3. ENSLAVED

RAVEN

I should have died that day.

When mother’s blood soaked the ground, when father’s last words burned into my soul… when Kieran stripped me of everything—my title, my dignity, my name.

But I didn’t die. I lived. And I suffered.

Days blurred into nights, each moment a new kind of torment. The castle became my prison, my own mate—my captor.

Kieran’s hands were rough, his kisses punishing, his touch a weapon meant to break me. And still, my body betrayed me, responding to him even when my soul screamed in protest.

I didn’t completely hate him like I wanted to. I hated the way he made me feel. The way he used our bond against me, forcing me to drown in him. Killing both my parents in a last minute act of betrayal was a bonus, too.

I hated that some nights, still, when the pain became unbearable, I still whispered his name.

But Kieran didn’t love me. And I didn’t love him.

Not anymore.

Not after he had me dragged from the execution stage and branded like cattle. Not after he made sure I could never forget who I belonged to.

He used to take his time to eat me out, tell me how intoxicating I was, kiss every inch of my skin. Now, eating me out was a punishment—he made sure I begged him for a release… made sure I felt his detachment even with him fucking me.

He used to fuck me like his Luna, now he fucked me like a dirty whore.

“Say it,” Kieran growled against my throat, his weight pressing me into the bed as he pounded into me rough and fast. “Say who owns you.”

I bit on my bottom lip, almost drawing blood… refusing to give him the satisfaction even with the way our bodies felt so good against each other’s.

Pain shot through my body as his fangs grazed my skin, the threat of a bite lingering.

My body trembled—not from fear, but from the bitter truth of our bond. No matter how much I despised him, my wolf still craved him. She craved him so deeply, it wounded me.

“Say it.” His voice was dark, dangerous.

I forced myself to meet his icy gaze. “I belong to no one. You don’t deserve me.”

His grip tightened and he pulled out of me with a grunt, leaving me empty and even more needy. I was on heat, and he knew it.

He smirked, his striking amber orbs piercing through me even in the dark. I knew what was coming next. He was going to punish me for saying no. I braced myself, only gasping when he flipped me onto my stomach, yanking my hips up until I was kneeling on the bed. My legs trembled, my body betraying me again, heat pulsing between my thighs even as my mind screamed in protest.

“You don’t belong to anyone?” Kieran’s voice was low, mocking, but there was something else beneath it—something raw. “Then why do you react to me like this, Raven?”

I clenched my fists in the sheets, refusing to answer.

His fingers slid down my spine, slow and deliberate, teasing me as if he had all the time in the world. Then he parted my legs further, spreading me open for him. My face burned with humiliation, but my traitorous body shuddered at the cold air against my slick folds.

A sharp slap landed on my ass, sending a jolt of pleasure and pain through me.

“I. Said. Say. it.”

I shook my head, biting my lip hard enough to draw blood.

Another slap. Harder this time. A cruel chuckle rumbled from his chest as he gripped my hips, positioning himself at my entrance. He teased me with the tip of his cock, rubbing it against my throbbing core, but didn’t push in. My body arched back involuntarily, desperate for friction, for something to ease the ache.

I hated myself. Hated the way I still needed him even after everything he had done.

“Look at you,” he murmured, dragging his fingers along my inner thigh, spreading my wetness. “You say you don’t belong to me, but your body says otherwise.”

“Fuck you,” I spat, voice shaky.

“Oh, I will.” He answered darkly.

And then his fingers thrust inside me suddenly, curling just right, making me gasp. He worked me with brutal precision, keeping me on the edge but never giving me the relief I craved. My thighs trembled, my breath came in ragged pants, and still, he wouldn’t let me go.

“Say who owns you.”

“No, no please…” I whispered, my pride the only thing I had left.

He withdrew his fingers, and before I could protest, his mouth replaced them. His tongue was relentless, licking, sucking, devouring me as if he wanted to make me break. I moaned despite myself, my fingers digging into the sheets as heat coiled tighter in my stomach.

But just when I was about to fall over the edge, he pulled away.

A whimper escaped me before I could stop it.

Kieran chuckled darkly, his breath hot against my dripping core. “You still think you have control, little wolf?”

I didn’t answer. I couldn’t.

With one brutal thrust, he was inside me again, stretching me, filling me in the way only he could. My back arched, my mouth opening in a silent cry. He didn’t give me time to adjust, setting a punishing pace that sent shockwaves through my entire body.

His thrusts grew rougher, deeper, his hands gripping my hips so tightly I knew there would be bruises. He was punishing me, but he was punishing himself too. I could feel it in the way he held me, in the way his hands trembled slightly when they moved over my body.

This wasn’t just hate… This was love turned to ruin, and we were both drowning in it.

Kieran’s grip tightened around my throat, pulling me back against his chest, forcing me to meet his gaze. His amber eyes burned with something dark, something twisted.

He drove into me harder with our eyes locked onto each other’s, his fingers pressing against my clit, sending white-hot pleasure spiraling through me. My body betrayed me once more, shattering around him, pleasure mixing with the ache in my chest. He came right after, filling me with his seed completely.

“You’re mine,” he whispered, his lips brushing my ear.

“I was never yours. I wish I never met a man like you.”

His jaw clenched, fury flashing across his face. His body tensed, and for a moment, I thought he might lose control completely. But then, something colder replaced the rage in his gaze.

Something final.

Kieran’s lips curled into a cruel smirk as he pulled out of me, his warmth leaving me empty. I raised a brow slightly, confused.

“You are right,” he said, his voice eerily calm. “You were never mine.”

His hands moved over my body one last time, tracing every curve, every mark he’d left on me. Somehow, I knew what was coming next and I immediately began to shake my head no, trying to run off from his grip.

He held me in place, delivering the harsh words to me like a finite blow, “I, Kieran Vale, Alpha of the Red Moon Pack, hereby reject you, Raven Solis, as my mate. May our bond be destroyed now and forever.”

Pain promptly exploded through my body, searing through my veins like fire. I screamed, clutching my chest as the bond between us shattered. Ana howled in agony, the loss unbearable, like a part of me had been torn away. Her claws dug into my palms and then the same claws started dissolving. I could barely feel her now, only the hurt that remained, almost like I could not breathe with how everything in me twisted and turned.

Tears blurred my vision, but I refused to let them fall. I refused to give him that satisfaction.

Kieran stood over me, breathing hard, watching as I writhed in pain. His expression was unreadable, but his eyes—those damn amber eyes—betrayed him.

He wasn’t unaffected, in fact, he was in pain, too. But unlike me, he had chosen this.

“You’re nothing now,” he said coldly. “Not my mate. Not my Luna. Just a broken little whore who thought she could defy me.”

Hatred surged through me, stronger than the pain. Stronger than the love I had once felt for him. I forced myself to lie there minutes later, waiting for the right time to strike, even when my body screamed for relief.

I wouldn’t stay here. Not another second.

And so the moment he got to his feet and headed to the bathroom, his back turned to me, I ran.

I didn’t care where I was going. I didn’t care if I collapsed in the middle of the woods, naked and broken. I just needed to get away.

But apparently, Kieran wasn’t finished with me.

The moment I reached the castle gates, alarms sounded. Wolves howled, footsteps pounded behind me. I pushed myself harder, my breath ragged, my vision blurring. The forest loomed ahead, my only hope of escape.

Then I heard him.

“RAVEN!”

His roar sent a shiver down my spine, but I didn’t stop. I ran faster, deeper into the wilderness, branches tearing at my skin, the cold night air burning my lungs.

I knew he was close, I could feel him.

Yes, the bond was gone, but something deeper still tied us together. Something even rejection couldn’t sever. I loved him, goddess, I loved that man. And now, now I wanted nothing but grief for him.

I didn’t stop running until I reached the cliff’s edge.

The wind howled around me, the abyss below dark and endless. My heart pounded as I glanced over my shoulder.

Kieran was there.

His chest heaved, his eyes burning with rage and something else—something almost desperate. He took a step forward, then another, like a predator cornering his prey.

“Come back,” he ordered.

I laughed bitterly. “You made sure there’s nothing left for me to come back to.”

His hands clenched into fists. “Don’t do this.”

“Why?” I whispered. “Afraid of losing your favorite toy?”

His jaw tightened. He didn’t deny it.

I took a step back, my heels teetering on the edge. His expression shifted, panic flickering beneath his fury.

“Raven,” his voice dropped, almost pleading. “Come back.”

I held his gaze one last time, memorizing the face of the man I had once loved. Also the man who had destroyed me, how ironic.

Then, with a final breath, I whispered, “I reject you, Kieran.”

And then, I jumped.