Four - Mine To Prey

Aegon

I could sense that look from miles away. I could smell it too. It was different from the smell of sex and sweat that filled this dungeon. 

Kairel remained rooted in one spot, his eyes keen on sin and he uttered, in a gravelly voice. “Mate.”

My brows furrowed in disgust and anger punched through me. Sin was his mate? More like my plaything. Time seemed to still for those too and Sin sat there, trembling from the cold. 

 Her bare body is a work of art that, for some reason, moved me. She was untouched— I knew that much, but managed to have the body of a goddess. Perky breasts that rounded nicely and the cold had helped to erect her nipples.

They stared at me, red and plum, begging for me to indulge. Maybe she wouldn't suffer this much if her father weren't Alpha Fennic. That bastard needed to die many more times.

My dick throbbed in my trousers, trying to free itself from its restraints and I was just as shocked as the guards, too. I tried to stuff down the feeling— that rush in my lower abdomen. It felt like hot ice, something distant and unattainable.

Those were not the things to feel for a woman that was one's cousin's mate. 

This little girl had just threatened to kill me, with nothing but contempt in those alluring eyes. She looked nothing like her father. I gritted my jaw and watched the scene unfold. 

Something forbidden but the flavor appealed to me. The flavor of Sin. Kairel stood there, glaring at her. He'd been waiting for this moment all his life, trying to find love— his mate and now he'd found it in the daughter of a traitor. 

But he didn't do what I expected of him.

He didn't reject her.

He didn't scorn her like I hoped he would. She was the daughter of the man who ruined our lives. Our pack, our families!

“Toss her a blanket,” I ordered groggily. “What do I play with when she freezes to death?”

Kairel still said nothing. They looked at each other like the connection was an addiction. Was that what it felt like to meet one's mate?

Suddenly, in a weak voice, Sin cried out to him. “Mate!” 

She still had it in her to yell? How desperate was she? How much more willpower before I finally break her? 

Sin was way too bold.

“I'm your mate!” She cried again. “You need me! You need me so you will love me! You need me to live!” She hit the bars with her bruised hands.

How pretty she looked when she cried. I want to fuck that mouth. 

“GET ME OUT OF HERE! PLEASE! MATE! PLEASE GET ME OUT HERE!”

I looked at Kairel, a daring smile crossing my lips as I saw the hesitation in his eyes. He'd always been the soft one. I wanted to watch it play out.

Does Kairel disappoint me? His green eyes were livid and beads of sweat formed on his forehead. He's weak.

This bond was making him weaker! I clenched my fists. 

“Shut her up!” He finally said, though sounding like he wanted the opposite. “Let's talk, Alpha Aegon.”

Talk? Talk, I shall, but I didn't want to leave Sin just yet. She interested me. 

Quite a lot. I wasn't the only one interested.

We stopped at the doors of the dungeon. Kairel looked up at me, he looked like he had a lot to say about Annora.

But I wanted to hear none of it. Their bond could go to hell. He was the closest person to me, but this wish? I'd rather die than consider it.

Kairel was weak, and I hated weakness. Always have hated it and the feeble idea of love and affection that he held so dearly.

“Aegon, she—”

“The troupes came in with quite the number of slaves,” I intercepted. “Kill the ones who won't work and share the ones who will to their divisions.”

I paused. The air was tense, but I cared less and less. “I don't want any mistakes this time, Kairel,” I added, referring to how often he freed the slaves and let them wander free as rogues.

Like I said, he was way too weak. Too good. The good ones rarely survived, just like our parents.

 “Aegon!”

I turned around to head back into the dungeon. Before the guard opened the door, I titled my head in Kairel's direction. 

“She's the daughter of Fennic, Kairel. Remember that. Remember what it cost us.”

***

“Seems your mate doesn't want you as much as you want him,” I cooed as I dragged her out of the dungeon.

Her silver hair was unusual and they seemed to hold strong too. It was just like a cup having a handle. Something to carry her with.

Her cries filled my ears as I dragged her through the corridors. Her body scraped against the ground and she crawled up most times to lessen the hurt.

She was learning. The guards and maids gave way for us, none of them daring to utter a word. How I'd waited for this day.

For the day I inflicted the same amount of pain I received onto Alpha Fennic's offspring. It was joyous, boundless revenge and I lived for it.

I hoped it would end, ever. “Please! Please, spare me!”

A sardonic chuckle ripped from the crevices of my throat. “No longer negotiating your way out of this one?” I scorned, “Like father, like daughter!”

Finally, we arrived at the grand place I'd prepared for her. My work office, but by far, deadlier than the dungeon. I threw her to a corner and she fell flat, panting.

I loved how her hair fell on her face and her small body shook in fear. She coughed and whined.

How was she Kairel's mate?

Why was she Kairel's mate? What dumb plan does the infamous moon goddess have this time? That deity was always up to no good.

To kill the silence, I climbed onto my seat. A royal structure carved from mahogany wood, with heads of wolves as its core design.

“Sit up!”

Like clockwork she did and a gasp ripped from her throat when she saw the item before her.

Spike boards. A wooden punishment tool for prisoners. It was a flat board with nails all over it, all upright and waiting to sink into flesh.

“Do you…perhaps know how to sing and dance, Annora?”

She shook her head vehemently, tears spilling from her eyes. “N-no…”

“Great!” I clapped. “It's the perfect time to teach you then. Get on your feet.”

She fumbled her movements, and wouldn't stand upright like she was a damn broken toy.

“Now!”

Annora struggled to her feet.

I inhaled deeply. “Now, you're going to grace this moment by practicing your dance steps…” I paused, letting it sink in. “On the spikes.”

“What?” she blurted, bug-eyed.

I chortled. “Dance on the nails, Sin. Don't make me repeat myself.”