Page 35

Elias

“R elease me! Release me now!”

The screeches of Annalise echo off the walls as I make my way to her chambers. It’s like this daily. She screams and cries, fighting for release. All the while unaware of her delicate condition. It’s another flaw in human nature. They are weak, needing creatures like us to protect them. It is why this animosity between all of us began in the first place. Humans grew jealous of the power of the beasts, hating being coddled like children and told what to do.

Cyrus has kept her in the dark about many things pertaining to beasts, but I plan on enlightening her. I will not shield her from the world and hide her away as he did. I will embrace her and make her mine.

The loud crash of glass fills the hall just as I step into the doorway.

“Your Majesty.”

My servants bow, stepping away as I enter the room and Annalise whips around, her crazed eyes landing on me with malice. I don’t understand her or her incessant need to return to Cyrus. She hated him. That much was clear. And yet she begged for the life of the beast closest to her, who deceived her to the very end.

“What is the meaning of this?” I ask, keeping my voice level.

Annalise is the first to speak.

“Take me back. I do not want to stay here. I do not choose you!” she shouts.

She’s a spitfire. The longer I study her, the more I can see it. Cyrus had her broken for him, but she does not fear me.

Yet.

I step around her, waving my hand to my servants, who all bow, exiting the room. Annalise’s golden gaze follows me all the way to my seat. Her heart beats loudly in her chest, and it is accompanied by the small beat of her unborn child. It puts a damper on my plans if I continue this facade of being patient and gentle. If I give in to my beast, I will rid her of the barrier standing between the both of us without her ever having known it existed.

I can tell my gaze is beginning to make her uneasy, but I can’t believe she’s here. I have her in my kingdom after months of planning and waiting. After watching her bend over backward to make him happy, she is now entirely at my mercy. There’s so much I want to do with that, and at the same time, I don’t know which path to take. Just being in her presence is driving me insane.

It’s no wonder Cyrus trekked into my territory and was willing to make this woman queen. She reeks of unspeakable desire. Something about her calls to my beast, forcing me to lose all rational thought in her presence, to do anything to make her mine, even if another beast has already claimed her.

“You will pay for everything you’ve done, you—”

“Do you love him?” I ask.

Her eyes widen, my words catching her off guard. She blinks, stepping back.

“I hardly see how that’s your business,” she growls out.

I smile, standing. Her heart rate increases as I approach. I like the sound.

“I don’t understand you. I have liberated you from his kingdom. Why do you feel so determined to return? Is his cock so special?” I ask, laughing.

I feel my lust growing as I think of her naked and writhing beneath me, taking my cock instead. I would love to see her at my mercy, begging for release.

Her eyes widen slightly from my brash words, just as her reflexes take over. Her hand comes toward my face at the speed of a human's, so I catch it easily, continuing to study her.

“You have ruined everything! You have-Ahck!”

My hand is around her throat, and my brow furrows as I look into her eyes. The fire has been replaced with fear. Her cheeks stain red as she fights for air, and her scent is incredibly intoxicating. My inner beast claws at the forefront of my mind.

Take her. Take her now.

I lean into her, inhaling her scent. A rush of arousal forcing my cock to throb painfully, weakening my control. I feel her nails clawing at my hands, and at the last second, I realize what’s happening and release her. She drops to the floor, gasping for breath, holding her throat. Her rapid heartbeat tickles my ears as I study her.

“He is no longer here. You don’t have to call and beg for him,” I say.

She keeps her head down.

“I told you I don’t want to stay here,” she sobs.

“You would rather return to the estate where he kept you locked away to fuck whenever he pleased?” I ask in irritation.

She shakes her head.

“You don’t understand what you’ve done. Do you really think this was a good idea? You know nothing about me. You only know your lust and what you want to see. Why would you take me in such a brutal manner and start a war? Why would you kill innocent beasts?” she asks.

I chuckle at her words.

“You are fascinatingly naive,” I say.

I make my way to the chair, sitting. After a moment she looks up, her gaze laced with malice. I’m not too fond of it.

“I know everything about you. I know that you were created for a purpose. I know that you were stolen from that purpose and made to be a whore for a king instead. Do you think he will start a war for you? He sent you out of his palace for sparing the life of a human. Has he taken that much of your sanity that you long for his embrace?” I ask.

Shock crosses her features. I know it is from my revelation of her past. Amusement washes over me at her predicament. So, she is completely in the dark.

“Do you know what I see when I look at you, Annalise? Endless possibilities. Cyrus will not start a war for you. You are an object to him. You are a temptation. Cyrus has shown me what can come from embracing temptation. But he has also shown me what I stand to lose by denying it. Why wouldn’t I take what I desire when he has no plans to keep it?” I say, studying her.

“Has your lust for me clouded your rational thought?” she growls.

Her words ring out in the air, holding more weight than she intended. She’s right. My lust is taking over. The instinctual side of me has taken hold. I originally planned on entering the kingdom to find her. The game became more interesting when I discovered Cyrus. He is the last of his kind. The most powerful type of beast. It became a calculated game to get Annalise and bring her back to my kingdom. To see if I could actually manipulate and outsmart a beast of old.

My kind was taught that the beasts of old were too dangerous to be left alone. We were encouraged to push down what we were, embracing and helping humans. I see now how wrong the philosophy of my forefathers was. It was easy to understand Annalise’s past once I figured out how Cyrus’s war ended. It was also easy to understand why my people see the beasts of old as a threat. But after seeing what embracing your beast's side can bring you, I feel that everything on this side of the water is wrong.

I want everything Cyrus had and more.

My gaze shifts to Annalise. Her words suddenly make perfect sense to me. Her eyes widen slightly as I stand from my seat, kneeling to her height. A smile forms on my lips as I take her in, reaching for her face.

Has my lust for her clouded my rational thought?

I voice my answer aloud, enjoying the speed of her heartbeat.

“Yes.”