Page 30

Annalise

Y ears ago, when I journeyed to that river hoping to seal my future by giving Dimitri and my father time alone, I had no idea that future would be transferred to the creature waiting for me.

Every dream I had with Dimitri has become realized with Cyrus. I have grown into a woman who fears nothing other than my son’s safety. I mourn for the child I will never meet, along with its father, Cyrus, who has grown an attachment to me that I never thought possible.

Cyrus’s cruelty stemmed from his hatred of what humans represent; The irreversible scarring on his body, the loss of his mother and sibling, and the kidnap, torture, and death of his father. But it’s taken us being apart for him to realize his feelings, and be capable of looking past them to see me as someone he values.

I silently take in the portrait of his mother that looms over the area. Her soft smile once made me think of her as a gentle beast who loved and cared for her family. But the longer I study the portrait, taking in the features she and Cyrus share, the more I wonder what this woman truly was. I had the pleasure of meeting Cyrus’s father. And though our time was brief, I saw a kindhearted beast who cared deeply for his son and kingdom, regardless of what happened in the past.

I can’t help but feel this beast did not share these sentiments.

“She is a beast who came from a line of purebred beasts holding the greatest power our kind has ever known.”

Cyrus never speaks much about his mother, and according to Joan, it was forbidden to discuss her. But as I think of the one time he shared information, his choice of words unnerves me. He specifically chose the word “purebred” to describe his mother, which brings me back to Joan’s words and even Cyrus’s the other night in the courtyard.

How dangerous is this desire for me?

I’m pulled from my thoughts as Ciel’s squeals of excitement lilt up the hall, coming from our chambers. I glance one last time at the portrait of Cyrus’s mother before making my way up the hall to find Cyrus being a father to our son. I push open the door just in time to catch Ciel a few feet in the air above Cyrus, his squeal echoing off the walls. Cyrus catches him easily, a grin on his lips as he pulls Ciel close to him, making snarling noises as he uses his nose to nuzzle Ciel’s neck, causing more squeals and giggles.

It’s the most pleasant sound I’ve ever heard.

As I step deeper into the room. Ciel’s eyes fall to me, lighting up.

“Mama!” he shouts.

Cyrus turns with him in his arms, lowering Ciel to the ground so he can run into my arms. My chest squeezes as he easily crosses the room, no longer stumbling as he did in my last memories of him, jumping into my arms.

His body is warm as he rubs his face against my neck, his excitement physical to see me. Or maybe to see me and his father in the same room for the first time in a while. I slowly lower Ciel, and he grabs ahold of my finger, pulling me across the room as he babbles in his own language, pointing to a wooden board with holes in it. It doesn’t look like any toy I’ve ever seen, but I smile nonetheless as Ciel points, pulling me along.

Before he can get too far, however, Cyrus lifts him up.

“No, Ciel. Mommy cannot touch that,” he says gently.

Cyrus’s eyes shift to me, his expression unreadable as Ciel lays his head against his chest, his eyes growing heavy.

“Ciel has begun casting his mist. This will help him learn to control it. I don’t know why you’ve become immune to me, and I don’t know if that extends to Ciel. I’d rather not risk it,” he says as he picks up the wooden board, moving it across the room to one of the shelves.

I study him as he does so. He’s a natural when it comes to Ciel, understanding him in a way I never will. Even still, watching them together makes me even more aware of Joan’s warning.

“Mist?” I ask, hoping he’ll clarify.

“His beast form,” Cyrus says.

He gently places his hand against Ciel’s back, rubbing in a comforting circle as he approaches. As he does so, a low rumble emits from his chest, and my eyes widen as I recognize it as the language of the beasts. Cyrus taught Ciel when we first returned, and the sound seems to soothe him right to sleep.

Ciel’s eyelids grow heavy, and to my shock, Cyrus comes closer, gesturing to me.

I gently press my hand against Ciel’s back, kissing his head before Cyrus makes his way to the cradle and gently lays him down. He continues to rub his back, ensuring he’s in a deep enough sleep before he stands to face me.

“I hope you aren’t upset about not getting more time with him today. We just managed to get him under control. It wouldn’t have been safe,” Cyrus says as he makes his way to the curtains, pulling them closed to block out the setting sunlight.

“It’s fine,” I murmur.

Cyrus raises a brow at my response, pulling his shirt over his head to reveal his muscular form. My eyes roam over the scars that never healed, courtesy of humans, beginning his long-standing hatred of us. It blinded him to the true enemy that was his own kind when the time came.

“Why did you come after me when I was taken? You had banished me, the last thing you said to me was that someone else would be raising my son. Why do everything you did to bring me back?” I ask.

Cyrus releases a deep breath, his eyes finding me across the room.

“You know why, Anna,” he says.

I shake my head.

“No. I don’t. I don’t… know this version of you. I don’t understand it. I don’t know what to think or how to act or what’s next between us,” I say.

“Why not let someone else step into my role, as you loved to threaten me back then?” I say, hoping to get an honest answer from him.

Cyrus watches me, his facade breaking as irritation shines through.

“Because I don’t want anyone else, Anna. Have I not been clear? My anger was because you chose them over us . You chose a human over me and your son, knowing what was on the line. I banished you because, at the time, it felt like the only thing I could do as a king to protect my kingdom and my son from someone who would put a human first,“ he says.

“I am a human—”

“No, you’re not. You’re… not. You were raised among them, you look like them, sure, but you are something in between, something that my kind has never seen before. And I don’t know if that’s what calls me to you or if it’s just you, but what I do know is that it became painfully obvious how much I needed you when you were taken away. And I don’t want to feel that kind of torture again.”

Elias said something similar about my existence, referring to me as a hybrid. And now Cyrus has added to that theory, his expression turning troubled as he takes a deep breath.

“I won’t stand here and pretend what I feel for you existed before Elias stepped in. I don’t know what would have happened had he never shown up. But it gave me the clarity I needed. It forced me to realize how childish I was being. And having you back, unaware of us, of Ciel, made me realize how you and I were never meant to be. And I hated that.”

Cyrus finally looks at me, closing the distance between us. He places his finger under my chin, shifting his hand so that his thumb runs along the scar on my forehead. His eyes follow the movement as he speaks.

“I am what you were created to kill. And you are the epitome of everything I have grown to hate. That’s what I’ve always known. But I lived without you, Anna. I felt your desperation in my seal, unable to do anything. I felt the lack of your presence in my life. I lived in darkness, roaming Elias’s lands in desperation to find you.” Cyrus’s hand gently runs along my cheek, his eyes meeting mine.

My breathing hitches as his eyes sharpen.

“You don’t understand what you have awakened in me. I can never let you go, Annalise,” he finishes.

Cyrus’s lips close over mine, his presence soft. My heart beats intensely against my chest as his tongue traces my bottom lip before pushing into my mouth. His tongue tangles with my own as he deepens the kiss. A deep growl emanates from his chest as his hands wrap around my waist, pulling me in close.

I had only meant to use this night to understand Cyrus’s true intentions. But it seems I have roused a side of him that demands to have me.

I release a soft gasp as he pulls the top of my dress apart, exposing me to his gaze as he walks us to the bed. My eyes flit to Ciel’s crib across the room, and Cyrus chuckles, pulling my face back to his.

“He won’t be waking up,” he murmurs, capturing my lips once again as he lays me on the bed. I moan into Cyrus’s mouth as his hand comes up to cup my breast, his thumb playing with my nipple to ignite heat within me. He uses his free hand to slip under my dress, easily moving my underwear aside to find my pussy, his fingers gliding seamlessly over my clit.

I shudder as he rubs me knowingly, my inner walls convulsing slightly as my arousal burns to the surface. Cyrus slips a finger inside of me, his mouth simultaneously finding my nipple, forcing me to roll my eyes back as pleasure rushes through me.

Cyrus pumps his finger in and out of me, using the opportunity to add another as he pushes me to the edge of release. He quickly removes his fingers, his eyes filled with lust as he rises over me, unfastening his pants to pull himself free of his restraints. His cock swells in his hand as he lightly strokes it, his eyes taking me in beneath him.

He smiles, his lustful gaze making me burn hotter with need as he pushes the fabric of my gown up, settling himself between my legs. I feel the tip of his cock pressing against my entrance, and he thrusts, forcing an audible cry from my lips.

“Agh!” I cry out, quickly holding my breath as I remember Ciel is across the room. Cyrus chuckles, leaning into me as his tongue licks over my ear before whispering to me.

“He’s exhausted, Anna. He won’t be waking up anytime soon. Today was a very tiring day of training for him,” he murmurs as he pulls out, only to thrust with a more violent force.

“But do continue to try and hold it in, I do love the way your skin flushes with desire,” he murmurs as he grips my waist, his thrusts finding a rhythm. His cock plunges in and out of me at a blissful pace, each stroke bringing me closer to release. And as our eyes meet, I release another gasp from the black smoke pouring from his skin.

My adrenaline mingles with my arousal as panic washes over me, but I force myself to remain calm as the mist licks at my flesh, the cool sensation sending tendrils of pleasure through me. Cyrus watches me with a dangerous expression, almost as if possessed, as his thrusts grow more urgent.

“You’ve always been mine. You know that, don’t you? You can never leave me again… Never,” he groans over me.

My inner walls convulse wildly as my orgasm hits me, just as Cyrus’s grip closes around my throat. I open my eyes, looking into the eyes of a creature who barely has control over himself as he looks down at me.

“Answer me,” he growls.

“Y-Yes!” I cry out. Cyrus releases me, and I breathe in a deep breath, making sure I remain quiet as I convulse in pleasure on Cyrus’s cock. I feel him growing inside of me until he finds his own release, the warmth of his seed spurting inside of me, bringing me back from the edge of coming down from my release.

I grind myself against him, my body spent from exertion, but Cyrus is anywhere but done. He rips the remains of my gown, tossing it to the floor in tatters as he closes his lips over mine, his cock still hard as he thrusts, forcing his cum out of me.

He claims me in the only way he knows how, covering me in his scent and taking every piece of me for himself. I can only hope that when he realizes what I have planned, he remembers these feelings and doesn’t make me suffer for them.