The Serpent Kiss
My hand slapped Lina's cheek hard. The loud crack echoed in the quiet room. A thin line of red appeared on her mouth. "Hmm," I thought, a quiet hum in my chest. "That's how I like it."
Seeing her flinch, the quick pain in her big eyes, made me feel a strange thrill. How dare a human girl, a nobody, not listen to me? The nerve of her. The sheer rudeness. Since I couldn't have my own fated mate alive with me, since that terrible fate stuck to me like a rotting cloth, every single girl, every weak female, should pay for it. They were all part of the cruel joke played on me. A curse, a bad twist of fate, put on me because of them, because they even existed.
Lina lay on the floor, like a crumpled mess of cream silk and lost innocence. It was a sad sight. Her tears started to fall, hot and fast, making clear paths through the dust on the marble floor. But even as tears streamed down, her eyes, full of a raw, deep hurt, never left mine. A tiny spark, maybe defiance or shock, still stayed in her eyes. It was an annoying spark that I planned to put out.
"Stand up and do what I said right now!" I commanded, my voice like an icy whip cutting through the silence. I stood straight, my body stiff, not feeling any sorrow. This is how it should be. They, these weak, unimportant creatures, meant nothing at all. They were just here to refresh my blood, to keep me alive, to give me more years, more power. They were just tools, easy to throw away and easy to replace.
Slowly, painfully, Lina pushed herself up. Her hands, still shaking, went to her dress, smoothing down the crumpled silk. It was a useless try to get back some respect. Her eyes, red and swollen, quickly looked at me, then at Lucian, then back at me. It was a desperate plea for understanding, but I had no plan to give it to her. Then, with a slow, hesitant movement, she started to spin gently, just as she was told. A broken doll, dancing to a cruel song, her sadness was like a twisted show for my fun.
Lucian, who had stood up from his chair when he heard the slap, now stood with his arms crossed. A lazy smile was on his face. His eyes, dark and dangerous, stared hungrily at Lina's backside, looking at every bit of her as she turned. He watched her like someone who knows a lot about art admiring a rare piece, every curve, every small move. His own twisted pleasure was almost as good as mine.
"Alpha Kade," Lucian purred, his voice thick with pure pleasure, "she's exactly what you needed. So easy to deal with. So… willing." He burst out laughing, a loud, booming sound that echoed through the hall. It was full of cruel amusement, a song of our shared dislike for her.
"Hmm," I thought, a quiet feeling of happiness buzzing under my skin. The agency did a good job of bringing her to me. Maybe they understood what I needed better than I thought. I paused, lifting my hand a little in the air, a quiet signal for Lina to stop.
Lina stopped at once, her movements jerky, like a puppet whose strings had been suddenly pulled. She was shaking, a clear tremor shaking her whole small body. But I didn't care. Her fear was just more fuel for me. My eyes swept over her, looking at every detail, then pushing her away in my mind. My mouth twisted in disgust. She was a bother, an irritating distraction, another reminder of what I had lost.
"Strip, girl," I commanded, the words flat, without feeling, but carrying the weight of total power. There was no room for arguing, no space for not obeying.
Her eyes, still wet with tears, quickly looked at mine. A flicker of something I hadn't seen before, a flash of pure terror, lit up inside them. It was a terror that thrilled me, a tiny spark of satisfaction in the cold empty space where my heart should have been. She blinked once, twice, as if she hadn't heard me right. As if the words themselves were too monstrous to understand, too dirty to be real.
"What?" she whispered, her voice barely a breath, a weak ghost of a sound. "Sire… I… I don't understand." Her confusion was almost funny. As if there was anything to understand beyond my total will. As if her understanding mattered at all.
"Don't play dumb," I growled, taking a step closer, crowding her, forcing her to instinctively take a step back until her back hit the cold marble wall. "You heard me. Strip. Now." My eyes burned into hers, daring her to not listen to me again. The smell of her fear, sharp and strong, filled my nose, like a powerful drink. It was exciting, a sweet, dark wine.
Her face, already pale, lost all color, leaving her ghostly white. Her lips opened a little, but no sound came out. She looked like an animal caught in a corner, with wide eyes and trapped, with no way out. Her fingers, those delicate, shaking fingers, went to the collar of the cream dress, fumbling with the complicated buttons. She stopped, her movements slow, unsure, as if her arms and legs were made of lead, heavy with fear.
"Having trouble?" Lucian's voice cut through the air, dripping with sarcasm, a mocking echo of my own cruelty. He pushed off the liquor cabinet, a fresh glass of amber liquid in his hand, and started to walk towards us. His eyes never left Lina. His presence made the heavy feeling in the room even stronger, making it thicker, harder to breathe.
"Perhaps she needs some encouragement, Alpha," Lucian suggested, his smile getting wider, showing too many teeth, a dangerous gleam in his eyes. He held up his glass, swirling the liquid, as if making a toast to her coming shame. "A little push."
Lina flinched hard, a small, quick jump that clearly showed her terror. Her eyes quickly looked between me and Lucian, a raw, open fear blooming in them, a quiet scream. Her hands dropped from her collar, grabbing the silk fabric as if it was the only thing protecting her from the terrible reality happening around her. Her chest moved up and down, taking in rough, desperate breaths, each one showing how scared she was.
"I… I can't," she choked out, her voice raw with held back tears, a weak whisper. "Please, sire. I can't. My father… he taught me better than this. I came here to work. To earn an honest living. Not… not for this." The words tumbled out, a desperate, useless plea, a last try to appeal to a mercy that just didn't exist in me.
"Honest living?" I scoffed, my voice was like a cruel whisper, full of disrespect. "You think any woman who steps into my house, into my world, has an 'honest living' to speak of? You think you have a choice, little girl? You gave up your choices the moment you stepped across my doorstep." I leaned in closer, invading her personal space, forcing her to tilt her head back even further to meet my eyes. "Your 'father' isn't here, Lina. Your 'father' can't protect you from me. No one can. You are totally alone."
Her eyes filled with fresh tears, but she blinked them back, refusing to let them fall. A stubborn, annoying strength I wanted to crush, to break completely. It was an insult to my power, her refusal to completely fall apart.
"Alpha, perhaps she needs a demonstration," Lucian chimed in, his voice soft, almost a gentle touch, but full of a dark suggestion. He was closer now, his hand reaching out, hovering near her shoulder, a quiet threat.
Lina gasped, a small, terrified sound, and quickly pulled back, pressing herself against the cold marble wall as if trying to melt into it. Her eyes were fixed on Lucian's hand, then on my face, a desperate, quiet question, a quiet plea for saving her.
"No!" she cried, her voice getting louder, a weak protest that sounded dangerously close to a scream. "Please! Don't touch me! I… I'll do it. Just… just tell me why. Why are you doing this?" Her voice broke on the last word, filled with a raw, painful confusion that only made my anger stronger. Why? As if I owed her an explanation. As if her feelings mattered. As if her weak mind could even understand how much I was suffering, how much rage I felt.
"Why?" I repeated, a low, deep laugh rumbling in my chest, a dark, mocking sound. "Because I can. Because I own you. Because you are here to serve my purpose, whatever that may be. You are a resource, nothing more. And resources are meant to be used." I watched her, feeling huge satisfaction as despair bloomed in her eyes, covering the last bits of defiance. It was a beautiful thing, the breaking of a spirit, the putting out of hope.
"Don't test my patience again, Lina," I warned, my voice dropping to a dangerous whisper, a tone that promised pain worse than anything she could imagine if she didn't obey. "My patience, like my mercy, is a limited thing. And for you, it is quickly running out. Now, strip."