All Chapters of The Human Slave Mated To The Alpha king : Chapter 21 - Chapter 27

I surfaced slowly, the way a drowning body drags itself out of deep, stagnant water that doesn't want to let go. My whole frame ached in a way I didn't have a name for a bitter, bone-deep wrongness that had settled into my marrow four days ago and refused to leave."Kiara." Nessa's voice came from somewhere near my left ear, close, low, and terrified. "Drink this. Come on, swallow."She had the rim of a chipped clay cup pressed hard against my lower lip before my eyes could even focus. I swallowed on instinct, the cool water sliding down my raw, parched throat. It helped for about three seconds. Then the cramped room tilted on a violent axis, the stone ceiling spinning so fast my stomach lurched into my throat.I clawed at the coarse wool blanket on the cot, my fingers digging in until my nails nearly split, holding on like the wood might stop the world from throwing me off."I managed to steal a crust of dark bread," she whispered, her fingers trembling as she held a small, stale pie

Zayn PovI didn’t need to be in this filthy room.I could have sent Tristan. I could have made Raphael force the liquid down her throat while I stayed in my study, staring at maps and pretending my chest wasn't caving in. Hell, I hadn't even known the two of them went behind my back to the pack healer until Tristan shoved the dark vial into my hand twenty minutes ago.But the second the bottle was in my palm, I couldn't stay away.I wouldn't admit it not to Tristan, not to Leo, and definitely not to myself but I needed to see her. Even if seeing her lying pale, hollowed-out, and half-dead on a stained cot made a sharp, sickening knot twist in my gut, being this close to her made the roaring fire under my ribs drop to a dull hum. Just breathing the same air as her was a relief so sharp it almost made my knees buckle.And now she was lying there, her mouth clamped shut like a vault, looking at me with eyes full of pure, poisonous mistrust. She genuinely believed I wanted to wipe her out

Zayn povI turned back toward the room, my throat tight as I looked down at the human.Her dark hair was a wild, tangled mess, and her thin shoulders were still trembling, but the pale, hollow look of impending death was gone. The golden light had vanished beneath her skin, but the ghost of it still hummed in the air between us like static before a lightning strike."You can come back to my quarters if you want," the words slipped past my lips before my brain could even process them.The room went dead silent again. Tristan looked like he wanted to jump out of his skin, and Raphael’s hand twitched over his sword belt. Even the slave just stared at me, her mouth parting slightly in sheer, stunned disbelief. I didn't even understand why the hell I had said it. I just knew that the thought of leaving her down in this cold, damp room, surrounded by mold, made a sharp, furious knot twist in my chest.Before she could answer or spit another refusal in my face I turned on my heel and swept o