The Kept Man Strikes Back Chapter 1 Novels & Stories

Her stomach churned with the wild thoughts. "Why are you here?" She focused on her book again. He took a deep breath. "I want you to take her place!" He declared. Her hand stopped scribbling, she stared at the book for a moment and then her head slowly turned towards the old man, her eyes dared him silently to take back what he had just said.

But as I register the sound of skin hitting skin and the man’s head jerking to the side, I know that Keith has struck him. “Let’s try this again,” Keith says, perfectly in control as the man shakes his head to recover. “Who are you? And who do you work for?” “I’m no one, man,” the stranger tries, blood leaking from his mouth. “I don’t work for anyone.” Keith sighs at that. “I guess breaking a few fingers might help you remember.” True to his word, I watch in disbelief as Keith grabs hold of one of the man’s hands, already making him scream as he begins to twist a finger.

she demanded, struggling to hold in the panic rising in her chest. The man smirked. “I’m just following orders,” **** (author thoughts: is this a kidnap pls?🥲 oh no)

I couldn’t let something like that get to me. Just as I turned to get to my car, a masculine hand grabbed my arm and started to drag me into a narrow alley nearby. “What are you doing? Who are you? Let go of me!” I screamed and fought back desperately, but the man’s grip on me was strong. No one was around to hear me. —————————— To readers：This book will be updated with one chapter per day this week.

I turned the page. The second page was the first incident. Day three of my time at the Keep. A man in the kitchen, dressed as a porter, with a small blade in his sleeve. Stopped by the cook, who had pretended to drop a pot at his feet, while the kitchen boy had run for the guard. The man had not gotten within twenty feet of me. I had been in the throne room with Kael at the time. I had not known.

Then a faint smirk pulled at his lips. “Man still got paid though,” he added under his breath. He straightened up, grip firm on the book now. “Alright…” he said. “Let’s keep going.” And he turned the page.

Each strike fueled by years of rage. Years of fear. Years of stolen childhood. He collapsed against the wall. Sliding slowly to the floor. Blood spread across the floor beneath him. His eyes found mine. Shock. Disbelief. As if he truly hadn’t expected me to fight back. His breathing turned wet. Uneven. Then stopped. The room fell silent. My chest heaved as I stood over him, the fork shaking in my hand. My wolf slowly quieted inside me. The man who stole my childhood lay motionless on the floor.

But as Reid reached the spot, his heart dropped. It wasn’t Raina. It wasn’t Leif. It was a stranger, barely alive, one leg mangled as if bitten through by wild beasts. Reid’s expression froze the instant he saw the man. He rushed forward, grabbed the man by the collar, and shouted through clenched teeth—tears unknowingly streaming down his face: “Who are you?! Why are you here?! Where’s Raina?! Where is she?!” ***

I lay down, with my back to him, and he had to play by the silent rules of the deadly game. Poor Kael was subjected to the greatest torture, and that was to be locked in the small room with the woman his soul knew, but his mind believed was a stranger he needed in order to survive. "As the hearth fire dwindled, I sensed a shift in the atmosphere. Kael, at last, lay down in his cot, but his wolf was anything but calm. He was struggling with the call of the bond, substituting the spiritual hunger with discomfort and suspicion." -Excerpts from "The Black Lion" by Rey.

"Are you all right? Are you hurt? " I held him and helped him stand; I hope that man didn't stab him. "What brought you back? Didn't I tell you to run?" Wait a minute... his voice... sounds like... sounds like... Keep an eye out for Chapter 3!