movement to mid-thigh and did little to keep his heat from searing into me. His chest that he had me trapped against was as hard as his legs.

"Let go of me." I begged, feeling tears fall down my cheeks as helplessness creeped up on me. I was alone in the home of an Alpha werewolf who thought I belonged to him and was infinitely stronger than me. There was absolutely no way I could imagine where I got away from him unscathed.

"I've wanted to hold you for so long my sweet mate." He rumbled.

I was pressed so close to him I could feel the vibrations from his chest. The hunger in his voice made my silent tears turn to desperate sobs, making me fight against him with a renewed vigour.

"I'm not yours." I said defeatedly, smacking my fists against his chest. My movements coming to a halt when he tightened his arms around me, squishing me to his chest, leaving my arms immobile trapped between my body and his.

"You're mine, Athena. Always have been and always will be. Hearing you say you're not makes my wolf want to come out and claim you as ours so that not even you can deny it. I can't even imagine how good you would smell with our scent inside you."

He grabbed my hair up into his fist and tugged it lightly, forcing my head back. My eyes opened of their own accord, I hadn't even realized I had closed them, but seeing his eyes glowing red made me want to shut them again. I let out a loud sob at the sight of his inhuman eyes and canines, feeling like my lungs were collapsing as the panic set in.

"Hush my sweet, just let me hold you." He rumbled deeply, turning me in his arms so that I faced the screen again and resting his chin on my head.

I let out a long shaky exhale, trying to get my crying under control. There was no way I was getting out of his hold, he was far too strong for me.

He rocked me back and forth gently, whispering sweet nothings into my ear. Trying to calm me down enough for me to be able to breathe again. I panted harshly, feeling exhaustion settle in as soon as the worst of the attack seemed to die down. He twirled a strand of my hair on his finger, tugging on it gently as he played with it.

I wanted desperately to get out of his lap, not wanting to spend even a second longer cradled by the man who so carelessly pushed me to the brink of panic.

"I want popcorn." I whispered after a moment, hoping fervently he would think my heart had only stuttered because of fear and not because I was lying. It was the only way I could think of to get him to release me.

"Of course my mate." He said, gently setting me down on the couch before getting up, taking the tray with him as well.

"Stay right there Athena." He said, his eyes flashing in warning even if his voice was level. Canines seeming to have retracted and eyes back to their normal brown but his more human face wasn't much less intimidating.

I buried my face in my arms as he finally left. Fighting the urge to run back up to the room knowing that would only anger him and the lock on the door wouldn't keep him out. Angering him thus far only seemed to result in him touching me more. So although the thought of him returning and touching me again put me on the verge of another panic attack, I stayed put.

The smell of butter and salt wafted out of the kitchen. Popcorn had always been one of my favorite snacks but now the scent only made my stomach turn. Never before had my appetite been so poor. I had always eaten a healthy amount, in fact I probably ate more than what was suggested given that Nora was always eating being a teenager, and seeing her eat made me want to eat too.

I had never been so distressed before either to know that my appetite would be impacted in highly stressful situations. Food simply didn't seem to appeal to me, nothing here did. Surely as soon as I got back home I would go back to eating regularly.

The alpha walked back in holding a bowl of popcorn in his hands. He set the popcorn on his lap as he sat back down right next to me. I wished he had set the bowl between us to create more space but was just thankful that he hadn't pulled me back into his lap.

To keep from angering him, I took a piece of popcorn when he lifted the bowl towards me. My mouth was far too dry after crying to eat the salty food, but I forced it down nonetheless.

Nora and I would often watch movies while eating popcorn, the bowl between us as we sat side by side on the couch. Our parents would sometimes join us, but usually didn't like the same movies we did.

Nora would eat throughout the entire movie regardless of whether we had a meal just beforehand or were planning to have one after. My mom used to joke that Nora could face off a werewolf with how much she ate. It made me laugh then but the thought of my little sister being anywhere near a werewolf now made my stomach churn.

I shoved popcorn into my mouth to keep down the lump forming in my throat again. I doubted I had cried this much my entire life as I had the two weeks that I had been here. But never had I had so many reasons to cry either. It made me feel terrible nonetheless, crying didn't solve anything, but nor did anything else I did. There seemed to be no way out of this situation.

I hoped that he would leave the house soon so that I could plan an escape. Up till now as far as I knew he was always home, and no one visited him. He had gotten a few phone calls, probably from his pack. I needed him to leave for a few hours so I could manage to get enough of a head start that he wouldn't catch me.

Credits began to roll on the screen and the Alpha finally lifted his arm from around me to grab the remote from the table.

"Would you like to watch anything else mate?" He asked. I shook my head immediately, desperate to get back to the safety of the room.

"I'm tired." I offered as an excuse when his eyes narrowed slightly at my refusal.

"Of course, go on up then." He said and I immediately darted up, intending to sprint back to the room but he caught my wrist before I could take even a single step away from him.

"I expect you to come out of your room from now on, don't make me force you again." He warned. I gave a short nod in response, keeping my eyes downcast. I felt a soft kiss being pressed to the inside of my wrist and snatched my hand away from him before turning to run out of the living room.

I hoped fervently that the opportunity for me to escape would arise soon.

A/N-----------------------------

Hello my lovelies! I hope you all are liking the book thus far, because I am having so much fun writing it. I just wanted to say Eid Mubarak to anyone who will be celebrating, and for the rest of you happy summer. It's just become hot where I live in Canada so my summer has just begun. Have a great night, and stay safe.