Sunlight streamed through the thin curtains, casting a harsh glow across the room that made my eyes ache even more. My lower body throbbed with intense pain, feeling raw and stretched from the wild and rough sex we had last night.

I knew something like this would happen because alpha cocks are not gentle at all—they leave you sore and hurting. I groaned softly and tried to sit up in bed, but every single muscle in my body ached terribly, protesting with sharp stabs of discomfort.

Suddenly, a pair of strong hands grabbed my shoulders firmly and pushed me back down onto the messy silk sheets, which were tangled and damp from everything that happened.

Elaine was right above me, her large and powerful body holding me completely in place with her weight. She quickly took hold of my wrists and held them tightly above my head, making me feel trapped.

I let out a sharp cry because my throat was so sore from all the yelling or moaning, and my eyes were puffy and swollen from crying or pure exhaustion.

"What exactly happened last night?" I asked in a rough and scratchy voice that barely sounded like my own. I was completely naked, and my body was covered in dark purple bite marks on my flat chest and the insides of my thighs.

Dried fluids from our night together stuck crustily to my skin, and the sheets were twisted and stained all over, looking like the aftermath of a fierce fight.

"You didn’t clean me...?"

"Why are you even expecting me to clean you?"

I tried to move or twist away by instinct, but she was far too heavy and her body felt burning hot pressed against mine, making escape impossible.

"Are you seriously telling me that you forgot everything that happened last night?" Elaine said in a low and menacing growl that sent shivers down my spine.

Her striking eyes looked full of anger and storm clouds, and her dark hair was messy and tousled from sleep or the intensity of our struggle.

Her breath was warm and close on my face, and her scent filled the entire air around us—it was strong angry mixture combined with the lingering traces of arousal that still hung heavy.

"Elaine, if that’s what you came here for, then just do what you want to do right now," I said tiredly, finally stopping my weak attempts to fight her off and lying there completely limp under her crushing weight.

"Is that what you expect me to do?"

"I had my own specific reasons for what I did with you last night—it was all to prepare myself mentally and physically for my duel tomorrow. But now I am the one who is suffering the most from it, feeling torn apart and in so much pain down there."

Her face changed for just a brief moment, showing a flash of real surprise in her expression, but then it quickly hardened back into its usual cold mask. "Do you honestly believe that I care even a little bit about your personal reasons or whatever excuse you have about that duel of yours?"

"Then go ahead and take your revenge on me however you see fit," I replied, keeping my voice as steady as possible even though waves of pain kept rolling through me. "Fuck me as hard as you want, knot me until I pass out from it all. Just get whatever you need to do over with and then leave me alone here."

I was simply too tired and drained to keep fighting anymore; the pain had taken complete control over my body and mind.

"Didn’t feel pleasure too?"

"I felt, but not too much. It was just a transaction sex."

"You actually dared to challenge my rightful place and authority as an alpha last night. You handcuffed me to the bed and made me beg for you like some desperate animal lost in rut!" she said angrily, her fingers squeezing my wrists even harder until I could hear my bones creaking under the pressure from her grip.

"Elaine, please, just finish whatever it is you plan to do to me right now," I whispered desperately, my breath catching in my throat from the discomfort. "I have absolutely no strength left in me at all—I can’t even push you off or fight back anymore."

"You are breaking every single rule and tradition there is in our society. A good and proper omega always submits fully to their husband and does not climb on top or take control like some cheap street whore trying to flip everything around!"

"Please remember that we are just nominal spouses and nothing more—it’s all a business deal and not a real marriage at all," I said sharply, looking straight into her intense eyes even though mine were only half-open from the swelling.

"Oh, you remember that?"

My silver hair was stuck messily to my sweaty face like wet strands. "Who exactly are you to tell me how I should act or behave? You have no right whatsoever to try to control my body or make decisions for it."

"I marked you deeply with my bite, which means you belong to me completely by fang and scent!" Her voice came out sharp and cutting like the crack of a whip, and her entire body got tense and rigid on top of me as she spoke.

"A mark like that is nothing more than just a scar on my skin; it does not mean you actually own me or have any true claim over me. Everyone else in the empire seems to admire you, but I see exactly what you really are underneath it all."

"Do not pretend or act like you mean anything important to me at all," she said, practically spitting the words out with venom, but her eyes betrayed a small flicker that showed she might be lying just a little bit.

No, it was just my imagination. She just wants to hurt me.

"Of course, someone like you does not care about me in the slightest. Society as a whole does not care at all if alphas treat their omega wives badly or abuse them—we are just disposable things to be used and thrown away." I felt deeply bitter as I said those words out loud.