Alec POV
When I finally returned to my room, the scent of my newly-found mate already waved over me in the hallway. It was absolutely mouthwatering: a perfect combination of lavender and honey. As the venom pooled into my mouth, I swallowed it back, the connection that I felt with the infuriating woman being stronger than my thirst for her blood. The second her scent had enveloped me in the throne room, I had known she was mine. She was my mate. As soon as I laid eyes on her, I wanted her like no other woman before her. The beast within me, the same that hungered for her blood, also longed to make her mine. To have her underneath me, her legs wrapped around my waist, her hair sprawling around her like a halo. I had to keep my thoughts from going further, reminding myself that she had been less than recipient to my advances before. My mate turned out to be aggravating and incredibly dim-witted to an almost nauseating degree: she refused to acknowledge the bond we obviously shared. She was attracted to me, there was no doubt in my mind about it, her body had responded to me as it should. However, she was more stubborn than a mule, struggling to get away from me, rather than submitting. Taming the beast, I recalled the vow I had made to never force myself on a woman after that particular night. As I neared the door, I drew the key from my pocket, before realizing I did not hear a heartbeat. Her scent was weak as well, as if she hadn't been here for quite some time. Within a second, I had put the key in the lock, discovering it was not locked anymore. I threw the door open, confirming what I already knew: she wasn't there.
I growled lowly, anger filling my veins. Whoever dared to take her from my room, whoever dared to challenge my authority on the subject, was in for a very unpleasant surprise. I whipped around still growling, before taking a deep sniff of the air. There was no other scent but mine and hers. But that was impossible. The door had been locked, only to be opened from the outside. Surely, she couldn't have broken out... I had only been gone for half an afternoon. Sniffing the air once more, I rejected that thought. Unless there was someone that left no scent, she broke out indeed. For god's sake... That woman did not know what was good for her. And I was very intend on teaching her just that. She was going to learn. The hard way. I started tracking her, yet soon lost the scent. She must have escaped relatively quickly after I left.
"Demetri." I growled loudly instead, my anger seeping through every letter. Demetri was in front of me within a second, a fearful look in his eyes. He was my friend, yet he knew better than to cross me: him being my friend did not make him exempt from my gift. "Where is she." I growled, Demetri's eyes flashing from confused, to shocked and finally amused and understanding.
"I thought you locked her in there."
"I did." I was curt, not wanting to waste any time with useless conversation.
"She is an ingenious thing..." He trailed off as he saw my murderous look, before nodding and seemingly zoning out. As soon as he moved, I followed, trusting his gift. After a few seconds, I realized we were moving to the kitchen and I heard voices coming from the place. Evelyn. I threw open the door to the kitchen, which creaked in its hangers, the wood splintering slightly under the force. Demetri was on my side, staring at the scene in as much disbelief as I.
Inside, were my mate and sister. Smiling.
"And there I thought I had seen it all." Demetri mused as my sister's head shot to me, an entertained expression in her eyes. A second later, Evelyn also looked my way. Shock was almost immediately replaced by irritation and her eyes narrowed as she recognized me. She, however, had no right to be angry. She dared to break out of the room, even when I told her to stay there.
"Brother, how lovely of you to join us."
Evelyn POV
I had been talking with Jane about a variety of things before the door was thrown open. The sound of cracking wood echoed through the room. My heartbeat increased immediately and I could only just keep myself from spilling the remainder of the soup all over myself. Jane seemed relaxed, looking at the door. When I turned my head to the door as well, part of me already knew what I would see. Still, I was annoyed at seeing him again so soon. Next to him was Demetri, who looked absolutely shocked for some reason.
"Brother, how lovely of you to join us." Jane spoke, amusement in her voice. Alec did not seem to share that emotion. His eyes were darkening once more as he looked at me. Rage was clear behind them and I swallowed back the fear. Within a flash, he was in front of me, making me stumble back and drop the bowl in fear. It broke into a thousand little pieces on the floor, the small amount of soup that was still in there splattering everywhere.
"I commanded you to stay in my room." Alec growled, his eyes piercing mine. "You shall learn not to disobey me again." The fear I felt was soon replaced by determination and rage once again coursed through my veins as he treated me as no more than his property.
"I told you I would not stay there." I spoke angrily, straightening my back. "And I told you before, you have no say over me."
"You will obey." Alec simply repeated, before grabbing my arm within a fraction of a second. His cold grip was tight, surely leaving bruises. Immediately, I struggled against him, knowing it was useless, yet unable to go meekly.
"I'd rather die than submit."
