Page 30 of Ravaging Red (Monsters of the Hollow Realm #1)

Relishing In Punishment

RAEL

T he doors of the inner sanctum groaned shut behind us, sealing their judgement. The cold stone at my back did little to calm the fire crawling beneath my skin. The weight of the vote, of Verrian’s final words, pressed harder than any burden I'd carried before.

They'd bound me to a seat I didn’t want. A legacy I never asked to inherit. A life I’d turned my back on. And now it was mine again.

Red walked beside me, quiet, but I could feel her uncertainty. She waited for me to speak, knowing better than to push.

The flicker of shadow caught my eye just before Drayx emerged from a column of mist near the hallway arch. “You are a strong presence, Rael Mavryn. I am surprised.”

“Why is that?”

“Because you believe in forward thinking. You take risks, and sometimes those can pay off to your advantage.”

“I don’t think that’s the case here.”

He nodded. “We will see. You’ll need quarters for the night,” he said, his voice edged with kindness. “There is space within the council walls. A safe and private location, no one will bother you until morning.”

He waved a hand, summoning a pale fae female with long blonde hair and a gown made of something that shimmered like spun glass. She approached without a word and bowed slightly.

“This is Kaelith. She will show you to the High Fang’s Quarters,” Drayx added, his eyes briefly locking with mine. “You’ll find they’ve been kept… intact.”

Intact. Like some fucking museum.

Red placed a hand against my arm as we followed the fae through the hall. “Are you alright?” she whispered.

I didn’t say a word as we were led away.

The corridors of the High Council were a maze of towering archways and carved stone passageways, each etched with ancient runes and inlaid with veins of glowing crystals.

The scent of magic lingered in the air, sweet and metallic.

Torches hovered in the air, shadows moved where light should have banished them.

We climbed staircases wrapped in obsidian balustrades, the steps so polished they gleamed beneath our boots. Tapestries lined the walls, each depicting old battles, blood rites, monstrous victories. The further we went, the colder it got.

Finally, Kaelith paused before a tall, blackened oak door engraved with the sigil of my House, a snarling wolf wrapped in thorns and flames.

“This is the Northern Wing,” she said softly. “The quarters of the Hollow Woods.”

She slowly opened the door, and the interior looked clean and pristine. Everything inside was untouched and well preserved.

Stone walls towered up into vaulted ceilings ribbed with ancient wood. A great hearth dominated one side, already lit, the flames crackling beneath the carved emblem of my House. The scent of pine and ash clung to everything.

The bed sat high against the far wall. It was massive, and layered in dark furs and forest green silks, surrounded by thick curtains that were pulled back and tied with gold-threaded rope. Shelves lined with old tomes and books, while ancient relics flanked a desk carved from ironwood.

The rug beneath our feet was dyed in red and black, worn at the edges where my father’s paws had once paced.

I hadn’t stepped foot in this room since I was seventeen and it fel just like it had before. Cold and lonely.

Red stood in the middle of it, turning slowly, her eyes wide as she took it all in.

“Rael,” she whispered, voice soft as the fire’s crackled. “It’s beautiful.”

I didn’t answer as I stared at the seal above the fireplace. It represented everything I’d fought to forget. And now I was stuck here, there was no escape unless it meant putting her in harm’s way.

Kaelith excused herself and I went over to the door, slamming it shut with more force than necessary, the echo rattling the stone walls as though they could share in my fury.

Red stood near the edge of the hearth, her arms crossed over her dress, her brow tight with worry. She didn’t speak at first, just watched me pace like a caged beast.

“You’re angry,” she said finally, voice careful.

I turned to her slowly, the restraint fraying in every fiber of me. “Of course I’m angry.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Because they voted for you to stay?”

“No. Because you convinced me to stay. You stood there and whispered to me like I was yours to use. You got me into this mes, back into this cursed life.”

She flinched at that but recovered quickly. “I didn’t know what it meant to you, Rael. You never told me.”

“I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want this. I left it behind for a reason.”

Her fists clenched at her sides. “So now it’s my fault? Because I thought you could protect us? Because I thought maybe, just maybe , if you stood beside them, you could have a voice?”

I laughed, bitter and low. “You’ve come to know me, have you?”

“I’ve come to know that I know nothing about you!” she snapped. “Except for what you’ve shown me between your teeth and your cock!”

That hit harder than I thought it would, and I turned my head, slowly, my jaw tight. A growl started in my chest, low and cold. “Then maybe that’s all you need to know.”

Her chin lifted, defiant and furious. “That’s not enough for me. I’m not some submissive little monster fantasy for you to fuck and bite.”

I circled her, slow and deliberate, my fury barely tethered. “No,” I said, voice dipped in darkness, “but I will make you breed a monster.”

Her breath hitched and that’s when she slapped me.

Hard.

The power of it cracked across my face like lightning. My cheek stung, and for a long second, neither of us moved.

She stepped back, breathing sharply. “Maybe I shouldn’t be here,” she said, voice trembling now. “If all I am is a punishment, if you’re angry because of me , then maybe I should go.”

I lunged before she could move. Grabbing her wrist, spinning her toward me. “You’re not going anywhere.”

Her eyes widened but there was no fear in them, only resilience. “Let go of me, Rael.”

“Never.” I pressed her back against the stone pillar near the bed, my body caging hers. “You got me into this. Now you will stay. ”

“You’re blaming me for your shame?” she hissed, trying to shove me off. “You let them pull you back in. You could’ve said no. But you didn’t.”

I growled, my hand sliding to her throat, squeezing lightly, possessively. “Because you asked me to. You looked at me like I was more than this. And I…gods help me, I fucking wanted to be.”

Her lip trembled. “Then act like it. Stop punishing me for choosing you.”

The words sliced me open. I hated how true they were, and maybe she did too, because the second my mouth crashed into hers, she didn’t pull away… she bit me. Our teeth clashed, her nails raked down my chest, and I spun her toward the bed, shoving her face down into the furs.

“I hate you,” she spat, even as she arched toward me.

“You love me,” I growled, tearing her dress the rest of the way off, exposing her flushed skin to the firelight.

“You’re a monster.”

“And you’re my mate, and I will take you however and whenever I want, even if you refuse me.”

I entered her in one hard, punishing thrust, drawing a gasp from her throat that turned into a sob, her body stretching wide around me, clenching like it couldn’t decide whether to take me or reject me.

I didn’t give her the choice.

“Is this what you wanted, Red?” I growled, grinding deep, hips locking tight against her ass as she gasped for air. “You think you can throw words at me like daggers, slap me, walk away? No, my pet. If I’m taking punishment, so are you.”

I gripped her hips, yanking her back into me harder, my cock pistoning into her with furious precision, her breath catching on each thrust.

“You open that mouth again and I’ll fill it wih my cock,” I snarled, leaning over her, dragging my tongue up the sweat-slicked skin of her spine. “That’s what you’re good at, right? Taking. Begging. Breaking.”

Her nails clawed at the furs, trying to find something to hold onto as her moans twisted into curses.

“You like being punished, don’t you?” I snapped. “You like when your monster reminds you who you belong to.”

She sobbed something incoherent, shaking her head, then nodded desperately. I reared back and brought my hand down on her ass, the sound cracked through the room, leaving a red bloom behind. She jolted and cried out, but I felt her clench tighter around me.

“Say it,” I growled.

“Say what?” she panted.

“That you’re mine.”

She stayed quiet while I issued another painful thrust. Another hard slap. I dragged her up by the hair, forcing her to arch back, flush against my chest.

“That you’ll never fucking leave me.”

Her body trembled in my grip, her voice wrecked. “I’m yours.”

I kissed her hard, bruising her lips before I bit her shoulder, making sure to tear through skin and leave a scar. She screamed, bucking wildly against me, my cock only getting harder and growing longer inside her.

“And don’t you ever forget it,” I seethed in her ear.

She laughed breathlessly, despite the tears. “Gods, I hate you.”

I chuckled darkly. “You’re going to scream for the monster you hate.”

“Never!” she cried out, voice cracking, and that single word set something off in me.

Lust mixed with a primal rage that had coiled too long in my chest. I purred out an animalistic growl, gripping her hips and thrusting so hard the bed creaked beneath us.

Her defiance only stoked the flame. She twisted beneath me, trying to hold on, to deny what her body was already giving me. But her cries told me the truth.

She suddenly screamed. Not in surrender, but in need and wild, desperate pleasure. Her body arched back into mine as she came, shaking apart in my arms, her heat pulsing around my cock miling every drop from me, and I gave it all to her.

I followed her over that edge, my roar thunderous, guttural, shaking the rafters. My knot swelled and locked inside her with a final, brutal thrust, while thick pulses of my cum flooded her womb until she collapsed beneath me.

I leaned over her, still buried to the hilt, my knot throbbing with each slow spasm. My mouth hovered at her ear.

“We should fight more often,” I rasped.

She turned her head, her cheek pressing against the sheets. Her glare was weak but defiant, her eyes glassy with tears, and lust, and something else she didn’t want to name.

“You’re horrible,” she muttered.

“I know.”

I kissed her shoulder, reverently this time. And then, because I wasn’t done, I gripped her hips again and drove into her, the knot grinding deeper as her body jolted.

“Rael,” she gasped.

“You still hate me?” I whispered against her spine.

“I don’t know what I feel,” she said, her voice cracked and raw.

Good. Neither did I.

I reached between us, brushing my fingers over her swollen, sensitive clit. She twitched and whimpered, but I kept touching her. Teasing and stroking her body just enough to build the pleasure up again.

“You’re going to cum for me again,” I growled.

“I can’t.”

“You will.” I demanded.

With a cry that was half sob, half released, she clenched down around my knot, her body shaking in my arms. I held her through it, pressing soft kisses to her back, her neck, her temple.

Her breath slowed. Her fingers relaxed in the ruined sheets. I stayed inside her, still hard, and locked in. The fire crackled behind us while thunder stuck outdoors, matching the storm we had created.

She turned her face toward me again, her cheeks were flushed, her lips pink and parted. “I don’t want to fight anymore.”

“Then don’t challenge your monster,” I said, brushing a thumb across her lips.

She smiled faintly. “You like the challenge.”

I nodded once. “I do.”

“What will happen to us now, Rael?”

I adjusted us on the bed, her whimper lingering as I shifted her on her side, my knot causing slight pain. Her pussy gripped it tight not letting it out and I smiled.

“Well, for now wait to see what happens, Red. We’re safe in the High Hollow from that darkness that is hunting us. I am a High Fang, well respected…”

“I meant, what happens to us?”

“We are one now, Red. We fight together and we die together. That is our punishment for agreeing to stay.”

“Did I destroy our lives?”

I sighed. “As long as I have you by my side, my life is complete, my pet.”