Chapter Two

Rain poured from the sky and soaked through my thick cloak until it felt like my second skin. Thunder rolled across the valley as I forced my aching legs to keep moving. I had left my wedding gown draped over a chair to fool the guards before I climbed out my bedroom window and disappeared into the woods. Every breath burned my lungs as the cold settled deep into my bones... but fear and anticipation drove me forward.

I just need to see Malakai and his brothers. If they found out that I have a letter from their mother, they’ll surely entertain me… right?

At last, the Volkaris mansion emerged through the rain. The dark mansion stood on the hill behind towering iron gates, where two guards kept watch in black armor. I swallowed the lump on my throat. Shit! I forgot that there’s guards here! They’re just guards and they know that I am Alpha Magnus’ daughter, they won’t shoot me right away if they saw me, right?

I stumbled out of the trees and onto the gravel path. The moment they noticed me, both men drew their swords.

Halt!" one of them barked. "Identify yourself."

"I need to get inside," I called back. My teeth chattered as rain ran down my face and beneath my cloak. "I need to see Malakai. Like… right now. He’s inside, right?"

The second guard lifted his lantern. Its light fell across my bruised cheek and split lip. Recognition flashed across his face before it hardened into disgust.

"Well, look who wandered onto the Volkaris territory," he said. "The little Ellis princess."

"Let me in," I said. "It's urgent. I really have to talk to him."

The first guard lowered his spear. "Go home to your father. Anyone from your disgusting House isn't welcome here."

I secretly rolled my eyes. “I have a letter from Lady Seraphine and it was addressed to her sons. I have to give it to them.” I looked at them up and down before I cleared my throat. “Personally.”

"Wait," the second guard said with a cruel grin. He turned to another guard nearby. "Go tell Lord Malakai that Alpha Magnus's daughter is standing at our gate. She's soaked to the bone and begging us to be let in."

The younger guard hurried toward themansion.

I stayed where I was and wrapped my cloak tighter around myself. My hands had gone numb and my heartbeat refused to slow down. If Malakai rejected me, I had nowhere else to go. My father’s trackers were probably already searching the woods for me.

Several long minutes passed before the gates finally opened. The guard stepped aside and jerked his head toward the house.

"You're lucky," he muttered. "Lord Malakai wants to see what game you're playing. Get inside before he changes his mind."

I didn't waste another second. I gathered my heavy skirts and hurried up the stone steps. The front doors stood partly open and warm light spilled onto the rain-soaked porch. The heat hit me the moment I stepped inside but water still dripped from my clothes and onto the polished marble floor.

Loud laughter, low groans and the unmistakable heavy scent of sex and expensive liquor drifted down from the open double doors at the end of the hall. I walked forward slowly as my wet boots squeaked against the polished floor. My chest heaved with anxious breaths.

No way...

When I reached the doorway of the grand sitting room, the sight inside made me freeze dead in my tracks.

The room was bathed in a dim light from the fireplace. Plush velvet sofas and soft furs covered the floor and the five Volkaris brothers were scattered across the space, caught in a wild and uninhibited orgy. Naked and half-naked women were writhing against them in every corner of the room.

I gulped… well, I certainly didn’t expect this scene.

In the center of the largest sofa, Malakai sat back with his dark hair messy, his pants were unbuttoned and low on his hips while a voluptuous brunette rode him with heavy and rhythmic thrusts, her bare breasts bouncing as she threw her head back with a loud moan. Near the fireplace, Knoxx leaned against the stone mantel, his muscular back exposed as he held a blonde woman up against the wall by her thighs, his hands digging into her bare thigh as he drove into her from behind while another girl knelt at his feet, taking him into her mouth. Across the room, Lucien,Evren, and Sylas were taking turns with two other women on a heap of velvet cushions, their bare skin were slick with sweat as the sound of wet skin slapping against another skin and heavy breathless groans fills the air.

A sharp gasp from one of the women near the door broke the heavy breathing inside the room.

Malakai slowly turned his head toward me with his dark eyes, heavy and dark with raw lust. When his gaze landed on my drenched and bruised form standing in the doorway, his eyebrows pulled together in faint surprise.

I lifted my brow at him in return. Without missing a beat, he immediately grabbed the woman riding his lap by her hips, lifted her off his length and set her cold on the cushion beside him.

"Get out," Malakai commanded.

The women looked confused but none of them dared to disobey him. Knoxx pulled himself out of the blonde against the wall and tossed her thin silk dress back at her with a bored look. Within seconds, the flustered and half-naked women gathered their scattered clothes and shuffled past me as they cast dirty looks at the girl who had just ruined their night.

I just gave them a shrug. First, I don’t know any of them. Second, I don’t really care about their sex lives. At this point, it’s none of my concern.

The five brothers stood up and took their time to pull on their trousers and button up their shirts. It’s not my first time seeing a dick but I have to admit, from the short glimpse I had of theirs, I can say that they’re pretty… gifted.

I forced my posture straight and kept my face completely blank as I tried my very best to ignore the hot blush creeping up my neck. As a woman standing in a room that still smelled heavily of male sweat and slick passion, I felt horribly out of place and exposed but I refused to let them see me flinch.

Knoxx, the annoying nine-tailed fox that I used to bully when we were in school, walked over to the side table, poured himself a glass of dark liquor, and turned around. His sharp gray eyes locked onto mine as he took a slow drink.

“Well, well,” Knoxx drawled. He let out a short and humorless laugh. “What brought you here, little minx?”

I didn’t answer him. He’s not the one I’d like to talk to.

He stepped closer as his eyes traveled over my soaked clothes before they settled on the bruise across my cheek and the dried blood on my lower lip. He lifted his brow.

“Last I heard, tonight was your wedding night. Shouldn’t you be in Corbin Vesperis’ bed right now and playing the good little bride?” He taunted me but I didn’t answer him.

A few of his brothers exchanged amused looks but Knoxx wasn’t finished.

Evren, his Ice Elemental brother, cleared his throat. “Knoxx, stop it.”

Knoxx ignored him. Instead, he tilted his head and looked at me over again. “You’ve got some nerve showing up here. What happened? Did Corbin finally get sick of your attitude and throw you out before the ceremony was even over?”

The mention of Corbin’s name made my stomach twist but I didn’t give him the reaction he wanted. Instead, I slipped a hand beneath my cloak and pulled out the letter I had protected from the rain.

“Well, obviously, I didn’t marry Corbin.” My voice shook from the cold but I held the letter out for all the five brothers to see. I saw how Malakai’s gaze landed on the paper I was holding. His eyes widened but he immediately masked it with indifference.

“I have a letter from your mother…” I cleared my throat as I looked at them one by one. “... and I need your help.”

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