chapter 7

Rhys's POV. 

The night felt shorter than day lately and the weight of the heavy fog accompanying the sun as it was about rising felt very amazing. It was a calming scene to watch.

Perched near the window, I saw the first rays of dawn break across the horizon. There was no peace even if the sky was a light grey with a shade of pink.I kept going back over the events of the previous evening in my brain, growing more and more annoyed with every second. Felza had tested me in a way none else had ever done. 

 

 

Her ego and will to give in infuriated me, but at the same time I felt an odd excitement. She needed to understand she belongs to me. I had been very liberal and too gentle on myself. I had already shown her last night the cost of disobedience. I thought of it as such. But as I watched her now, still on my bed, a persistent discomfort crept into my chest.

Felza's soft breathing rising and falling dominated the still room. She had been unconscious and I had personally brought her here since my father intervened. Though much too slowly for a wolf with her degree of power, the serious cuts I had caused were beginning to heal. Her pale complexion still showed the faint lines of dried blood, and for some reason that picture disturbed me. 

I turned away from the window and came towards the bed, concentrating on her. She looked so delicate and defenceless, and there was a part of me that felt a twinge of sadness. Her eyelids fluttered open as I reached out to sweep a hair strand from her face. For a moment, she looked perplexed then horrified as her lengthy lashes flickered. She tried to sit up, winced in pain. "You're awake," I said, sounding less friendly than I wanted to. "You ought to get some sleep." Her eyes fastened on me and were wide with disbelief mixed with wrath. Her hoarse voice asked, "What... what happened?"

"You can not recall?" I asked with an eyebrow arched. "I suppose the suffering took a great toll on you ." Her eyes blurred as she pushed herself forward and leaned against the headboard. She murmured, her voice quivering with hardly controlled rage, "You attacked me." I nodded, letting her comments linger. Folding my arms across my chest, I whispered, "I completed the task at hand.”

“Felza, you have to know where you fit. As my companion and wife, you will follow me.” 

Shock split her lips, then she pressed in a thin line of fury. She raised her voice and snared, "You're a monster, Rhys."

“Though you can't, you think you can control and ruin me. I won't let you,”  Grinning, I leaned in closer, Stressing authority, I said, "You have no choice." Last night we tied the knot; you are mine to keep. Whether or not you like it, you belong to me. She answered straight forwardly. She gasped back, appearing scared as though I had slapped her once more.

"No," she shook her head and murmured. No, you did not. I could see her nervousness rising as she understood what I was saying. I asked myself momentarily if I had gone too far. But the idea vanished as quickly as it first showed up. I needed her to start to dread me. I had to let her know I was in command. "You ought to be grateful, Felza," I said sarcastically. 

"You now own the strongest Alpha's  Safety, and all you could possibly want will be yours.” 

Her eyes revealed the change, the sudden intensity accompanying the emergence of her other half—the wolf rousing within her. Her hand clenched around the sheets, and I felt sudden fear she could hurt me. She did not move, though; her chest heaving with her fight for control. She answered, "You're disgusting," in a low, threatening voice at last.

“Do you feel this gives you power? It only points out your actual vulnerability. An Alpha would not have to force his mate.”

I swallowed a growl that rumbled through my chest so she wouldn't know how her comments affected me. 

"Felza, watch what you say." I advised. "I have been patient but I can only take so much." She shot me a glance, defiance glittering in her eyes. 

"And me too," she shot back. "You will never have my allegiance, even if this relationship may have been imposed. I will never be yours!” 

I tried not to lose my cool and bawled my fists. Her rebellion was exciting as much as annoying. She had fire in her that challenged and intrigued me. But that fire would eat us both; we had to quench it. Before I could answer, there was a subdued knock on the door. The interruption infuriated me, so I swung around in perfect time to watch the door creak open. Chris's intervention surprised me; his eyes were sharply observing the circumstances while yet keeping a calm attitude. 

 

The fact that Chris had a lot of balls retuning not only to the mansion but to the spot where I was at telling me he had something special to tell me, proved to me that I had a lot of  patience. I still didn’t understand why I didn’t have my men slit his throat and put his head on a spike. But since Felza was still very resistant to me, I had to play the black card. I had to use Chris to get to her then take his life afterwards.  

 

"Rhys," he called in a controlled voice. "I must speak with you." Felza's eyes widened and a glimmer of hope showed up in her sight at seeing him. I did not enjoy it. Not even closely. “Not now,” I responded, but Chris seemed unconcerned. "It's important," he said, staring from Felza back to me. "We have to talk alone,” Even though I was annoyed, Chris's demeanour made me second guess. 

I had known Chris Ashford on another level until the day of the wedding where I began to see him in another light. Usually he didn't interrupt people without a solid reason, and all he had to say sounded absolutely necessary. I said, "Fine," and sent Felza a hard look. “Still be here. We still have to finish.”

I closed the door behind me and walked Chris out of the room. My tolerance running thin, I rounded on him right away as soon as we entered the hall. "what is that?" His stare from me to the door and back again was unreadable.

"I have been monitoring Felza," he said gently and with caution.  "She's not safe here." His remarks set up a fire of resentment in me, and my wolf started to rise. "What then do you mean?" "I'm implying that you're losing control, Rhys," he stated steadily. "She's in danger because you're allowing your anger to control you." The evening before—"

“She needed to be taught a lesson last night," I interrupted, sounding low and ominous. "She has to understand her position." Chris sank his head and whimpered. 

"And where is that found? Under the mercies of your wrath? Rhys, you are better than this.” I closed my mouth, our relationship becoming increasingly strained. Chris has been the steady voice of reason throughout my life. Still, his words felt like a betrayal today.

"What makes you so much interested in her?" Rising scepticism drove demand. Your level of interest in this is what?” Our eyes connected and I saw something for the first time that made my wolf shrivelled in panic. "Because I've seen what this kind of anger can do," he murmured. 

"I have seen the lives it claims as well as the damage it causes. I won't let you wreck hers.” As his words hung there like a challenge, I felt a dangerous tension coil within me. Chris has been always dependable and at my side. But at this point, such loyalty was brittle and might develop into a breach. "Chris, what are you intending?" I asked in a quiet, dubious voice. Before he answered, his eyes darted to the door behind me.

"I intend to act morally," he said at last. "even if it means defying you".

My natural need to demonstrate power came through in a wolf snarl. Chris turned and fled, though, before I could act, and I started to blow. Watching him leave down the corridor, I had a dark thought. Chris challenged my will and my might. Besides, hazards have to be eliminated. Right now I simply couldn't manage him. Not while Felza is still in my room, adamant about not leaving. I had to finish what I had started to show her I was in authority. I opened the door and turned back inside, staring at Felza. She was sitting up now, and under her resistance I could sense anxiety and panic.