2

.NADIR.

My body ached terribly as the shackles were loosened from my wrists and feet. I glanced ahead, seething with irritation. Five years of running, of deflection, of defiance — and I was back to the point where it all started.

The North Claw Pack.

“Stare all you want, slave. This will be your new home,” Florian murmured as he strutted past me while the guard yanked at my arms, pulling me behind him.

“Nadir! My name is Nadir — not some petty slave of yours!” I spat viciously, my eyes scanning the area for any blunt object I could use. First, I’d murder this bastard — then myself. I’d die with zero regrets.

Now that I’d been in his proximity, death didn’t scare me anymore.

“I didn’t ask for your name, slave,” he retorted sharply, his words cutting as a wicked grin settled on his lips.

We pushed our way in silence to his chambers — one I knew all too well from my weeks of cleaning the room.

“Leave us,” he ordered the guard, and my heart sank on hearing those words.

I lurched backward, my body aiming directly at the door. I slammed my fists against it, turning the knob continuously to no avail.

The guards had locked me in — with this psycho.

I turned, refusing to look defeated, only to see Florian stripping off his clothes. The shirt was gone, and now he was unbuckling his pants.

“I won’t let you touch me! Not with those filthy hands of yours!” I retorted, anger rising within me. I swallowed bitterly when my eyes caught him pulling off his trousers as well.

“Don’t tell me you aren’t eager, little mate. Isn’t this what all the ladies want?” he asked, quiet mockery dripping from his words as he kicked his shoes aside.

My heart thundered harder, blood rushing through my veins — but then I caught sight of a letter opener, the sharp edge of the knife resting against an envelope.

“I would never let you touch me! I’d rather die!” I spat, but another wide smile stretched across his lips, coupled with the mischievous glint in his eyes.

I knew I’d fallen directly into whatever sick game he intended to play with me.

“If you don’t listen to every word I have to say, slave — you just might die,” he threatened coldly, closing every inch of space between us.

My trembling fingers reached closer toward the table, my back pressed against the wall, trying not to rouse any sort of suspicion as I snatched the letter opener from the desk.

“You will get into the bath — have a proper wash. Not a single speck of dirt or that poor fragrance of cheap soap lingering on your body should remain,” he paused, and I froze.

I watched him drag out a long sigh, sending me into an immediate frenzy.

Had he noticed the blade I’d snatched?

But to my surprise, he grabbed at my jaw, squeezing it hard again.

The bastard enjoyed seeing me in pain — enjoyed how I dragged out little winces, enjoyed the hatred that burned in my gaze for him.

“Listen to me when I speak, slave. You will wash up and come out — then I’ll inspect every inch of your skin.”

“You are insane!” I snapped, feeling sick hearing those words slip from his lips.

“You think I’d fuck the likes of you?” I asked, hating how my body reacted to the way his fingers lingered on my face.

The mate bond be damned. It made me into this mess — but my hatred for him burned even hotter.

“Oh, sorry to burst your bubble, you ugly duck — but there will indeed be lots of sex between us. I’ll breed you — and fuck you until you bear me an heir. You’re nothing but a breeder to me. A child is all I want, and the only reason your head is still on your neck is because you are my mate. Make no mistakes — I’ll never love you. But I need a true mate to bring me a true heir. Understood?”

His words slashed through my skin like a thousand daggers piercing me — and my heart ached terribly for some unknown reason.

The irritated, condescending, spiteful gaze in his eyes wrecked me completely.

“Are we clear?” he asked, slamming my head back into the wall.

Something in me snapped.Be it pain, jealousy, or hatred — I didn’t know.

I didn’t think, I just moved.

I aimed the blade at him, jabbing straight at his throat, dealing a cut — but not as deep as I wanted it to go.

His reflexes were faster.

He tossed me over to the floor, a feral growl escaping his lips as he blocked his palm against the wound, blood oozing from the spot.

“Fucking wrong move, Nadir!”

He called my name with a ferocity that made my body shudder — fear hitting me faster than a freight train as his darkened gaze stared blankly at me.

My brain willed me to run — scream — move.But my body, with a mind of its own, just remained there.

Watching,With contempt, And terror.

As blood coated his neck and dripped down his body, he looked like the embodiment of evil itself.

“I’ll repeat it just once,” he spoke — his voice huskier and sharper as he took two large steps, closing the space between us.

He crouched closer to me, his face merely an inch away. His bloodied hands wrapped firmly around my throat, earning a gasp from me.

But I didn’t struggle. Didn’t run. I waited for it — my death, The evident, murderous glare he passed at me was alarming.

But even in my last moments, I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing me weak.

“You will be my breeder,” he growled, gripping my neck even tighter while his arm yanked at my hair, flipping it backward.

My head bent — and my eyes locked on his.

“You will bear me children, learn to submit — and you will never, ever, lay your hands on me again. If you pull a stunt like this one more time, little slave — I’ll fucking murder you with my bare hands.”

*****

The day passed in a blur. I’d been confined to the room after that, my wrists bound to the headboard of the bed. I’d thrashed furiously, trying desperately to escape — to no avail.

The maids stormed in not long after, washed me thoroughly before cuffing me back in place. Now I was getting restless, my heart racing in my chest. His words clashed back into my mind.

A breeder. His children. The sex.

God, I felt sick.

I’d be a breeder. A surrogate for Florian — the son of the man who had murdered my family. And I was mated to him.

I dug my teeth into my lower lip, finally realizing there was no escape from him. Either I got over it, or I lived with the misery intact.

The door slammed open without warning, revealing a woman — just around my age — dressed in a blue satin gown that clung perfectly to her body in all the right places, revealing every curve. Her red-painted lips matched the blue, glinting orbs of her eyes, and her red hair was packed into a sleek bun.

She looked elegant — beautiful — everything I was not.

“You swine! How dare you?” she shrieked, storming over to my end of the bed. I parted my lips to speak but recoiled when her hand cracked across my face.

“Get away from me! Now!” I spat viciously, yanking at the cuffs again.

“You lowlife! How dare you try to weasel your way into his bed! Florian is mine — my fiancé, my Alpha — and you think I’d let the likes of you take him away?” she snarled.

Like a punch to my gut, the words hit me hard. My insides churned as I stared blankly at her.

Florian was engaged? And this woman — everything I was not — would be his wife?

“Take it up with him, not me,” I snapped, reeling in my anger. Oh, she was lucky my hands were bound.

“You filthy whore, talking down to me like you’re something?” she sneered.

 “He’ll have his fun with you, and when he’s done, he’ll toss you out just like every other woman.”

It was something I already knew, but I didn’t want to sit here and listen to her rant on and on about it.

“Stop glaring, you lowlife!” she snapped again, this time yanking me by the hair and dragging a wince from me before slapping me once more.

A loud snarl escaped my lips as I bared my fangs at her, thrashing violently as she yanked my hair even tighter.

“What the hell are you doing, Raina?”Florian’s voice called from the entrance, startling us both.

She pulled away from me, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Having a little fun with her. You don't need to  worry — it’s none of your business,” Raina said smoothly.

But the blazing anger in Florian’s eyes said otherwise.

Storming over to us, he pushed Raina away, standing between us. His hand shot out, yanking her by the throat and pressing her flush against him.

“I’ll say this once, Raina — get it into your thick skull. You may be my fiancée, but do not ever touch her again,” Florian growled, his words like ice.He let go of Raina, shoving her aside.

“It’s me! You can’t just choose her over me — she’s a maid!” Raina screamed, struggling to stand back on her feet.

“She’s mine!” Florian roared. 

“No one dares to touch what belongs to Florian. So get the hell out, Raina, before I start by plucking that tongue of yours.”There wasn’t a single lie in his words.He stood rigid and tense, anger brewing in him. Raina parted her lips to speak — but he cut her off.

“Get the hell out! Now!” he screamed again, his growl deep and dangerous, his claws extending.

Raina scrambled away, running fast like lightning and shutting the door behind her.

“Are you alright, little slave? Can you talk?” Florian asked, his gaze softening now — taking me by surprise.

I’d never seen him act protective of anyone.

“No one asked you to do that. You’re the one who cuffed me to the headboard anyway,” I snapped in defiance, refusing to break my resolve just because he stood up to his own fiancée for me.

Shit.

Now that I thought of it, I realized how big of a deal it was.

“A simple thanks would suffice,” he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. 

“But then again, that’s what slaves do — fight, complain, and always stay greedy for more.”

Florian walked toward me, his eyes tracing the clearly visible red bruise on my cheek where Raina had struck me.

A light whimper escaped my lips before I could stop it — and I swear Florian heard it, judging by the smirk angling on one side of his lips.

“You are mine, little slave. Mine — no one else’s. I won’t let them hurt you. The only one who’s allowed to do so is me. And I will — but no one else.”

His words were husky and dangerous.

“Get your hands off me! I’d rather end up dead than ever be yours, Florian. You disgust me,” I snarled.

Silence. The Moon Goddess knows I’d crossed a line.

Pain flashed across his features, like he’d finally gotten it into his thick skull that I hated him — and that I’d never be his.

He creased his eyebrows together, bit down on his lip — and then it all changed.

The next thing I saw across his face was rage — pure anger. His usually golden-flecked auburn eyes darkened instantly.

He hovered above me.

“You think I won’t kill you?” he asked, his voice cold but raw with anger.The slow manner in which he spoke his next words made me swallow hard as my chest tightened.

“Then do it, Florian — end this madness. Kill me.”

Those two words were all it took.He wrapped his arms around my neck — and this time, there was no remorse. No empathy in his eyes. The air narrowed down my lungs, constricting.

I didn’t push. Didn’t fight him. I just sat there, the glare in my eyes fading — my strength weakening by the minute.

“You don’t want me — fine. But if you think I’d leave you for some other man to take, then you’re fucking wrong, Nadir. You want death? Then I’ll give it to you,” he asserted in an even huskier tone, his glare never softening — and his grip only grew tighter.

My body weakened, My eyes closed shut.

He loosened his grip at the last second, causing me to cough frantically while sucking in air desperately.

Then he rolled me over, my back against the bed — his body pinning me down. Before I could react, his teeth sank straight into my neck — his canines grazing over my pulse point.

A sharp, hot wave of electricity coursed through me as he marked me, claiming me both body and soul.

I lay frozen in bed, watching in fright as he ran his tongue over his lips, licking the blood left from the mark he’d claimed on me.

“You are mine now. Get used to it. You belong to me. Welcome to hell.”