Chapter 6 Chapter 6
Anya’s POV
"Compare the two phrases," he said, his voice dropping into a tone of pure, cutting condescension, as if speaking to a particularly dim-witted child. "Personal slave. Sex slave. They have two very different meanings."
He leaned in, his cool breath ghosting over my ear, making me flinch. "What, in all your human presumption, made you think I would want to fuck a fragile, trembling thing like you?"
His words hit me like a physical slap, the sheer contempt in them more painful than a blow. It wasn't just a rejection; it was an insult of the highest order.
I scrambled backward, ripping myself from his grasp with a sudden burst of adrenaline. I stumbled and nearly fell, landing on my feet a few inches away. I was breathing heavily, as if I'd been running, my heart pounding with humiliation and a new, different kind of fear.
"No, Alpha!" I gasped, holding my hands up. "That... that's not what I meant!"
His eyes narrowed to icy slits. "Did you just raise your voice at me?"
I flinched, my hands flying up instinctively as if to ward off a blow. "No, A-Alpha! I-I didn't..."
His denial was flat and final. "I heard it. You did."
He rose from the bed in one fluid, terrifying motion. He just kept rising, a mountain of shadow and muscle, until I had to crane my neck back just to see his face. He towered over me. I felt utterly insignificant, like a field mouse staring up at an eagle.
"I—I was only trying to say that's not what I meant!" I stammered, the words tumbling out in a panicked rush before I could stop them. "I meant... I wasn't thinking that way because... well, you're not my type, Alpha! So I wasn't... I wasn't implying I wanted to..."
My mouth clamped shut, but the words were already out, hanging in the air like a death sentence.
Oh gods, what did I just say? It was true, though. I didn't care if he was the most handsome, powerful being on earth; I had no desire to be his next victim, dead by sunrise.
The effect was instantaneous. He didn't just get angry. He... froze. His expression went utterly blank, his head tilting with a look of such profound, cold disbelief that I wished the floor would swallow me whole.
He looked as if no one, in his entire immortal life, had ever dared say such a thing.
Then, he took one slow step forward.
I instinctively took one step back.
Another step from him, his boots silent on the stone.
Another scrambling, terrified step back from me. My body was trembling so violently I could barely stand. He didn't stop until my back hit the cold, hard wall.
Trapped.
He stopped, just out of reach, and that terrifyingly quiet voice filled the room.
"'I'm not... your type?'" he repeated, as if tasting a foreign, poisoned word. "Hmm?"
Oh, gods. I didn't just offend the Alpha. I think I just signed my own death warrant.
My back was pressed so hard against the wall I thought I might fuse with the stone. I gave a frantic, jerky nod, the words spilling out in a desperate, nonsensical torrent.
"Y-Yes... I just meant... a servant shouldn't presume... I must respect my Alpha, t-that's all..."
My cheeks were on fire. Gods, what am I even saying? I was digging my own grave. You’re so done, Anya! You are so, so done.
He didn't move back. Instead, he leaned in, closing the last bit of space between us. I squeezed my eyes shut as his face lowered, his lips brushing the ultrasensitive skin just below my ear.
I was paralyzed, every muscle locked, as he inhaled, long and deep.
He was smelling me. Like a predator tasting the air to see if its prey was worthy.
Oh, someone please, please help me.
My eyes flew open, darting to the locked door. I prayed with every fiber of my being that someone would knock, that anything would happen to break this agonizing, terrifying moment.
Suddenly, he let out a low, heavy sigh—a sound that was almost a growl—and jerked back, putting a foot of space between us. His eyes were cold, expressionless.
"Human."
I stared, blinking, my mind completely blank with fear, waiting for the killing blow.
"Get back to work."
The words didn't register at first. It was a dismissal. Just like that.
I didn't need to be told twice. I bowed my head, my body still trembling, and fled. I fumbled with the lock, threw the door open, and ran.
Don't look back, Anya! Don't run, don't trip, just go!
I burst out of the chamber and didn't stop until I was halfway down the main corridor, finally collapsing against a tapestry, gasping for air I hadn't known I was holding.
I'd barely caught my breath when the sharp voice of the head maid, Madam Divina, made me jump. "There you are! Stop dawdling. We need every available hand in the kitchens, now!"