Rules

Estelle

We arrived at the Rogue Kingdom and all through the journey, my mind refused to move on from the fact that my daughter—Maeve—had spoken. And the way the words rolled out of her mouth easily…like someone who had been talking for a very long time.

It didn't make sense to me. It didn't make any sense at all. Just last-week, we went to see a pediatrician to check why she had a delayed speech.

If it weren't for the sudden event of things, I still had a meeting with another doctor scheduled in the next two weeks.

So, how could the child who’d never said a word to me, call another person mum?

At the same time, another type of fear lingered at the back of my mind. The fear of Riordan and all the things he planned on doing to me before he ended my life.

Ruthless men like Riordan do not forgive. Mercy was not something they understood, and once you crossed them, they made sure you paid for it.

That was the only reason he traded my life—just to make me suffer for interrupting him that night.

I hugged my bag to my chest, trailing carefully behind Riordan with my heart pounding fast in my chest. The skull inked at the nape of his neck sent a shudder rolling through me as I ducked my head and—

My heart almost leaped into my throat when his voice boomed through the air as he halted in his step. “Merida,”

I raised my head, eyes clashing with a brown-eyed woman whose brows knitted before she shifted her gaze back to King Riordan. “This is Estelle…” he said, without looking at me. “Clean her up, feed her, and send her to my room,”

“Yes, sire. I will see to it at once,”

King Riordan nodded and shot me a look that almost made my breath hitch. It was the same dark look in his eyes, the one that made it seem like he wanted to devour me.

He averted his gaze and was about to take a step when he—

“…make sure whatever you give her doesn't contain milk. She's lactose intolerant,”

My heart stopped, brows knitting in confusion. How did he know that I was lactose intolerant?

The woman lowered her head and only raised it when Riordan was gone. The smile was wiped completely from her face as she inched closer to me, holding her nose up with one hand.

“Why do you smell of rot? Where did he pick you from? The Sewer?”

I remained tight-lipped.

She finally heaved an exasperated sigh, muttering incoherent words under her breath as she forced the bag from my grip. “Follow me. Let’s wash the stink off,”

Merida introduced herself to me as the head maid while she led me into this fancy bathroom with other maids waiting. My clothes were stripped from my body until I was bare.

One of the maids took my hand, leading me into the tub where steaming water awaited. Petals floated across the surface, fresh roses drifting while mixing with the lavender as I sank into the bath and allowed the tears to fall.

I’d always been kind to people so how could fate turn against me so fast? How was I the one in this situation?

The bath was over in minutes while I sat on the bed, hair wrapped in a towel as I dipped the garlic bread into the roasted tomato basil soup—the same time some sets of lingerie were rolled in as Merida walked into the room.

She sucked in a sharp gasp when her gaze landed on me. “Still eating? Finish that in the next two minutes. We don't want to keep the Rogue King waiting…such a slow-eater,”

The authority in her voice and the subtle side comments rubbed off on me in the wrong way. And in my previous pack, she would have been punished for this.

But then it slowly hit me, I wasn't the soon-to-be Luna anymore. I’d been stripped of my power and it would do me good to obey her. I would endure all the disrespect until I came up with a way to escape this place and most importantly, a plan on how to get Maeve out of that pack house.

I swallowed my pride, stuffing the bread into my mouth.

It was all for Maeve. It was all for Maeve.

Merida made me wear red colored lingerie because it was Riordan’s favorite color and as she misted the perfume around me while I coughed through the rising haze, she dished out some rules.

“Always lower your gaze around him,”

“Don't go to the west wing of the palace unless he summons you,”

“Don't think of spending the night with him. As soon as he is finished, take your clothes and leave as soon as possible…” The lights in her eyes fizzled out, voice turning cold.

“Consider this a warning,”

A shiver ran through me. “Warning?”

“Stick to it if you want to live,”

I repeated the rules like an unspoken mantra, but with every second that we walked deeper into the west wing, my confidence faltered, fear creeping into my heart, clawing up my throat as I swallowed the softball lodged at the base of it.

We stopped outside the door while Merida ran her hand through the Marabou robe. “Remember the rules. You leave the moment he’s done. Understood?”

I drew in a breath. “Yes, I–”

Before I could finish the sharp voice that came behind the double gold doors sent a wave of terror through me.

That was Riordan’s voice.

“…Arturo escaped! The second fucking time! Listen, I’m giving you twenty-four hours to find that traitor. When you do, chop off those fingers one by one—right in front of his pregnant wife—until he returns every penny he stole from me.”

My breath became shaky, and the muscles in my body tensed as the name replayed in my head. Arturo. Could it be the man who escaped that night?

What had I gotten myself into?

Merida’s knuckles landed on the door in a hard sharp knock. “King Riordan, she is ready. I will send her in now,”

The door opened and a cold gust of wind hit my face as my gaze landed on Riordan who leaned on the wall next to the window, his eyes softening around the edges as he slowly dropped the phone from his ear.

Then I suddenly remembered Merida’s first rule and lowered my gaze immediately.

King Riordan spoke into the phone. “Remember, you have only twenty-four hours?”

The sound of his footsteps approaching made my heart thump harder in my chest. “Well, well. Look who we have here—” he sat on the bed across from me, watching me with intense eyes.

“Did you miss me because I did,”

I forced back the curse words that threatened to roll out of my mouth, knowing that a single word could cause my head to be found on a stake.

I forced a smile, still not looking at him.

Riordan laughed. A dry one before his voice completely darkened, his word cutting through the air like a whip. “Strip!”

I couldn’t believe this. I became a victim of the very thing I dedicated my life to saving people from.

Slowly, I dropped the marabou robe to the floor as they pooled at my feet. I could feel those hungry eyes on my cleavage, on every inch of my skin as a satisfied growl left his mouth.

This was a humiliation ritual.

I slipped one hand under the strap on my shoulder, but before it could drop, a sick idea popped into my mind. “I have STDs…”

That lie should set him off. From the way the effect of his eyes on my body dwindled, he must be repulsed by me and contemplating sending me away.

This was working.

“STD’s…” I didn’t know what to make of the tone his voice held. Disgust. Concern or amusement?

“Yes,”

A dry bitter laughter that took me aback left his mouth. “Nice try, Estelle. Werewolves are immune to all of that human nonsense…now strip!” his tone shifted into something cold.

I almost slapped myself in the face. Why didn’t I think that through?

“But…”

“Do it while I’m asking nicely or I will tear it off you,”

I had to remind myself that to survive I had to listen to him. This was for Maeve. To be with her soon and escape this nightmare, I had to obey.

I removed every piece of fabric until I stood completely naked before him.

“Get on the bed,”

Obedience.

My back pressed against the cool sheets and as he removed his shirt, my eyes couldn’t help but wander down his ripped stomach and worse the name that was tattooed above his heart. Sierra.

Who was Sierra? His mum? An ex-lover? A current woman in his life?

Not my business.

I tried to allow my mind to wander back to all the good memories I’ve had with my daughter. To the first time she lay on my chest to when I gave her her first bath but Riordan's electric touch yanked me out of those memories.

The plan wasn’t to feel but not with the way his hands settled on my hips, not with the way he kissed my throat and fondled my breast with one hand.

I wasn’t supposed to react but a moan slipped out of my mouth before I could stop it, my back arching off the bed as he worked his fingers inside of me.

Pleasure blotted out every memory of my daughter that I had forced to come up.

Riordan brought his fingers coated with my juice to my mouth, forcing them down my throat until I choked and gagged around his finger.

“Love how you taste?” Dark desire burned in those orbs, my eyes widening as they landed on that thick veiny cock that leaked with precum while I wondered how that could ever fit inside of me.

Before I could process things, he forced his cock inside of me, filling me up as he gripped my waist and pounded into me.

It was so good. So good that I hated how I loved it.

“Between that fool you almost married and me…who is the better fuck?”

Sex with Eden before he tricked me into going celibate was good but it was nothing compared to the way King Riordan impaled me with his dick, his fingers wrapped around my throat as he hit that tight-spot.

A jolt of something I couldn’t control swept through me, his name slipping from my mouth before I could stop it. “Eden.”