Enjoys her misery

Enjoys her misery

The heat suppressed, only for the night, and I managed to get a peaceful sleep, even when in the tower. I didn’t toss or turn. In fact, I didn’t even wake up. The air was filled with my mate’s scent and that alone provided me all the comfort my body needed. When I managed to wake up, the sun was gleaming at the tall walls of the room.

The crows were at the window of the room, nicking their beaks at the glass window that couldn’t be reached by anyone. Their calls woke me up from my sleep. I stared at the wall in front of me for a moment before deciding to turn, but as soon I began to, I realized there was something around my wrists. Something odd.

My head quickly snapped to the right where I found myself restrained to the frame of the bed. I turned to the left and found my other hand in the same position, restrained.

I didn’t think, I only screamed. "Lucien!" It was a loud, screeching sound that left my throat when I called his name.

He wasn’t here, not on the bed anymore. The door of the room was shut and I was alone. I screamed his name again and this time, the crows fled from the window and a few seconds later, silence wrapped around me.

I tugged on the restraints with all my might but they didn’t fall loose. Panic tightened my throat, leaving me breathless as I darted my head left and right. The rough material of the restraints scraped against my skin when I pulled again. They wouldn’t budge and I remained there, completely immobile.

The room felt cold now, the warmth long gone, replaced by an unsettling chill that seeped straight into my bones. My heart thudded hard in my chest as I desperately scanned the room, searching for any sign of him. But he wasn’t here.

Confusion set in, mingling with fear. Why would he restrain me here? In this room? Again? What was he planning on doing? None of it made sense.

We spent the night together and I knew he slept with me, for a few hours at least. I felt his warmth, but now all I felt was cold. Questions swarmed my mind, but there were no answers in sight.

Was this his plan all along?

My head cocked to the door as I heard footsteps in the distance. The door was wide open and I could hear the steps echoing across the staircase outside. My heart skipped a beat and a surge of hope rushed through me. But as the footsteps grew nearer, my hope turned into disbelief, then anger.

It was just not him. He wasn’t alone.

My eyes widened as I saw him leading another woman into the room. Her eyes were vacant, she barely looked at me, she just followed Lucien’s lead. It was as if she was under some kind of spell, completely submissive to his will.

"What are you doing?" I questioned, my voice as low as it could get. My head wasn’t clear as I had just woken up but I knew what I was seeing. Another woman.

She wasn’t ugly, she was pretty and she wasn’t old either.

She was a young woman and he was holding her hand. His eyes glinted with sadistic pleasure as he sat down on a chair across the bed, in front of me. His eyes remained on me, challenging me. The woman moved when he leaned back on the chair, she moved onto his lap.

"Oh, don’t be so surprised. Did you really think I’d let you do everything as you wish, as you enjoy, whenever you feel like?" he asked me while looping an arm around her. His voice dripped with amusement. "Did you think I’d let you go so easily after what you had done? I’m starved, Aurora."

I gritted my teeth while pulling on the restraints. "You’re sick. Using innocent people to satisfy your twisted desires. It’s despicable."

He chuckled, his fingers trailing lazily along the woman’s neck. She smiled at him and let him continue. "Despicable?" he asked me. "You speak of innocence and twisted desires, yet you willingly came to me last night, seeking what I could give you while offering me exactly what I wanted after taking the only one thing I need for my survival."

"I apologized for it—"

He cut me off before I could finish. "If you were even a part of what I am, you’d have a darkness that’s far more sinister than mine, Aurora. So don’t talk about innocence here when the only innocence you contain is between your legs."

My fists loosened as I sat there in silence, letting the truth hit me. He pulled the woman closer to himself before sinking his teeth into her throat and feeding from her. Jealousy curled inside me and as much as I wanted to look away, I couldn’t. My teeth clenched at the sight in front of me. There was no escape from this.

The woman didn’t scream. Rather, she enjoyed it—him.

My mate.

My eyes narrowed, lower and lower, as low as they could go, but I could still hear them breathing. I sank my nails into my palms, holding back my rage. He was taking his victory, he was enjoying this, and he wanted me to feel exactly what I was feeling now.

Jealous. In his control. Miserable.

When he finished, there was blood on his mouth and satisfaction in his eyes. The color that was once gone returned to his face and he smiled at me, wickedly. The woman pressed her hand against her throat, stopping the blood.

He didn’t even hesitate before offering his blood to her, to heal her wound and to ensure she wouldn’t get sick. The action of her taking his blood further fueled my anger. It was like someone had thrown petrol on the fire raging inside me.

I hated her, I decided. I hated her with a passion that was new to me. But more than her, I hated him for doing this to me. For showing me a sight that was tearing me apart, piece by piece. He knew what he was doing.

He didn’t take my blood, nor did he give me his—yet he was willingly giving someone else.

"There’s just a different delight in drinking blood straight from the source," he whispered, but I heard him well. "Thank you so much for coming here with me, Sierra."

She lifted off his lap and smiled at him, her hand still in his. "Whenever you wish for me, my alpha, I’ll be here." Her voice was soft, coy, quite different from the bitter bile that was rising in my throat. She bowed her head, still smiling, before she walked out of the room, leaving us alone.

I watched his gaze trailing her all the way till she was outside.

When she was finally gone, his eyes returned to me and a grin stretched over his face. He stood and headed to me.

When he got on the bed, I squirmed back. His smile widened, but there was a darkness in his eyes that wasn’t there before. "Going somewhere?" he chuckled, knowing well I couldn’t even move.

It was a nice game he played. Pleasing me, letting me sleep with him, and then tying me up just so I could see him drinking from another woman.

His icy fingers traced the line of my collarbones before he reached the restraints that bound me. "Do you feel that?" he murmured. "That’s what being powerless feels like."

"If you’re done, let me go." I said, my jaw clenched tight.

His lips were still tainted red with blood when he said, "Jealous?"

I swallowed hard and even when I wanted to hide my emotions, I couldn’t. He could read my mind. "Yes."

His eyes flickered with surprise at my honesty. He wrapped his hand around my throat and I no longer could look away from him. Even when in heat, I despised him in a way I never did before. His touch was no longer comforting.

"Does it hurt?" he asked with a hint of concern in his voice. "Seeing me with her?"

"Yes," I admitted, locking my gaze with his. "It does and if you’re done tormenting me, let me go."

"Am I done?" He leaned back and shrugged, enjoying all of this. A bit too much.

With a swift move, he unlocked the restraints and released me. I pulled my wrists down and scurried away from him without wasting a second. I felt his gaze on me when I left the room and ran down the stairs, nearly tripping over every step.

When I made it outside, the cool morning air hit my face, stealing my breath. A tear streaked down my face, hot and fast. I let out a sob and placed my hand over my mouth before anyone could hear it.

Before he could hear it.

I didn’t want him to enjoy my misery.