ARYA His body caged mine, all heat and muscle and reckless power, and I wanted more. I needed more. I barely had time to breathe before he spun me around and pressed me against the cold wall. My palms braced against it, paint smearing under my fingers. He pulled me back by the hips and slammed into me, hard, a cry ripping from my throat. Gods, he felt too good. Too right. And I was so fucking tired of pretending that I didn't crave him. "Fuck—" he growled behind me, the sound of his deep voice making my toes curl. "You want it rough? You need to be ruined, don't you?" "Yes," I gasped, my voice shaking. "By you." There was no hesitation after that. No mercy. Only the brutal rhythm of his hips slamming into mine, each thrust knocking the breath from my lungs. I didn't want gentle. I wanted to feel everything. The burn. The stretch. Him. All of him. "You're mine," he growled, thrusting deep into my core. "Then take me," I breathed. "Fucking claim me, Daxton." And when
Warning: +18 DAXTON The moment Mason burst through the studio doors, his face pale, I knew something was wrong. I dropped the paintbrush in the bucket by my side, turning the unfinished painting away from him. It was my most sacred art. A painting of the woman who'd occupied my heart. "What's wrong?" I asked my brother, and shortly after, Tyrone literally dragged Arya into my studio. She looked dazed, trapped in a world I couldn't see. "Earlier this morning, a man named Cassian came around, and Arya claimed that she was his girlfriend. But the thing is...she's never met him before," Mason said, and I narrowed my eyes, a sinking feeling settling in my guts. "This person dared to walk into my property?" I asked, and Tyrone winced. "Just before we could confront him, he whispered something into her ear and vanished into thin air." I frowned, turning to look at Arya who was crouched on the floor, dazed. "He vanished?" I murmured, and Mason nodded. "Wait...your left eye i
ARYA Why would my father join the Obsidian Order? Was it because of my dead mother? Or was there something I was missing? "Your father was promised power. It runs deeper than that—" Daxton's voice trailed off as he curled in on himself, his face losing colour. I'd almost forgotten how critical his condition was. He'd come so close to dying, and because he was suddenly able to walk around without doubling over from exhaustion, I'd truly forgotten that I'd nearly killed him. "What's wrong?" I asked, bringing a hand to his forehead. He was burning up. "Shit," I cursed. How didn't I realize that he was struggling? "Can you stand?" I asked, and he grunted. I helped him up to a sitting position, rising to my feet. "This is humiliating," he mumbled as he stood up, swaying slightly. "I'm not sorry, you know?" I muttered in a low voice, steadying him. He laughed, clutching at his chest. "I deserved it," he croaked as we headed out of the garden together. I helped him throug
ARYA Watching the two powerful men communicate with each other, it was too easy to imagine that King Hadrin had once been in love with Daxton. It was clear from the way Hadrin stared at him. That man had never stopped loving my mate. And it made me feel more than just strange. "You brought her with you to see me. Are you mocking me, Daxton?" The king's voice was laced with grief and hurt. But if Daxton had sensed it, he refused to show it. Instead, his expression went cold. "Maybe. The next time you walk into my property like this, I won't be merely leaving a graze," he said in an icy voice. "Are you still mad because we made fun of your last memory with your mother?" Daxton went so still that I could've sworn that he was no longer breathing. "Get out." They were two simple words, but the way he said them sent shivers down my spine. It was clear that the alpha king had poked him on a sore spot. And it hurt him, badly. Hadrin exhaled sharply, rising to his feet. His gaz
DAXTON My firecracker was like a loaded gun. She stood in front of me, drying my hair with a hairdryer, and even though I couldn't see her, I knew she was stealing glances at me. She was severely tense and had been that way since I deliriously confessed my feelings to her. At first, I didn't remember doing it. But eventually, I did. And now, I was wondering if I'd made a mistake. "Are you okay?" I asked, and she flinched. She must've been lost in thought. She pushed my hair away from my face, her fingers lightly stroking the strands. "Are you really blind?" She asked, and I resisted the urge to smirk. My vision was a little clearer than yesterday. Just a faint blur of shapes and light, but I could sense her better than she realized. And I knew that in no time, my eyesight would heal again. But I wanted to keep this to myself. I wanted her to keep touching me and tending to me just because she thought I was helpless and blind. I nodded, and she sighed. "Are you really not goin
ARYA I fled. And he let me. The monster was blind. Those words repeated themselves over and over again as I stumbled into my room and took off my clothes. Naked, I stood in the middle of the room, panting. Shouldn't I be happy that I'd brought him so low? Why then did my heartache? Tears crawled down my cheeks as I stepped into the bathroom to take a shower. The water was icy cold, but I didn't flinch. I stood there for a while, my heart bleeding dry. Daxton did not deserve my sympathy. He deserved something worse than blindness... Yet... I brought a hand to my neck where he had drunk from me. I closed my eyes, a sigh escaping my lips. My body had desired him. Deep down, there was a part of me that felt uncertain about everything that had happened within the past few hours. I'd been at the verge of accepting him. For once, I'd embraced my feelings. Only for this to happen. Was this really our fate? Why would he kill my dad in the name of protecting me? I needed a cle