Page 6 of Darkest Craving

VICTORIA

T he car stops in the parking lot of a glass-covered building. What is this place? I thought he was taking me back to his house. Not knowing what he wants with me is driving me insane.

It was always going to be you. You know that .

He’s wrong. I have no idea what he’s talking about. Why did he change his mind? Why didn’t he want my sister, as per the original agreement?

I thought about the brief conversation we had a few months ago. Analyzed it to the smallest detail, but nothing particularly welcoming was said from either side. If anything, I told him to leave, that he was trespassing, and clearly showed him I didn’t want him there at all.

And yet he waited… waited for my birthday to choose me, and no one lifted a finger to save my life. I suck in a breath, swallowing back tears, because I can’t let him see through me again. It’s obvious the more weakness I show, the more he’ll take advantage of it. And I refuse to let him.

He gets out of the car first, opening the door for me on the other side.

“Where are we?” I ask, ignoring the hand he extends toward me.

I get out on my own, and he grabs the back of my neck like he did at my parents’ house. Showing the world he owns me. My pulse quickens, and maybe he feels that, because he swipes his thumb gently across my skin as if he’s trying to pacify me… or tell me I’m right to fear him.

I bite my lip to stop it from quivering and walk with him to the entrance. Once inside, a tall brunette wearing a skin-tight dress welcomes us—him—from behind a receptionist’s desk, a sultry smile plastered on her face. She spares me a quick glance, her lips subtly pursing before turning back up.

“Mr. Rykov, welcome,” she says. “How are you today? Dr. Stamos is ready for you.”

I twist in shock to look at him. “Doctor?”

His eyes lower to my height, acknowledging me, before choosing to ignore me. It makes me want to scream.

“Thank you,” he tells her, then points me to the left corridor, hand still on the back of my neck. We pass a few people sitting in the waiting area, and no one looks at us. They’re either on their phones or lost in thought, preoccupied with their own problems.

Nerves swarm in my belly, making my limbs tingle as if ants are scurrying up my veins. Without knocking, Wolfgang opens another door for me, and I swallow hard when I see what’s waiting on the other side.

“No,” I say, stepping back, only to collide with his hard body. “I’m not going in there.”

A man dressed in white—Dr. Stamos, I assume—gets up from his desk and walks toward us.

“Wolfgang. Right on time. Come on in,” he says with a smile. “You must be Victoria.”

I dig my heels into the floor, pushing myself deeper into Wolfgang’s chest, knowing full well I’m probably not getting out of this. Not without doing exactly what I said I wouldn’t—show him how vulnerable I am.

“Don’t make me do this. Please…”

Wolfgang’s chest rumbles as he says, “Keep walking, love. Or we can do this the hard way, if you prefer.”

I don’t know what that means. The doctor keeps staring at us with an expectant smile and when I tilt my head back to look into Wolfgang’s eyes, he’s merely quirking a brow in anticipation.

This or the hard way. This or the hard way.

Cowardly, I swallow hard and take a shy step forward, eyes trained on the gyno chair on the far-left of the room.

Dr. Stamos continues to smile, but it does nothing to ease my nerves.

Not only have I never had a pelvic exam, but I’m supposed to do it in front of Wolfgang?

I stop in the middle of the room, hands wrapped loosely around myself as I hear the door closing behind me.

“Feel free to have a seat,” the doctor says.

The seat, he means.

“C-Can he leave first?” I ask, not daring to look back at Wolfgang’s reaction.

I jolt slightly when he wraps his hand around my chin, twisting my face to see him.

“Get on the chair, Victoria. I’m not leaving. And do not think for a second I’d let another man see what’s mine, doctor or not.”

Scowling, I jerk away from his touch and straighten, approaching the chair before hauling myself up.

When I pin Wolfgang down with my stare, his jaw is clenched, and he looks like he’s about to strangle me.

A kernel of pride seeps into my chest. I’ll take any small victory I can get against this man.

I sit with my feet dangling a few inches above the floor, hands in my lap, trying my hardest to pretend like Wolfgang isn’t in the room.

By the looks of it, he seems to be doing the same.

He’s sitting across the cabinet, texting someone on his phone.

Heat curls along my body over this entire situation, and I curse him for making me do this.

I hate him so fucking much.

“Is this your first visit to a gynecologist, Victoria?” the doctor asks, getting my attention.

I breathe out, trying to relax. And failing. “Yes.”

“Okay, well, I can imagine you’re probably a bit nervous.

” He leans against his desk. “But you have nothing to worry about. My job is to make sure you’re comfortable.

Today, we’ll just go over your health, answer any questions you have, and if there’s a medical reason, my colleague, Sabrina, will perform your pelvic exam. Sound good?”

A silent sigh of relief leaves my body. I really shouldn’t need the exam at this stage—I’ve never even had sex with anyone.

“Yes. T-Thank you.”

He then starts by asking me about my periods—if they’re regular, heavy, painful, and so on. Each question makes my face burn hotter, and it’s always followed by another, prolonging the nightmare.

I can tell Dr. Stamos is doing his best to make me feel comfortable, but it’s in vain. Even if he’s preoccupied with his phone, I know Wolfgang is listening, and the realization of why he brought me here in the first place finally sets in.

I’ll be his wife . He’ll want us to have sex. Of course he will—why wouldn’t he?

The thought that my parents just let him take me without so much as saying a word hits me again, making the backs of my eyes burn with tears.

Wolfgang is a monster with no scruples, one that already proved how much he owns me in just the single hour of being in his presence.

He’s going to do it again, and again, and again, exactly the way he wants, until whatever twisted plan for revenge he has plays out.

And I won’t be able to do anything about it.

Maybe I should’ve run away the first chance I got. I still can. I could excuse myself to the bathroom right now and make a jump through the window… get on a bus and… I don’t know. Go somewhere he’ll never find me.

But they’ll die—even if I manage to get away, my parents will die, Anya will die… Sasha might die. Wolfgang made it clear that was his intention.

He’s got me trapped, and there’s absolutely no one on my side.

By the time Sasha finds out I’ve been taken, Wolfgang will have already married me and caged me in his house. And all my dreams… my goals… everything will be gone. Shattered in the span of a single moment—when he showed up and claimed me like a goddamn prize.

I blink away tears for the thousandth time, focusing my attention back on this awkward appointment.

“And how many sexual partners have you had?” the doctor asks.

I pinch my thumb hard. “I’ve never… none.”

Cheeks flaming red, I glance at Wolfgang to see if he paid attention, but he continues to be absorbed by whatever conversation he’s having on his phone. Good .

When I turn back to Dr. Stamos, he’s holding a needle inches away from my arm.

“This will hurt just a little.”

I shrink back. “W-What is this? What are you doing?”

Wolfgang’s head rises from the phone, throwing me a threatening look.

You will stay, he seems to say.

Before I get to tell him to go fuck himself, the needle pokes through my skin, pinching me as Dr. Stamos pushes whatever serum he’s got in there into my arm. My best bet is some form of birth control.

When he’s done, he puts a small band-aid over the area, telling me we’re done.

“Let’s go,” Wolfgang says, standing up.

I let my feet touch the floor and, without saying thank you or looking back, I exit the office before Wolfgang has a chance to grab the back of my neck again.

But he’s right behind me, and I can feel him—feel his presence looming there with every step, and I know if he wanted to, he’d reach for me with his claws, dragging me to him.

So I don’t stop. I don’t turn. I just keep moving, my pulse hammering as I step outside.

The cool air still lingering after the rain does nothing to cool the heat crawling up my spine. Reaching the car parked out front, I get in, and slam the door behind me. Consequences be damned.

***

The rest of the drive is exactly the same as before—silent.

Through the window, the city lights blur past until they disappear entirely and a lone forest road swallows us.

This is what Alemont City does: hides the most notorious criminals of this country in a haven that’s close enough to New York for them to operate from here, but far enough to stay under the radar.

Wolfgang’s home—a mansion —is a three-story behemoth of stone, glass, and shadows, with two outstretched wings that make it look like a true fortress. My parents may be rich, but this… this is on a completely different level.

The long, winding driveway snakes beyond two iron gates that open for us with a mechanical hum—eerie and as inviting as a wraith welcoming me to hell. My hell.

The car stops, and the driver gets out, but I take a moment to ground myself before I do the same.

“You’ve got two options,” Wolfgang says, and this time, I turn to face those haunting eyes.

“You can stay close to me, do as I say, and no one will hurt you. Or… you can pull that shit again and stray away from me like a wildcat. But I am warning you, Victoria, other people in this house will want to harm you.”

I scoff, but a chill curls down my spine. People worse than him? I doubt that.

But then again…. I have no idea who they are or what his family is made of, other than the horrifying rumors I’ve heard. So he could be telling the truth… or he could be trying to manipulate me.

“Wait here,” he commands before leaning into the door and exiting the car. I don’t get a chance to protest, but it’s not like I’m eager to go into that house anyway. All I want is to be away from him.

Except… he doesn’t leave. No.

He just stands there, at a short distance, casually texting someone. Keeping me on edge, letting me wonder about his return or his next command.

I hate it.

Minutes pass, and my restlessness grows. I sit with my hands in my lap, pressing down on each of my fingers as a way to self-soothe.

He laughs at something—a low, muffled chuckle—then picks up a call. I watch him stand there and do nothing, and my blood boils, because his waiting game feels like just another way for him to assert his dominance over me. To show me who’s in control.

Nostrils flaring, I open the door and slip outside, slamming it a little too loud behind me. Fear beats through my chest for a second, but so what if he heard? Let him see I won’t be subjected to his stupid games.

He doesn’t turn to face me. Not immediately. Yet I don’t fail to notice the way his eyes lift from the phone’s screen.

I cross my arms, and in the next moment, he’s mere inches away from my face.

My breath leaves my body the moment his hand wraps around my neck and pulls me closer to him. His warm fingers dig into my skin, squeezing a little until I’m wide-eyed and snaking my own hand around his.

Not because I want it to stop, I realize in horror.

But because something passes through me, like a shockwave, like a thrill of sorts.

And when he hums in agreement with that vibrating voice of his—as if he knows exactly what he’s doing to me—another, more shameful part of me responds.

And it wants… it wants… I don’t know what it is, but it’s all I can feel right now.

What the hell is this?

“Oh, love…” He flashes a cunning, knowing smile as I pulse beneath his grip, in terror or in need—or maybe both.

He watches the reaction my body displays for him and I wonder what it looks like from his point of view. I hate showing him I’m this weak.

“I told you to wait, didn’t I? Actions have consequences. And your little outbursts so far aren’t helping you.”

“My outbursts ?” I raise my eyebrows, anger flaring through me.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Did you think I’d make this easy for you after what you’ve done?

Am I supposed to pretend I like being around you because you can’t stomach the truth, Wolfgang ?

And what the hell kind of name is that, anyway?

Aren’t you supposed to be Russian, like the rest of your—”

“There you are,” he says, squeezing a little tighter. “I was wondering when you’d bite back. Let me tell you how this is going to go between us. And for your own sake, I hope you’re paying attention, because I will not repeat myself. Do you understand?”

I nod as best I can, my pulse hammering.

“The only reason you’re still alive right now is because I allow it.

Everything you are, and everything you hoped you’d be one day…

all of it is mine. I don’t need you to pretend you like being here because, frankly, I don’t give a fuck.

You will stay, and you will obey me, and that will be your life until the day I die. ”

His grip relaxes, and it’s enough to grant me a short inhale before he squeezes again. That same thrill flutters through my body. “Do not anger me, Victoria, because I promise you, you’re not prepared to see me like that. Against me, you will lose. Every. Single. Time. That clear?”

I mumble the words I want to say, but they barely come out. He retracts his hand, making me choke as I draw more air into my lungs.

“What’s that, love?”

“I said…” I cough again. “Fuck. You.”

A low chuckle comes with a smirk as he dusts himself off and turns toward the house, sparing me one more glance.

“Breaking you is going to be fun.”