Under The Alpha’s Gaze

Chapter 23

Under the Alpha’s Gaze


EMELIA


The room was dim, the cold stone floor chilling against my bare feet, and the women standing around me wore expressions of disdain, their eyes narrowed with cruel amusement. I swallowed hard, fear prickling along my spine. I took a breath, forcing myself to speak.

“Wh-where am I?” I asked, my voice trembling. I tried to steady myself, but their piercing stares only deepened my unease.

The women exchanged looks, their lips twisting into sneers, then erupted into laughter. One of them stepped forward, her eyes gleaming with sinister satisfaction. “Oh, sweetie, you’re in the Alpha’s territory now,” she said, her tone mocking. “Didn’t anyone tell you? You’re just a plaything here.”

I felt my cheeks flush, shame and confusion mixing with my fear, but I took another breath. “I—I came here with somebody. We were together; I need to see them, please…”

I couldn’t finish what I was saying when a slap landed hard, the sting radiating through my cheek and leaving a dull ring in my ears. I stumbled back, blinking as my vision blurred for a moment. My heart pounded wildly, a mix of anger and fear simmering inside me. What was that for? I clenched my fists, steadying myself, refusing to let them see how rattled I was.

One of the women smirked, her dark red lips twisting with satisfaction as she took in my reaction. “What makes you think you have the right to talk here?” she sneered, crossing her arms and eyeing me with a look so cold it sent a chill through me.

“I—I’m just asking where Keiden is,” I managed, swallowing back the nerves that threatened to creep into my voice. “We came here together.”

The woman’s eyes narrowed, and before I could react, her hand shot out, delivering another slap that seemed to echo through the room. My head whipped to the side, the impact so sharp that I couldn’t hear for a moment, just a dull, muffled ringing in my ear.

“Keiden?” she repeated, a dangerous edge in her voice. “How dare you speak the Alpha’s name like that, you pathetic little nobody. Do you even understand where you are?”

I stared at her, trying to process the words. Alpha. Of course, it made sense now. I’d guessed he had power, wealth, but this… this was something far beyond what I’d imagined.

But I held my ground. I refused to let them see how much they were getting to me. “Keiden is my—he’s my mate,” I said, forcing each word out clearly, trying to sound braver than I felt. “We were together in the limousine, and I need to see him.”

At this, the room erupted in laughter, the women exchanging glances before dissolving into mocking, cruel smiles. I could feel my cheeks burning, not just from the slap but from the humiliation, but I held my chin high, refusing to let them break me down.

One woman stepped forward, her eyes narrowing as she looked me up and down with barely concealed disdain. “His mate?” she scoffed, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “Honey, you must be delusional if you think someone like you is even close to his mate.”

“Look at her,” another one snickered, nudging the woman next to her. “She actually believes it. This… this stray, barely worth looking at, and she thinks she’s his mate?”

They all laughed again, and I clenched my fists tighter, fighting back the tears that threatened to spill. Their words cut deeper than I wanted to admit. But I refused to give them the satisfaction of seeing me break.

“Do you even know who you’re talking about?” the first woman continued, her voice dripping with malice. “Keiden is the Alpha of this pack. The Alpha. And you think he’d stoop low enough to be with someone like you?”

“She probably thinks she’s special,” another woman sneered. She leaned closer, her voice a poisonous whisper. “News flash, sweetheart: you’re not. You’re nothing more than a… a warm body for him to amuse himself with. A temporary satisfaction.”

The words hit me hard, a cold shock spreading through me as they laughed again, each one piling on the insults with cruel satisfaction.

“Oh, poor little thing,” another woman cooed mockingly, her voice dripping with fake pity. “Did he make you feel special? Tell you sweet little lies just to see you blush? Don’t kid yourself, darling. You’re just a pastime, a distraction until he finds someone worth his time.”

“He probably just picked her up out of pity,” another chimed in, a wicked gleam in her eye. “I mean, look at her. No one with real status would be seen with someone like this.” She motioned to me dismissively, as if I were some kind of pathetic stray they’d found wandering outside.

“Honestly, what a joke.” One of them rolled her eyes, folding her arms as she looked at me with disdain. “Keiden’s mate? As if. What could you possibly offer him?”

I felt the words sinking in deeper, each insult twisting like a knife. They didn’t know me—they had no idea what I’d gone through, what it had taken for me to even be here. And yet, each word felt like a harsh reminder that maybe, just maybe, I was out of my depth.

Another woman tilted her head, her voice cold and calculating. “Face it, girl, you’re nothing more than a passing interest. Someone he’ll discard the moment he’s bored. Do you really think he’d ever introduce you as his mate?”

I swallowed, trying to hold back the hurt rising inside me, but the laughter, the sneers—it was all getting harder to ignore.

One of them took a step closer, her voice low and menacing. “Honestly, you should be grateful he even looked your way. You’re lucky he didn’t just drop you off in some alley when he was done. Because, let’s face it, that’s all you really are to him. Trash.”

“Enough,” I said, trying to make my voice sound steady, but I could hear the crack in it. I couldn’t hold it back anymore, the doubts, the insecurities swirling around. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh, we don’t?” one of them mocked, her eyebrows raised in feigned innocence. “Sweetheart, we know exactly what we’re talking about. Keiden is a man of status, of power, and you? You’re nothing. Less than nothing.”

The words hung in the air, their laughter echoing around me. I felt my defenses crumbling, the confidence I’d clung to slipping away under the weight of their scorn. I’d tried to convince myself that maybe there was something real here, that Keiden might actually care. But their words, their laughter—they planted a seed of doubt that I couldn’t ignore.

Just then, the door creaked open.

Instantly, the room fell silent, the air thick with tension as every woman froze in place, their sneers wiped clean from their faces. My breath hitched, and I dared to look up, my heart pounding as I saw him—Keiden, standing in the doorway, his expression unreadable, but his gaze was locked onto me.

He then turned his head towards the ladies.

“Who gave you worthless beings the right to lay a hand on her?” Keiden said, his voice simmering with anger.