Chapter Four:The one who survived.

Emerald POV

I didn't sleep.

Not a single wink.

After he finished, after his breathing slowed and his grip around my waist loosened, I just lay there. Staring at the ceiling. Listening to the silence.

He slept like the dead. No nightmares. No tossing. Just deep, empty darkness.

I should have been terrified.

The maids whispered about him. I heard them before they brought me to his room. He kills them. Every single one. No one survives the night.

And yet here I was. Breathing well. Bruised, but alive.

I turned my head slowly to look at him.

Even asleep, he was dangerous.

His ash-blond hair fell across his forehead. His jaw was sharp enough to cut glass. His chest rose and fell slowly beneath the thin sheet.

He looked like a predator resting between hunts.

Emerald, get a hold of yourself.

I needed to escape. Find a way out of this kingdom. Back to Black Moon? No. There was nothing there for me anymore.

But somewhere. Anywhere but here.

I tried to move. His arm tightened around my waist.

I tried again. Tighter.

Great,he's clingy.

Then he started whimpering.

"Father... please don't go..."

His voice cracked. His brow furrowed. His fingers dug into my skin.

The mighty Dragon Alpha. Having a nightmare like a scared child.

I didn't know what to do. So I did the only thing that made sense.

I placed my hand on his chest and patted gently. Slow. Steady.

After a few minutes, he calmed down. His breathing evened out. His grip softened.

I stared at the ceiling until dawn.

Cassius POV

I woke up to sunlight.

I never woke up to sunlight. I hadn't slept past dawn in five years. Not since my father died.

I checked the clock.

Eleven in the morning.

You slept well, my dragon said inside my head.

"No, I didn't."

Because of her.

"I said no."

You're lying.

I got up and walked to the bathroom before he could say another word.

"Master, you have a meeting with the elders."

A maid stood in my bedroom. I didn't recognize her face.

"Who let you in?"

"Sir, I—"

"Guards."

A guard rushed in. His face went pale when he saw her.

"Master, she's new. Please—"

"Fifty lashes. Both of you."

"But Master—"

"Sixty."

They left quickly. The maid was crying.

My dragon laughed. You just wanted to hit something.

"Shut up."

Admit it.

"I said shut up."

The meeting was about Kendal.

Of course it was.

"We need your decision," Elder Octavia said. "Are you marrying her or not?"

Kendal's mother stood up. "You cannot keep sleeping around. You have a duty to this pack."

I let them talk. Let them threaten. Let them beg.

When they finished, I stood up.

"I will change."

Their faces lit up with relief.

I didn't tell them I was lying.

Back in my chambers, Massimus was waiting.

His face was pale.

"Alpha. The slave is alive."

"What slave?"

"The one from last night."

I stared at him. "That's impossible."

"It's true." He swallowed hard. "We went to take her to the morgue. She grabbed my arm. Her eyes were red, sir. Glowing red."

"Where is she?"

"In the infirmary. The doctor said she was just in a deep sleep. She needs rest."

I walked out without waiting for him to follow.

She was lying on a cot. Pale. Still. Breathing.

I stepped closer.

The bruises I left on her neck last night were gone. Completely healed.

That had never happened before.

I touched her arm. Her skin was warm. Too warm.

My fingers tingled.

"Take her to the pack hospital," I said.

"But sir—"

"Now."

Kendal appeared in the doorway. Her face twisted when she saw Emerald.

"You're joking." Her voice was ice. "She should be dead."

"She's not."

Kendal's jaw tightened. "You have no right to save her."

"I have every right." I turned to face her. "Watch your mouth."

She gasped. No one spoke to her like that.

"Massimus."

"Yes, Lord."

"Find out everything about Emerald Kent. Everything."

"Sir, she bears his name. She's his daughter."

"I don't believe it." Something in my gut told me different. "Dig deeper."

He nodded and left.

Kendal laughed. It was bitter. Empty.

"So what now? You want to make her your Luna? Your mistress?" She stepped closer. "Go ahead. Let her see how rotten you really are."

"I'm done with you." I said it quietly. "Call off the engagement."

She didn't react. Just smiled.

"Like I said." She put on her sunglasses. "No one else can have you." She walked out. "Enjoy the show, love."

A maid brought me tea.

I drank it without thinking. The warmth eased my throat.

Something was happening to me. Something I didn't understand.

And it started and ended with the woman lying in that hospital bed.

Emerald POV

I opened my eyes to a white ceiling.

Machines beeped around me. A hospital gown covered my body. An IV dripped into my arm.

What happened?

The last thing I remembered was leaving his room before dawn. I felt dizzy. I walked into the next room to rest for a minute.

Then nothing.

"Are you alright?"

I turned sharply.

Cassius stood by the window. Watching me.

"What am I doing here?"

"You're fine." He picked up a pile of clothes and threw them at me. "Change. Follow me."

I threw the clothes back at him. "I'm not going anywhere with you."

His eyes narrowed. "I bought you, heiress. I own you. You go where I say."

"No."

"Why not?" He stepped closer.

"Because you're a stranger."

He smiled. It didn't reach his eyes. "You didn't think that last night when you were moaning my name."

I felt heat rise to my cheeks. "That was different."

"How?" He leaned in. His breath touched my neck. "Or should we do it again? Right here?"

I couldn't move. The heat between us was suffocating. The air conditioner was on full blast, but I was burning up.

Is he feeling this too?

"How do you know who I am?" I asked, pulling back.

"I know a lot about my enemies." He stepped away. "Your father rejected you. Your husband sold you."

The words hit like knives.

"At least I'm not the one who can't keep his pants zipped," I shot back. "Even with a fiancée waiting at home."

His smile disappeared. "A sharp tongue. Careful, Luna. You don't want to wake my wrath."

"Not everything is about you, Alpha."

"Boss." Massimus appeared at the door. "The car is ready."

Cassius straightened his suit. "Meet me in five minutes." He walked out.

I didn't meet him in five minutes.

I took the elevator down. Walked past the nurses who stared at me like I was a ghost. Pushed through the hospital doors.

Grandville Hospital, the sign read.

Black Moon only had a small clinic. This place was different.

"Ma'am." The guard from last night appeared beside me. "This way. The Alpha is waiting."

"I'm not going with you."

"Ma'am—"

"Take me to the armory."

He blinked. "What?"

"You heard me."

"Ma'am, I can't. The Alpha—"

"Fine." I walked past him. "I'll go myself."

I made it ten steps before a limousine pulled up beside me.

The window rolled down.

"Get in," Cassius said.

"No."

"Get in. I won't repeat myself."

"I won't ride with a wrecker like you."

His jaw tightened. "What makes you think I'm evil?"

"You bought me like property."

"I saved you from worse." There was no pride in his voice. Just fact.

Saved me?

"I will get my freedom back," I said. "I promise you that, Cassius."

"We'll see." He rolled up the window. "Follow her," he told the guard. "Everywhere."

The limousine sped off.

I walked towards the armory. At least he was gone.

Somewhere in Grandville

Kendal sat in the back of her car, watching the hospital through tinted windows.

She had seen everything. The way Cassius looked at that girl. The way he touched her.

"Trevor." She didn't look away from the window. "What did you find?"

Her assistant pulled out a tablet.

"Emerald Kent.twenty-three years old. Heiress to the Black Moon pack. Married three days ago to Derek Vance, who is now the Alpha. Sold to the black market on her wedding night."

Kendal smiled. "Interesting."

"There

's more." Trevor scrolled. "Her father, Alpha Kent, hasn't reported her missing. He's pretending nothing happened."

"Of course he is." Kendal adjusted her sunglasses. "Men like that don't care about daughters. They care about power."

"What's the plan?" Trevor asked.

Kendal didn't answer. She just watched the hospital doors.

Waiting.