Free Web NovelChapter 1: Chapter 1
The clock had long since slipped past midnight, and Odette lay buried in sleep, unaware of the world around her. The day had drained every ounce of strength from her, and all she wanted was a few hours of quiet rest.
Then suddenly, a crushing weight settled over her.
Her small body sank deeper into the mattress beneath the pressure, panic jolting through her chest. Her eyes flew open, searching frantically through the darkness until she found a pair of piercing blue eyes staring down at her—cold, intense, unreadable.
She didn’t need the lights to know who it was.
She knew her husband too well. His touch. His scent. The steady heat of his breath against her skin.
"Why are you wearing panties?" he murmured against her ear, his voice low and dangerous. "Didn’t I tell you never to wear them to bed? You’re supposed to be ready for me."
A tremor ran through Odette’s entire body.
She hadn’t meant to anger him. The moment her head touched the pillow, exhaustion had dragged her under. For the past few days, she’d been feeling weak and nauseous, and tonight all she could think about was sleep.
But excuses meant nothing to Alpha Christian Wayne.
The feared Alpha King of the entire Western Continent was a man who inspired terror wherever he went. Wealthy, devastatingly handsome, and utterly merciless, he ruled both the werewolf world and Wayne Enterprises with ruthless authority. No one dared cross him. Those who did rarely survived long enough to regret it.
And Odette feared him more than anyone.
Their marriage had never been built on love. It was a union arranged by his grandfather—a powerful patriarch whose word was law. Years ago, Odette had saved the old man’s life, and from that moment, he became convinced she was the perfect bride for his grandson.
Christian had refused.
Until his grandfather threatened to strip him of everything—the empire, the fortune, the inheritance.
So Christian married her. But he had never forgiven her for it.
To him, she was nothing more than an opportunist who had trapped her way into his family. He never let her forget it.
His burning gaze swept over her as he hovered above her, bare skin radiating heat. Even after three years, her body reacted instinctively to his touch, betraying her in ways she hated.
Without warning, he tore her underwear away and thrust into her.
Odette cried out sharply, pain ripping through her body. She hadn’t been prepared. Sex had been the last thing on her mind tonight.
"Fuck," Christian muttered in irritation. "You’re so dry."
Disgust curled across his face.
"And how many times have I told you not to go to bed like this?" he continued harshly. "Take a shower. Change your clothes. You smell like sweat and spices—as if you spent the entire day drowning in them."
The insults no longer surprised her.
Over the years, she had learned to endure them all—the contempt, the mockery, the coldness. Yet no matter how often he hurt her, some fragile, foolish part of her still hoped that one day he might look at her differently.
That one day, he might love her.
Unable to bear the cruelty in his eyes, Odette looked away and pressed her lips together tightly.
But then his mouth brushed against her throat.
He inhaled deeply, almost greedily, as though savoring her scent despite the insults he had just thrown at her. Her breath caught when his fingers slid between her thighs, moving with slow precision.
His tongue traced along the delicate curve of her neck, warm and wet against her skin.
A soft sound escaped her before she could stop it.
"Chris..."
The movement against her ceased instantly. He lifted his head, eyes narrowing dangerously.
"What did you just call me?"
His voice was quiet—far quieter than shouting—and somehow that made it worse.
Fear clenched in Odette’s stomach.
"I-I’m sorry," she whispered shakily. "Alpha Christian."
Only family and close friends were allowed to use his first name. He had made that rule painfully clear from the beginning.
She was his wife, yet even that privilege belonged to others.
"That’s right," he said coldly. "I’m only Alpha Christian to you."
His fingers slid through the slickness between her legs before he lifted them to his mouth with a mocking smirk.
"Fuck. Even your taste is addictive."
The contradiction between his words and actions twisted painfully inside her.
Humiliation burned in her chest, but beneath it simmered anger.
She wanted to shove him away. Wanted to scream at him for treating her like something disgusting while still crawling into her bed every single night. Wanted to ask why he didn’t simply return to the glamorous women draped around him at every society event.
But Christian Wayne was not a man anyone challenged.
She searched his face, expecting contempt, hatred—anything familiar.
Instead, his gaze remained fixed on her with unsettling intensity, as though he couldn’t look away. freёweɓnovel.com
As though she was something precious.
Then he thrust into her again.
Hard.
Her body yielded to him despite herself, warmth enveloping him easily now. His mouth crashed against hers in a fierce, hungry kiss that stole the breath from her lungs.
Anyone watching them would have mistaken it for passion. For desire. Maybe even love.
But Odette knew better.
Christian hated her.
Yet somehow, he couldn’t stay away from her either.
Every night, no matter how exhausted she was or how much disdain dripped from his words, he came back to her bed.
And she could never understand why.
He moved against her with relentless force, rough and possessive, taking what he wanted as he always did. Usually, she endured it silently, accustomed to the bruising intensity of his touch.
But tonight fear curled through her.
"Wait... Alpha Christian..."
His brows furrowed with irritation. "What now?"
"Please," she whispered. "Be gentle tonight."
A humorless chuckle left his lips. "And why should tonight be any different?"
Odette lowered her eyes. "I’m not feeling well."
His hand caught her chin immediately, forcing her to look at him.
For the briefest second, she thought she saw concern flicker across his face. But it vanished so quickly she wondered if she had imagined it.
"What is this?" he asked darkly. "Another one of your games?"
She stayed silent.
Impatience flashed in his eyes before he shifted her legs over his shoulder and drove deeper into her with slow, deliberate thrusts that stole broken gasps from her lips.
"I like watching you fall apart beneath me," he admitted with a wicked smile.
And that terrified her most of all.
Realizing he had no intention of stopping, Odette went still beneath him, letting him take whatever he wanted.
Yet strangely, tonight there was restraint in him too.
He touched her more carefully than usual, kissed her harder, lingered longer—as though determined to drag pleasure from her body despite her silence.
And her traitorous body responded.
She hated herself for it.
By the time he finally collapsed beside her hours later, exhaustion had softened the sharp edges of his face. His breathing slowed, heavy with sleep.
Odette gently pushed him onto his side, freeing herself from beneath his weight. But another burden pressed far heavier against her chest.
For days, nausea had plagued her. Fatigue clung to her bones. And when her monthly cycle never came, dread settled inside her.
That morning, she had taken a test.
Two faint lines. She was pregnant.
Her fingers instinctively curled against her stomach now as emotions stormed through her—fear, disbelief, uncertainty.
And somewhere beneath it all... Hope.
Christian had made his position painfully clear from the beginning: he never wanted children with her.
The thought of telling him sent ice through her veins.
She didn’t even know how it had happened. Somewhere along the way, she must have forgotten a pill, and fate had taken the choice from her hands.
Still, hidden beneath all the fear was a fragile dream she couldn’t quite destroy.
Maybe this child could change something between them.
Maybe, for the first time, Alpha Christian Wayne would look at her and see more than obligation.
Maybe this tiny new life could become the beginning of something neither of them had ever dared hope for.
