Warning

   “Do not mention this again, Aerona!” her mother yelled and Aerona winced from the high-pitched tone. Celeste rarely raised her voice at Aerona. It was a first, and Aerona very well knew she had earned it.

     Even if Zayn was such an ass, she would try her best to get him out of the dungeons, and back to his home. He had said he was sure they had attacked his home in the passing, and it was why he had marched upon their enclave with his men.

    And she could understand that. She couldn’t imagine what she would have done had she been in the same situation. If she had a family somewhere out there—her true family—and she got wind that they were in harm’s way, she would go to the ends of the earth and back to get them back.

    “Mother. . .” Aerona drawled in a manner that usually worked when she needed something from Celeste, but the hardness in Celeste’s eyes didn’t crack a tiny bit. It remained, and Aerona feared that even she wouldn’t be able to move her mother.

     “He really isn’t a bad man. He was misinformed.”

    Celeste tossed her a look that could wither the entire garden of roses in the court yard. “Misinformed? What have you been doing beneath the dungeons every night, Aerona? Talking to the blathering Alpha?”

     When Aerona looked away, unable to meet her mother’s eyes, Celeste looked upon her with disdain and disapproval. “I taught you better than to listen to the lies men spew. The prisoners will do anything they can to get out of their dungeons, and lying to a naïve woman would be of no consequence!”

    “I am not naïve!” Aerona yelled back, tears burning 

behind her eyes. “I might not be strong like the lot of you, but it doesn’t make me some simpering fool! I might not be a witch like you and every other woman you favor in this enclave, but it doesn’t mean I can’t tell my right from wrong. I might not belong here, but it doesn’t make me weak-willed and stupid!”

    Celeste blinked once. Again. It was the only tell that she had been startled by Aerona’s outburst. “You know that isn’t true, Aerona. I have taken care of you like my own—“

     “Yet you treat me differently! You treat me like an outcast! You treat me like I do not have a mind of my own that can make decisions!”

    “All I have done is to protect you! You will watch your words with me, Ari, or I will—“

   Aerona laughed harshly, turquoise gaze blazing with anger and pain. Something old and ancient stirred slightly within her, causing her to bare her teeth at her mother in a way that would be seen as anything but human. “It was a mistake to come here and ask for your help. I should have known that your arms will only open to witches. The rest of us are nuisances—“

     Pain exploded in her left cheek at the same exact moment Celeste yelled her name. Aerona blinked, dazed. She held her cheek as her eyes met her mother’s pained gaze. She had slapped her. It was the first time Celeste had raised a hand to her, and it hurt like hell—not just on the surface. Something within her cracked, and a single tear slid down Aerona’s left cheek.

    Her mother turned away from her sharply. “Leave. You are confined to your room for a fortnight. Should you be found anywhere near the dungeons, do not think for a second that I will not exile you through the portals. Stay away from the Alpha. He is dangerous.”

     Aerona released a small sound that might have been a growl as she stomped out of her mother’s room. Like hell, she would stay confined to her room. She was going to get him out. Consequences be damned.

                        

                  ************************

      Celeste was going to kill her. No. The entire enclave was going to kill her. But that didn’t stop Aerona from stealing the keys from Iona and dashing towards the dungeons with maddening speed. She had to get them out before they woke in the next hour. She could take the brunt of the punishment alone. Even if it meant getting exiled.

     Zayn’s head snapped up as soon as he heard the jingle of keys and Aerora’s pained grunt as she tried pushing the tall barred gate aside. He was instantly on his feet, holding the door with her and helping her push it aside. “What are you doing?!” he demanded, even if he very well knew what she was up to.

    Panting and breathing hard, she gave him a foul look. “What does it look like?”

    “Are you insane? You’ll get yourself killed!” he chided and if she didn’t know better she would be convinced he was actually worried about her.

    “My mother won’t kill me. More like flay me but—“ she grunted again, pushing aside the last of the barricade.

     She paused then, really staring at Zayn. There were no barricades or gates between them anymore. The pull towards him was so strong, she staggered forward, nearly falling on her face, but he caught her before she hit the ground.

     A strong arm banded around her waist, holding her to his chest, and his fingers were sprawled across her cheek, staring deeply into her eyes. Her skin heated, and her core melted. Her knees went weak and she was grateful his arms were holding her because she would have fallen.

    “Why are you doing this for me, Aerona?” he whispered, warm breath tickling her skin in the most pleasant way.

     Her eyelids drooped at the slight tease of his lips that was only a few inches shy from her face. “Because I can’t help myself. I. . .I feel like. . .” Her voice trailed off, as she was unable to complete the words.

 Was this love? Had she fallen for the prisoner? “You must leave here with your men and never come back. You must promise me that I didn’t save a vengeful man. We did not take the women you sought out. Both our races have each lost in this fight. I beg that you forget it and return to your people who await you.”

     His amber gaze was soft as he said, “I will never harm any of yours. I care for you, Aerona.”

     Her lips parted to ask what that meant, but she was silenced when he lowered his lips to hers.  

    

    It was a kiss like nothing she had felt before—not that her lips had been felt by another man before. It was a soul-altering kiss that burned her all the way to her toes, curling them in her boots. Her knees gave out, and she threw her arms around his neck, both to hold him—and to hold him.

     A soft sound escaped her when his tongue swept in slowly, testing her and tasting her. She tipped her head back, body roaring to life with explosive sparks behind her now closed eyes. 

He growled, the sound striking a chord within her and her fingers dove into his silky hair, pulling him closer as his tongue thrust in and out her mouth in the most sinful motion that ever existed, and by the gods, it drove her crazy.

Madness. This was a madness from which she didn’t want to be cured. Wanting him, needing him. Her body responded to him in a way she didn’t understand, if the wetness between her thighs was any indication.

  Blessed heavens. . .she thought as she kissed him back. Her ears perked up at the sound of shuffling feet and she pushed at him, hurling him out the door. “Hurry. We have dallied enough!” she yelled in hushed tones, heart slamming into her chest.

     Thankfully, he didn’t argue with her as she led him past the dark hallways, unlocking the prisons of his men as they passed by. She dashed for the back gate, leading them far away from the dungeons and the enclave.

    “Come with me,” Zayn said when they reached the borders between their lands and his. 

     She smiled, shaking her head. “I can’t. They are my family.”

    He cupped her cheek and her heart skipped several beats when he pressed his lips against her cheek. “I will come back for you, Ari.”

    Her lips tipped into a rueful smile. “I’ll wait for you.”

   

       ***********

      Zayn tossed his ripped shirt outside his chambers, snarling at his sentries to fetch him his generals and to ensure he was not to be disturbed by anyone, even if they were a family member. A hot bath awaited him in his bathroom and he lowered himself in, submerging himself in the near-scalding heat like it could burn away his guilt and the heat of the kiss with his foe’s daughter.

    It had been meant to seal the deal. The kiss was meant to convince her that he truly cared for her. It had been his last act of deceit. But he had lost control. 

    He growled, slamming his clenched fist into the ceramic cauldron, smashing a hole into it. He couldn’t get the taste of her off his tongue. He couldn’t forget her scent. He couldn’t forget the feel of her lips against his. He couldn’t forget the feel of her fingers as they stroked his scalp tenderly.

    A mate’s touch had rendered him helpless. He had begun the kiss fully in control of his thoughts, but he had lost himself to her. Had nearly completed marking her as his. Her blood was still on his tongue, enticing him, inviting him to complete what he had started. But he would pay it no heed. He had no intentions to.

   It hadn’t completely been a lie when he said he would go back. But he wasn’t going back for her. He didn’t care what promises he made to her. Promises were made to be broken. 

    He straightened, leaving his bathroom in a bathrobe. His full battle armor had been set out for him and as he pulled them on, he steeled his spine, forcing himself to forget the promise he had made to Aerona. The promise not to hurt her family. Because he would. He was heading back to avenge Ulrich’s death. He would wipe them out. 

He forced himself to forget her trusting eyes and her innocent smile. She was a fool. Did her mother never teach her not to trust men?