Chapter Five.

Cassiopeia Nyx.

Another scream ripped from my throat before I could stop it, piercing the air between us. His grip on my wrist slackened, and in that moment, I could see the shift in his eyes—a flicker of concern breaking through the mask of intensity. It was the kind of expression I had only seen a few times in my life, and it unnerved me even more. He stepped back as if my fear had burned him, and I took the opportunity, heart pounding, to scramble away.

I barely made it to the edge of the bed before I felt the tears blurring my vision. My body shook, each sob tearing through me as the reality of my situation crashed down. My mate. The Alpha King. Bound to him for the rest of my life, just like my mother was to my father. The thought made me tremble harder. I could see it so clearly—the endless years of pain, the torment that was sure to follow. My father’s cruelty was legendary, but this man… this Alpha King… he was a nightmare I hadn't even had the courage to dream of.

I heard him move, his footsteps soft on the floor, and panic flared in my chest. I couldn’t let him touch me again. I wouldn’t survive it. I screamed once more, louder this time, and threw myself off the bed in a desperate attempt to escape. But he was faster, far too fast. In the blink of an eye, his arms were around me, a steel cage that I couldn’t break free from.

I fought him. Every instinct in me screamed to run, to get away from this terrifying force that was now my reality. But it was useless. His grip tightened, his strength overwhelming. I was trapped, completely and utterly, and the realization was suffocating. I could hardly breathe, the weight of my despair choking me as I imagined the torment ahead.

He held me close, his breath warm against my hair. I could feel the confusion radiating from him, his heart beating just as fast as mine. For a moment, I thought I sensed something else—something like pain. But I couldn’t trust it, couldn’t let myself believe that there was anything in him that could understand the terror he had brought into my life.

“Please,” I whimpered, my voice shaking with the last shreds of strength I had. 

His arms tightened around me, and for a moment, I thought he would ignore my plea. But then he spoke, his voice low and rough, almost broken. “I won’t hurt you, Cassie. I swear it.”

I didn’t believe him. How could I? Words meant nothing. They never did. My father had sworn the same thing a thousand times, and each time had been a lie.

I began to shake harder, the fear overwhelming every other thought. His touch was unbearable, a burning brand that threatened to sear my skin. I wanted to shrink away, to disappear, but there was nowhere to go, no escape from the fate I had been bound to.

He tried to soothe me, his hands gentle as they stroked my hair, but it only made the terror worse. How could he not see that his presence alone was enough to break me? How could he not understand that every moment I was near him was a moment of agony?

The Alpha King, Xeros, might have been confused, maybe even heartbroken by my reaction, but it didn’t change what he was. What he could do. And as he held me tighter, whispering promises that I couldn’t bring myself to believe, I knew that this was just the beginning.

The beginning of a life where I would always be afraid. A life where I would always be bound to a man who, no matter what he said, could never be anything other than my worst nightmare.

As I lay there, trembling in his embrace, memories flashed through my mind—my father’s scornful laughter, the crack of his belt against my skin, the icy grip of despair that wrapped around my heart whenever he was near. I was transported back to my childhood, to the nights I had spent cowering in the corner of my room, praying for the sun to rise and chase the shadows away. 

Xeros pulled back slightly, searching my face as if trying to read the horrors etched in my features. His brow furrowed, and I could see the conflict raging inside him, a storm of emotions I couldn’t begin to comprehend. Did he regret his actions? Did he even understand what he was putting me through? 

“I’m not like him,” he said, his voice steady but low, as if he were afraid of breaking the fragile silence that had settled around us. “I won’t hurt you, I promise. Just… let me explain.”

I shook my head violently, tears spilling down my cheeks. “I don’t want to hear it! You don’t understand! You’re just like him!” My voice cracked, and I could feel the weight of my words hanging in the air, a damning accusation that I knew he could never truly shake off. 

Xeros recoiled slightly, as if my words were arrows aimed straight at his heart. “You don’t know me, Cassie. You can’t judge me based on what he did. I’m trying to help you, but you’re pushing me away.” 

“Help me?” I laughed, a bitter sound that echoed through the room. “You think trapping me here is helping? You think your presence is a comfort?” My chest heaved with the force of my emotions, and I could feel my heart racing as the fight within me raged on. 

“Then tell me what you want,” he pleaded, desperation threading through his voice. “Tell me how to make this better.” 

“I want to go home!” I shouted, my words laced with the raw edge of pain. “I want to be free of you! I want to escape this nightmare!” 

For a moment, silence stretched between us, heavy and fraught with unspoken truths. I could see the anguish etched into his features, the way his jaw clenched tightly as if he were holding back a tidal wave of emotion. I could sense that he was fighting to understand, to break through the walls I had erected around my heart, but I couldn’t let him in. Not now.  Not ever.

“Home is gone,” he finally said, his voice low and rough. “You’re with me now, and I won’t let you go. I can’t.” 

The finality of his words echoed in my mind, a chilling reminder of the reality I was now trapped in. I sank to the floor, my knees hitting the cold wood with a thud that reverberated through my entire being. I pressed my palms to my face, the tears flowing freely as the weight of despair settled heavily on my chest.

“Why?” I whispered, the word escaping my lips in a broken breath. “Why did you have to take me? Why couldn’t you just let me go?” 

Xeros knelt beside me, his presence a palpable heat against the cold despair that surrounded me. “Because I need you, Cassie. I’ve been searching for you for so long. You’re not just a mate; you’re the other half of my soul. I can’t explain it, but I can’t let you walk away.”

His words hung in the air like a spell, and for a moment, I hesitated. There was something in his voice, a raw honesty that made me question everything I believed about him. But I couldn’t let myself hope. I couldn’t risk believing in something that would only shatter me further.