Max’s POVI woke up with a jolt, my head was swimming in dizziness. I placed my hand on my tummy expecting to feel the pain but the sharp sting that had been tearing through my tummy earlier was… gone. It was actually completely gone.“Max.”Ethan’s voice snapped me back. He was leaning over me, his usual calm replaced with a tightness around the eyes, worry etched deep into his face. His hand hovered as if he wanted to steady me but didn’t dare touch.“What… what happened?” My voice rasped, my throat bone-dry.Ethan let out a slow breath, relief and fear tangled in it. “You blacked out. At first you were in so much pain then the next thing you’re unconscious on the floor. For a second, I thought we lost you.”I pushed myself up on one elbow. The dizziness clawed at me but I fought it. “I feel… strange. But the pain, it’s completely gone. I don’t feel anything anymore.”His brows furrowed deeper. “It’s really a miracle as to how your wounds healed, the healers even said that the poiso
Lana’s POVI clenched my fists. “Where exactly are you?”“Just a little up ahead,” Leonard said. His figure stepped out of the shadows, his hands holding a file. “Did you miss me a lot since that last time?”“I’m not here for your sick jokes,” I snapped. “Where’s the antidote?”He smirked. “Wow, you’re so straight to the point. Just like him.”“Leonard, don’t waste my time. Max is in…” my voice cracked, “he’s in pain.”“And I can stop it.” He pulled something small from his coat, held it up between two fingers. It was a tiny vial. It glinted under the low light.“This is all it takes to get rid of his pain completely.”My throat went dry. “What would it take for you to give it to me.”His eyes swept over me shamelessly. “I want you to spend the night with me. Become my woman for one night.”I froze, my heart racing frantically in anger. “What the heck? What did you just say to me?”“You heard me.” He stepped closer, lowering his voice. “I want you to sleep with me, Lana. If you can do
Lana’s POV I woke up stretching my body under the duvet, my hand instinctively reached out to draw him closer to my body. But there was no one beside me.There was a small frown tugged at my lips. I pulled the duvet tighter around my shoulders and laid back against the pillows suddenly feeling colder.I knew that he probably just didn’t want to wake me up before he left.I moved my body and stared up at the ceiling, my thoughts restless. Why did it feel colder when he wasn’t near?After a shower, I went barefoot into the kitchen, pulling my hair into a loose knot. I made black coffee with a piece of toast. I put on some music, it was a soft jam, I put it just to drown the stillness.I cleaned up after breakfast. I watered the plants near the window. I even laid down on the couch with a book, trying to lose myself in the pages. Then my phone buzzed. I ignored it at first but the buzzing wouldn’t stop. The vibration rattled against the table, message after message flooding in.I frown
Max’s POVThe girl was able to break free, stumbling toward her father. Ethan didn’t waste any time, he grabbed her fiercely by the hair. She screamed, kicking her feet everywhere, but he yanked her head back so hard that a few strands of her hair pulled out.“Dad!” she sobbed, voice breaking. “Please… help me!”Jared roared against the chains. The cuffs tore at his wrists as he threw himself forward. “No! Don’t touch her! Don’t touch her! Please, I’m begging you.” His lips quivered as he desperately pleaded.I said cruelly. “Why don’t you continue laughing even now?”His head shook hard, tears streaking down. “Please… she’s just a child. She doesn’t know anything. I’m begging you to just continue torturing me instead. Do whatever you want to me, just not her.”Ethan’s grip tightened in the girl’s hair. She whimpered, trembling in agony.Jared thrashed. “Stop! Don’t hurt her!”I tilted my head. “Then talk.”His chest heaved. “I can’t.”“Can’t?” I leaned closer. “Or won’t?”He bent his
My lips curved into a cold smile. “Gladly.”Ethan handed me a set of tools we kept for moments like this. A pair of pliers and a blade dulled from overuse. There was also a branding rod, still blackened from the last session.I picked up the pliers first, weighing them in my hand. “You ever wonder how long it takes to tear a nail out from the root?”Jared stiffened immediately. I noticed his reaction and smiled.I seized his left hand, pinning it to the chair’s armrest. His fingers curled into a fist, but I forced one open and caught it between the metal teeth.“Last chance,” I said, my voice low, almost gentle. “Give me a name.”He swallowed hard, sweat dripping down his temples. For a moment I thought he might break. But then his lips curled again. “Go to hell.”I yanked.The scream that tore from his throat shook the walls, raw and jagged. Blood welled instantly, dripping down his palm and over my glove.I let the nail fall to the concrete with a faint clink. Then I looked him dead
Max’s POVThe first thing I felt when I woke wasn’t the dull ache in my side, or the faint burn of the stitches pulling with every breath rather it was her. Lana was curled against me, her warmth pressed into my chest, her steady breathing soft against my shirt.For a moment, I didn’t move. I just held her tighter, as if keeping her close could silence the chaos gnawing in my veins. She shifted slightly, nestling even closer, and something in me ached with the thought of letting go.But I couldn’t stay for much longer. Not when Jared was still in the holding cell waiting for me. Not when the poison still simmered beneath my skin, threatening to slow me down.I pressed a faint kiss to her hair, then carefully slid my arm from around her waist. She stirred but didn’t wake, her lashes fluttering before she sighed and turned onto her side. For a heartbeat, I almost crawled back in, almost surrendered to the temptation of staying with her.Instead, I forced myself upright. My ribs screamed