Chapter 10

Victoria’s POV

I stood still for a second, the belt of the robe still tight in my hands. There was no point in begging. He had already decided I was guilty. Begging would only make him angrier, and I could not die tonight. If they killed me, Vanessa and Adrian would win. The truth would die with me. My name would always be remembered as a murderer.

No.

I swallowed the bitter fear and forced my shaking fingers to move. *Just get through it. Stay alive. Stay alive long enough to prove them wrong.*

I pulled the knot free. The robe opened. With a shaky breath, I let the soft fabric slide off my shoulders and fall around my ankles on the cold floor.

I stood completely naked in front of the Alpha King. My pale skin was covered in dark bruises. The raw arrow cut on my thigh still bled a little.

Lennox’s eyes raked over my bare form. There was no lust in his gaze, no warmth—only a deep, burning disgust that made me feel entirely worthless. His upper lip curled in a sneer, his dark aura flaring so intensely that the air in the room grew heavy and hard to breathe.

“Move over to the desk,” he ordered coldly, his voice devoid of any humanity. “And bend over.”

I hesitated, my heart pounding wildly as panic began to take hold of me.

“Don’t make me repeat myself, murderer. Go over to the desk.”

His angry voice echoed through the room. I looked up and met his gaze. Those dark eyes were completely consumed by pitch-black rage. Filled with embarrassment and shame, I wrapped my arms around my chest and moved toward the desk on shaky legs.

“Turn your back.”

I obeyed, turning my back to him and placing my trembling hands flat against the cold wooden surface. Hot tears rolled down my cheeks, but I quickly wiped them away, struggling to keep myself from breaking down completely.

A moment later, I heard his heavy footsteps approaching from behind. My entire body stiffened as he stopped just inches away from me. He was so close that I could feel his presence looming over me, making my stomach twist with fear.

Suddenly, a thick black cloth was placed over my eyes, blocking out everything around me. I flinched instinctively.

“Stay still,” he ordered.

Panic surged. My breathing turned rapid and shallow.

“What… are—”

“I won’t give you the pleasure of seeing me naked,” he spat, tying the blindfold tightly behind my head.

The moment darkness swallowed my vision, panic surged through me, and my heart began pounding even faster.

“No…! Take it off. I promise I won’t look,” I whispered, but he only answered with an angry grunt.

The sound of his zipper made my entire body lock up.

Never would I have thought that my first time would be like this. I had always imagined it would be with my fated mate—someone who loved me, cherished me, and held me gently. I never imagined being taken like a prisoner by a monster who blamed me for his mate’s death.

Forceful hands gripped my thighs and forced them wide. I tried to pull away out of pure panic, but he slammed my head down onto the desk and leaned close to my left ear.

“You are my breeder. You will bear me an heir to replace the son you stole, and then you will leave this kingdom forever,” he snarled, his hot breath brushing my skin. “Not a move or a sound from you.”

His warning forced me to stay quiet. Even my shaky breaths stopped in my throat.

I felt the thick, burning tip of him press against my cold, untouched entrance. My heart hammered in the pitch darkness. With a brutal jerk, he yanked my hips back and plunged straight inside me without any preparation.

“Ahhhh!”

A sharp wave of pain tore through me as his full length ripped past my barrier and took my virginity in the most brutal way possible.

Lennox let out a low, animalistic groan against my neck—whether from satisfaction or pure hatred, I couldn’t tell. He pulled out almost completely and slammed right back in.

“Ahh!”

The tearing pain was unbearable.

He instantly gripped my hair and violently yanked my head off the desk.

“One more sound from you and I will fuck you to death,” he threatened, slamming my face back down onto the hard wood.

“Do you have any idea what you’ve taken from me?” he demanded bitterly. “Evelyn was everything to me, and you destroyed it all.” He grunted, pulling back before driving deep inside me again.

I muffled every cry, locking my jaw tight as he began thrusting in a fast, punishing rhythm, aggressively taking my body. He gathered my long hair into a tight fist and pulled it back like a leash while his heavy pelvis smashed against me over and over. The raw burning consumed everything. I wanted to scream, but the black suppression collar left me too weak to fight an Alpha King. All I could do was grip the edge of the desk and take the hard thrusts in silence while he had his way with me.

“This is your life now,” he grunted, his large palms clamping onto my waist so tightly his fingers dug into my bruised flesh. “You thought you could slaughter a queen and face no consequences? You will pay for every ounce of blood she lost.”

He groaned deeply, slamming deeper and harder until the heavy desk began to squeak and slide against the floorboards. Lennox continued for several agonizing minutes, his angry grunts and heavy breaths echoing through the quiet bedroom.

Suddenly, he stopped. With a sharp, aggressive jerk, he pulled out of me completely, leaving me collapsed flat on the desk, my body trembling and my breath coming in ragged, shallow gasps.

I waited in the dark, clutching the wood, terrified he wasn’t finished.

“Leave.”

The cold command vibrated through the room.

A quiet sob finally escaped my lips. I reached up with trembling hands, loosened the blindfold, and yanked it off. Firelight stung my eyes. More tears spilled down my cheeks as I slowly lifted my battered body off the desk. When I tried to stand, I looked down at my shaking thighs and saw them heavily stained with fresh blood.

Sobbing softly, I tried to walk, but my legs gave out and I fell hard onto the marble floor.

I lifted my gaze. King Lennox was already sitting across the room in a heavy leather armchair, a glass of dark whiskey in his hand. He was fully dressed again, looking completely calm and collected. No one would ever guess the cruelty he had just inflicted on that desk.

“What are you waiting for? Get out.”

I forced myself to crawl across the cold floor toward the white robe. Clutching it against my chest, I dragged myself upright and slipped it over my shoulders. The silk scratched against the raw arrow wound on my thigh.

Once covered, I glanced back at him. Our gazes locked. This time I didn’t look away. Lennox stared into my eyes with chilling promises of greater punishment and pain, as if silently telling me that this horrific night was only the beginning of my sentence.

“Get out,” he commanded one last time.

Ignoring the sharp, tearing pain between my thighs, I forced myself to walk toward the massive doors. I pushed them open and stepped into the brightly lit hallway. The moment the heavy doors shut tightly behind me, the last of my adrenaline vanished. My vision went pitch-black. My knees buckled, and I collapsed heavily onto the floor, losing consciousness.