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.”
Annora “P-please!”The monster didn't leave my side, neither did he hear any of my pleas.My voice had gone hoarse from begging for his mercy. I felt his large hand dip into my hair, yanking my head up to gaze at him, my mouth hanging open.My breath was caught in my throat, and I winced in pain, tears flowing down from my eyes, uncontrolled. But the monster wouldn't let go of my hair, rather he grinned as he locked eyes with me. His orbs were as dark as his soul, but I didn't dare look away, not while my hair was tangled around his fist and he yanked it harder, with a devilish precision while his red lips still formed a satisfied smile.My expression morphed into a wince and the tears wouldn't stop flowing.“I want this one…” he announced, a smile snaking his red thin lips, an opening to the hell of his mouth. “I love what her mouth looks like wide open. Keep her in a separate carriage.”Disgust bit through me and my stomach sank. I spat in his face. “Go to hell, Demon! Go to hell!
AnnoraMy heart had burst into a sprint, clamouring against my ribcage like it tried to tear itself out. The fear gripped me like a vice, choking the air out of my lungs. No. No.My legs wouldn't even move. I barely batted an eyelid and he was right before me, his eyes fixated on my skin and I grew hot. My entire nervous system and nerve endings reached disarray.“So delicate,” he cooed and something inside me rose. I didn't know what it was, but I hoped it was the intense hate I felt for him. My body wouldn't stop shaking.His fingers swept the strands of my hair to the side, and I felt sweat streaming down my forehead as I gazed up at him with eyes holding nothing but terror.I stared at the tattoo designs that adorned his arms, my eyes blazing with fury. He grabbed my chin and pulled me to look up at him. “Do you…like what you see?”He looked like a god. He was built like one. This was the devil they spoke of?Face modeled after the most gorgeous of angels, only for his personali
AnnoraThe carriage was driven into a castle, a majestic fortress of stone and steel. I lay coiled up like a snake, my body curled in a tight ball. Memories came flooding back, bringing anguish and causing my eyes to swell and redden. It was painful to even glance at the sky.The walls of his castle were thick and frightening, with a large gate of iron that seemed impenetrable. I felt the heaviness of the chain that was clamped around my wrist and its weight dragged me down as I moved my arms.This was hell. The sobbing tones of the other prisoners beside me reminded me that this captivity might be permanent. There was no way out!Aegon had taken it all.I was still trying to come to terms with my fate when a giant man, covered in tattoos that looked similar to Aegon's, approached our carriage.I felt his grip on my chain pulling me downward as other soldiers took the remaining prisoners. Our chains echoed through the floor like a rail track. “Move it!” he commanded, pushing me fo