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It was time to bring my family home.

Chapter 7

Mariya

My head felt heavy, and I was trying to force my eyes open, but it took too much effort. It was a battle until my mouth and nose was covered. The sweet scent made me inhale until I remembered. Rurik. He did something, but before I could fully grasp the thought, I slipped back into unconsciousness.

I jerked awake, gasping and clutching my throat, feeling a tightness there, but my fingers traced around a strap of material around my neck. I blinked as I looked around. The room was bizarre. There were various pieces of furniture, and—I slowly looked up to see a section of the wall with wooden slats, straw on the floor, and metal bars around a padded bench with metal canisters.

What was this?

When I moved, there was movement. That was the moment fear shot through me. The material around my neck was a collar. My head was too woozy as I tried to comprehend what was happening. The bed was a futon-styled one on the floor. The night dress I wore was gone.

The twins.

Rurik.Did he do this to me?

I glanced up at the stable set up on the far side of the room. It resembled a barn. There was a distinct scent of disinfectant inthe air. Observing the rest of the clinical white room made me shiver.

When I wrapped the sheets around me, a bell jingled. I glanced down to see a brass oblong bell hanging off the collar. The bell didn’t shock me as much as the chain that dangled down did. My eyes followed the length to see it was attached to a metal loop secured to the wall.

The door opened, and Rurik walked in. He closed the door, but not before I noticed the electronic lock on it.

“Good morning,” Rurik’s voice cut through the silence, calm and smooth.

He stepped closer, his movements deliberate, causing my breath to hitch and remind me of the collar around my neck. His shadow loomed over me as he stood at the edge of the futon.

“Where—where are the twins?” I managed to ask, but my voice trembled.

“Safe,” he replied, his lips curling into a faint smile.“They’re sleeping. But you…you’re awake now. And we have so much to discuss.”

He crouched down and touched my cheek, but I flinched away from the madman’s touch. This wasn’t the person I thought I knew. His icy blue eyes were cold and calculating, nothing like the warm father I’d seen him become.

“You took them from me, Mariya,” he whispered with a manic look appearing in his eyes before it dimmed down. “But I’ve brought you home. This room…it’s for us. For our future.”

My eyes darted around the room but returned to the canisters to notice the tubes. I had no idea what he intended to do to me, but the panic began to claw at my chest.

“Rurik, please… this isn’t right. Let me go. Let us go,” I said, desperately trying to appeal to the man who had spent two weeks with us. But his calm demeanour didn’t waver, and I knew my pleas were futile.

“You’re perfect, Mariya. Your body, your milk…it’s all for me. For us. I’ve designed this room specifically for you. Every detail, every piece of equipment—it’s all to help you fulfil your purpose.”

His tone was almost reverent, as if he was describing something beautiful rather than horrifying.

“Our children…they’re perfect, just like you. But I missed so much, Mariya. Their first steps, their first words…you took that from me. I’ve already planned their education and their future. They’ll never want for anything. And you…you’ll be there for them, just as you’ll be here for me.”

“Are you hearing yourself?” I cried, my mind battling with his twisted words. “This—this is madness.”

“No, this is fate. We’ll have another, Mariya—a sibling for the twins. I’ve already planned it. This time, I’ll be there for everything—your pregnancy, the birth, every moment. I won’t miss a thing.”

I gasped at his words, and my hand flew to my belly as if to protect my womb from him. This was far worse than anything I experienced with Owen. This was fucking fate tossing another obsessed freak in my path. One that I procreated life with.

“Don’t look at me like that. This is what we’re meant to do. You’ll give me another child, and I’ll make sure you’re cherished for it.”

“Oh, God. Stop talking,” I said, covering my ears, not caring that the blanket fell onto my lap.

His eyes dropped to my breasts, and I recognised the burning desire from our night together, only now the intensity was burning wildly like a raging inferno.

“I’ve thought of you every day, Mariya—every single day. You’re mine. You’ve always been mine. And now…you’ll learn to be my hucow.”