The weather quickly turned sour as soon as they arrived at the courtyard, skies grey and the cloud pregnant. A strong wind howled through the trees, carrying the acrid scent of burning flesh to where Reginald stood in the shadows. Eyes gleaming, he watched as his brother’s body was consumed by the hungrily licking flames. The fire crackled and spat, its hungry tongues lapping at the Pyre. As the fire reflected in his eyes, he recalled how Ryker had betrayed him, he recalled his sour argument with Rachel where she had spat at him that he couldn’t father a child. Raw, and hot jealousy screamed in his veins and he sunk his teeth into his tongue to hold back a growl of rage. He hated Ryker and Savannah so much that he would do anything to make her life miserable. Taking that bastard in her foetus wasn’t enough. Not at all. He was going to torture her very slowly, until she was out of her mind. As soon as they were done here, he would bring Savannah back to the castle and his new torture p
“We have no other choice!” Reginald threw his hands up, agitatedly weaving a hand through his hair. “it’s the only way.”“No!” Lexington barked, slamming his fist on their father’s desk. That option Reginald kept bringing was inadmissible. How could they make Savannah a scapegoat to what she knew nothing about?Meanwhile the King stood by his window, peering down at his Kingdom with a lost look. This was what he meant when he said Reginald was a monster and a psychopath who would do the worst things in the name of protecting the Kingdom. Most of all, he was worried of…“What about her folks?” he spoke up finally, turned to look at his son. One dark, one light.Reginald threw his head back in laughter. “A stray cat is given more thought then Savannah to her folks. She is just a lowly maid that nobody likes.”Lexington’s fingers balled. He had taken it upon himself to protect Savannah from Reginald since Ryker had made him promise, no matter what it took and now that she was back in the
In the King’s study where Reginald and Lexington continued bickering67, a distant thud, followed by a muffled cry reached them. They all fell silent, their eyes meeting in a mix of confusion and alarm. The sound had come from somewhere nearby, and they both knew it was a cry of distress. Without a word, Lexington whirled around and tore through the oak door to run toward the source of the sound. L their footsteps echoing in the dimly lit hallway. As they ran past the guards, the sound of the cry grew louder, and they could now hear words being spoken.“No, Please. Help.” A woman’s voice croaked, her words tinged with fear. Somehow Reginald moved faster than him and was inside the room before Lexington popped up.He felt a cold shiver run down his spine as he stepped into the dark room. Reginald was the one with the perfect night vision, not him, but his perception was tingling. Lexington could sense something was terribly wrong, but he couldn't see anything in the pitch black. pinchi
As the thick wooden door creaked open, Savanna emerged from the darkened room, her eyes adjusting to the harsh morning light. She was a vision of loveliness, her raven hair cascading down her shoulders, her emerald eyes glistening like dewdrops on a morning rose. On Lexington's orders, Reginald had taken it upon himself to 'prepare' her for her meeting with the King, with the hopes of masking the horrors he had inflicted on her.He had forced her to eat, to dress in her finest attire, a stark contrast to the tattered rags she had been wearing since she'd been taken back to the castle. Thanks to the chitchat with Lexington, Savannah had something to look forward to. She was hurting but somehow she knew everything would be fine so she carried herself with an air of defiance, her eyes reflecting a deep well of pain and determination. All she had to do was act normal so that the king could send her away and then she'd be free.A fresh wave of pain tightened her heart, making her eyes sti
Reginald felt his stomach tighten with unease. He felt uncomfortable, the feeling intensifying as Savannah's laughter continued bouncing off the walls."Shut up!" He yelled, straightening his shoulder to seem more menacing and surprisingly, to hie relief, Savannah quieted down. But then she threw him an icy look that sent shivers down his back to his core and fuck, Regained flushed red as his boxers actually dampened. He peed himself because of this little bitch? A mix of humiliation and anger congealed his blood and he backed away from her, heading to the door. Sending her away was actually a good decision. he hoped she'd be discovered as a spy and got killed by those pack. He really hoped she would never return...alive.But he hadn't gone a few steps when her quiet voice spoke up. "There was a time I Kidded myself into believing that I could make you love me and I believed that it would just take time but we would be a happy couple." He could hear the grimace in her voice. "You don'
"You should learn how to knock." Lexington said coldly, eyes glaring at Reginald as he sprawled into the chair in front of his desk, crossing his foot over his desk. Shaggy hair that looked it'd lack days of washing, shirt barely buttoned, eyes with huge bags under them, his younger brother looked haggard, like a train ran over him and dumped his body in the sewers...Yeah, he stank too."Whiskey." Reginald growled, his eyes bloodshot and red. "Give me whiskey."Lexington's lips parted for moment as he fished for damaging words to impact but could only settle with. "you've got two legs that worked just fine when you mannerlessly barged into my office. surely they can take you back out to get yourself a drink because I won't be getting you one, nor are you allowed to touch anything in my bar." He looked over Reginald's shoulders at the fully stacked bar next to the entrance. "Fine." Reginald seethed and his eyes went unfocused for a moment. And Lexington realized he was minlinking some
Two weeks laterSavanna sat huddled in a small clearing, her heart pounding in her chest. She had been running for days, ever since she had been let out of Valeria. She couldn't get rid of the fear that they were going to realize that she wasn't coming back to Valeria and send men after her...but so far as good, no one had tried to harm her...well other than the wild boar that'd snuck into her cave a few nights ago. She was tired, hungry, and scared. But she knew that she couldn't give up. She had to keep going.Suddenly, she heard a twig snap. She froze, her breath catching in her throat. She could hear something moving through the bushes.She slowly reached for her knife, her grip tightening around the handle. She was ready to fight for her life.The bushes parted, and a figure stepped out. It was a wolf, but it was unlike any wolf that Savanna had ever seen before. It was bigger and stronger, with a thick, black coat and piercing red eyes. It definitely wasn't a shifter. Savannah f
“Mate?” Savannah heard herself blurt and instantly regretted it. the man at the corner of the cave stopped stirring the firewood, freezing.“Mate?” he asked back, a small smile twisting the sides of his lips. The firelight danced on the sides ofhis face and Savannah could realize this was no young man. He was at least two decades older than her. Why had she called him mate?When he turned to meet her gaze, Savannah felt her cheek burn. He was looking at her with a mix of amusement and pity.“I—I don’t know why I said that,” she tore her eyes away from his direction because he unnerved her as seconds ticked by.“I see that the rogue attack has messed with your brains.” He replied with a chuckle and Savannah felt a stir of annoyance. But the man being her savior, Savannah had no choice but to remain quiet and sit up, wrapping her arms around her knees.“How do you feel man?” the older man asked, and then in the twinkle of an eye, he was right beside her. Savannah felt a lump form in her