로그인KARI'S POV “I'm quite cheerful today, Mi'lady.”I cast Carol a sideways glance as I managed a small smile. “Me too.”It wasn't completely a lie. Only two days had passed since my escape attempt and true to his words, Titan had doubled the eyes on me, making it nearly impossible to try and escape.But still, I wasn't going to give up.The gravel of the courtyard crunched beneath my slippers in an almost rhythmic, grounding sound, though my mind was anything but settled. To any casual observer…say, the three guards stationed at the North Gate with their spears gleaming like polished mirrors, Carol and I were merely a lady and her maid taking the afternoon air.But in reality, I was actually scoping out the castle, looking for a weak point.I noted three guards at the main arch, and there more standing stiffly by the iron-wrought gates. Just six…I could definitely take them. But deep down I knew there was many more littered around."....and then, can you believe it? Mikael managed to
KARI'S POVMy breath caught.“But I realized something,” Titan continued. “Every time I hurt you, every time I force you, you retreat further.”He shook his head, “everytime I hurt you, you hate me. And hatred is not a fertile ground for love.”My stomach twisted. “You think this will make me love you?”“I think,” he said smoothly, “that love can grow under the right conditions. And I'm willing to offer you those conditions, Kari of Silvermoon.”I scoffed in his face, moving my head away as he tried to touch me again.“You must be more deluded than I thought, if you think not putting me in chains after I tried to escape would make me forget all the pains you caused me.”Titan's eyes bored into mine with irritation, until I suddenly had the urge to slam my forehead against his nose.But then he blinked, and the gentleness returned to in his blue eyed.“Kari…must I kneel to apologize for the past? I am trying to make things right between us now.”I stared at him, revulsion simmering ben
KARI'S POV I woke slowly. My eyes peeled open with immediate nervousness My first instinct was to test my limbs. So I slowly twisted my wrists and my ankles.They moved freely.No chains biting into my wrists. No silver cuffs burning my ankles. And definitely no ropes pinning me to the bed. I sucked in a sharp breath and pushed myself upright, my heart pounding as I scanned the room.Sunlight spilled through the tall windows, pale and almost gentle as it caressed the stone floor and the heavy drapes. The air smelled clean. Too clean. Almost like the room had just been cleaned before I woke up.My body ached in the dull, deep way of exhaustion rather than punishment, and that alone unsettled me more than restraints ever had.I had tried to escape.The memories came crashing down on me in swift waves. The chain, Alan, Indira's laughter…and the darkness that swallowed my voice as I screamed for the freedom I almost had.Alan…I smirked gently. I'd almost killed the beta. I felt extre
KARI'S POV The guard roze, his eyes widening. “Lady Kari? Where are you going?”“I…I'm going for a walk,” I I swallowed. “I was feeling a bit stuffy in my chambers.”The guard's eyes narrowed as his brow furrowed. “Where are your…”I didn’t let him finish before my instincts took a hold of me.I struck first, driving my elbow into his throat with everything I had.He staggered, choking, and I slammed my knee into his groin as I pressed a hand to his mouth to muffle any other sound he could've made to alert others.As he folded, I wrenched his head back and smashed it against the wall.He went limp.My hands shook as I dragged him into an alcove and checked to make sure he was still alive. My heart had never pounded so hard before, save for the day Titan almost forced himself on me.Tamping down my panic, I kept moving.Down a narrow staircase. Through the armory’s outer corridor. The smell of iron and oil filled my nose.Freedom was close. I could feel it, could almost taste it on my
KARI'S POV “Hello, Joe.”“Milady? You called for me?”The guard stood outside my door as he always did, his broad-shoulder lodged halfway into the room.He was much too kind for a place like Wilder. Joe's armor was slightly scuffed at the edges, his expression polite and attentive as I smiled up at him, forcing my hands not to tremble.“I did,” I answered softly, “would you like something to drink?”He blinked. “Milady?”“I got bored,” I continued lightly, stepping back to gesture at the small table inside my room. “Tried my hand at making my favorite drink from Silvermoon. It’s… not as sweet as I prefer it, if I’m honest. But it feels wrong to pour it all away.”His ears turned pink almost instantly.“Do you want it? You can share it with the other.”“I.. uh…yes, milady. Thank you.”I nodded, giving him a warm smile as I moved towards the table.“Do you ever take some time off?” I asked, as I poured the drink into a large tankard, my movements steady. “Do you have a beloved?”“Milad
VIKTOR'S POV I woke to a burst of pain.Not the dull, distant ache of old wounds or exhaustion, but sharp, immediate agony that throbbed through every nerve ending in my body. My first breath tore out of me in a hoarse gasp, my lungs burning as though I’d been underwater too long and dragged back to the surface against my will.Darkness pressed in on all sides.Whatever room I was in, was dimly lit. The air was thick with the smell of rot and damp stone.A tangy smell hit me next, blood, old and new, layered with the metallic sting of the silver on my skin.My vision swam as I tried to move, only to discover I couldn’t.The chains were wrapped around my wrists and ankles, biting deep into my skin, hoisting me partially off the ground so my toes barely brushed the cold stone floor. Every slight movement sent fire racing up my arms and spine. I clenched my jaw, swallowing a groan as memory crept back in fragments.I remembered running from the hound, then the trap snapping closed, th







