Rejected By Five Alphas: Watch Me Thrive

A pungent, suffocating odor assaulted her senses. It was the stench of wild beasts and primal instincts, like an invisible hand gripping her throat. Alivia Sanford's eyes snapped open, her brain screaming a tactical alarm before she could even make out the dark, jagged walls of the cave.

In the torrent of memories, Alivia also grasped the fundamental laws of this strange world: a matriarchal society where women are revered and scarce, and a woman can have multiple male spouses. Men are subordinate to women, and their value depends on how well they serve and protect the women they choose. The original Alivia, though flawed, had the right to pursue Kane as a potential spouse-yet drugging him was still considered a desperate and shameful act. In this world, a woman's word is law, but she must also provide leadership and support for her harem. Having been a highly trained agent in her previous life, Alivia found this inversion both absurd and practical. If she could withstand Kane's wrath, perhaps she could turn this hierarchy into an advantage.

A heavy, burning sensation pressed down on her shoulders, pinning her body to the rough rock. A sharp, real pain shot through her back.

"Don't move," a voice growled, the vibrations coming from close to her collarbone.

Alivia's gaze focused. The man on top of her-no, a beast in human skin-was Kane Hensley. The name surfaced from the swamp of memories flooding her mind, accompanied by chaotic shame, despair, and an obsession that wasn't hers. Her agent instincts overwhelmed the emotional mire, quickly piecing together the tactical reality: the original Alivia had drugged him. She had tried to force herself on him.

And now, the drug is burning inside him, and he looks at her as if she were dirt stuck to the sole of his boot.

His silver eyes gleamed with a terrifying and wild light. His iron-like hand gripped her chin until her teeth ached and she tasted blood. "You think you can hold me back, you disgusting creature?" he roared, his hot breath burning her neck. "I'm going to destroy you now."

The murderous intent was real. It surged from him like a tidal wave, suffocating her. In that instant, Agent Alivia took control of her body. Panic, the disorientation of waking in a strange body-all vanished, leaving only the cold, hard instinct for survival.

This body was awful. Clumsy, sluggish, weak. But Kane straddled her, his weight pressing against her chest, his lower body completely exposed. He thought she was just a fat, helpless fool. He thought she couldn't move.

He was wrong.

Alivia stopped struggling. She relaxed her body and widened her eyes in feigned fear. Kane's grip loosened slightly, and a disgusted sneer appeared on his lips.

That's completely wrong.

Alivia took a deep breath, planted her feet firmly on the sand, and used all the strength her three hundred pounds could muster to thrust her right knee upwards. She aimed for his most vulnerable spot-the place