Enslaved by the Alpha: Part One (Shifters of Nunavut Book 1) Read Online Free

grasp of a giant.
    Then, her eyes locked with his, and she became their prisoner.
    His gaze, which up close looked like twin orbs of broken ice, inspected her. They roamed over her face, her neck, and her collarbone. His free hand came up from beneath the pelt to grab a few stands of her hair. He rolled them between his fingers, then brought them to his nose and sniffed. His expression went from blank to guarded.
    “How old are you?” he asked, breaking the silence.
    “Twenty-eight.”
    She was used to men not believing her, and half expected him to follow up with “Nuh-uh” or “Really? What year were you born?” But Erik just gave a slight nod in response.
    Without warning, he lowered his head. Astrid barely had time to tense, instinct telling her she was about to be bitten. Instead, she felt something warm, wet, and a little rough sweep across the curve of her neck.
    He licked her.
    His mouth moved to her ear and she heard him sniff twice, before licking her again. Her entire body was rigid, first with fear, and then with…something else. His mouth closed over the bottom of her ear, fangs pressing into the soft pad of flesh. The hand that had been tightly clutching her chin had somehow settled on her jaw, cradling the side of her face in a gesture that felt almost gentle. Most perplexing of all was his scent—a smell that rivaled even the most alluring of colognes. She couldn’t discern a single element of that intoxicating aroma, and her efforts to do so only increased the tension that was growing in the pit of her belly.
    Squeezing her eyes shut, Astrid recalled the sight that lay only a few meters behind her. The dying campfire, the dismembered bodies, and the bloodstained snow. The effect was instantaneous. Whatever warped arousal had been brewing within her, it was immediately squelched in favor of disgust.
    Erik pulled back, and when she opened her eyes, Astrid was greeted by his smirk.
    “I will accept your offerings as payment for trespassing in my territory,” he said, amusement lightening his accented voice. “You will be gone by the next sunset. If you’re not gone by then, you will join your friends.”
    He let her go and turned away, making a quick whistling noise. The wolves gathered around him and began funneling into the tent, one by one carrying out the bags from within. Astrid watched, feeling numb. Once again, she felt as though she were outside of her own body.
    “I came here for my sister,” she finally said. “And even if I was willing to leave without her, you killed my guides.”
    Ignoring her, he continued to walk away, past the tent and heading back towards the tundra. Astrid looked from him to the wolves, who held her in the same disregard.
    She was being spared from the jaws of a wolf, only to be left at the mercy of the tundra. Without Gerald and his men, she had no concept of how to get back to civilization. If Erik didn’t help her, she would die.
    It was that knowledge that had her stalking after the alpha. He must have been able to hear the snow crunching loudly beneath her feet, but he didn’t turn back until the moment her hand clutched his pelt. He whipped around, and she had just enough time to suck in a breath before his large hand was wrapped around her neck.
    “You can’t leave me out here,” she said, trying not to show how terrified she was. As soon as the words left her lips, it occurred to her that this alpha male was not accustomed to being told what he could and could not do. This became all the more evident by the mocking grin that slowly spread across his face.
    His grip on her neck tightened, and for a moment she was certain he’d strangle her. But, as Astrid was beginning to learn, nothing about Erik was predictable.
    “All right. I will help you find your sister,” he said. “But not for chocolates.”
    He waited for her to ask.
    “Then for what?” she choked out.
    “You,” the word echoed in the tundra’s sound void. “You will be mine. Mine