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FLORIAN

“Get up, slave. We have a lot to do,” I growled through gritted teeth, tapping at her feet continuously. I'd been gone for the entire night — out drinking with friends and, yes… I knew it was all to avoid the sneaky serpent I'd welcomed into my home.

Sort of forced.

Notwithstanding, a day with her and I was already reeling. She’d set me on edge in ways no one ever had. She hated me — but for some reason, the hatred seemed to run deeper. And last night? I'd only made it worse.

She triggered it — whatever insecurity issues I had somewhere within me — and the ugliness of my obsessive nature had reared its ugly head. I marked her. And then I ran. Feeling the weight of what I'd done — claiming her as mine and no one else's to touch, or to even fucking speak of — and I’d seen, in that moment, her hatred for me grow without redemption.

Every single thing in my life was replaceable. I never got attached. But her… Nadir? She was a slow poison I'd gotten somehow addicted to in a matter of just one day.

“Get the hell up! I didn't buy you to lounge lazily,” I snapped again, peeling the covers from her body. Her bloodshot, tear-stained eyes stared up at mine.

My heart sank in my chest. My gut twisted.

She looked a mess — her hair disheveled like she'd run her fingers through it continuously, ugly, dark circles beneath her eyes, her teeth digging into her lips with tears coating her gaze.

I did this to her.

She cried… because of me. And as sick and twisted as it was, I felt a sense of ownership I hadn’t felt in a long time. But… I didn’t want to ever see her cry. And though I knew I'd be the only one who dared get these emotions from her, I didn’t want it from her anymore.

“Kill me now… or I swear I'll do it the first chance I get,” she threatened.

She pushed herself off the bed, standing to her feet. Her hair was packed into a messy bun — she’d bathed before I came, judging by the scent of my soap lingering on her skin and the spot I’d marked no longer crusted with dried blood.

“What do you want today, Lord Florian?” she asked, almost too calm — like she’d switched personalities entirely.

I didn't see this coming. Didn't expect it from her.

“Figured you'd play your role rather than put up a fight?” I asked with a smirk, although my heart did the weird lurching thing, anticipating her idea.

Instead, she just smiled.

Fucking smiled at me.

She was up to something. I just knew it. But I’d see. She could try — but she wouldn’t get far.

“The pack doctor. We need to check if your body is suitable for proper childbirth. As much as I'd hate to admit that a lowly little slave like you being my true mate would be the best vessel to house my heir, I'd hate to take the chances. Who knows what you've done in years of being a slave?” I said, the words rolling off my lips in their usual manner before I caught myself.

Nothing.

She wasn’t making a snarky retort. Wasn’t thrashing around. Wasn’t pissed at being spoken to in a condescending manner — and it made me more sick.

Great. Now I felt like a douche.

We both held our silence and headed toward the garage. I felt everyone’s curiosity rolling off in waves, but no one dared raise their glances in our direction.

“Get in,” I ordered coldly, not wanting to break my resolve or let any sort of sentiment rub off on me.

I hated her. And it remained the same.

I loved someone else — someone whom I couldn't have. Someone who must have long forgotten my existence. The one who saved my life five years back.

The only one who’d ever belong in my heart.

Nadir? She was simply a means to some end.

The drive started, and she still hadn’t said a single thing — save for several glances at me and the murderous intent in her gaze, which I chose to ignore.

I could have asked my Beta, Dorian, to drive her — to do this so I wouldn’t put up with the madness.

But I wouldn’t trust myself around Dorian either. Not with her.

I couldn’t bear the thought of another man staring at her. It made me want to barf.

I pulled over by the pack hospital’s garage. A nurse was waiting, ready to tend to us, and led us down the hall.

Now I saw the irritation flash through my little slave’s face.

Finally, it seemed she understood.

There was no escaping this.No escaping us.

“I want everything done in an hour. And I'll check on her every twenty minutes,” I ordered curtly to the nurse, who nodded.

She knew I gave no fucks about her argument — and she’d better get to it.

Settling into the chair right across the test lab, my feet crossed over each other, my lips pressed into a thin line — my eyes not once leaving the door.

And true to my word, counting an entire twenty minutes in my head, I stood to my feet, heading directly for the lab.

Without prior notice, I slammed the door open, meeting the startled expressions on the nurse’s face — as well as her assistant.

“Nadir? Where is she?” I questioned, getting antsy from the look on both their faces.

“She went into the changing room—”

“And?” I snapped, patience running thin.

“I checked her now… she isn’t there anymore. She’s gone.”

I parted the curtains, storming into the changing room and back toward the test room, then back toward the waiting section.

But the nurse was right.Nadir was gone.The thought sent me into a spiral as I stormed back into the changing room.

“Goddamn it!” I swore, my fist knocking straight into the wall.

There was a fucking window.

“Why the hell would you let her change alone?” I asked the nurse, now shivering.

“Alpha Florian, it was protocol… we… I…” she stuttered.

But I'd already stormed out the door.My mind was a mess. I felt anxious.Fear.Rage.Bitter regret — all crashing into one big ball of emotion.

I needed to find her.

Storming past the docks back toward the garage, my rage doubled, realizing I’d led her to some back hill — a mountain that led right outside our border.

How had she noticed? How did she know?

Then it snapped into place.She’d been here before.

In my chambers — she’d been a maid here before. It made sense.She already understood the layout of the pack.

Running past the back gates toward the hills, I peeled off every note of fabric on my body, shifting midair.

My wolf sniffed.Her scent struck us, she wasn’t far off — and she was still injured.

But more than that — I could feel her heartbeat, then her anxiety and fuck — her hatred.

Blooming bigger and bigger as I chased after her.

She was a runner, had always been but this time, I'd get her.i  couldn’t afford to lose her, I needed her.

I stopped abruptly on all fours, my eyes lingering on the image before me.

It was Nadir — standing by the edge of a cliff, one I knew too well.Because I’d attempted it twice but failed.

And now she’d rather kill herself than be with me.

“Nadir!” I screamed, seeing her take a step forward.

My heart lurched in my chest as sudden reality dawned on me,  lose her, I’d lose my mate ,And I felt sick.

“Don’t you fucking dare, Nadir! Don’t you dare take that step!” I called, rushing toward her.

But I swear — she’d always been stubborn. Defiant and irresistibly bold.

She took another step, one of her feet moving forward.

I didn’t think. I immediately acted.

Throwing myself at her, I wrapped my arms around her waist just in time to pull her backward. We both fell, tumbling until she was beneath me — my body pressed above hers. Sparks ignited with every inch of my bare skin that rubbed against her.

But at that moment, I couldn’t think of anything else except the fierce rhythm with which my heart thundered in my chest. And the unfamiliar emotion that welled up inside me as a mist of tears formed in my eyes.

“You’ve crossed a line, little slave,” I mocked, but my own voice sounded broken. Wrecked. Tainted.

She stared up at me, tears still streaking down her face — and it pained me terribly.

“You’ll live because I allow it. You’ll fucking breathe, and eat, and do as I say. You won’t pull this stunt again — and if you have to die? It will be by my hands, not by anyone else’s. You belong to me, Nadir. Just me. Body, soul, and mind. All of you.”

I pressed my lips against hers, kissing her with every ounce of sanity, warmth, and fear in me. Devouring her lips while my tongue ran over the seam of her mouth. I claimed her, kissing her frantically — like it would be my last time.

But then she pulled away from me — fast.

Her head tilted and a  loud gasp escaped my lips as she dug her fangs into my neck.

Terror washed over me as I locked my gaze onto hers realizing what she’d done.

The smart, bitter, sly little slave.

“You marked me!”