Chapter 4

Darius stared at me as if he couldn’t believe what I had just done. I pushed him to sit on the edge of the bed. His back was slightly against the headboard, with both hands bound behind him. The position left him unable to push me away, but I could see the anger in his face.

I looked away, not knowing what to do next. My heart raced. I had never been with a male before, and now I had to do something I had only heard about and never experienced for myself.

I took a slow breath and reached for the edge of my fur skirt. My fingers hesitated before I lifted it slightly.

Darius’s eyes followed my movement. The moment he understood what I was about to do, his expression changed.

“Ayla,” he warned.

I ignored him. I stepped closer, placed my hands on his shoulders for balance, and slowly sat on his lap.

His body went rigid beneath me.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he demanded.

I swallowed and looked at him. “I’m only following orders.”

He taunted me for daring to force myself on him when I knew nothing about sex.

“You don’t even know what you’re doing,” he said, his voice filled with mockery. “You’re going to regret this.”

“I didn’t ask for your opinion.”

I ignored him totally and tried to remember everything I had seen and heard from other wolves. I inserted my hands and reached under his trousers. His was larger and stronger than I expected. I breathed slowly and gently sat on his lap, but pain shot through me, making me stop. I gripped his shoulders harder and breathed through it. Darius watched my face.

“Wait, you’re a virgin, aren’t you?” he asked.

I glared at him but said nothing.

“So you really decided your first time should be with a prisoner?” His lips curled into a mocking smile. “You’re either incredibly bold or completely foolish.”

“Keep talking,” I snapped. “It won’t change my mind.”

He shook his head, clearly amused by my stubbornness. “You have no idea what you’ve gotten yourself into.”

“I said shut up.”

I ignored everything he was saying and tried to remember how other wolves moved together and imitate them. I moved back and forth, slowly at first, and then I heard a muffled groan from him.

“Hnn…” he groaned, unexpectedly.

I kept moving, following his reaction. After a while, the pain slowly faded, replaced by a feeling I had never experienced before. I felt the first trace of pleasure and wondered if this wasn’t so bad after all. I went slowly at first, then faster, and I couldn’t help but moan.

“Hmmm…” I breathed, closing my eyes.

“Ahh… ahh…” I moaned again.

Maybe this wasn’t so bad, I thought. I kept moving in the same rhythm, bouncing on Darius. His breathing grew faster, and he lowered his head toward my neck. Before I could ask what he was doing, I felt his teeth against my skin. A sharp sting passed through me.

I could tell Darius was close, and I even enjoyed it at that moment, because it felt as if everything was finally right.

“Ohh, yeah… ohh, yeah… ahh…” I moaned loudly, holding onto him.

Eventually, heat rushed through my body, and the tight frown between Darius’s brows finally eased. When it was over, I got off his lap and quickly pulled my fur skirt back into place. I instinctively touched my neck, and I found the small, tender mark he had left behind.

I stared at it for a moment.

“That should be enough,” I murmured to myself before leaving Darius there without cleaning him up or untying him. I just left the room.

Darius’s POV

I stared at her as she climbed off my lap.

That was it?

After everything that had just happened, she just adjusted her fur skirt and turned away as if nothing had happened.

“Ayla.”

She stopped but didn’t turn around.

“You’re leaving?”

She glanced over her shoulder. “Yes.”

I stared at her in disbelief. She had followed the King’s orders, done what she came here to do, and now she was leaving. She didn’t even seem bothered by it. I looked down at my bound hands and felt anger rise again. After everything that had happened, she acted as if it meant nothing.

“Damn you,” I muttered.

She ignored me and walked out. The moment the door closed behind her, anger rushed through me.

I hated this place. I hated the Northern wolves. I hated the King for treating me like nothing more than a tool he could use, and now I hated myself most of all because, for a moment, I had forgotten where I was.

My body had reacted to her. I had enjoyed parts of what happened, even though every part of me wanted to resist her and everything she represented. That realization made my hands curl into fists.

How could I have enjoyed anything with a Northern woman?

I had spent weeks refusing to break. They had beaten me, tortured me, and tried to force me to surrender, but I had never given them what they wanted.

Yet tonight, they had found a way to get under my skin. I lowered my head and forced myself to think clearly. Ayla wasn’t the real problem. The Alpha King was, and if the King believed his plan had finally worked, then perhaps I could use that against him.

For the past month, I had tried every way I could think of to escape. Nothing had worked. The Northern wolves had taken my warriors too, and I still didn’t know if they were alive. That was what mattered. I could endure the humiliation and the pain, but what I couldn’t endure was not knowing what had happened to my men.

If they thought I had finally given in, they would stop watching me so closely. I might get my restraints removed. They could even let me move around the camp.

That was all I needed.

Eventually, they would make a mistake and give me a chance to get close to my warriors. When that happened, I would strike.

I took a slow breath.

They could believe they had broken me. The Alpha King could think his plan had succeeded, and I would play the obedient prisoner if that were what it took. For now, I would give them exactly what they wanted to see.

Submission.

But the moment they gave me an opening, I would use it to get my men back and find a way home.