ANMELDENWILLOW’S POVIf anyone had told me a month ago that I would be sitting on Alpha Killian’s bed with my feet tucked against his thigh, I would have washed all the dresses in his closet just to prove that I wasn’t dreaming.“You are laughing at something.” Alpha Killian’s voice vibrates within me and I look at him.“I was remembering the first night I ever stood in this room.” I say and press my lips together, but it’s useless. “You gave orders for Eleanor to prepare me to serve you, and she took it to mean something else entirely.”He closes his eyes with the pained dignity of a man who knows exactly where a story is going.“Please do not.” He cries.“She dressed me up in this scrap of lace that could not decide whether it was a lingerie or a rumor, and I had to fight for her to let me wear a robe over it before leaving the room. I was so mortified that I thought I might die before I reached your room.” I’m laughing too hard to stop now. “So, when I got inside, I stood at a distance and
KILLIAN’S POVI have never dreaded a conversation as much as the one I’m about to have with Astrid. I was prepared to have Axel or Kane divulge the news to her and send her on her way with unfathomable gifts, but Willow insisted I treated Astrid with some dignity by apologizing in person and sending her away myself.At this point, I’d rather run errands for my mother all day than do this.Astrid arrives at my study exactly on time wearing an emerald gown that must have cost a fortune. Her chin is lifted at the angle she reserves for servants and she does not sit until I gesture to the chair twice.“You cannot imagine my shock when I was told you have summoned me. You always ignore my existence when you’re at home.”I say nothing and keep staring at her face, arranging and rearranging the words I have in mind to say to her in order.“I assume this summons concerns the coronation arrangements? You’ve been awfully quiet about it even though the subjects have begun pressing for a date.”“
KILLIAN’S POVThere are very few things I enjoy more than watching grown men panic. Unfortunately, being the Paramount Alpha means I rarely get to indulge in such simple pleasures. Most Alpha are either too proud to display fear in my presence or too stupid to recognize when they ought to be afraid.Today, however, promises to be an exception.I’m sitting behind my desk, going through reports Axel brought in this morning, while Kane occupied the leather sofa opposite me with his legs stretched out and an expression of concealed amusement.Axel is standing beside the fireplace, flipping through a document.“Alpha Darius was apprehended just before crossing the northern border,” he reports. “Apparently, the bastard received word that his men’s attempt to kill Astrid had failed and decided to make a run for it. He was with a car, three guards and enough provisions to last him several weeks. You would’ve thought he was going on a vacation.”Kane chortles on his seat.“Our patrol intercept
WILLOW’S POV“Are you going to say something?” I ask Alpha Killian who has been standing in the doorway for several moments now, staring at me without saying anything. I’ve noticed that he has changed out of trouser and I dressed him in for the banquet and he looks rugged like he’s been up to a lot ever since he left this room.“The doctor has cleared you,” he says at last. “Your wounds are healing cleanly and she says you are strong enough to go home.”Home.The word sits oddly in my chest as I nod and begin to ease myself toward the edge of the bed, ready to make the long walk back to the servants’ quarters, but before my feet touch the floor, he’s beside me, one arm sliding beneath my knees and the other around my back as if he meant to lift me like something fragile.“What are you doing?” I demand, startled that my voice comes out higher than intended. “Alpha, please, I can walk.”“I know.” He growls.“And I’m well enough to cross a room on my own feet, I don’t need to be carried.
KILLIAN’S POVI’m already getting impatient waiting in my office when the door finally opens. Two guards drag Maddy and Eleanor in together with Kane following closely behind, and the second he notices my shirt, his eyes grow impossibly wide as he talks long, alarmed strides over to me while the guards force the girl to their knees.“What the fuck happened to your shirt!” He asks in a harsh undertone. “Did you fall into a slaughter house?”“Tsss.” I tut, shaking my head. “Axel asked me the same question. He needs your help at the Eastern Dungeon. Go to him now.”His expression shows he still has a lot of unanswered questions, but he calmly nods and exits the room to go carry out my instruction. He’s going to freak out when he arrives there and sees what I did.I turn to the girls who are on their knees and neither of them dares to meet my gaze. They are both in different types of sleeping wear. Maddison’s a normal trouser and shirt pajama, while Eleanor’s is a red, silky nightdress t
KILLIAN’S POVI was across the city, smiling at men I despised, when five men attempted to violate my mate. I had called her a servant, let her scrub my floors and carry my trays and sleep in a cramped room in the servant’s quarters, sharing walls with women who whispered heinous things about her. When the bond burned in my chest, I insisted on shutting it out and feeling nothing. When she looked at me with those quiet, searching eyes, I looked away.Five men had her in that bedroom because I put her somewhere she could be reached.The moment I step into the torture room, I take off my tux jacket and hold it out to Kane who takes it from my hold. I wish I could change into something more casual for this activity, but I have neither the time nor the patience to do so.The men were hanging from silver-laced chains, wrists blistered and heads lolling. I look at Kyle in surprise.“I thought you said nothing had been done to them yet.” I ask, almost humorously and he casually shrugs his sh
WILLOW'S POVI beg your first and foremost pardon?I blink a million times in the second from pure shock. Is he giving me his credit card to go on a shopping spree for myself? This is a dream, right?“Willow.” His voice jabs me out of my thoughts and I shake my head in denial.“No. You don’t have
CHAPTER FIVEWILLOW’S POVI am to serve him tonight, but I have no idea what I will be serving and I’ve got this horrible feeling in my gut that it’s something I will not like. “Stop.” The servant who has been leading the way upstairs into this strange chamber commands and I halt in my tracks. She
CHAPTER FOURWILLOW’S POVI am shaking like a leaf as Beta Kane leads me into the most massive and sophisticated living-room I have ever set my foot into since I was born. After that hilarious stunt I pulled trying to escape – which was miserably futile as he caught up with me and flung me over hi
CHAPTER THREEWILLOW’S POVFive girls have been betrothed to Alpha Killian Hayes and they’ve all met the same fate.Death…“Guards!”… he stays locked up in his castle and only comes out at night to do inspections and pass judgments…“Lock her up so she doesn’t try to run away. The Lycan King’s Bet







