Page 24 of Sweet Obsession (Savage Vow #1)

Misha stopped in his tracks, his grip on my hand tightening as he turned his gaze toward the trio. His posture was tense, muscles coiled like a spring ready to snap.

Chernov’s voice cut through the quiet, smooth and mocking. “I could have killed you both a dozen times by now, Misha,” he drawled, his eyes gleaming with twisted amusement. “If I’d sent more men, if I’d been interested in the kill... But no. That wasn’t the point. This was just to scare you.”

Misha’s eyes narrowed, the threat in Chernov’s words hanging in the air like a storm waiting to break. I felt the weight of the moment settle heavily on my chest, my heart pounding.

“Leave my house, Chernov,” Misha said, his voice low, dangerous. The warning was clear, the threat simmering beneath the surface. “I’m not playing your games.”

Chernov’s laugh was dark, humorless. “You’re a fool, Misha. The moment you decided to drag her into your mess, you lost any chance of peace. She’s mine. You know that. I can take her whenever I want.” He paused, his gaze flicking to me. “And I’ll enjoy it.”

The anger in Misha’s eyes was palpable, like a living thing. He stepped forward, his jaw clenched tight, his gaze never leaving Chernov. “You try, and you’ll die before you lay a hand on her,” Misha growled.

Lev and Alexei stepped forward in unison, their faces cruelly amused. “Chernov doesn’t want just anyone, Misha,” Lev sneered, his voice thick with mockery. “He wants her.”

Alexei’s voice was sharp, his gaze hungry. “You’d better divorce her, Misha, or we’ll take her ourselves. You know we can. You know it’s not a threat, it’s a promise.”

The words were poison, dripping with malice. I felt a chill settle deep in my bones, the gravity of what they were saying sinking in. I was no longer just a prize in Misha’s world; I was a target, one they were willing to fight for, at any cost.

Misha’s hand tightened around mine, his body rigid with fury, but his eyes remained calculating, cold.

“You’re crossing a line you can’t come back from,” he said, his voice barely a whisper, but the venom in it was unmistakable.

“I’ve warned you before, Chernov. If you want a war, you’ll get one.

But it will be the last thing you ever start. ”

At that, Chernov’s eyes gleamed with dark delight, his smile widening as he leaned in closer. “We’ll see, won’t we?” he murmured. His hand gestured behind him, and before we could react, his men moved in.

Misha’s guards, Nikolai and Vitor, appeared from the shadows, their guns drawn, but the chaos had already begun.

In the split second it took for me to blink, Chernov lunged, grabbing me by the arm, yanking me toward him with brutal force. My breath caught in my throat as his fingers dug into my skin. I tried to fight back, kicking and struggling, but his grip was unyielding.

Misha roared, “Luna!” His voice broke through the chaos like a blade, but it was too late. Chernov was already pulling me back toward the trees, his brothers flanking him, and Nikolai and Vitor were too far away to stop them in time.

Misha’s fury exploded. He charged toward us, but a gunshot rang out, the bullet grazing his side. He staggered, but didn’t stop. Nikolai and Vitor were already firing, creating a wall of gunfire between us, but Chernov was quick, he ducked, dragging me behind a thick tree for cover.

I gasped for air, panic crawling through my chest, but Chernov’s grip didn’t loosen. His lips were at my ear, his breath hot and foul. “I warned you, Misha. She’s mine now.”

And with that, he began to pull me away, his men closing in behind us.

About fifteen minutes later,

My heart pounded so loud it almost drowned out the sound of my own breath.

My wrists were bound tight, the ropes digging into my skin. The blindfold covering my eyes only added to the disorienting, suffocating sense of helplessness, but it wasn’t the cloth that made my pulse race, it was the feeling of everything shifting around me. The air felt thick.

Chernov’s grip on my arm was unyielding, his body too close, and his voice slithered into my ear like a venomous snake. “This will be the last time you resist me, Luna. I’ll give you everything, everything Misha couldn’t. You just need to give in. I’ll make you mine.”

A sickening wave of disgust washed over me at the sound of his voice. The words... they were poison, but I wouldn’t let them sink in. I couldn’t. I wasn’t going to let him win.

I had to get out. I had to.

We were driving now, the sound of the tires on the gravel beneath us dragging time forward, bringing me closer to whatever fate Chernov had in mind for me.

I knew how dangerous he was, how far he would go to get what he wanted. But he didn’t know me. He didn’t know the fight I had inside.

The car slowed, pulling off the road, the tires crunching in a way that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

My senses flared, this wasn’t a random spot. I could feel it, hear the waves crashing somewhere nearby, smell the salt in the air. We were at a cliff.

Chernov’s men pulled me out of the car, the cold air biting at my skin. They didn’t even remove the blindfold, didn’t think I could fight back. They were wrong.

“Here we are, my dear,” Chernov’s voice purred, smug and certain. “Your new home.”

I didn’t need to see to know what was around me. I felt the wind picking up, the sharp scent of the ocean mingling with the cold earth beneath my boots. The men surrounding me moved, and I knew, this was the moment.

I couldn’t wait. I wouldn’t.

Suddenly, I twisted my body, using my bound hands to wrench one of their arms toward me. With all my strength, I elbowed the man in the ribs and grabbed his wrist, snapping it with a brutal twist. He stumbled backward, and I didn’t hesitate, I was already moving.

My legs burned, but I ran faster than I ever had.

The shouts from behind me grew louder, but I didn’t look back. I couldn’t. I could hear the dogs too, their frantic barking drawing nearer, but I didn’t stop.

Gunshots rang out. I flinched at the sound, but my legs didn’t falter.

A sharp turn, and I found myself on the edge of a cliff. The wind whipped at my face, carrying the scent of salt and earth, and below me, a steep drop. The ground was rocky, uneven, and it was clear, there was nowhere else to go.

I stopped for a breath, and then they were upon me, dozens of men, each one moving in to surround me. They had no idea what I was capable of. I gripped the baton I’d snatched from one of them, my fingers slick with sweat as I steadied my stance.

“Stay back,” I growled, though my voice shook with exhaustion.

They didn’t listen. Of course, they didn’t. The first man lunged at me, and I swung with everything I had. The metal of the baton crashed into his skull, and he crumpled to the ground with a sickening thud.

But that was just the start. More men came at me, their weapons drawn. Knives, batons—tools of force.

My body moved on instinct, dodge, strike, block. A punch to my ribs, a kick to my side. But my strength was running out. My breath came in ragged bursts, the adrenaline starting to fade, leaving me heavy with fatigue. Still, I didn’t stop.

I took down another man with a swift blow to the throat, but it didn’t slow them.

One tried to swing his knife at me, and I sidestepped just in time, bringing my baton down on his wrist with a sickening crack.

He screamed, but I didn’t pause to watch him fall.

There was too much happening. Too many of them. Too many dogs.

My arms trembled, numb with exhaustion. I staggered on unsteady legs.

I had to keep going.

Chernov stood at the top of the cliff, his form looming like a shadow. His face was eerily calm, too calm, like he was speaking to me in a way that had nothing to do with the situation at hand.

“You don’t have to fight, Luna,” he said, his voice a taunt, coaxing me like a child. “Give in to me, and I’ll give you everything you want. Misha can’t give you what I can.”

A cold chill settled in my bones. I wanted to scream at him. Tell him how sick he was, how I would never be his. But my body was exhausted, and I was so close to breaking.

Chernov stepped forward, closer now, his eyes locked onto mine like I was a prize to be claimed.

His fingers brushed my cheek like a lover’s. I flinched.

“You will fall madly in love with me, Luna,” he murmured. “You just don’t know it yet.”

I spat in his face.

“Bind her,” he commanded. His men rushed forward, grabbing my arms, pulling me to the ground.

I fought. Kicking. Screaming. My mind was desperate. I couldn’t let them win. Not like this. But it was useless. They were too strong, too many.

And just like that, everything quieted. I stopped struggling. I didn’t have a choice anymore. My vision blurred as I let go of the fight, my body betraying me as the men bound my wrists with painful tightness.

Then... boom.

Gunfire cracked the air, and chaos erupted.

Misha.

I turned my head just in time to see Misha’s men burst through the trees, guns raised, cutting through Chernov’s men with brutal efficiency. My breath caught, a lump forming in my throat. Misha had come for me.

The battle was wild. Men fell with screams, gunshots filling the air. The sound of chaos was deafening. But through it all, Misha’s eyes never left me. I could see the fury in his gaze, the raw need to get to me.

I barely had time to process it before Chernov yanked me forward, his grip like iron on my arm, dragging me toward the cliff’s edge.

“Come with me, Luna,” he begged, his voice too soft, too desperate. “You’ll be free.”

“Let her go,” Misha’s voice thundered across the battlefield.

It wasn’t just anger. It was pure, undiluted rage.

I turned toward him, my heart pounding in my chest. Misha was here. He’d come for me. He’d saved me.

But even as his presence anchored me, something pulled at me, dragging me deeper into the fog. I wanted to hold on, to fight, but I could feel the fight slipping away from me, like sand through my fingers. The weight of it pressed down, suffocating.

The world around me darkened, edges blurring into shadows I couldn’t grasp. The noise faded, the sounds of Misha’s voice distant, like they were coming from underwater.

The fight wasn’t over. But I couldn’t witness it. Not now.

The world is so dark. I can’t seem to find the light, no matter how hard I search for it. It’s cold, and I feel like I’m sinking deeper and deeper into a place I don’t recognize. My body is so heavy and every part of me aches, like I’ve been torn apart and put back together wrong.

I want to move. I try. But nothing happens. My arms, my legs, they just... won’t respond. It’s like I’m trapped in this place, unable to reach the surface, to break free from the suffocating silence and the shadows.

And then, a voice.

“Luna.”

Misha. It’s Misha. The sound of his voice cuts through the fog in my mind, a distant echo of something I know I should recognize, something that should bring me comfort. But I don’t know what’s happening. I don’t understand why it sounds so... desperate.

“Please, just wake up.”

His voice breaks, and something sharp jabs at my chest. It’s so raw. So full of fear. I want to tell him I’m here, that I’m not gone, but my mouth is dry, my body too weak.

I can feel his presence, though. It’s like a warmth, a pull, so close to me. But I can’t move. I can’t even open my eyes. Why can’t I move?

“Luna...” His voice cracks again, almost pleading, and it breaks something inside me. The weight of his fear presses down on me like a boulder, crushing me under the pressure of it.

I feel him. He’s right there. Close enough that I can almost touch him. But no matter how hard I try, I can’t reach him. I can’t reassure him.

My mind starts to drift again, the darkness calling to me, inviting me to just let go. It would be so easy to sink back into it, to let everything fade away. But I can’t. Not like this. Not with him sounding like that.

“Don’t leave me. You can’t. I... I can’t lose you.”

His words are like a knife, twisting inside me. I don’t know why they hurt so much, but they do. They’re not supposed to hurt. Not when it’s Misha.

His pain... it feels like it’s mine, too.

I want to reach for him, to tell him I’m here. But I can’t. It’s like my body’s betraying me. I hate it. I hate how weak I feel, how helpless. I want to fight. I want to get up and show him I’m still here. That I’m not slipping away.

And then, just as quickly, I feel myself slipping again. The darkness is so much easier. So much quieter.

But his voice, so soft, so raw, drags me back. I can’t leave him. Not like this. Not when he’s like this.

“Please,” he whispers. “Please, just wake up.”

I feel a faint flutter of something inside me, something stirring, something pulling me back toward him. And for the first time in what feels like forever, I try again. My fingers twitch, just the slightest movement. It’s not much, but it’s enough.

His breath catches. I can feel it, even through the haze. The weight of his gaze is unbearable. I want to tell him it’s okay, that I’m okay. That I’m not going anywhere.

But my body is still heavy, still slow to obey. I can’t open my eyes. I can’t speak.

I can only hope he feels me. I hope he feels that I’m still here.

Hours Later...

I don’t know how much time has passed. The darkness seems to stretch on forever. And then the words reach me.

“She might not recover completely.”

The words are soft, almost lost in the pounding of my heart. I want to scream, to fight against them, but I can’t. It’s like the walls are closing in, suffocating me again.

I can feel my breath catch in my chest, my pulse picking up. No. No, no, no. This can’t be happening. I can’t let this happen.

I don’t know what’s worse, the idea of losing him or the thought that he might lose me.

I want to fight. I want to wake up, to show him that I’m still here. But the darkness is pulling at me again, promising me peace, offering a way out.

But I won’t take it. Not yet. Not if it means leaving him behind.