22|| The Paradise

He was smiling.

Dear reader, it was him…the man from the library. The one with the soul-snatching eyes. The man who fingered me like he didn’t care whether I was the king’s concubine or not. The one whose eyes reminded me so much of the king’s. The beast who haunted my mind for days. And now, here he stood dressed in black, smiling down at me like a cat about to toy with a rat before eating it raw.

My body turned to ice. My fingers gripped my dress as I struggled to even breathe, staring up at him in pure horror. And yet, in my panic, I said something very stupid.

“You called me a little bunny last time… now you call me a little kitten. Which one am I?”

He raised his eyebrow as he leaned in, one arm against the maze wall, caging me in.

“Then, you looked like a little bunny. Curious. Fragile. Afraid of being caught. But tonight…” His voice dropped, as he stripped me naked with his eyes. “…tonight you’re like a cat. Sneaky. Lurking where you shouldn’t be.”

His eyes devoured me without a single touch, and I knew he was enjoying every second of my fear. I was so out of it that when the man who was still fucking the woman suddenly stopped and yelled out . “Who’s there?!” I didn’t know what to do.

Before I could even think to run, the man from the library carried me up effortlessly, bridal style. In a second, he was moving. No — flying. The wind rushed on my face as he ran with so much speed it felt like his feet were barely touching the floor.

I’d never felt this kind of power before, it was raw, brute and spectacular. The way he moved, so fast and confident, made me realize how terrifying he must be in his true form. If this was him as a man, what kind of monster would he be as a wolf? An alpha wolf, he’d tear me apart without effort.

I held on to his chest with my eyes squeezed shut, my heart beating against my ribs as if it wanted to escape. Then he suddenly stopped.

For a moment, I couldn’t bring myself to look. He didn’t rush me, he didn’t say a word, he just let me breathe.

When I finally dared to open my eyes, I gasped in surprise.

It was paradise.

I saw a shimmering lake in front of me that looked like the portal to another universe. It was as if it were glowing from the moon, like the goddess had blessed it herself. It looked like every beautiful flower in the world had been planted around it. And the water twinkled with a strange light, so pure it looked like it could wash away sins and heal the darkest parts of a damaged soul.

He helped me down gently, and I stumbled a little, still staring in shock. I couldn’t help but whisper.

“Where are we? Are we… still in the palace?”

The man didn’t answer right away. He just stood there, silent, his eyes locked on me as if he didn't also know why he’d brought me here. For what felt like eternity, we just stared at each other, letting the silence spread between us.

And in that silence, I let myself look. Shamelessly. From the sharpness of his jaw to his tousled dark hair that begged to be touched and ran through, down to his broad shoulders and the solid muscle of his chest that rose and fell calmly as he breathed, as if carrying me was nothing. He was beautiful— unfairly, dangerously beautiful.

His lips pulled into a knowing, intoxicating smirk as He leaned down so he could meet my eyes, his voice a low, like a sexy husky growl.

“Little kitten, if you keep looking at me like that, we’re going to need to find out how many ways I can make you forget your own name.”

Heat flooded my face and neck so fast I had to push my face away, my heart slamming so fast, I almost couldn’t breathe. “This isn’t funny!”

“You’re right. I’m very serious.” I look back to meet his eyes and I see a slight twinkle of pure lust in his eyes.

I scoffed, trying to act like he didn’t affect me—the way he looked, the way his voice slid into my bones like warm honey. But even as I tried, I knew my act was crumbling. My heartbeat betrayed me. My hands trembled. This man was insane… no, I was insane, because I couldn’t control myself around him.

“I’m going to ask you some questions,” I said, pulling my hands behind me and forcing my voice to sound confident. “And I need you to answer me truthfully.”

He tilted his head, in this slow lazy manner, his eyes glinting like a predator amused by its prey. “And if I’m not?” he asked,

I paused, my stomach tightening.

Yeah… If he wasn’t truthful, what the hell would I do?

“What I’ll do if you decide not to be truthful,” I said slowly, lifting my chin, “is for me to know and for you to find out.”

Truth was, I had absolutely no idea what I’d do. But he didn’t need to know that. Every second with him felt like a chess match where my pieces were mismatched and broken, but if I played it right, maybe, just maybe, I could win.

His lips turned, a dangerous, amused smile spreading across his face. “Fine,” he said softly. “Ask your questions, little kitten.”

I took a deep breath, forcing my arms to fold across my chest . My voice came out louder than I expected but a part of me felt that, that was better than to sound helpless and afraid.

“Were you in any way involved in my result in the second trial?”

His lips twitched, like my question was a private joke only he understood.

“Yes.”

My stomach tightened. I swallowed hard and continued talking. “Are you close to the king?”

He let out a low sigh, his eyes turning away for a second, still having that intoxicating smile.

“Yes.”

That answer spread goosebumps all over my body. I licked my lips nervously. “How close?”

The smile widened and he moved before I could blink. He took one step, and suddenly his arm wrapped around me, pulling me against him. My breath caught in my throat when his hand slid down, shamelessly cupping my ass and giving it a firm squeeze.

“Close enough,” he murmured against my ear, “to know exactly how the king likes his little toys… and how to play with them better.”