87

87


Jane

“This is hopeless,” I whispered to myself, falling back against the silk pillows in exhaustion.

For the past hour, I had been struggling to free myself from the thick ropes binding my wrists to the bedposts.

My skin was raw and bleeding from pulling against them, but they hadn’t loosened even a little bit. The Alpha King had made sure I wouldn’t escape easily.

He could return at any moment, and if he found me still here—still helpless—I might never get another chance to run.

The shame was eating me alive from the inside. Vishal had been everything a mate should be—loving, gentle, protective. He would have died before letting anyone hurt me.

And here I was, trapped in another man’s bed, my body used against my will. Even though I hadn’t chosen this, even though I’d fought against it, I felt like I had betrayed the man I loved.

I had to get out of here. I would escape from this monster, even if it killed me. And then I would make him pay for everything — for raping me, for torturing Vishal, for destroying so many innocent lives. I swore by the Moon Goddess herself that I would have my revenge.

I tried pulling at the ropes again, twisting my wrists until they burned, but it was useless. They were too thick, tied too expertly.

My mind drifted to earlier, when Ray had walked in and seen what the Alpha King was doing to me. The horror and disgust on his face had been clear, even though he’d tried to hide it.

I prayed he would come back now, when I wasn’t in such a humiliating position. Maybe he could bring Ella with him.

I needed to warn her about what the Alpha King planned to do to Vishal. Maybe together, they could find a way to save him.

The sound of the door opening made me sit up straight, hope flooding through me. But instead of Ray, I saw four palace servants entering with trays of food.

They bowed their heads respectfully, and I noticed something strange, they weren’t looking at me with shock or pity. They acted as if finding a woman tied to their master’s bed was completely normal.

Either they knew me from before, or this wasn’t the first time the Alpha King had done something like this.

The thought made my stomach turn.

“We brought your meal, Miss,” the oldest servant said, holding out a silver tray filled with expensive-looking food.

I stared at her in disbelief. “How exactly am I supposed to eat with my hands tied?”

“Our master instructed us to feed you by hand, so you don’t need to worry about that,” another servant replied calmly.

Feed me by hand? Like I was a child or an invalid? Rage boiled up inside me, but I forced myself to stay calm.

These women were just following orders. Taking my anger out on them wouldn’t help anyone.

“Thank you, but I’m not hungry,” I said as politely as I could manage.

“I’m sorry, Miss, but you have to eat,” the youngest servant whispered, glancing nervously at the door. “The master said he would have our heads if you weren’t properly fed while he was away.”

My blood went cold. “The Alpha King left? Where did he go?”

I thought he was still in a meeting with Ray because he hadn’t returned to this room since he left to go sign documents with Ray.

“We don’t know, Miss. But he left in a great hurry about an hour ago.”

Fear crashed over me like a wave. He left in a hurry? My mind immediately went to the worst possibility, he had gone to kill Vishal.

“Oh, Moon Goddess, please protect him,” I whispered, my whole body beginning to shake.

The sound of footsteps in the hallway made me look up, and my heart nearly stopped when I saw a familiar face in the doorway.

“Ella!” I cried out, tears of relief flooding my eyes.

She rushed to the bed and threw her arms around me, hugging me as tightly as she could with my arms still bound. “Jane! Thank the Goddess you’re alive!”

I looked at the servants and nodded toward the door. They understood, setting the food trays on a small table before quietly leaving us alone.

Having Ella here felt like a miracle. Maybe the Moon Goddess had heard my desperate prayers after all.

When we finally pulled apart, Ella’s eyes traveled over my bound wrists and torn dress, and I saw the pain and anger flash across her face.

“Don’t look at me like that,” I said quickly, trying to keep my voice steady. “I know I look terrible, but if you keep looking at me with pity, I’m going to start crying and never stop.”

Her expression softened. “Ray told me you were here. I can’t believe that monster tied you up like this. You must have been so scared.”

She reached for the ropes around my wrists, but I pulled back. “No, don’t! If the Alpha King finds out you untied me, he’ll kill you. Especially since you’re Vishal’s sister. I won’t let you get hurt because of me.”

“Then tell me what happened. How did he capture you? The last time we talked, you told me you were safe in the human world."

The memories came flooding back, each one more painful than the last. “That wicked man conspired with my father to lure me back home. My father said he was sick and I should return and become the next Beta. I didn’t know it was just a charade between him and the Alpha King. When I returned, the Alpha King came to our house and captured me.”

“What about my brother? What has he done to Vishal?”

The question I’d been dreading. “He’s keeping him prisoner somewhere. I don’t know where, but he’s using Vishal to control me. He says as long as I cooperate, he won’t hurt him.”

Ella’s face crumpled, and she started crying. “What if he’s already killed him? What if my brother is already dead?”

“No,” I said firmly, trying to convince myself as much as her. “The Alpha King promised he wouldn’t kill Vishal as long as I stayed with him. That’s the only reason I came back here willingly.”

“You can’t trust anything that monster says,” Ella sobbed. “He’s a liar and a killer. He probably only said that to get you to come quietly. Now that he has what he wants, he might go back and kill Vishal anyway.”

Her words hit me like a blow because I knew she was right. The Alpha King was capable of any cruelty, any betrayal. I had been foolish to believe his promises.

“You’re right,” I whispered. “Please, Ella—you have to ask Ray to help us. He needs to find out if Vishal is still alive and where they’re keeping him. Ray is the only one with enough access to find out the truth.”

“Yes, of course. We have to find him before—”

“Find who?”

The deep, cold voice cut through our conversation like a knife, and we both froze.

I slowly turned my head toward the door, my heart stopping completely when I saw the Alpha King standing there.

His dark eyes were narrowed with suspicion and anger, and I could practically feel the dangerous energy radiating from him.

We had been caught.