All of the following chapters are completely new with additional content. Please vote and leave comments so I know if you guys like this version better!

I will also need to add some trigger and content warnings because this version is definitely a little darker with more mature themes so please proceed with caution.

***

I slammed my head against the stone floor as hard as I could. The pain that immediately bloomed across my forehead was nothing compared to the agony ripping through my skull and tearing down my spine. A scream escaped my lips, tears relentlessly streaming down my face.

"Please," I sobbed, "Just make it stop." I clawed at my head, desperately willing the pain to end.

"Roxie, stop fighting it."

I looked up at Xavier; he was kneeling in front of me, his face screwed up in pain as he watched. "Make it stop please," I begged. I could barely breathe. "Just stop it please, I can't do this."

He held my face, his thumb gently running along my skin. "Come on little wolf, you're so close this time, I can't force you through this again." He pressed a kiss onto my temple and another sob racked through my chest. "I wish I could take the pain away, I'm so sorry Roxie."

He said he would do this as many times as I asked him to, but the tortured look on his face told me it might kill him to do it even once more. "You're almost there," he tried to say but his voice cracked when I shook my head. "Roxie please, I will if I have to, but I don't want to force you through this a fourth time."

"I just need it to stop," I cried, collapsing onto the floor as the pain continued coursing through my body.

"It'll stop once you finish shifting, I promise."

I swallowed against the knot in my throat and fought against the pain in my chest to take a deep breath. "Just finish it," I whimpered.

"Don't fight it," he murmured. He took a deep breath and then his eyes went completely black. His growl echoed in the cell, sending a harsh shiver through me. "Shift."

I thought the scream that left my throat might split my eardrums. My stomach flipped and my vision started to go fuzzy. I swore repeatedly, squeezing my eyes shut. "I'm going to pass out," I gasped. "Xavier!"

"Fuck," he hissed. I heard him shuffling around and suddenly my head was in his lap. "You have to stay awake, just slow your breathing."

I did as he said. My fingers curled into his pants as I tried desperately to breathe through the pain, but it was slowly becoming absolutely debilitating. Harsh cracking filled the cell and I screamed as my bones started to break.

The agony endured for what felt like hours, I did everything I could to focus on Xavier's fingers gently stroking my hair instead of the excruciating pain that threatened to force me unconscious. My hands started to twist so I pushed away from my alpha; my canines lengthened and sharpened into fangs that pierced my lip immediately.

I finally reopened my eyes and everything was violet. I couldn't breathe. "Something's wrong," I said through gritted teeth. My mind went blank for a moment as the pain in my head became absolutely unbearable.

"Aetrix," Xavier said and my head lifted, a growl vibrating deep in my chest. My stomach dropped instantly.

I fought against the urge to stand up fully. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I felt my wolf trying to challenge him. My body quivered as I clung desperately to the little control I still had, searing pain in my skull as I battled with Aetrix.

"What's going on?" There was panic in Xavier's voice.

His voice was the distraction my wolf needed. It was like something snapped and I was thrown into the back of my mind. My ears flattened against my head, my teeth bared in a challenging snarl. My fur was bristing and I could just feel the charged energy in the air. My wolf was powerful, far more powerful than I had realized and he knew it.

I have no control, I told Xavier, my voice shaking through the mindlink.

His eyes widened, but then I saw something inside Xavier change and it scared me so bad I almost retreated completely into my mind. His eyes went black again but this time his wolf surfaced fully. "Submit." I kept fighting my wolf as Xavier stood over me, his domineering presence just dripping with power. Aetrix held on; my lips drew back further and my shoulders stiffened and I started to panic. But one more growl from Xavier as he forced me onto the ground by my scruff was enough to tip the balance. My wolf relinquished control with a nasty snarl.

I got him! I gasped, absolutely exhausted from the war inside my head. I collapsed onto the stone floor and groaned.

Once I am at full strength, he will submit to me.

That voice. My wolf's voice. He finally spoke after all these years and—I froze. What did you say?

One day, when I am strong again and you have earned my submission, your alpha will kneel at our feet and grind his face into the dirt.

Earn your submission?

He laughed. Oh my goddess he laughed, and the sound chilled me to my core. You are too weak to control me without your alpha's help and I have no desire to release control to an alpha that has been parading around as an omega all these years. You are a borne alpha, if you want my submission, you will act like one.

The energy surrounding me started to dissipate and I realized he must have retreated to the back of my mind again. I could still feel him there this time though and suddenly I didn't know how I survived without his presence. It was somehow calming; I felt protected.

"Roxanne?"

I blinked a few times before looking up. My vision was back to normal and as my gaze swept the cell, I caught a glimpse of my bare skin. I had shifted back without even realizing it. My cheeks flushed dark red as I laid on the ground, naked, at my alpha's feet.

Xavier wasn't looking at my body though. His eyes were locked on mine, filled with a terror I couldn't explain. "What?" I asked, painfully pushing myself off the floor.

"What just happened?"

"I told you I didn't have any control," I grumbled. I was thoroughly annoyed with myself—and my wolf, for pointing out the flaws I'd been trying to ignore.

"That's not what I'm talking about."

My lips twisted into a frown as I tried to stand. My legs were shaking like a baby deer's and every single muscle and joint in my body ached horribly. "Then what do you mean? You're gonna have to talk to me like I'm stupid here, I know basically nothing about wolves or shifting," I groaned, struggling to my feet.

He hauled me upright, then pulled off his shirt and yanked it down over my head. I glanced down at it and grimaced. It was covered in blood. My blood. My fingers tugged on the torn fabric; I must have really dug my claws into him but I couldn't find a single scratch marring his torso. There were plenty of scars but no fresh wounds anywhere.

"Roxanne!" His warning growl forced my eyes away from his chest and the embarrassed flush returned to my face.

"Sorry," I murmured with a sheepish smile.

The corner of his lip turned up for a moment but then his stoic expression returned. "Why did your wolf challenge me?"

I shrugged. "I really don't know, he said at full strength you'll submit to him," I said.

He frowned a little. "You do come from a long line of very powerful alphas." He sighed. "Until you get him under control you'll need to stay with me when you shift, that way I can at least help."

"Was it like this for you? Maybe it's an alpha thing?"

"Somewhat, my father had very different methods of getting submission when my wolf refused though so that might have messed with the natural order a bit."

I felt my stomach twist at his words. His tone combined with the distant look in his eyes told me all I needed to know. I would never meet Xavier's father, but the more he told me, the more I realized he wasn't the saint everyone made him out to be.

***

I woke up thrashing, absolutely drenched in sweat with the stench of blood invading my senses. My chest heaved as I tried to catch my breath and calm my heart, beating furiously beneath my sternum.

"Are you alright?"

My eyes narrowed on the figure standing at the foot of my bed. "Yeah I'm fine," I mumbled. "What are you doing in here?"

"I heard you screaming."

For the millionth time in the last 24 hours, this man has my cheeks flaming red. "Oh."

He chuckled a little, moving to sit on the edge of the bed, deliberately keeping some space between us.

"Nightmare?"

I rubbed my eyes and shrugged my shoulders. "I don't remember, if I really was screaming then that'd be my guess," I yawned. It was still dark outside but Xavier looked like he hadn't even gone to bed yet. "Did I wake you?"

He shook his head. Guess I was right. "No, I was working in my office."

"Oh," I said again. My body felt sticky as I adjusted my position; concern filled me when the scent of blood wafted past me again. "Can you turn the light on? I think I might be bleeding."

"You are, you cut yourself on the knife you keep under your pillow."

My entire body lit up in embarrassment. "I promise I know how to use it," I mumbled, carefully searching for it in the mess of sheets and blankets surrounding me.

"I figured. Not that you would need one anymore, but if you wanted something to protect yourself I would have given you one. You didn't need to steal a knife from the kitchen." He sounded amused and it made me scowl.

"Well sorry when I want something to protect myself, my first instinct isn't to ask the alpha for a weapon," I snapped. My fingers touched something cold and wet and I carefully pulled the knife out. Sure enough, it was covered in blood. I couldn't tell where it cut me though; the serrated edge definitely did some damage but there was no stinging sensation or anything to direct me to the wounds.

"Don't worry little wolf, it healed already."

I stared at him. "What's happening right now?" Bewilderment didn't even come close to describe the feeling writhing inside me. Xavier was too quiet and too distant for my liking.

He rubbed his jaw, letting out a heavy sigh. "Your wolf is extremely powerful, I'm worried that you not having control will get you or someone else hurt."

His bluntness was physically painful. I had the same concern but it made my stomach clench to hear my thoughts echoed aloud in his words. "Is that why you were watching me sleep?"

The corners of his mouth turned up ever so slightly. "No, I didn't come up until I heard you scream, I thought you were hurt. I would have woken you but you started healing immediately and I wasn't sure if I'd scare you."

I nodded absentmindedly. "Probably would have," I mumbled. I wanted to feel comfortable around him, I wanted it more than anything else. But he was a very strong, and very attractive alpha that seemed to care way too much about me; it felt too good to be true. And seeing his wolf take control this morning instilled a whole new level of fear in me. I'd never been around an alpha as powerful as him before.

He stood suddenly and it made my heart race; it was still dark so all I could see was his silhouette against the moonlight that filtered in through the window. It reminded me that this man was over a foot taller than me and probably strong enough to crush my skull with one hand.

"Let's get you cleaned up, I'll have someone change your sheets," he said. His hand was held out for me to take but I hesitated when I realized I was only wearing an oversized T-shirt and a pair of panties. His gaze dropped down to my lap—still covered by the bed sheets—and an amused chuckle left his lips. "There's no need to be embarrassed or shameful around me Roxanne, but if it makes you uncomfortable I can leave."

Just as I tried to tell him to leave my wolf growled. Are you really going to show your alpha even more weakness? he snapped.

This is different!

Is it? he countered.

Xavier was watching me with curiosity burning in his eyes. I swallowed hard, I guess not. I took his hand and he smiled, pulling me to my feet and towards the bathroom.