Page 9

That single scream transports me back to a dark place, a place I never thought I would be trapped in again. The flashbacks assault my mind, threatening to drown me. I despise Kyson at that moment, despise the monster he is becoming before my eyes.

Peter’s blood-curdling scream echoes through the courtyard, sending shivers down my spine and causing my ears to ring. I twist to look around, my stomach lurching as its contents spill out onto the ground, sending a searing pain into my tender knife would. Kyson, however, pays no attention to my sickness, consumed by his own rage

Unfazed by Ester’s screams or Peter’s desperate pleas, Kyson’s rage blinds him to his surroundings. Even as Ester hangs limply in her chains after countless lashes, he doesn’t stop. I find myself trapped in the darkest recesses of my mind, a place I thought I had escaped forever. But this time, it is Kyson’sactions that hold me captive there until Clarice’s piercing cry echoes through the chaos.

Her hands grip me tighter and Peter’s reverberating screams make goosebumps rise. My ears ring loudly, ripping me out of my own head.

Peter lays crumpled on the ground, and Kyson stands over him, whip still in hand. Ester, a bloody mess, struggles to lift her head, her voice barely a whisper.

“Leave him,” she breathes, her words filled with desperation. But she can’t move, her strength drained from her battered body. I stare at the horrifying scene before me, Peter clutching his bleeding face, Kyson seething with rage. And then, Trey clenching his jaw and looking away, a silent admission of his disagreement with Kyson’s actions.

I swallow as he breathes heavily. Nearby, the gardener looks pale as a ghost as he looks at Peter and Ester. He reaches forward, gripping Peter’s arms.

“Please, no more! She can’t take it anymore! Let me take her place.” Peter pleads.

“No!” Clarice shrieks.

Kyson snarls, his upper lip pulling back over his teeth, and a sinister glint reflects in his black obsidian eyes. He tilts his head to the side.

“I’ll allow it.”

“He is just a boy!” Tanner the gardener interjects, his voice filled with righteous indignation. Whoever he is, he cares deeply for Peter.

“He can’t even heal!” Kyson shrugs dismissively, his attention fixed on Ester. The whip cracks through the air once again, and her agonizing scream tears at my heart when Peter breaks free from the gardener’s grasp and throws himself in front of his mother. I see Kyson raise the whip, and withouthesitation, I dash forward, throwing myself in front of my brother once more.

Peter won’t be able to heal. I can’t stand by and allow Kyson to kill them. The punishment Kyson had sentenced Ester to had already become a death sentence when he introduced Wolfsbane into the equation. Enough was enough.

The sharp tendrils of fiery pain rip through my back, tearing through my dress and shoulder. I grit my teeth, feeling my back arch in response, but I hold onto Peter tightly, determined to shield him from harm. My own scream reverberates through the courtyard, mingling with Ester’s agonized cries.

Pain courses through every fiber of my being as I lock eyes with Kyson, his face contorts with fury and shock. He reaches out towards me, his hands trembling, but then shakes his head.

“Move!” he commands, his voice strained with conflicting emotions.

“She has suffered enough!” I seethe through clenched teeth, my voice filled with an indomitable resolve.

“When I say she has,” Kyson growled, his voice a low rumble. But I refuse to move, standing my ground against the man I love yet hate in this moment.

I gesture towards the gardener, who hurriedly approaches and takes hold of Peter, dragging him away from the unfolding nightmare. As I undo the front of my dress, preparing to take Ester’s place, Kyson’s voice, laced with desperation, cuts through the tense air.

“No!” he snarls, his eyes filled with anguish and fear.

“You would have allowed Peter to take her place, but I won’t allow that. Therefore, he takes his mother’s place, and I take his. So which is it, Kyson?” I demand, my voice steady and resolute. With each button that pops open, my dress falls to the ground, leaving me standing in nothing but my undergarments. The onlookers avert their gazes, a silent acknowledgement of thevulnerability and strength that lay before them. Ester groans, her flesh sizzling from the Wolfsbane’s touch. My own back stings, sending waves of searing pain up and down my spine. I long for water to douse the flames that consume me.

“Azalea!” Kyson snarls, his voice filled with rage and desperation. He comes up behind me, his long fingers wrapping tightly around my arm as he spun me to face him.

“What is it, Kyson? Can’t bear to see your mark on my flesh while reveling in hers? No! I won’t allow it!” I declare, my voice filled with defiance and determination.

“Then I kill her,” he sneers, his words dripping with malice.

“You said lashes! You’re already killing her. Look at her!” I scream furiously, my words laced with a mix of anger and despair. He seems taken aback, finally looking at Ester’s ravaged back, the blood pooling at her feet.

“Enough,” I repeat firmly. “Or I take her place.” My voice resonates with unwavering resolve. He locked eyes with me, his narrowed gaze filled with fury. The tension between us grows palpable as we stand there, neither willing to bow down to the other’s will.

“Know your place, My King. Landeena’s word is final,” I assert, my voice dripping with authority.

“Not over me it’s not, My Queen,” he snarls back, his voice laced with defiance. “You may be Landeena, but I am your mate. The Alpha hierarchy still holds weight.”

“Do you want to test that theory?” I challenge, my voice steady and unwavering. It’s a test, and deep down, I know he will back down when faced with the power of my title. He seems surprised, his eyebrows raising in realization. And just like that, my assumption is confirmed. In the hierarchy of the Alpha and Landeena, the Alpha is always the most assertive, the most dominant in the mate bond. But against a Landeena, a Landeena power is unparalleled. This newfound understanding surgedthrough me, filling me with strength as Kyson took a step back, his eyes wide with a mix of surprise and submission.