Chapter three

Zarek POV

I jolted awake, a sharp pain splitting my skull. My body trembled as my eyes darted around, trying to make sense of the shadows. The room was bare, walls pressing in, no windows, no doors I could see.

A cold wave of panic hit me. My chest tightened, and I struggled for air.

I tried to move, and something clung to me tightly, making me wince in pain.

I was tied to a chair, my hands secured tightly behind my back.

A swift click echoed across the room, and someone walked in. His steps grew heavier with each second as he closed the distance between us.

“Good to see you’re awake, Prince,” he dragged the last word, and I was sure he was mocking me.

“Who are you, and what do you want from me?” I demanded.

He chuckled slowly, his hands rubbing over the gun.

He tilted my chin up so my eyes met his gaze. “Your karma,” he whispered, sending chills through me.

Those were the same words he had said in the car, and the last thing I remembered was being choked with a handkerchief before I lost consciousness.

He let go and pointed the gun directly at my head, his eyes darkening, his jaw ticking each second like a countdown.

“If it’s money you want, I can have my father send it. Name the amount, just please don’t kill me,” I pleaded, my voice cracking.

He didn’t answer, letting the silence hang between us, heavier than the gun pressed to my head.

“For a prince, you are the dumbest creature I’ve ever met,” he smirked.

Then he lifted my chin with the gun, and I swallowed hard.

“Your father ordered the killing of my entire family… and you think this is about money?” His voice dropped into a low growl as he stepped closer, his rough hand brushing against my collarbone. I flinched.

“I’m going to cut you into small pieces and deliver you to his doorstep.”

My chest tightened, and my knees threatened to buckle. My stomach twisted like a rollercoaster gone rogue, bile rising hot in my throat.

“Please… you don’t have to get your—”

Before I could finish, something slammed against the door with the force of a battering ram. The wood splintered, shards flying, and the impact rattled the ceiling above us like the building itself was shivering in fear.

“That was easy,” an unknown voice said.

He stepped in, his gun aimed at us.

“Don’t come any further, or I’ll shoot his brains out,” the kidnapper warned, pressing the gun harder against my head.

“Go ahead. You’d save us some stress,” another voice came from the doorway.

I turned. And there he was. That face… I could recognize it from anywhere, even in a crowd of strangers. A smirk tugged at his lips, and those eyes carried a danger that made my blood run cold.

Aziel.

He moved like the room itself bent around him, like he hadn’t just offered me up as a sacrificial lamb… like he owned the moment.

Time slowed. My hands itched to pull free, to shove, to fight but every instinct screamed stay frozen.

His presence slammed into me, pinning my chest and squeezing the air from my lungs. The gun in his hand was a warning, it wasn’t the weapon that made my pulse spike. It was him.

“Please, don’t listen to him. I’ll pay. I’ll give you anything you want, just name it,” I pleaded amid anger and fear. I had to get out before it was too late.

“What the hell is your problem? Do you want this psycho to kill me?” I snapped.

Aziel’s eyes didn’t blink. “What can I say? Better a dead man,” he replied, and the coldness in his voice intensified.

Before I could process his words, a loud, piercing sound vibrated through the room, followed by a cry.

The man fell with a thud as blood splattered across the room, his head rolling off his body.

Aziel’s voice remained calm. “Stay out of my way,” he said, almost casually.

“Jesus,” I shrieked, swinging my head back, and Aziel was still holding his gun up. My chest heaved as the realization hit, this wasn’t over.

“Luciano, untie him,” he ordered the other man.

For what felt like minutes, the ropes were finally untied.

“Get moving, kitten,” Aziel commanded as I stretched my limbs and stood up from the chair.

“Stop calling me that, and I’m not going anywhere with you,” I blurted, folding my arms.

“I don’t have time for your bratty attitude,” he scorned.

I curled my hand into a fist, my eyes twitching as I stepped forward and landed a punch on his nose. My knuckles burned from the impact, yet he didn’t even flinch.

I swung again at his chest, but he remained rooted in place. That only angered me more. I wanted nothing more than to jump on his annoying, stupid face, but before I could, Luciano grabbed both my arms, dragging me out with him.

“Let go of me,”

“You are too wild for a prince,” he said, tightening his grip.

Aziel rushed past us toward the packed limo. I turned to Luciano’s side, biting down hard on his shoulder. He released me, and I rushed in the opposite direction.

“Get back here,” he called, but I didn’t stop.

Heavy footsteps followed close behind me, and I knew there was no escape. Suddenly, gunshots rang out from the direction I was headed, making me halt.

“Get down,” Aziel barked from right behind me.

Before my brain could process his words, something hard slammed into my side, and I flew across the ground. I buried my face in the dirt as chaos erupted, people shouting, until there was nothing left but silence and my heavy breathing against the soil.

“Get the fuck up."

I lifted myself slowly and stared at the bodies lying on the ground, bleeding. That’s when it hit me.

Blood.

Pain shot up my arm. I gritted my teeth and forced myself to move. I looked down at my shirt, and it was soaked red, blood oozing from the upper part of my arm. I clutched it tightly just as Aziel grabbed the same injured arm, pulling me toward the car as I groaned.

He shoved me into the seat, and the car locked in one sharp click. I tried to push the door open, but he held me in place.

“Try pulling another stupid stunt if you have a death wish, and I’ll be sure to grant it,” he growled, his eyes red as they met mine.

“Stop telling me what to do,” I voiced biting down on my lip as the pain intensified.

He tore a strip from his tattered shirt and pulled me an inch closer. “You are in my territory, and you will fucking take my orders,” he growled, tightening the cloth around my arm.​​