Chapter 19

ALPHA PARTHE.

No matter what happens, I don't think I want Luxuria to die in the dungeon. It's been a week now, and she still languished in that cold, suffocating darkness.

I had sent the maids to retrieve her—ordered them to bathe her, cleanse her of the grime and damp. She was to be brought to my chamber. There are rules she must follow if she seeks to survive peacefully here in my pack, under my protection.

The heavy oak doors to my chamber creaked open, and I turned, expecting Luxuria.

But it was Shikta.

I stiffened. She wasn't who I was meant to see tonight.

She strode in with a practiced grace, her figure draped in fabric that clung to her curves, deliberately dressed to steal my attention.

Her lips were painted dark, matching the lustrous black silk that clung to her... Just as I liked it. The flicker of candlelight caught the sheen of her skin, a thin layer of sweat glistening along her collarbone.

I knew what she wanted. But I was in no mood for that.

"Parthe," she purred, her voice grated against my nerves. She was too close now, her fingers brushing my bare chest. "You seem… troubled." Her smile curled wickedly, dark eyes glinting as though she already knew my thoughts.

I took a step back, trying to breathe, trying to distance myself. "There are things on my mind," I muttered, turning away from her, hoping she'd take the hint.

She didn't.

Instead, Shikta moved closer, a soft, slithering sound accompanying each step she took. Her scent—heady, spiced—enveloped me, suffocating and intoxicating all at once. I felt her hand slide up my arm, her nails sharp against my skin. "What things?" she asked, voice lilting. "Surely nothing that I can't help you with."

"I crave peace, Shikta," I admitted, feeling a strange bitterness cling to my words. "Sometimes I wonder… what it would be like to live without this curse, without the constant pull to destroy everything in my path."

Her laugh was low, mocking. "Peace?" Her fingers lingered on my shoulder, her touch insistent as she leaned in, the heat of her breath brushing against my neck. "You are powerful because of this curse, Parthe. Do you really want to rid yourself of what makes you strong? What makes you feared?"

Her lips hovered near my ear, and I felt a shiver crawl down my spine. Her words pricked at the edges of my resolve. I knew she was wrong—deep inside, I knew it—but there was a sick part of me that clung to her words, that craved the power the curse afforded me, no matter the cost.

It was a battle I fought daily, and Shikta was its temptation embodied.

She always made me see the good side of this curse. She is the only one that keeps me from losing my sanity to it. She makes me see the benefit of it all.

"Without the curse, you would be nothing more than a man," she whispered, her fingers grazing my chest, drawing slow, deliberate circles, "But with it, you're something more. Something unstoppable. You could have anything. Anyone."

Her lips barely brushed the edge of my jawline, and my muscles tensed, my hands clenching at my sides. I could feel the hunger in her touch, the way her body pressed against mine with calculated insistence. But my mind drifted elsewhere—to her. To Luxuria.

A part of me didn't want her to barge in on me like this with Shikta. I must make the atmosphere clear enough to clarify my rules and regulations.

"You keep lying to yourself, Parthe," My wolf, Ravorn, said annoyingly at the recess of my mind.

He had taken it upon himself to torment me each time the thought of our mate popped up. He has been eager to be with her, but, fuck, I am scared of tainting her innocence.

"Stop it, Rav," I shut him out immediately and focused on the distraction before me. A distraction I wished I could dismiss.

My eyes darted toward the door, and I saw it slightly ajar. So slightly that it shouldn't matter. No one dared peep into my chamber unless they had a death wish.

Shikta's hands slid lower, her fingers tracing the fabric of my tunic, her voice a constant, honeyed whisper. "Why resist what you are, Parthe? The power you possess… it thrives in the darkness, not in futile desires for peace. You were born for this."

I clenched my jaw, trying to push her away. Her words were too familiar, echoing the darkness I had been trying to keep at bay. My muscles tensed under her touch, her presence stirring the part of me I had been fighting. She always knew what to say, the perfect balance between temptation and manipulation.

"You speak of power, Shikta, but what good is it if it only leaves destruction in its wake? And you know the consequences. No Alpha from my lineage has ever lived more than thirty-three. I have less than two more years..." I stepped back, trying to regain control, but she followed, her eyes gleaming with a knowing confidence.

"Destruction is what makes you feared," she purred, her lips curling into a seductive smile. "It's what makes you strong. Peace… it's an illusion. And you, Alpha, you were never meant for illusions. And in less than two years, you leave a legacy behind. One your ancestors never left."

Shikta's fingers curled around the back of my neck, pulling me down until her lips brushed mine. For a moment, I didn't resist. Her warmth, the intensity of her touch, the way she fueled the darkness within me—it was a dangerous pull. She knew my weaknesses, how to tempt me when I was most vulnerable. I felt her breath against my skin, her body pressing closer.

"You don't have to fight it, Parthe," she whispered between kisses. "This is who you are. Power. Desire. Not peace."

I growled softly, my restraint breaking under the weight of her words and touch. Her lips met mine again, harder this time, her hands wandering down my chest.

The tension between us boiled over, my hands gripping her waist as I pulled her closer. Shikta's laughter was soft and triumphant, her fingers sliding under my tunic, skin against skin.

She was right about one thing: I was a creature of power, of darkness, and the peace I craved was slipping further from my grasp with every moment.

Shikta's body arched beneath my grip as I pressed her over the edge of the wooden table, her moans swallowed by the growl that tore from my chest.

I ripped her flimsy dress off, exposing her bare behind to me. My length was hard already. Although not as hard as I'd want it to be. I was a bit distracted.

I grabbed both sides of her butt cheeks and spread them apart roughly.

A moan tore from her throat.

She was dripping wet.

I was already ready... My potion was the first thing I took when I woke up every morning - a secret Shikta didn't even know about. I couldn't trust her with such a secret. Otherwise, she'll figure out a way to bypass my precautionary measures just to get pregnant for me.

My hands gripped her hips roughly as I thrust into her ass hole a little rougher than she would have liked. Her back was arched to accommodate my intimidating length, her head turned to catch glimpses of me over her shoulder, her lips parted with gasping breaths.

I knew she was disappointed. This wasn't the typical sex I had with her. I was usually deliberate, rough, and never in a hurry.

But this time, it seemed a bit too rushed for her liking. But she didn't get to question me.

The heat of the moment drowned out any sense of the world beyond the chamber that. I didn't hear the soft knock on my door.

Then it happened.

The door carelessly flung open, and the rush of cold air swept through the heat that enveloped us.

I froze.

Shikta's body stilled beneath me, and I looked up sharply, my grip still hard on her skin.

I had my back against the entrance, but the scent that greeted my nostrils was too familiar to recognize.

My pulse roared in my ears as I perceived her sweet scent.

Fuck.

It was Luxuria.