Valen crouched in front of her, his movements languid and almost indulgent. The moonlight sharpened the cruel angles of his face, his blue eyes burning with something wild—something ravenous. He reached out, brushing his fingers against the dirt-streaked curve of her cheek, and inhaled deeply, savoring the scent of sweat, blood, and desperation that clung to her skin. He gently cleaned her cheek with his thumb, admiring her soft skin.
Then, he laughed.
It started as a chuckle, low and dark, before unraveling into something manic, something delighted. The sound slithered into Aylin's ears like a taunt, sinking its claws into her very soul. She tried to calm herself down; she still had one last trick to pull.
"Oh, Aylin," he murmured, his voice trembling with barely contained amusement. "You truly are magnificent. This whole act, this grand escape, is almost enough to convince me you thought you could win."
Her breath hitched, her body rigid against the tree as his laughter died into something more dangerous. He tilted his head, studying her with an unsettling kind of reverence. His gaze was drawn to the contour of the wet dress clinking against her body, and she knew there was not much left to imagine.
Then, his smile widened, and his fingers slid lower over the delicate curve of her throat. He pressed softly, just enough for her pulse to stutter beneath his touch.
"But there's something odd about you, isn't there?" he whispered. "Something… missing."
Aylin's stomach twisted. She forgot to drink more herbal tea before leaving; Lilliana's betrayal caused her to forget one crucial step in her plan. Her fingers clenched harder around the silver pendant.
His grip tightened, just a fraction, enough to make her gasp. His pupils dilated, his nostrils flaring as he drank in every flicker of emotion across her face.
And then—realization.
His breath caught, and for a fleeting moment, his amusement faded, replaced by something colder. Sharper.
His fingers twitched against her skin. His head tilted back as he inhaled again, slower this time, savoring it. The revelation cut deep, and when he looked at her again, his lips curled into the most vicious grin she had ever seen.
"You were never pregnant."
The words dripped with revelation, with exultation, with a twisted sort of reverence. Aylin's stomach lurched as she noticed the change in his expression—the slow, dawning realization morphing into something far worse.
Something utterly thrilled.
"Oh, Aylin." His voice was barely above a whisper, but it echoed, heavy and toxic. "How did you fool them? How did you fool me?" His fingers traced down the column of her throat, hovering over her collarbone. "Did you wait for me all that time?" His voice dropped lower, thick with amusement. "Did you know I'd come?"
Aylin clenched her teeth, determined to remain silent, but he noticed it—the flicker in her eyes, the way her breath stuttered just enough to betray her.
And he laughed again.
A deep, guttural sound, full of delight, vibrated through the night air.
The forest itself seemed to recoil from him.
"I should be angry." His voice dipped, syrupy and sickly sweet. "I should be furious that you fouled our alpha, Silas." His fingers trailed lower, tracing the bruises beneath the corset's laces. "But no, my darling. This... this is a gift."
Aylin jerked, but his hand clamped down on her shoulder, pinning her to the tree with frightening ease. His strength had always been monstrous, but it now seemed insurmountable.
She could feel him now, not just in her body but also in her mind, his presence like smoke curling into the corners of her thoughts. He pressed in, pushing, probing, and unrelenting. Aylin's vision swam as his will scraped against hers, penetrating the secure areas she had worked so hard to keep hidden.
"You wanted this, didn't you?" he murmured, his lips a mere breath away from her ear. "You wanted me to find you. You wanted me to chase you. You wanted to get caught."
His voice slithered inside her skull, a whisper that tightened around her thoughts like a noose. She clenched her teeth, attempting to block him out, but he was unrelenting. His amusement flooded her mind like an invading force, piercing through her fears, desperation, and carefully hidden truths.
His fingers brushed against the nape of her neck, sending shivers through her body like an electric pulse. He was inside her mind, closing in the space between them until there was nothing but him.
"You want to be punished."
Aylin's stomach twisted into knots, rage and fear tangling together like fire and oil. She forced herself to breathe, to think through the suffocating weight of his presence.
Because she knew what came next.
"You deserve it, don't you?" he continued, his voice dripping with sickening affection. "The pain. The suffering. After all, you lied." He pulled back slightly, just enough to look her in the eyes. "You lied to everyone."
His fingers curled around her wrist, pulling her hand away from her pendant with an almost amused shake of his head.
"No, no, not yet," he cooed. "Not until I say so."
Her thoughts twisted and recoiled as he dug deeper, dragging her into a spiral of half-forgotten memories and whispered nightmares. Images flashed through her mind: his touch, his breath, and the heat of his presence as he loomed over her. He was everywhere, suffocating, inescapable.
The snap of twigs, the rustle of leaves, the sound of movement.
Valen stilled, his smile turning sharper, his teeth flashing in the moonlight. His grip on her tightened, and his other hand slipped to her waist as he drew her closer, protecting her from whatever came his way.
"Ah," he sighed, almost dreamily. "The wolves are here."
Aylin swallowed hard.
She could feel them now, circling the clearing, their presence thick in the air, the weight of their eyes pressing against her skin. They were closing in.
Valen tilted his head as if listening, then turned back to her with an almost affectionate smirk.
"Shall we give them a show?"