All Chapters of The Lost Heiress of the bleeding throne : Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

ELEANORThey always knocked twice—never once, and never three times. Just two crisp raps on the rusty old iron door that was corroding faster than I was.I knew what the knock meant. It was breakfast time, and if I was lucky today, it wouldn’t be spat on. If I were unlucky, it’d come with a side of insults.Today felt like both."Hey, freak!" a familiar she wolf's voice rang out through the open crack in the door. "Your king has eaten. It’s your turn to eat the leftovers."I didn’t move at first. Not because I was stubborn—no, I’d lost whatever spark I had long ago. My muscles were too stiff, and the tingling in my bones was warm against the chill outside. Finally, I struggled and got up from the ragged mat that passed for my bed.Trisha stood half-naked, the only thing covered, her crotch. She was Baron's latest entertainment for the night. Her mouth was bruised from his kisses, her hair a chaotic mess, and in her hand was a tray that smelled of eggs, burnt toast, and something vague

ELEANORI woke to ice-cold water washing over my skin like a thousand needles.I opened my eyes abruptly and the world came into focus, cold and unforgiving.I soundlessly gasped, my mouth forming a scream that would never find voice in my throat."You done drooling, mute?" The voice was shrill and acidic.Cora, another one of Baron's preferred bedwarmers. She stood over me with an empty bucket and a self-satisfied glint in her eye. Her red hair was sex-tousled, lips still swollen and smug."I thought you were dead," she said, kicking my ribs with her toe. "Shame. Would've been the most useful thing you've ever done so far.”I blinked upwards at the ornate ceiling, at the gold-imprinted crest of Moon Bliss that appeared to be mocking me. I didn’t belong here.I was still in his room it seems.The scent of sex still clung to the sheets. My clothes were damp and my hair stuck uncomfortably to the back of my neck. The ache in my chest had dulled into a heavier type of pain. The type that

ELEANORFor the first time in forever, when I woke up, the world wasn’t spinning.In fact, it was silent, too silent, and too warm to be on the forest floor.The roof above me was new, with smooth black wood beams, and sunlight seeping between the curtains in narrow strips.My fingers were clenched in a blanket that was soft, not tattered like my normal one, and scented lightly with something herbal and fresh.The last thing I remembered—I took a breath as it hit me like a punch.Baron's smirk. The laughter of the pack. The wolves.The metallic taste of blood in my mouth, as I ran for my life.And then, I remembered the golden-brown eyes that paralyzed me before everything went black.I sat up too fast, my heart racing, and froze.I was in a bed — not my pallet on the dirty floor, not even a pack-house cot.A bed, neatly drawn-up sheets, and I was wearing… something else.It was a gray, loose cotton shirt and matching soft trousers, too.My skin was clean, and there was no dried bloo

ELEANORI woke up with my heart beating violently against my chest.My nightshirt clung to me, damp from sweat, and my hair stuck to my forehead.The thoughts from the nightmare lingered—Baron's smile, Trisha's laugh, the other woman's fingernails raking up and down his back while I stood there frozen in the doorway.The scream in my chest did not make a sound.I worked my elbows under me, wheezing for air as though it would take away the irritating memory.Movement caught my notice.At the corner of the room, an aged woman stood by the vanity, gently setting up tiny glass vials and wrinkled clothes.Her hair was silver-colored and coiffed neatly, her back straight despite her age.I involuntarily pulled the blanket up to my chin.She turned at the motion. Her face was soft, lined from years of smiling, not from frowning like most people did.Her eyes warmed when they landed on me, and I felt something icy thaw in my chest.“Child,” she said, her voice gentle, like she’d known me for

ELEANORBlood.It was everywhere.On the ground, in his hands, in my hair where it had sprayed when he—I shut my eyes, but it didn't drown out the sound.That sound.The wet sound of flesh tearing from bone.When I opened them again, he was standing over the body—or what was left of it—blood dripping down his arm, his chest rising slowly and deliberately.And for a heartbeat, he wasn't a man at all.I could see something darker, taller and heavier leaking through his outline.Its shoulders were hunched, its head bowed, like the most fearsome of predators.Dark smoke poured from it, engulfing the sunlight around his form, and his eyes… his eyes weren't golden-brown anymore.They were on fire.I blinked hard, and the image vanished just like that. And then, he was just… him again.But the silence in the yard was so intense I could hear the blood dripping from his fingers.Dylan's voice cut through it, near and cutting. "Eleanor."I whipped my head around, and he was suddenly in front o