Chapter 20

LUXURIA.

I had been knocking on the door but got no answer. I was nervous to death. I was angry at him. At my mate. For putting me through such hell.

That dark, cold dungeon had nearly shattered my spirit, molding me into something else. It broke me.

I hated him for it. For everything. For tearing me down, breaking me piece by piece until the rebellion inside me died a natural death.

I had no will to be rebellious or disobedient anymore. I wouldn't want to go back in there.

He'd turned me into a version of myself I barely recognized, too afraid to resist. Yet, no matter the rage burning through my veins, I couldn't avoid him forever.

Thanks to Zendaya for her intervention. She seemed to have delivered my message to the Alpha.

I had sent her to tell him that I'd like to see him. And instead of coming to see me, he had released me instead. She must have put in a good word for me.

The knot in my stomach twisted tighter with each passing second as I waited outside his door.

I knocked once more, a little harder this time, my hand trembling. Still nothing. Just silence.

Part of me wanted to leave, to run, and for a moment, I even took a step back, relieved that I might not have to face him tonight after all. But then… I heard it.

A sound. Low. Muffled.

Moaning.

My stomach twisted sharply, and I froze, my breath catching in my throat. I knew that sound. The unmistakable sounds of pleasure. Of sex.

I could feel my pulse quicken, every inch of my skin tingling with dread.

It grew louder. My heart sank. The sting of jealousy came swiftly, curling in my chest like a poisoned dagger.

I had no right to feel jealous, not truly. Even though we are mates, there was no relationship between us. Why should I feel this jealous?

The soft gasps, the rhythm of flesh against flesh, the sensual sounds that followed. My head swam, my heart dropping into the pit of my stomach.

I know I shouldn't have stayed back. I should have run away. But something dark and fierce gripped me, keeping my feet glued to the floor, keeping me from leaving. A part of me—twisted and hurt—needed to see.

My hand, shaking uncontrollably now, found the door's edge. It was slightly ajar, just enough to see through. And then I pushed it open, inch by inch until the sight hit me like a sledgehammer.

There he was. My mate. Alpha Parthe.

And there she was. Shikta.

Bent over the table, her body curved into him as he took her, rough and relentless. His hands clamped tight around her hips, his body moving with a feral intensity that made my knees weak. His skin gleamed with sweat, his muscles rippling as he thrust into her, over and over again. Her gasps filled the air, matching his guttural growls.

It felt like the world shattered around me in that moment. Everything inside me broke.

I couldn't breathe. I couldn't even think. All I could do was stand there, frozen in place, my heart breaking in silence. A sob clawed at the back of my throat, but I bit it down, refusing to make a sound.

This… this was the man I was bound to. My mate. The one who was supposed to be mine, who I was supposed to be connected to, even if nothing between us had been solidified yet. And there he was, giving himself to her without a second thought. His focus, his passion, his body—everything that should have been mine—was hers.

I had anticipated this - that he had mistresses. But nothing prepared me for the hurt I was feeling now while witnessing it.

They had their backs turned against the entrance, so they only knew someone had stepped in, but they hadn't seen who it was yet.

I shouldn't have felt it—this blinding, suffocating jealousy. But I did. Goddess, I did.

It tore through me like wildfire, the sting of betrayal searing my chest. My heart clenched painfully, and for a moment, I thought I might crumble right there and fall apart into pieces on the cold floor.

They froze, and I knew I had to get out of there as soon as possible. I didn't want to anger the Alpha. I had already committed an offense by barging in on him without an invitation.

My heart leaped into my throat at the sound of his voice.

"Don’t move an inch.”

A chill crawled down my spine, freezing me in place. My heart raced, and my stomach twisted with dread. I couldn’t bring myself to turn around, fear rooting me to the spot. His voice was cold, so cold, like ice seeping into my veins, paralyzing me.

Every muscle in my body locked up as if he had bound me with invisible chains just with his words. My mind screamed for me to run, to get out, but my feet refused to obey.

"Why are you stopping?" Shikta asked him, her voice breathless, laced with frustration and impatience.

The Alpha’s response was as cold as winter’s frost. “Leave.”

Shikta let out a small huff, clearly displeased, but I heard her shift, the scrape of her feet against the stone floor as she adjusted herself. A tense pause followed. I could practically feel Shikta’s shock. “But—”

“I won’t ask twice.” His words were laced with an edge so sharp that I felt a cold chill ripple down her spine.

Shikta didn’t protest again. She brushed past me, her bare skin hot and flushed as she hurried out of the room, her shoulder colliding roughly with my arm as if marking her departure with a brand of disdain.

I clenched her fists at my sides, willing my body not to tremble. Not here. Not now.

I felt that new surge of anger brewing within me. The one that I have been trying to tame.

I had taught myself always to take in deep breaths when I feel that way. It helps calm me down, at least, until I get a solution to what's happening to me.

I could feel his gaze burning into my back, scorching me from where he stood.

“Turn around,” Parthe commanded, his voice low.

I swallowed hard, my throat dry and tight as I slowly, reluctantly, obeyed. My feet moved as if by instinct, though my mind screamed at me to flee. The moment my eyes met his, my heart constricted painfully in my chest.

There he stood—naked.

His sweat-slicked skin glistened in the low light of the room, the muscles of his chest and abdomen taut, his powerful form unapologetically on display.

His broad shoulders were tense, the sinew in his arms flexing as he relaxed against the table where he had been fucking Shikta, watching me with a gaze so piercing as if he could see every hidden part of my very soul.

But it wasn’t just his cold, dangerous expression that rendered me breathless. It was the raw, sinful beauty of him.

My gaze unwillingly trailed over his sculpted chest, over the planes of his stomach, where his muscles rippled with every controlled breath.

Lower still… I couldn’t help it. My eyes traveled down, past the sharp lines of his hips, to the length that stood heavy and swollen between his legs.

I swallowed hard, the sight of him making my pulse race, my body betraying me in the most humiliating way.

Goddess above!

It was huge, impossibly thick, the sight of it causing warmth to bloom low in my abdomen, my thighs instinctively clenching together.

Sinfully built.

Every inch of him was dangerous, potent, and it sent a shiver down my spine.

I couldn’t deny the attraction to him, even if I hated him for it. My body’s reaction betrayed me, no matter how fiercely I tried to fight it.

Parthe’s voice sliced through my thoughts, snapping me back to the present. “Stare one more time, and you’ll feel its wrath.”