Isabella
Last I recall, my mouth held iron and memory. There he was again.
Heavy pain ran through me, as if I were stitched up after being ripped open. Each muscle burned without letup. A raw soreness lingered between my legs, pulsing with every breath, bringing back flashes of how often he pushed inside. The sheets twisted tight in my fists, damp from holding on too hard.
Kai was gone.
A chill crept through the dark fabric lying close at hand.
Chains held my arms fastened to the bed frame, silver like before, though stretched out so far they let me shuffle toward the toilet. Could be kindness showing through. Might just be a smarter kind of torment instead - hard to tell which yet.
Up I got, slow. My neck throbbed - sharp heat there, sudden and raw.
There I was, staring back from the tall glass on the far wall, barely familiar. A moment passed before I realized it was me.
Bare skin. Marks pressed into me - fingers left their print. Dried blood streaks along my neck, across chest, between legs. Strands of hair tangled, stuck to sweat and salt.
And glowing.
A soft glow, almost like starlight caught beneath the surface, showed up one morning. Not shiny - just different, quieter somehow.
Something in his touch began shifting who I am.
I hated it.
I felt like tearing it away.
A creak broke the silence as the door swung open. No warning came before it moved.
Into the room came Kai, bare above the waist, droplets still clinging to strands of damp hair. Loose gray sweats hung low on their hips as they stepped forward. A tray balanced in both hands shifted slightly with each movement. Water had slicked back their curls just minutes before. Steam likely still clung to the bathroom walls behind them.
A plate sits heavy on the table. Red juice seeps through charred edges of meat. Warm bread rests nearby, golden from melted butter. Beside it, an avocado split wide, green flesh exposed under soft light.
Funny how hunger makes noise that bounces off walls.
With the tray placed on the bed, he released just one wrist - leaving the other fixed to the headboard - for eating. The meal came first, restraint still half in place.
"Eat," he said. His voice lacked any rise or fall. Emotion absent. The words just hung there.
With the fork in hand, the steak took a hit as if it needed finishing off once more.
That moment, he saw me rip through it without control. A wild look took over my face.
Only after food covered less than half the plate did words come from him.
"The council wants you executed at dawn tomorrow. Publicly. Slowly."
My tongue ran across my mouth. What about you
"I bought you."
I froze.
Foot propped on stone, he stood like someone who'd seen too many crowns come and go. His gaze stayed low, hands locked tight across his chest. Not impressed. Never impressed.
"Fifty million dollars. Plus the entire Silver Fang territory border lands. Signed the papers an hour ago."
A slight lean came to his neck. The angle shifted without warning.
"You're not a slave anymore, little wolf. You're property. My property. They can't touch you now."
That moment hit me so hard I couldn't stop. Breathing became impossible between gasps.
"You paid fifty million for a rogue whore who murdered your brother?"
"I paid fifty million," he said quietly, "to make sure no one else ever touches what's mine again."
Footsteps dragged, heavy, like something hunting.
Bent at the knees atop the mattress. The body lowered itself downward. A moment of stillness settled in place.
Fingers clamped under my jaw, pressure building till it stung.
"You killed Lukas. That debt is paid in blood and cum and every scream you gave me last night. From this moment forward, you belong to me completely. Body. Breath. Future. All of it."
Fingers dug slow into the new wound on his skin.
"Say it."
Spit blood across his face once more.
Still as stone. A slow wipe across his thumb, then drawn into his mouth, quiet and gone.
That smile came slow. Genuine, not faked. It chilled more than hurt.
"Good girl."
He stood up.
"Shower's through there. Clothes in the closet. All black. All your size. You have thirty minutes."
My gaze tightened. What came next?
"Then I parade you in front of my pack at dinner so they can smell me all over you and learn what happens when they look at what's mine."
Down the hall he moved toward the doorway.
"Oh, and Isabella?"
Still facing forward, he stayed put.
"If you try to run before the full moon, I will hunt you down, drag you back by your hair, and fuck you on the front lawn until you can't walk for a week."
Behind his back, the door shut without a sound.
The loose band around my arm caught my eye. A gap showed where it didn't close. My skin peeked through the space. Metal edges bent slightly outward. Light slipped between fabric and metal. The fit felt off today. Not tight, just wrong somehow.
Later, a sharp throb where teeth had pressed into skin.
After that, the steak knife remained gripped in my palm.
I smiled.
Ready, set, go.