VI - Killed Her

~AMARA~

I hate the way I can feel his gaze on my skin; I hate how my torment is a source of amusement to him. He drags me through unfamiliar hallways of what seems to be an aged, not so well taken care of mansion, like a dog on a leash.

The walls are a faded gold and gray color, what should have been golden threads woven into the walls to beautify is a murky brown, covered in dust. Old rusted chandeliers hang above our heads, squeaking with each wind as though they will fall on our heads at any second. At first glance I can tell, this mansion has been standing for at least a century, judging from the outdated yet meaningful décor.

Is this where he lives?

Kairox, the king of rogues whose only life goal is to destroy and plunder…then where has all the money he's stolen gone?

I follow him, like said dog because I can't bring myself to do anything else. It is the collar, or is it his scent?

His entirety has this pull that makes me feel strange, makes me go quiet even though I have thousands of words to say.

It is the collar and not the complicated drawings of black ink that crawl up his neck and cover the back of his arms, I conclude as we take a sharp turn.

A tall wooden door stands at the end of the turn, a dead end. And though I have struggled to memorize the three hallways we've passed, I am far too occupied staring at his back, glaring discreetly at the slight curl of his stupid lips as he muses silently to some unspoken joke.

Me, I am the joke.

"What is this place?" I blurt, unable to stop the question.

Kairox reaches for the handle on the tall door and pushes it open, "The kitchen," he gestures further, dragging my eyes from his broad shoulders to the room that spreads out in front of him.

The scent of food instantly assails me, my stomach growling with a loudness that is determined to embarrass me. Heat crawls up my neck and explodes in my cheeks as I look away from Kairox, fully aware that he is now observing me, probably laughing.

Hunger pangs gnaw at my stomach with a vengeance as I try to make out what exactly it is that is being cooked in there. I hear the clangs and bustle of a busy kitchen, can feel the heat emanating from the rather large kitchen.

"I meant…" I murmur in a small voice, "This place…" I gesture at the hallways behind us. The mansion.

He remains silent for a moment, violet eyes regarding me with a look I can't decipher before he shrugs.

"Like I said before," he begins with a hint of something unsettling in his voice, "This is my territory."

"I don't know if you had any form of education, but rogues don't own territories, that's why they're rogues." I retort sharply, tucking my sweaty palms behind me as I gnaw on the inside of my cheek.

A heavy spurt of breath leaves him, right before his not so perfect lips spread into a wide grin.

"So you know who I am."

I grit my teeth and remain silent, ignoring the racing of my heart and the burn of my cheeks.

Never have I met a man who is so blatantly open about his narcissistic nature. He looks rather pleased, even proud that I know who he is.

"Fortunately, your reputation precedes you, people know better than to mingle with you and your...your...barbarians!" I blurt out with a heavy breath. My mind racing with every rumor my father and brother have spread at the dinner table about 'him'.

His grin spreads even wider, "Yet here you are..." he mocks, "At my mercy."

I let out a shaky breath as his feet begin to move, closing the distance between us in two quick strides until his shoes are pressed against my bared toes.

He towers over me like a mountain, his muscular frame darkening every inch of my surrounding until all I can see, feel, fear, is him.

He holds out his index finger, reaching slowly for my collar before his finger slips under the loose band around my neck with ease, eyes dark.

I feel the heat of his finger against my racing pulse, an indescribable feeling gnawing at my lower belly, slithering up my spine and settling in my lower belly like a snake.

A hot snake, if that makes any sense.

His eyes drop from mine, slide lower...I feel the heat on my lips when his violet eyes settle on them, they part involuntarily as I gasp for air and the look in his eyes shifts.

Then those unnatural orbs move lower, to the collar, his grin has died down and all that is left now is an intensity that thickens the air.

His thumb caresses the curve of my neck and a strangled gasp slips past my lips before I can stop it.

I am losing control of myself.

A low rumble leaves him.

A chuckle? A groan?

"Funny how you wear this like a choker, all proper… Makes me want to see you wear nothing but it." He speaks softly, fingers leaving my skin slowly.

"You..." I gasp for air, for control, for proper reasoning.

"You're vile!" I fume, my skin craving more of his touch.

"You're trembling." Comes his quick, unaffected response, and for a moment, I contemplate slapping him again.

Only this time, so hard that his neck might break.

Goddess...now I'm having terrible thoughts about taking a life!

I take a terrified step back, calm my ragged breaths quick enough to hear approaching footsteps.

My eyes snap to the spot behind Kairox in a panic and sure enough there is an unfamiliar man standing at the entrance of the kitchen, holding a wooden spatula and wearing a stained apron and an expression of confusion.

"Kai?" He calls out with a raise of his brow.

Kairox gives me one last glance, one that holds an unspoken warning.

Stay put. It says.

And I can't do anything but that.

He turns around and gives the unfamiliar man behind him a wave.

"Pedro," I can hear the grin though I can't see it.

"Why are you standing out here like a fucking creep?"

I suck in a breath and can't help but flinch.

They just throw around curse words like it's nothing here?

My father wouldn't let me or anyone in the pack speak such atrocities around me, he said it was bad for the mind. And he also said it signified a lower breed, one that we aren't.

But here...

"I want to feed my mate," he reaches behind without looking and grabs my wrist, pulling me forward until I am standing right in front of him, between him and the man he'd just called Pedro.

I get a better look at him. Dark blond hair that is held in a transparent hair net that is in no way hygienic for kitchen work, dark blue eyes and a sneer that is directed at me.

He is almost the same height as Kairox, his build just as big.

"You kept her?!" He looks between the two of us rapidly, his tone incredulous.

"You said you were going to kill her!"

"Wrong," Kairox interjects, "I said I'll think about it," he chuckles, his fingers gripping my shoulders before pushing me forward, closer to the man who looks like he wants to kill me himself.

"And I have," Kairox drums his fingers on my shoulders without rhythm, each tap making my shoulders go taut with tension.

I am fully aware of his presence behind me.

The glare Pedro sends my way.

He wants to kill me.

I swallow nervously, unable to stop my knees from trembling.

My father always said I was too perfect to be given to anyone but Jerome, too pure to be thrown into real society because everyone else was a literal wolf and I was born to be a sheep.

Yet here I am, in a literal den of wolves.

"I can't kill my mate," Kairox adds in a lower, less amused tone, "I need my strength for what's coming."

Pedro's eyes narrow, the edge of his lips pulling up into a snarl, "She's a distraction, remember what we're really fighting for, Kai!"

His fingers stop and tighten almost painfully, "I know exactly what I'm doing."

"Do you?"

"Just feed the woman, Pedro." He shoves me at the man who doesn't bother to catch me as I trip in his direction and almost fall.

"I'll be back to get her in a few hours."

I blink.

What?

I turn abruptly to meet Kairox's eyes, visibly terrified.

He is leaving me here?

His violet eyes meet mine and that annoying grin returns to his lips.

"Be a good girl while I'm away," he murmurs, "Okay, princess?"