Alexander's POVHer dull eyes flickered, still searching. “And the torture?”“That’s on my uncle.”She blinked slowly. “You call him Uncle. Is he a blood relative?”That pulled me up short. Why would she ask that? Why in that tone? Suspicion prickled down my spine unpleasantly. But I waved it off. “No. He was my father’s beta.”She nodded faintly, her voice slurred with exhaustion. “I see…” Her body sank further into the bed, heavy and spent, but her words dragged out one more time. “What happened… to your father?”My jaw clenched as my gaze shifted to her hand resting weakly against the bloodied sheets. The wound there twitched, trying to knit itself shut, but the black veins kept crawling outward, stubborn and corrupt. My gut twisted at the sight. Wolfsbane and silver were really horrible torture tools. Uncle went far this time.“He died,” I muttered at last, averting my gaze. The words scraped out of me rougher than I meant. “Of poison years ago.” When I looked back at Mia, he
Alexander's POVAshish stopped immediately, throwing me an intrigued look. If he was offended by my tone or words, he didn't say much about it. Goddess above… help me.I took a deep breath, plastering an appeasing smile on my face.“Uncle Ashish, that's enough for now.”Ashish’s eyes told me I was fucking nuts to even suggest that. “She hasn’t said anything useful.” I resisted the urge to tell him all he did was to tighten Mia’s tongue. “She’s tortured enough,” Donotrom’s voice growled back through me. I blinked. Whoa, there.Ashish frowned, taken aback by my tone. After a moment, he lowered his hand, muttering something under his breath, but I didn’t care. I reached out for Mia, and gathered her into my arms. She was trembling so violently I could feel it through my ribs. Her blood smeared across me, hot and sticky, soaking into my shirt.“Kill me. Make it end.”“No, love.” I carried her out, ignoring Ashish’s resigned stare burning into my back.Halfway up the stairs, a voice ch
Alexander's POV "Donotrom, did you see that?” I frantically asked my wolf. He grunted.My smile widened at the glare Mia was shooting me now. It was laced with a subtle hatred. Even if she thought I was bluffing, her eyes narrowed into slits, daring me to admit how much I actually knew.Ashish caught it too. His claws hovered at her throat, but then his eyes snapped to me, sharp and hard."What the fuck do you mean you know more?”I smirked. “If I told you, Uncle, you’d stop scratching the surface and start realizing just how deep this butt hole goes.”Mia let out a shaky laugh. “Finally… someone’s catching up.”Ashish snarled, but I raised a hand to silence him. The room smelled of her blood, sharp and metallic, but beneath it all I understood something else… Mia shouldn’t exist.She fucking shouldn’t. Axel was right to keep her. He had known before I did that Mia wasn’t just some rogue. Unfortunately, all he had done was stare at a truth he wasn’t ready to say out loud.“Mia Veyr
Alexander’s POV Ashish didn’t notice her reactions, too caught up in firing his next round of questions. “Do you deny contact with other rogues? Do you deny being seen near the border where weapons were moved? Do you deny carrying a message? Do you have any affiliation with South Ridge?” She stayed quiet. The silence grew so thick I tapped my fingers against the arm of my chair just to break it for myself. Then, maybe because I was tired of the same loop, or maybe because I wanted to test something, I snapped. “When this is done, I’m heading back to the Desori Claw. Axel needed me here tonight, but once this little performance ends, I’m gone.” I didn’t expect a reaction, but she gave me one. Her eyes widened slightly, and the corners of her mouth trembled like she was holding something back. It was as if I’d touched a nerve she didn’t want anyone to see. Before Ashish could pick up on it, I leaned forward with a grin, keeping up the act. “Don’t look so crushed, love,” I tease
Alexander’s POV The second Axel stepped out of the hall, you could feel the difference. It wasn’t like the roof caved in or anything that dramatic, but the whole place felt off. Axel had this way of keeping everything cool just by being there. With him gone, Ashish and I didn’t quite know what to do with ourselves. Frank had pulled him aside for something urgent… trouble near the South Ridge. We had just conquered that land, but scouts, maybe spies, were creeping around where they shouldn’t be. Axel gave me one quick look before he left, and I knew what it meant. That tight little smile of his wasn’t much, but it said he trusted me to hold things down until he came back. “Watch her. Keep her talking. Ashish will lead you.” That’s all he said, then he was gone with Frank, leaving me with the responsibility I didn’t ask for. Babysitting a rogue who refused to talk wasn’t my idea of a good night, but Axel trusted me. That meant I had no choice but to see it through. Don’t get me
Axelair's POVSeductive.That was the first word that popped into my head when I thought of Mia. The curve of her ass was still burned into my mind, and for a second, I hated myself for it. I licked my lips before I even realized it. Tempting. Too tempting.But Uncle Ashish wasn’t amused by my distraction. His glare cut through me like a dagger. His massive hands squeezed the top of his chair until the wood groaned. Goddess above, Ashish looked like he might snap it in two, and honestly, he probably could. He hated rogues with all his heart.“Or it makes her a spy,” he growled lowly. “Axelair, what if she’s the knife at your throat, waiting for the moment you’re too busy licking her pussy to notice?”I blinked. Lic-licking her pussy?Keziah burst into a mocking laughter. “Surprise, surprise! Uncle Ashish just read your fucked up mind.”“Shut up.”“...your Beta already warned you. Did you forget that because she batted her eyes at you?” Ashish asked dryly.“She didn’t do that,” I sho