Vageir reached around and lightly pinched my right nipple between his fingers. The only thing it did was to fuel even more fiery anger within me, and I was having trouble containing myself as more time went on. I felt like a volcano, ready to explode at a moment’s notice.
Next, he released my hardened nipple and reached down to untie my pants. I stood stock still, not wanting to fight him but also not wanting to give in. He slowly slid my combat leathers down my hips, revealing the thin cotton leggings I was wearing underneath. He gathered my leathers at my ankles, binding me with fabric as he pulled one boot and then the other from my feet. Before he took off my leather pants, he ripped my leggings down in one quick motion, revealing my nakedness to him and everyone else.
I tried to control my breathing. I tried to curtail my fury, but I could feel myself spiraling out of control. The dominant alpha in me snarled in anger at being stripped and put on display like this for my people.
I was naked. In front of every warrior in our clan, people I considered my equals. In front of those I’d fought and killed with side by side on the battlefield. In front of the servants.
I was shaking. Everyone probably thought it was from desire for the king to have his way with me. Only I knew that it was from rage and not arousal.
The king wound a strong hand around my shoulder and suddenly pushed down hard, forcing my upper body against the table. I snarled, this time out loud and the king growled in return. His growl didn’t cow me in the slightest though, as it did with most omegas.
Instead, I only became even more furious than before.
His fingers slid in between my thighs, brushing against the folds of my pussy. I shuddered hard, snarling low like a feral cat. He continued exploring me, ignoring my open signs of defiance. I was able to stay motionless as he did this, but he gripped my bottom cheeks and spread me open, revealing the very shameful place that no one had ever seen before. He wasn’t going to get away with this. My shame compounded with my anger and I burst upward, unable to contain myself any longer. My instincts to fight were too strong and I no longer resisted them. Instead, I embraced them.
I wouldn’t be forced to take his cock. I was going to fight back.
“Settle down, Freya. Prepare yourself for your first taste of alpha cock,” the king demanded. He grabbed my shoulder and tried to push me down again, but I couldn’t be contained anymore. It was far too late for that.
My hand groped for something on the table at the same time that the king grabbed the back of my neck. I heard him rustling around with his belt and I felt the very hard, velvety shaft of his dick press up between my bottom cheeks. There was no doubt in my mind that he was quite massive and as a virgin, it was incredibly daunting.
He growled again and my alpha refused to bow. She wanted to fight. She wanted to taste the blood of vengeance.
My hand closed tight around an object on the table, and I looked down to see a thick knife meant to saw through a big slab of meat. He moved to try to situate his cock at the entrance to my pussy and my alpha roared with her fury at his blatant audacity.
I wasn’t going to give him what he wanted to take. My alpha refused to be subdued by him. She demanded retribution. The king had taken me and rendered me into nothing but a naked female on display for her people. I was going to take my power back.
With a vicious snarl, I whirled around and was deeply satisfied with the look of surprise on the king’s face. He saw my arm swing up and froze, unsure of what to do. It was much too late for him once he saw the glint of the knife in my fingers.
The crowd hadn’t missed my actions, however. They roared with excitement at the sudden turn of events. This was going to be a far more entertaining night than any of them had anticipated.
The king was a warrior himself. He was fierce in combat, but he hadn’t had to prove himself time and time again like I had. I hadn’t had anything handed to me ever in my life. I’d had to work for every last morsel of food that grazed my table. Vageir had been born to the royal family and no one had ever had the balls to challenge him.
Until me.
He tried to block my blow with his forearm, but I was faster and far more determined to save myself from his nefarious intentions for my body.
The crowd watching had gone wild. It had been a long time since someone had challenged the king. More important though, a woman had never been the one to do it.
I was one of a kind.
The knife glanced off the side of his arm, slashing deep enough so that the warm spray of his blood splashed against my naked body. It was decadently satisfying, but I didn’t allow myself to be distracted even for a second. He tried to grasp at my legs in order to topple me on my back on the table, but my thighs were slick with his own blood. I kicked him hard in the stomach with the flat of my heel, forcing him back several steps. His answering growl was ruthlessly feral, and I returned the sound with just as much aggressiveness. His eyes narrowed in my direction. He was seething with his own fury now and I grinned, looking forward to what was ultimately going to follow.
“You don’t want to challenge me, Freya,” he said with a snarl.
“I really think I do,” I answered.
“You can’t win,” he scoffed.
“Are you backing down from a challenge, my king?” I asked, making sure that my voice was loud and clear enough for the entire crowd to hear.
We were a warrior tribe. When one person confronted another with a fight, it was dishonorable to back down. It was seen as a form of retreat. For a king to back down from a challenge was an especially polarizing choice, because it would make him appear weak and unfit to rule.
He stared at me, his rage even more clear now. This wouldn’t be a fight that ended with one or the other calling for mercy. This would be a fight to the death. I was sure of it.
Behind me, someone shoved the wooden table out of the way for us. The Great Hall went quiet. Every single pair of eyes was trained on the two of us.
Me, completely naked.