24

A slow, dangerous smile spread across his face, his dark eyes glittering with amusement as he looked down at me.

"Wow... I actually like this," he murmured, his voice dropping into a low, rumbling growl that made the hair on my arms stand up. "A tiny little girl who is completely terrified on the inside... Her heart is pounding so hard and fast that I can hear every single rapid beat echo in my ears, yet she stands there pretending to be so unbelievably bold."

He stepped even closer, his towering shadow swallowing me up completely as his lip curled into a cold, arrogant sneer.

"I do not give a damn what your name is," he spat out, his tone dripping with utter contempt. "I do not know you, nor do I care to know you. The only person I know is your useless, pathetic excuse of a father, Vicenzo. So I will address you by whatever title I choose. I am going to call you Vicenzo, and whenever that name leaves my mouth, you will open yours and answer me immediately."

A hot flare of defiance burned through my veins, pushing away the terror that threatened to consume me. I stood my ground, staring straight into his terrifying, dark eyes without flinching.

"You are powerful, and you are the Alpha of this pack—fine!" I snapped back, my chin tilting up higher as my knuckles turned white around the wooden broom handle. "But you do not have the right to call me a name that does not belong to me! You didn't name me when I was born! You can call my father useless all you want for all I care—I don't give a damn about him! But my name is not Vicenzo! That isn't even a female name!"

Alpha Lucien stared at me for a long, heavy second, his dark eyebrows pulling together into a stern line before a faint, wicked smirk twitched at the corner of his mouth.

"You are extremely lucky that you were born a woman," he warned, his voice soft yet laced with absolute deadliness. "If a man stood in this room and dared to speak to me with that tone, his legs would already be shattered into small pieces on this floor right now. So consider yourself lucky today. But keep this in mind—I do not beat women. I consider myself a gentleman. I simply kill them in the most peaceful way possible."

I let out a harsh, bitter breath, my chest rising and falling rapidly as I looked at the dangerous monster standing before me.

"I already know that's the kind of person you are," I said, my voice laced with pure disgust. "I don't expect anything good, kind, or merciful from someone like you anyway. So go right ahead! Cause me pain! Do whatever you want to me! I have been living in unbearable pain for a very long time, so whatever you do to me won't be anything new!"

Alpha Lucien lowered his head slightly, his dark eyes narrowing as he took a slow step backward. "And what on earth do you know about real pain, little Vicenzo?"

"I know that you are a massive pain in the ass!" I fired back without thinking twice.

The quiet room fell completely dead silent.

For a terrifying second, I thought he was going to wrap his large hands around my neck and snap it in two. But then, Alpha Lucien took another step back, threw his head back toward the high ceiling, and burst into a loud, booming laugh. The deep, wild sound echoed off the heavy stone walls, ringing in my ears as he laughed and laughed like a madman.

He reached into his pocket, pulled out a fresh cigarette, and lit it up, taking a deep drag while his chest still heaved with wild, unhinged laughter.

I turned my back on him, picking up my broom and continuing to sweep the spotless floorboards. Now I have completely confirmed it, I thought to myself, my teeth grinding together in pure frustration. This guy is mentally unstable. He belongs straight inside a psychiatric hospital, or maybe he needs serious therapy. Someone needs to get him medical help fast, because he is an absolute lunatic.

I let out a soft, regretful sigh as I dragged the broom bristles across the rug. But deep down, I couldn't even put all the blame on him. I blamed myself. If only I hadn't made that terrible choice... If only I had simply followed my true mate that night instead of running away, none of this nightmare would be happening right now. Would I ever stop regretting that terrible mistake for the rest of my life?

Suddenly, the roaring laughter cut off completely.

Alpha Lucien turned on his heel, striding over to the far side of the massive chamber toward a long mahogany table loaded with delicate glass cups, expensive crystal decanters, and bottles of fine wine.

Without warning, his heavy boot lashed out with terrifying force, kicking the wooden leg of the table.

The entire structure flipped over with a violent crash. The loud, deafening sound of shattering crystal, breaking glass, and snapping wood exploded through the room, sending sharp shards and dark red wine spraying wildly across the floorboards.