Thanks everyone for the reviews. People have speculated a lot about who requested Rose and if it was the King who would save her, Abe or Dimitri. Well, the answer is, our Rose doesn't need saving. Girl power baby!.
Chapter 14:
RPOV
My breath caught in my throat and my heart hammered in my chest as I stood outside his quarters. I didn't know how I had gotten here. The last few hours had been a blur. Several women had come in and polished me until I shined. I was wearing my best dress, my hair half up half down. I had insisted so I could wear the hair pins Tatiana had given me. It had been the only moment of clarity while they prepared me for the King.
A tear threatened to leak out of my eyes, but I sniffed the stubborn bastard back. If only Dimitri hadn't been as stubborn as the tear that in the end did fall. I could have survived the King if I had the memory of Dimitri being my first. But now he would take something from me that would break me.
No! I would not break. I made a decision right there and then. The King was not worthy of me. The only reason he wanted me was to spite his own son. I would not lose something so precious to me, to that monster. I would fight and I would win. Maybe he simply wanted Dimitri to think he had me, maybe he would be too drunk to actually do anything. I bet I could charm him in a glass or five. Perhaps pleasing the man with just my hands would be enough. But I would not give him something that belonged to his son.
I wiped the treacherous tear away and sucked in a couple of breaths. Then I opened the door to his majesty's private chambers with more confidence than I felt. I subconsciously dropped my hand to my thigh where I held a small blade in a hidden pocket of my dress. One I had sown in myself, even when I was bad at sewing. My hand went to my bun, and I fingered the cool hidden blade in my hair. No, I wasn't defenseless. I had a strong wolf and weapons, I would fight if I needed to.
When I entered his room, the place reeked of alcohol. Disgusting, but promising. He was sitting barely clothed on a chair that I think was meant to be imposing. He wore only pants at the bottom, his feet and chest bare but for a robe that hung off his shoulders. He had one leg up on the chair and a cup in hand. I saw some had spilled out and onto his chest. This man was the King. He didn't deserve this title. Only strength had permitted him his title and I saw very little off it now. There was a light pressure of his power as there always was when he was around, but none I couldn't handle.
I had a distinct advantage. I knew his power but he didn't know mine. He had no idea I was Alpha. I didn't have the delusion that I was stronger than him, but maybe I was strong enough all the same.
He took another sip and spilled some more. "Look at you. Did you think you were safe? Did you think you were his? Ha. I own everything."
Confirming the only reason I was here was because he wanted to punish Dimitri. I tried not to groan. Dimitri's stubbornness had meant nothing in the end. He might as well have claimed me before. It wouldn't have made any difference. His father would have always called for me, because he didn't need to see Dimitri love me, he just had to see him care. And he did that the day he saved me.
Threatening to cry from the unfairness of it all, I swallowed hard and tried to put on a face of submissive concubine.
"My lord. I am but a servant. To the General or to you." I bowed my head. My reaction seemed to please him. His frown turned into a smile as he stood up from his chair. He was a little unsteady on his feet, but once he got his bearing he moved towards me like a predator.
His power increased and I gritted my teeth. I was debating standing my ground or feigning a reaction. The element of surprise would work best with him. He needed to lower his guard, drink more, pass out without ever remembering I was here.
So I went down on my knees. His eyes sparkled with lust and male dominance. "Yes, that is the position I want you in. On your knees."
He made no secret of the fact that he didn't want me there for worship. I fought the impulse to gag. But he retracted his power and allowed me up as he moved back to the side table to fill his glass again. He poured a second cup and held it up for me. I took it simply because refusing would be stupid.
But I made sure to sip it and not drink it. I would need my mind intact if I was to find a way out of here.
"So tell me. How is my son?" At first I thought he was asking simply how he had been of late. Like a normal father asking about the likes and dislikes of his offspring. But no, he was asking how Dimitri was in bed. And I realized that was another reason I was here. He didn't just want to break his son's toy, he wanted to prove he was superior. The gleam in his eyes told me I wasn't just here for his pleasure. He wanted to humiliate me by claiming my pleasure too. As if he heard my thoughts he replied to his own question.
"Does he make you scream his name, because I will."
He will make me scream Dimitri's name? I nearly laughed at my own runaway thought. I wasn't suicidal enough to let that question out of my head and into the world.
"Does he make you slick between your thighs? Because I will." He moved closer again. He sniffed my hair, but I didn't move. He pulled down one strap of my dress, but still I didn't move.
"When I am done with you, he will be a disappointment to you. Please do tell him that the next time he calls for you."
His mouth was so close to my ear I shivered. He believed it was pleasurable, but he was dead wrong. He pulled down my other strap and forcefully pulled down my dress. I had been properly dressed so I had undergarments on. But it still left me rather naked. The bodice pushed my breasts up and my legs and thighs were bare bar the small piece of lace covering me.
He stepped back and looked at me hungrily. But he didn't move to touch me. Instead he moved to the bed and took off his robe. His arousal was clearly visible through his loose pants. And that gagging reflex returned.
"Come here and show me what you have learned."
He pulled his pants down a little bit and fisted himself. I noticed that despite the obvious blood ties Dimitri hadn't inherited his size from his father. I had yet to see it in all its glory, but the full moon had shown me enough to know that was true. I almost laughed.
But I didn't move. I couldn't. Some primal part of me knew it was stupid and very dangerous. Even naked and drunk this man was a power. But I couldn't move. My wolf was clawing at the surface, rebelling with me against the King. She wanted Dimitri's wolf. I knew she would fight for me, with me. All the way to the end.
I had a flash of Lissa. If I denied the King there was no telling what the repercussions would be, but I had a vast imagination and none of it was good. I wouldn't be there to protect her anymore. But I had given up everything for Lissa. I had stayed as a concubine for Lissa. I had stayed at Sorokin's for Lissa instead of running away. No more. I couldn't give the King what he wanted, what would keep me safe, because in doing so, I would destroy myself and Dimitri. The last part was what gave me iron resolve.
I wouldn't let this pitiful man have the satisfaction of hurting Dimitri.
His growl got me out of my own head. "I said come here."
I stood my ground. "No." I hadn't screamed the word. It held no malice, or fear. It was simply an absolute.
He let go of his already flaccid member and closed the distance to me in record time. He pulled back and I realized too late what he did. His speed and strength testimony that he had earned some of his title as King of Alpha's.
He backhanded me onto the bed. I could taste the blood on the inside of my mouth. He was on top of me in a second. He pinned my hands beside my head. He put his knees on my legs, keeping them pinned and open.
"You bitch." he spat. Small pieces of saliva hitting me in the face and chest. But I was too preoccupied to take much offense.
"I will have you. And you will scream, one way or another." His eyes held an eerie glow that hadn't been there before. I had seen it with Dimitri and myself. It was his wolf shining through. Only Alpha's had this particular power. Only Alpha's wolves were strong enough to penetrate the human barrier.
So scream I did, except not in the way he thought. I screamed in rage as my own power filled me. My wolf was lending me her strength without appearing beside me. I could feel power surge through me like it had on the full moon. But instead of lust I felt rage. Pure rage. It had been a similar feeling as I had when Sorokin had thought me suitable as a whore. Except the intensity had been dialed up to eleven. I twisted my hands and bucked the King off of me. The sheer force of my power having shocked him into releasing me. I was able to free myself and flip us over. I was now on top of him with my hands on his throat. He was struggling to breathe. I felt my canines against my tongue, longer than they should have been. Obviously my power increase had a physical transformation too. I felt more of my wolf on the surface. I imagined some of her features were currently visible in me. I wonder if my own eyes glowed as much as the Kings.
But even in my haze of rage I knew it was mostly shock that held him in my grasp. If I gave him a single moment to recover he would retaliate. And although I wasn't weak. I doubt I could win against the Alpha of Alpha's.
So I made an impulse decision. I picked a blade pin from my hair and without a second thought sliced it across his throat. The blood bloomed immediately. I released him and moved off of the bed. His hands were on his throat trying to stop the bleeding. He was making a gurgling sound which sounded something like an insult but it was too muddled to understand. But the rage in his eyes was clear as was his will to live. I doubt I had sliced deep enough to kill him. Although he was losing a lot of blood. His chest and pants were stained bright red. Even the navy blue sheets were now a deep purple from the amount of blood leaking out of the King.
But I knew I had only bought precious moments. He would heal and heal fast.
I dropped the pin and was desperately looking for a way out of here. My own rage and primal impulse subsided, I clearly saw what I had done and although he deserved everything he got, I was afraid for my life.
Guards came pouring in from a side door and took in the scene. They had probably heard their King screaming or the blood filled version of a scream. I hadn't heard it. I saw his mouth move and his eyes strain but I heard no sound other than my heartbeat in my ears. One of the guards worked me to the ground and I went, having spent so much energy already.
His mouth was moving again, this time the guards had understood his instructions, confirming I hadn't reached his vocal cords or done enough damage to kill him. And I believe it was a fatal mistake.
I might be executed either way, but at least if I had sliced all the way to his carotid he would have joined me in death. Now that monster would get to live and I… well I probably have seen my last full moon.
'Never go for the kill, if you can go for the pain.'
No, he wouldn't execute me. Not right away. He would try and hurt me. And judging from the guards that were hauling me away from the King's chamber he had already come up with a plan.
DPOV
I didn't know what to do about Rose. The full moon had been eye opening. No matter how much my brain kept telling me it was a very bad idea, my body had different ideas. Staying away from her was getting harder and harder and I knew one of these days I would snap. I had seen how much it hurt her to stay away from me during the full moon. Her pleading eyes had broken something inside of me and I don't think I could put it back together.
But would things really change? I was hesitant to take that last physical barrier because I believed that once I crossed that line I would fall for Rose. But if I was really honest with myself, I knew I had already. I had fought it, but she had taken down that wall around my heart brick by brick until there was nothing left.
So what more damage could she do to me that she hadn't already done?
And I knew what the alternative was. I would have to release her. And just the thought of anyone else touching her, being with her when she could be with me brought so much rage and possessiveness to me it was a violent storm inside.
Two people came from the opposite side of the hallway, they had trouble standing straight and I realized I had leaked power. I was so consumed by my need for Rose I hadn't noticed my iron glad control slipping.
Yeah, she had well and truly gotten under my skin.
I also knew I was running out of time where the King was concerned. I was actually hoping Abe would make a move soon. If he didn't take him down he would at least provide a distraction for the King.
But I knew Abe wouldn't attack without me. I don't think he could. And that was starting to bother me more and more.
I moved towards the concubine garden and I had made up my mind. I would protect Rose as my own. Because she was already mine and I was hers. No one could alter that, not even us. I would make sure she was safe, somewhere where my father couldn't touch her.
Even if I had to make a deal with the devil.
I entered Kirova's office as I usually did if I wanted to have Rose with me. Outside of the full moon there weren't really arrangements made. I knew Rose was bored out of her mind, so I would make sure there wasn't more than a few days in between visits. This was also what other men did when they had an exclusive concubine.
Kirova was at her desk as usual, but the look on her face was anything but normal. She looked almost.. disheveled. I might not think very highly of Kirova, but the woman was always put together. Now she looked anything but. When she looked up and saw me, her expression became worse. Pity showed in her bird-like features.
My heart stopped beating and I felt coldness seep into my bones. But nonetheless I asked the question I subconsciously knew the answer to.
"Where is Rose?"
More pity as she struggled to find the words. I didn't need them. I was already out the door.
I ran through the hallway. I saw people looking at me strangely but I paid them no mind. I wouldn't let him take this from me too.
I will kill him.
My own thoughts startled me. Or maybe it was the inhuman voice in my head that had said it. It wasn't my wolf necessarily, but something so primal I didn't have words.
When I arrived at his quarters, I was confused. There were a lot of people coming in and out. A lot of guards too.
I pushed my way past most of them. It wasn't hard. My power was being contained by the smallest of margins, but enough was leaking out to have people make a path for me.
On the bed I saw my father, or at least the man who had given his seed for my conception. There was blood all around him. There were a lot of people fussing over him. I saw the surgeon who had taken Lissa. I was glad she wasn't here. He was helping the King, but seemed to take his sweet time getting his stuff together. By the looks of it, he also hadn't bothered with any kind of pain relief.
I knew I liked him.
The King's eyes met mine. They were an acid green instead of his normal jade. I commended the brave men and women tending to him in this state. He could lash out and kill anyone one of them.
But I met his acid green with my own bright gold. My glowing eyes attracted a few stares. Everyone knew I was strong. But very few knew I was stronger.
The surgeon then began stitching a wound in his neck and he flinched. The broken stare also broke enough of the tension in the room so people could get back to work.
Now that the surgeon was pulling a flap of skin over the wound I could see the damage Rose had done and I smiled. She wasn't weak and helpless. I had almost forgotten that.
"Where is she?" I asked, not bothering with any form of pretense of courtesy for the royal in the bed. My voice did that inhuman thing again and I saw several people back away from me and towards the King.
But the King wasn't scared in the least. His eyes glowed again, but they held a strange satisfaction and I feared what he had done to Rose.
"She is where she belongs. That bitch will learn to kneel for me. Maybe when the entire population of the army is done with her, she will have learned that lesson."
His voice was hoarse, but strong. I could hear some wet gurgling in it, but he was healing already. It would take him a few hours to get back to normal. The stitching was only there to hold the skin together so it could heal properly.
He was making another derogatory comment no doubt, but I was already out the door. I would deal with any kind of backlash for my insolence later. Right now I had to get to Rose.
For the third time today I moved through the hallway of the Palace and people would stop dead in their tracks when I passed by. I couldn't even control my power if I tried. I could feel it leaking everywhere. My eyes still glowed a bright gold, my fangs elongated in my mouth. The nails on my fingers extended into claws. I rarely let my wolf bleed through. I either had him under control inside my body, or I had him under control outside my body. This half-state was common in Alpha's but I had too much control to let him run free in my body like that. Full moons notwithstanding.
I debated letting him out, but having him out would make him even harder to control. He would rip anyone apart that had touched Rose, and for once I don't think I wanted to stop him.
I got to the barracks so fast I surprised myself. I didn't think superspeed was part of the half-wolf state, but maybe I was wrong.
Her voice pierced through the hallway, echoing off the stone walls. I followed the sound of her voice, coming to an inner courtyard. My eyes went back to normal and the claws retracted as I took her in. The tones in her voice made me relax a bit. Because she wasn't screaming, or crying…. She was... laughing.
