The Stargazer's Alpha

Ch. 17: The Chains and a Kiss

Once we entered Blake's office—the lamps lit up for us without a need to look for a switch, thankfully, because we were too absorbed in one another for even such a simple task—Blake waved one hand at something concealed by a drape in one corner. "This. We need this."

The desire slowed down my thinking, so I stared at what appeared to be a large, draped alcove in the wall for a good minute.

"W-What is it? And why do we need it to talk about you dancing with Scarlett?"

His fingers grasped the velvet drape. So strong. So long. When I remembered the callouses on them, I whimpered. That burgundy velvet and that roughness against my skin would be a feast for my senses.

"This, Celeste, is a reminder to every Alpha that their pack gives them power, and they can take it away as easily if a new challenger rises," Blake said.

He seemed to have a stronger head than I did, as he said the whole thing very smoothly. After a theatrical pause, he yanked the drape aside. I didn't know what I expected to see based on his intro, but definitely not an oversized rack equipped with chains.

Blake's movement set the chains into motion. The swings were slow with little amplitude, because the link must have been at least half-an-inch thick.

Given the medieval feel of the set-up, I expected the chains to rattle, maybe even on their own, as if they held a struggling ghost. But they merely chimed in a manner of wind chimes. All in all, these were the most well-maintained, gigantic chains I had ever seen.

Of course, they had to be this huge and this well-oiled!

They did not build the restraints for a human prisoner in the dark ages. No, this was designed to hold a werewolf, and not just any werewolf either.

The chains would bind a defiant Alpha at the apex of his powers to the wall of his office. I shuddered to imagine what could happen next.

"It's not as easy to separate an Alpha from his powers as you made it sound," I murmured and slanted my eyes at Blake. "I guess?"

"It could be difficult, yes," he agreed with a nod of his head, just as the chains stopped swinging. "For anyone who doesn't command enough power over him."

"Who would have power above Alpha's?" My heart pounded with a thrilling guess. His mate.

"His mate." Blake said, without taking his eyes away from the chains.

I was afraid to move, except my knees were shaking. The air thickened with a potent blend of power play and desire. Not just any desire. The massive one that drove the strongest of men to conquest and domination. Being an Alpha. Taking a mate... Two sides of the same coin.

It was a wonder I was still standing while breathing it all in with my nose and the pores of my skin.

"Is this why you have the chains in your office? As a symbol that your power is heavy?"

"More than that. The chain is a symbol of connection of every wolf in the pack, to one another. To the Alpha. To remove the chains is to pronounce war on your pack as a despot."

It sounded like madness, but I remembered Blake's roar the other day. Standing so close to me, with an expensive suit jacket slung over his shoulder, he seemed like a granite cliff. Not a man, but a force with an unbendable primal will.

"Who would win in a war?" I asked.

"Nobody." Blake sounded one hundred percent sure. "Many wolves would die to depose the Alpha, true. But an Alpha draws power from his wolves. Controlling what isn't willingly given is impossible without breaking. Sooner or later..."