Wake Up!

Kira’s POV

My eyes fluttered open and those piercing gray eyes were locked on mine. His mouth was moving, but I couldn’t understand a single word he was saying. Everything sounded distant, muffled…like I was underwater.

Am I dreaming?

Is this what heaven feels like?

Do girls who die get assigned a stupidly handsome man as their guide through Heaven’s gate? If that’s the case… sign me up twice.

“I’ve got you, baby,” he whispered, and this time I heard him clearly.

Baby?

Is that what angels call people now?

Wait…no. This isn’t right. I…I died. I felt the fall. I heard my bones break. I tasted blood. I made a wish for vengeance. So… how am I here? Can anyone survive that fall?

Or…

Did something hear me? Some entity? Some force that feeds on pain and revenge?

If that was the price… if I was reborn for vengeance…then I would pay it. Gladly.

But I don’t think that was the case here.

Before I could think any further, strong arms lifted me effortlessly. I stiffened. And then everything hit me at once.

My senses exploded.

A sharp ringing screamed through my skull as I heard… everything. Water dripping somewhere far away. Leaves shifting outside. Heartbeats.

Footsteps. Breathing. Too many sounds at once. I clamped my hands over my ears and screamed.

A rush of scents followed…too many to identify.

Some sweet, some metallic, some wild…and one scent that wrapped around me like chains.

That scent… his scent. It clung to me, crawling into my lungs, my blood, my thoughts. It made me dizzy.

Hungry. Hot. What the hell was happening to me?

Before I even realized it, I leaned closer to him…like my body wasn’t mine anymore. Like I needed him close. No. I jerked back, confused.

“Thank the Goddess you came back to me,” he breathed, voice raw, holding me tighter. “Oh heavens…stay with me, princess.”

Princess??

What in the actual mental breakdown was happening here?

Before I could ask, footsteps thundered around us. Deep voices. Men…no, warriors…assembled around us like soldiers surrounding a king.

“Your Majesty,” they said in unison.

Your Majesty?

He didn’t look at them. His jaw clenched. His voice dropped into a deadly growl. An actual growl!

“She fled. I want her found. And when she’s brought back, I want her to learn what happens to traitors in my kingdom.”

Who fled? Traitors? What kingdom?! Was I on a movie set? Was this one of those extreme Hollywood kidnapping pranks?

Am I trapped in some kind of N*****x fever dream?

This isn’t real. This can’t be real. Maybe I’d survived the fall. Maybe I was hallucinating in a hospital bed.

Maybe my brain was bleeding out and this was some bizarre morphine fantasy.

Oh…oh! Now I get it. This has to be a dream. A seriously messed up one. My family saying all those horrible things… me falling off a building… this psycho man calling me princess… It's all fake. My brain is probably broken and showing me random nonsense.

I tried to think, but suddenly…a sharp stabbing pain exploded in my head. I screamed and grabbed my skull like it was about to split open.

“I’ve got you, mate. You’re safe now,” he whispered again, suddenly gentle. Too gentle.

That snapped me back.

“Put me down,” I muttered, still trying to make sense of anything at all.

“Princess, I need to get you to the room so the healers…”

“I said put me down!” I snapped. “Put me down or I swear I’ll have you freaking arrested!”

I started fighting. He looked shocked, like he’d never had anyone fight him before.

“Fucking put me down!”

He froze again. Then…very carefully…he set me down. My legs wobbled, and he grabbed my waist to steady me before I could fall.

We were indoors now. I looked around, dazed.

I backed away and finally took in the full room around me.

Penthouse setting. Minimalist but expensive as hell. Matte-black accents. A massive designer bed with silk sheets. A floor-to-ceiling digital fireplace flickering amber light. Everything screamed quiet power. Dangerous wealth. The kind people kill for.

And standing inches from me was its ruler.

He was huge. Ridiculously broad shoulders. Muscles under his dark shorts flexed with every breath. His hair was black and slightly messy, like he’d just woken from war. His eyes…storm-gray…felt like they could see straight through lies and bones. He radiated something I didn’t understand, something raw. Something terrifying.

“What is going on?” I asked, taking a step back.

He stepped forward, matching me. Too close. Too intense. The heat between us made me dizzy again and I hated it.

“Where am I?” I demanded.

He stared at me like I had just punched him in the soul. Confusion and something like pain flickered across his face. “What do you mean, princess? You’re home.”

Home?

“My name is Kira Summer, not princess,” I snapped. “And I suggest you tell me what the hell is going on, or I swear to God…I’ll kill you.”

He stared at me like I had just slapped him with a live snake. Confusion flickered in his eyes.

His brows drew together. “Kira…? What are you…” He exhaled sharply. “Listen. I know I failed you. I almost lost you minutes ago. But I won’t lose you again.

This time, I will do things right by you. No more distance between us.” His voice dropped dark and final. “Which is why I’m marking you tonight.”

Marking me?

Excuse me?

Oh hell no. OH HELL NO.

No, really…MARKING?

My brain scrambled fast. Marking. That sounded like branding…trafficking-level shit. Was he going to carve his name into me? Tag me like fucking cattle so he could sell me?

Hell. No.

He started moving toward me again.

“Stand back.” My voice was a warning this time, but he kept coming.

His expression darkened with frustration. “Isn’t this what you always wanted? For us to seal the bond? Nothing is going to come between us again.”

Seal the bond?

Did I accidentally sign up for a Satanic sex cult while unconscious?

“Stand back!” I warned again, but he didn’t even stop…he was too lost in whatever twisted world he thought we were in.

He reached for me and suddenly…his face changed.

For a split second, it wasn’t him I saw.

It was my father. Then Miranda. Then Evelyn.

Then my mother…her face twisted in grief and pain…reaching out to me.

Her lips moved. One word.

Vengeance.

I staggered back, trembling, but he leaned in…teeth bared…

Wait.

Those weren’t normal teeth.

Those were…fangs?!

Oh HELL NO.

Before he could touch me, I kicked him straight in the groin with everything I had.

He doubled over with a violent grunt, and I ran.

I ran like hell was on my heels…because I was starting to think it was.

What in the bloody nightmare is this!? Is this some kind of twisted werewolf, vampire, medieval cult movie?!

And more importantly…how the hell do I wake up?!