Rodrigo stepped out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped low around his waist, water still dripping from his hair.

The moment he walked into his chamber, his legs came to an abrupt stop.

There was someone in his bed.

His jaw tightened as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. A figure lay curled beneath his sheets, dark curly hair spilling across his pillow. Walking to the wall, he struck the light switch, flooding the room with a harsh glow.

The new bride.

What the hell was she doing here?

Did this woman have a death wish?

He stalked toward the bed, water dripping from his body onto the cold marble floor. He loomed over her and tilted his head, studying her.

She was asleep. Actually asleep. Her breathing was slow, her body relaxed, like she had no care in the world.

How had she gotten past the guards?

And why wasn’t she afraid?

His eyes dropped down her body. Her sleeping gown had slipped, exposing her shoulder, the curve of her breasts rising and falling with every breath. Her lips were slightly parted, and a stray strand of hair had fallen across her cheek.

Something twisted in his chest. He clenched his teeth.

With one sharp motion, he pulled the pillow from under her head.

Nina’s head hit the mattress and her eyes flew open.

She blinked, trying to catch her breath.

Something was wrong.

The ceiling above her was different. Higher. Darker. The sheets beneath her were black, not the cream-colored ones she had fallen asleep in.

And there was someone standing over her.

Her eyes traveled up. A bare chest. Water droplets sliding down hard muscle. A towel wrapped low around his hips. Wet hair falling across his broad shoulders.

And gray eyes. Cold and murderous.

The Alpha.

All color drained from Nina’s face.

No. No, no, no.

She had sleepwalked. Right into the Alpha’s room.

God, she was going to die. Sweat broke out on her forehead, her hands trembling violently as she stared up at Rodrigo.

"What are you doing?"

His voice thundered through the room.

Nina jerked backward against the mattress. Her lips moved, but no words could form.

Nina hadn’t felt so much fear in her entire life. Her eyes trailed desperately to the door. The only way she was going to survive was if she ran. If she stayed, she was as good as dead.

So without a second thought, she bolted.

She scrambled off the bed and made a dash for the door, her bare feet slipping on the polished marble floor.

But she didn’t make it two steps.

Rodrigo’s hand caught her arm like an iron vise. He yanked her back with brutal strength, throwing her straight onto the bed. The impact knocked the air completely out of her lungs.

"Where do you think you are going?"

Nina lay still, her heart pounding frantically. Instead of replying, she tried to scramble off the other side of the bed, and this time, Rodrigo was instantly on top of her.

His heavy body pressed her flat into the mattress. His hands locked around her wrists and slammed them above her head, holding them pinned against the pillow with a single hand. He squeezed, hard.

Nina gasped, struggling wildly beneath him. But he was too strong. She couldn’t move an inch.

"Please, let me go! Somebody help!"

Nina screamed at the top of her lungs, her eyes tightly shut, her body trembling violently.

Rodrigo stared down at the woman beneath him.

She had no survival instincts at all.

His face was inches from hers now. Water dripped from his dark hair onto her chest, sliding down between her breasts.

Rodrigo clenched his teeth, angry at himself for noticing. He raised his eyes, keeping them fixed entirely on her face.

"Do you think there is anyone in this estate who can save you from me?"

Nina gulped, her lips pressed together. She opened her eyes slowly, her gaze locking with his deep gray ones.

Her heart stuttered.

He was strikingly handsome, but in a lethal, terrifying way. He looked like a dark angel who had no mercy left in him.

"What is the rush?" His voice cut through her thoughts, his lips stretching into a cold, dangerous smirk. "Did you want to have the wedding night early?"

Nina’s eyes widened in sheer panic.

"No. That’s not..."

"You break into my quarters. Climb into my bed." His grip on her wrists tightened until the bone ached. "Explain."

Nina winced, her brows twisting with pain.

"I don’t know how I got here."

Her lips trembled, tears blurring her eyes.

"I sleepwalk. I have since I was a child."

There was a heavy moment of silence before Rodrigo let out a deep, baritone chuckle that sent chills down her spine.

"You expect me to believe a lie that pathetic?" He tilted his head, his eyes growing impossibly darker. "Of all the places you could sleepwalk to, here? You must have a death wish."

His grip tightened further around her wrists. Nina bit her lower lip tightly as she struggled beneath him, forcing herself to meet his furious gaze. His jaw was clenched so tight she could see the muscle ticking beneath his skin.

He was absolutely terrifying.

"I’m not lying... If I meant anything else, I wouldn’t be sleeping when you found me."

Silence stretched between them. Her eyes briefly glanced downward, landing on the hard expanse of his bare chest, before she pulled them right back up.

"It won’t happen again."

"Who says there will be a next time?"

His free hand shot to her throat.

Nina choked. Her eyes went wide as his fingers pressed firmly against her windpipe, cutting off her breath.

"Please..." she gasped, the word barely a wheeze. "I... I’m..."

Tears spilled from Nina’s eyes, sliding down her temples and into her hair.

She couldn’t breathe. All she could feel was the suffocating pressure of his hand on her throat, and the cold, bleak gaze of his irises peering straight into her soul. Rodrigo’s thumb pressed hard against her pulse point. She could feel her own heartbeat throbbing wildly from how hard he held her.

Seconds passed.

And then... he let go.

She gasped, sucking in air, her body convulsing as she coughed harshly. Her trembling hand flew up to shield her throat.

Rodrigo pushed himself off her and stood beside the bed, turning his back to her completely.

"Get out."

He commanded icily, not sparing her a single glance.

Nina didn’t wait to be told twice.

She scrambled off the bed, her legs shaking so badly she almost collapsed onto the marble as she bolted toward the door, running for her dear life.