05

*Kiara*

My eyes slant open and I take in my surroundings with bleary eyes. I don't recognize any of it. The upholstery, the furniture, the large windows and everything.

Even the bed I lie in feels softer than anything I have been on. It is almost like lying on the cloud.

How did I get here? I ask myself as I sit up. My head hurts and when I look down at myself, I'm in fresh clothes. A gown of white and lilac. This isn't what I put on this morning.

Images of hazel eyes and dead wolves flash in the back of my mind and a name resounds in my head, causing fear to seize me.

*Damien Grey.*

Oh no.

I shoot up from the bed, running across the room to where the door stands, tall and imposing. My fingers go around the door knob and I twist it, hoping this isn't what I am thinking.

But it is, because the door is blissfully locked.

Damien Grey is the Lycan King, sworn enemy of the black wolves pack. He must have kidnapped me to have leverage over the prince. He must not know that the prince doesn't even want to have anything to do with me.

I pace the length of the room, thinking of every possible thing that's going to happen from here on out. What do men do to females from warring packs?

Bad things.

I can't stay here.

I race for the large windows. They are big enough for me to fit through, but glancing down, my hackles rise.

I'll die if I fall from this length.

I turn around, searching for a rope of any kind but I find none.

The bedsheets will do then, I think as I unstrap the bed.

Heart racing, I tie one end of the sheet to the bed pole and toss the other over the window. The noose is short but I have no other choice.

Just when I'm about to climb onto the window, the door opens. I turn abruptly and my heart lurches when he enters. Behind him, there are a couple of guards but he has my attention.

The tremendous aura rolling off him is scary, but the man himself...I have never met a more handsome man in my entire life.

His hair is pulled back from his face, accentuating his already sharp features. His straight, arrogant nose flares as his piercing hazel eyes take in my make shift rope. His chiseled jaw clenches in slight annoyance and his sensual lips lift slightly into what might be a sneer.

He walks toward me and my eyes are drawn to the rippling muscles in his arms. I swallow, taking a step back, even if I feel a tug toward him.

An undeniable pull that makes me want to run into his arms and sniff him.

"You'll break your neck if you fall from that height," he says, stopping beside me. "There is no need to try escaping. I mean you no harm."

My racing heart slows a little. "You'll let me go then?"

Those eyes shift to mine. "No."

"Let me go. You have no reason to keep me here!" I yell, panicking. I can't stay here. I need to leave.

I shove him hard and try to run out the door but I am met with the drawn swords of the guards.

"Leave us," Damien Grey says, and as one, the guards bow and exit the room.

A strong hand grabs my upper arm and my back hits the wall as Damien's body crowds me, pining me in place.

I am forced to stare up at him and feel the heat of his rock hard chest against mine. He is menacing, but this close...my eyes keep trailing the sharp lines of his face. He is devastatingly handsome.

"Coming at me will earn you consequences that you will absolutely regret. Do not disobey me," he orders, eyes bearing into mine and I absolutely hate his audacity.

I snarl, lunging forward, but I am stopped when his long fingers circles my throat.

Of course, this is the part where he will strangle me for opposing him.

But he doesn't do that.

Instead, he leans in and warmth fills me when I feel his nose on my neck. He nuzzles me and breathes in deeply.

I jerk, unused to the proximity of a man, and I push him off me, repulsed by his attitude and the aura he pulls off that makes me want to melt into him. "Never touch me like that again."

He arches a brow at me and leans away, tucking his hands in his pocket. "I will see you at dinner, Kiara. You must be there."

I don't ask him how he knows my name. I don't even want to talk to him. I turn around and look out the window instead, ignoring him.

He says nothing else and I hear the sound of the door closing. I sag against the window. Why is all of this happening to me?