Semua Bab Bound To The Cursed Lycan : Bab 51 - Bab 60

THEODOSA.Obsidian in the daytime was a different beast entirely.The streets that had felt like a death trap my first night here were now just streets. Busy ones filled with people who looked like they had places to be and things to do. Stall vendors shouted over each other trying to attract customers. Children darted between legs and got yelled at for it. Somewhere nearby someone was frying meat and the smell made my stomach growl loud enough that Afnie glanced over at me with a grin."Perfect timing," she said. "We're almost there."She led me down a side street that opened up into a wider road lined with shops and restaurants. The crowd was thicker here but Afnie navigated through it like she'd done it a thousand times."This place has the best breakfast sandwiches in the kingdom." She pointed at a building with floor to ceiling glass windows that let the sunlight pour through. "Hale says otherwise but Hale is an idiot so his opinion doesn't count."She held the door open and I ste

THEODOSA.Five hours had passed and I still couldn't think about anything else.Damnation or salvation.Those were the only two options Nala's vision had given.I was either going to save Xahen or destroy him and there was no way to know which one until it happened.And now he knew.I'd been pacing Nala's cabin for so long that I was surprised I hadn't worn a path into the floorboards. Afnie had left hours ago to handle council business and Nala had gone somewhere she refused to tell me about. So I'd been alone with my thoughts and my thoughts had not been kind.I kept circling back to last night and the things Xahen had said while he was too drunk to filter himself. How he'd admitted to seeing my face on every woman he'd tried to fuck. How he'd tracked me through the mate bond like he couldn't help himself. How he'd told me to just kill him already because he was tired of waiting for it.Then I thought about the night I'd snuck into his cabin.How he'd woken with gold eyes and pulled

XAHEN. Three bottles in and the memories still wouldn't stay buried.I'd given up on the glass hours ago. Now I was drinking straight from the bottle like some common drunk in a tavern, sitting in the dark of my cabin because the light made my head pound and I didn't have the energy to care about dignity.Damnation or salvation.Nala's words kept circling in my skull like vultures waiting for something to die.Two hundred years. Two hundred years of watching women with that face walk into my life and tear it apart. And now the universe was telling me this one might save me?Bullshit.I took another long pull from the bottle.Knowing I'd run my mouth to her like some lovesick pup while I was blackout drunk irritated me more that I wanted to let it.I didn't remember everything, infact, I practically remembered nothing. I'd handed her weapons she could use against me whenever she wanted.It was stupid, careless and weak.The door swung open and I didn't need to look up to know who it

THEODOSA.I refused to flinch.He wanted me to cower. To stammer and blush and prove that I wasn't serious about this. That I was just some desperate girl who'd crumble the moment he pushed back.I wasn't going to give him that."I want my brother released." My voice came out steadier than I felt. "Sent back to Duskmire safely. In exchange, I'll be yours."Xahen's expression didn't change. He just sat there on his throne, watching me like I was a mildly interesting insect he hadn't decided whether to crush yet."Mine," he repeated."However you want me." The words burned on the way out but I kept going. "Whenever you want me. For as long as you want me."The silence that followed was suffocating.Then he laughed.It was a low, cruel sound that made my skin crawl. "You expect me to believe that? You, the woman with the same face that's put a knife in my chest twice, want me to trust that you'll just... behave?""I'm not asking you to trust me.""Then what are you asking?""I'm asking yo

XAHEN.I couldn't feel my fucking legs.Somewhere between the second and third bottle, they'd decided to stage a mutiny. Traitors, the both of them.Now I was hauling a chest full of gold coins back to the living room and every step felt like my bones had been replaced with wet sand.The bed was still where I'd had it dragged hours ago. Right in the middle of the living room like some kind of depraved altar, which honestly felt appropriate given the evening's activities.Three women were tangled across silk sheets, all soft skin and wicked smiles and the kind of practiced confidence that said they knew exactly what they were doing and how much it was worth.The blonde was stretched out closest to me, looking like sin wrapped in candlelight. The dark-haired one had her chin propped on her hand, watching me with eyes that saw too much for my liking. And the redhead was nursing a glass of wine, her hair catching the light in a way that made something twist behind my ribs.It was the wrong