Four

Xavier’s POV

Despite my confusion, I shut the door behind me confused and restless. Where did this girl come from and how the hell did she get into my bed?

Was she a call girl? Is that why she is being tied up like this? There were just so many questions running through my mind at that moment and I didn't know how to act on it.

The door suddenly clicked shut behind me, locking me in. What the actual fuck? I tried the door handle several times to get myself out before I hurt this woman but it didn't budge.  

“Hey! Open us this door!” I yelled but there was no response at all. What were these people up to? “I swear I'm going to kill you all the minute I get out of here! Mark my words!” I threatened.

Yet it didn't scare them enough to let me out. I was frustrated and angry.

The room felt different now—heavy like something was about to happen. My wolf inside me was awake, restless. I could feel its power, pushing against my control. I needed to get out, but there was no way out.

I cursed under my breath. Damn you, Dane. He had tricked me. I could feel it, the strange heat running through my veins. Something was wrong with my body, and I knew it wasn’t just the drink. It had to be something Dane did. I needed to keep control, but it was slipping away.

I felt pathetic. I just came for an engagement party and now, I was going to kill someone?

The sweet smell of daisies drew my attention to the girl on the bed. She was still unconscious, tied up, but even from across the room, I could feel it. The pull. It was like a magnet, pulling me toward her. 

My wolf wanted to get closer, but it wasn't to hurt her, which was very shocking. It wanted to claim her, to mark her, and that was even scarier than just killing him.

 I tried to ignore it, tried to push the feeling away, but it was hard. Too hard.

Why was I feeling like this? Did the goddess go ahead and give me another mate after everything that happened? But with each passing second, the pull became harder to resist. I couldn’t make sense of it. She was just a girl, tied up and helpless. But my wolf didn’t care. It wanted her. And he was ready to drive me insane to achieve that. 

I took a step back, trying to create some distance. I needed to think. I couldn’t act on impulse, not now. I had to focus on getting out of here, figuring out what Dane had done to me.

But no matter how far I stepped away, the pull got stronger. It was like it was in my veins, deep in my bones. My wolf was demanding her, even though he clearly felt that we couldn't have her. 

I walked to the other side of the room, my heart pounding in my chest. I had to stay calm. I had to resist. But it was getting harder.

Suddenly, the girl stirred. I froze. She was waking up.

Her eyes opened slowly, and she struggled against the cuffs to push the hair off her face, but she couldn't, so she threw her head backwards, and the hair was off her face. 

My breath hitched. She was beautiful.

“What the hell is…” she was complaining when those big blue eyes landed on me. She gasped, her body jerking as she tried to move away, but the cuffs held her tight.

I was stunned for a brief second. She looked pale and frightened to death which meant she wasn't some call girl. I couldn't risk getting close to her, no matter how much I wanted to help her.

“You!” I called, hoping to distract her before she hurt herself.

“Please,” she said, her voice trembling. “Please just kill me.”

Her words hit me like a punch to the gut. I didn’t know who she was or why she was there, but I could feel the panic in her words. She was scared of me. She knew the rumours about me. And I could tell she thought I was going to hurt her.

“Calm down,” I said, my voice low and rough but I tried to keep it as soft as I could muster. I tried to reassure her. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

But she was shaking her head, eyes wide with fear. “Please. I know what you are. You're the dark king. You love to torture your victims to death so I beg of you, just kill me now, please. Don't punish me.”

Her words sent a sharp pain through my chest. As creative and amusing as the rumours were, I didn't find it funny. I didn’t want to hurt her. I didn’t want to be what she thought I was. But my wolf didn’t care. It was growling inside me, demanding that I take what it wanted.

I took a step closer, unable to stop myself. I was by her bedside in an instant and reached out, my fingers brushing her skin. 

“Please…”

“Relax…” I mumbled, caressing her cheeks. She was so beautiful up close with stunning blue eyes, strawberry blond hair and plump cherry lips. I couldn’t remember the last time I'd seen someone so naturally beautiful. And that’s when it happened.

A bright light shot out of her eyes, so fast and so blinding I couldn’t react. The light was sharp, like a bolt of lightning, and it hit me in an instant.

I was thrown back across the room, slamming into the wall with enough force to knock the wind out of me. My head spun, my body aching from the impact. I pushed myself up, still stunned, my heart pounding in my chest.

What just happened? Did this woman just send me across the room without lifting a finger? How was that even possible?

Several thoughts ran through my mind as I struggled to pick myself up from the floor.

I looked at her again. She was still tied to the bed, her eyes wide and filled with fear, but there was something else. There was power there… something dangerous. Something I didn’t understand.

“What the hell?” I breathed, roughly. This had to be the first woman in history to defend herself against my wolf and succeed.

What was she? Why did she have this power?