AdeaNo one moved, no one so much as flinched. It was as if someone dropping dead was nothing out of the ordinary I looked around the room, with a false sense of hope, praying that one of these men were normal. They were so used to bloodshed that when death stopped by during a meeting that was meant to be peaceful, not one of the men batted an eye. The women by their sides weren’t as unaffected, but remained quiet. Some stared at the table and others refused to look down at the man bleeding out on the ground. My attention was dragged back to Alpha.It was when he felt my eyes on him, that he moved, he reached down and pulled the dagger from the Beta’s head. I shuttered at the sound it made and my mate across the table noticed. I wanted to tell Alpha that what he’d done was unnecessary. I wanted to tell him he couldn’t just kill people. This man was my father’s Beta, he had stepped in for him, and he hadn’t thought twice about killing him. He hadn’t killed an alpha, but had killed a re
Adea“I saw the way you looked at him. I can’t remember a single time you’ve ever looked at me that way,” Alpha growled.Anger. That’s what I felt. He wasn’t the only one who was angry, he didn’t even have a right to be. So why? Why were the tables reversed? Why was I expected to remain quiet? I had a right to be angry, I had every right. He thought he could tell me what to do, overpower me, own me, and maybe he did, but he doesn’t get to tell me how to feel.“You may own my body, you may get to decide what I do and where I go, but you don’t get to tell me how to think or feel. You may be my master, but you are not in control of my thoughts, or my heart,” I said calmly.That was the wrong thing to say. He grabbed my wrist and I was thrown to the floor. The beautiful dress dirty now that I was on my knees. I laughed. I assume it didn’t matter now that he hired and paid someone to have this dress done in haste. The reason for it was over and done with. I dipped my chin, but kept my eyes
Adea “You want to know what has pushed me so? I hate that you don’t know who you belong to yet, pet. I hate that you don’t look at me with the same yearning you did for him today. You weren’t even talking to him and the look that passed between the two of you had my blood boiling. I want to bury myself so deep in you that you only have thoughts of me. I want to erase every touch of his from your body, any memory of him, and replace it with my own. I want to burn the memory of him from your mind. I want you to want me, need me, hope for me. I want your every thought to revolve around me,” Alpha said. His grip tightened my hair. “Am I allowed to talk? Or am I only to say what you want to hear?” I spat. “No. What you have to say to me matters not. Every time you talk back, defy me, or look at me with that look in your eye it’s as if you’re calling me, reaching out to me, demanding I look at you. You continue to seek out my attention with your little acts of rebellion. You seek out my a
AdeaThe bed rattled, the headboard slammed into the wall over and over again. The more I tried to move the more I realized I was restrained. I fought against the fog that kept my eyes closed, that kept me just beneath the surface. A hand on my throat tightened and I choked as I failed to breathe. My eyes flew open and cold green eyes hovered above me, a bead of sweat rolled down his temple as he slammed forward. I cried out as I was brought into the present, I was confused, unsure of where I was and how I got here.One second I had been in the carriage with Alpha and the next I was strapped to a bed. The only light in the room came from the moon outside my room. My room. I looked up at Alpha’s green eyes and he lowered himself. He snarled and snapped in my face. I couldn’t even reach up to try and fight him. I couldn’t attempt to get away because my hands were restrained.I kicked and thrashed against him. He released my throat and I took in a deep breath of air before my face burned
AdeaMy body was riddled with bruises, but it hurt even more than it looked. One second my eyes were open, the next they were closed. It hurt to breathe, it hurt to move, it hurt to think. It hurt just to grasp the sheets, but I did and I held on. I couldn’t get up, my body hurt, I was in so much pain.Light filtered through the room, warmth surrounded me and I sobbed. I don’t want to feel this, I don’t want to leave my bed of hard cold stone. I prayed for the darkness to take me out again, but it didn’t. Instead, a warm liquid caused me blink, a layer of fog lifted from my eyes. The warmth filled between my legs and continued to seep around me. I whimpered, but didn’t move. I smiled.Is this how I leave this world?This is how the Moon Goddess punishes me after my thoughts last night.Releasing the bed sheets, I reached down and spread my legs. I flinched and watched as the blood spread. I reached out and wiped it, I continued to wipe it until my fingers were covered. I gripped the b
After I’ve been washed and the bleeding slows I’m helped to my bed. Doctor James waits outside until he’s notified that he can come in. When he comes into the room, someone trails after him carrying equipment. Alpha had spoken to him about my body as if I hadn’t been here. I shouldn’t have expected anything less, and yet, the bar somehow he managed to surprise me.“Can you tell me what’s going on?” I asked. I had wanted to ask him before, but couldn’t. He quickly rushed out after Alpha left and I was left with the handmaidens. I was unsightly and it was unheard of for woman of high society to be seen in a state less than perfect. James clears his throat and comes to a stop beside me. The man behind him moves about getting everything set up. My mind has been racing since his discussion with Alpha earlier. I hadn’t said anything, I hadn’t been able to. I couldn’t find my voice in front of him after last night.“You haven’t figured it out?” James asked. I shook my head. “And no one has t
Things continued like this for a long time—a long time for me, but just a month for others. It didn’t sound like forever, it didn’t sound like an eternity, but it felt like it, it felt longer. Thirty-one more fucking days of answering to his demands, bruised lips, bruised body from stolen kisses, and long nights of wishing for death. After the incident that resulted in a miscarriage, Alpha was careful when he beat me. He made sure to avoid my stomach and torso.Thirty-one days of furtive fucking at a drop of a hat, forced kisses, and long nights of wishing he’d get tired of me. He liked touching and seeing me when he couldn’t sleep—which felt like it was every night—and I feared the sound of the door creaking open. I hated being forced to endure his presence and having to breathe the same air has him. Most nights when he came, he brought my sister, and she watched. He never stayed longer than the time he needed to fill me with his seed.I preferred it this way though. I liked that he
The doors opened and I walked through the dining hall. The smell of breakfast wafted through the air and the only person to greet me was Beta Odis. He stood to his feet and bowed while I made my way toward the table. A servant rushed forward and pulled out my chair for me. I sat down and someone placed a plate in front of me. Alpha always had guests, so when the doors opened I paid them no mind. Too busy was I with pushing the food around my plate.Two sets of footsteps made their way towards the table, but no one spoke, and no one greeted them. Lifting my head, I turned to my left and looked at the guests. One had silver hair and a shade of lavender eyes I’ve never seen before. The other guest, I knew. I knew her right away. I dropped my fork to the table and my stomach dropped. It couldn’t be, it didn’t make sense, there was no way that she was here right now.I looked around the table, my gaze stopping on Alpha. He sat in his seat, eating his foot as if he didn’t sense anything dif