Chapter 5
1312 Words
PAEDYN NOVA
Even death made more sense!
Lord Cardan Montessori had changed his mind.
I didn’t understand it. One minute, Cardan had looked at me like I was scum under his boot. The next, he’d turned to Stefan and said, "She’s coming with me."
I remember the way my heart dropped.
No.
No, no, no.
“I’m not going anywhere with him,” I snapped without thinking, stepping back, shaking my head like I could erase his words with just a movement.
Cardan didn’t even blink.
Stefan gave a shrug like he’d just sold an old rug and was happy to be rid of it. “She’s yours,” he said, turning away without a single ounce of shame. “Do whatever you want with her.”
I ran to him.
“Please,” I whispered. “Please don’t do this. I’ve done everything you’ve ever asked. Please, don’t give me to him like I’m some… some object.”
Stefan didn’t look at me.
He didn’t touch me.
He just said, “You were never mine to keep,” and walked out.
That was the moment something inside me cracked. Not like glass. No. More like bones snapping in the wrong place.
And Cardan… God.
He walked up to me like he had all the time in the world. Like he didn’t just claim a person. Like I wasn’t shaking.
“Move,” he said.
I didn’t.
So he grabbed me. I flinched, but he didn’t hurt me. He just dragged me along like I was luggage.
“I’m not going with you,” I hissed, digging my heels into the ground, trying to twist out of his grip.
“You already are,” he replied flatly.
“Let me go!”
“You try that one more time,” he said, voice low, calm, terrifyingly cold, “and I’ll make you regret ever being born.”
I stopped moving. My heart kept going, fast and terrified. But I stopped fighting.
Because something in his tone told me he meant it. And something in his eyes… told me he wouldn’t even blink if he had to follow through.
The ride to his pack was quiet.
Too quiet.
The guards that flanked us said nothing, but I could feel their eyes on me like daggers. I sat in the farthest corner of the backseat, arms pressed to myself, trying not to shake, trying not to look weak.
But I was.
I was a bleeding, broken mess on the inside, and Cardan knew it.
When we reached his pack, his territory, I knew it wasn’t like anything I’d ever seen.
The gates opened like it was a kingdom. Men stood at attention, strong, trained, lethal. They all bowed when they saw him. They didn’t question. They didn’t blink. They didn’t breathe until he walked past.
And that’s when it hit me.
Cardan was the man I had been sent to kill.
The man.
The one I was supposed to seduce, stab, and leave to bleed.
And now I was in his territory. In his pack. In his hands…
Like a sheep sent to the s*******r house.
It wasn’t ironic. It was cruel.
The guards surrounded me the second I stepped out of the vehicle.
One of them even raised a gun and pointed it straight at my face. My breath caught.
Cardan didn’t even look back. “She tries to run,” he said as he walked away, “shoot her in the leg.”
I stared at his back, wanting to scream, wanting to throw something at him. “You’re insane!” I shouted.
He stopped.
Just for a second.
Then turned his head just enough to say, “Try me.”
He kept walking.
The guards dragged me inside.
And that was how it started. My new cage. Just fancier, colder, more silent than the last.
The room he threw me in was big, clean, but empty. No windows. Just stone walls and cold air. A mattress on the ground and a blanket folded on top like they were doing me a favor.
The guards stood outside, all of them armed. All of them watching.
I sat on the bed, staring at the wall for hours. Maybe days. I didn’t talk. I didn’t eat. I didn’t cry.
I just waited.
For what I didn’t know.
Maybe for him to come in and kill me.
Maybe for him to say he’d made a mistake and would send me back.
Maybe for the moon goddess to show her face and explain what sick joke this was.
But none of that happened.
What happened?
I got tired of waiting.
So I tried to escape.
It was stupid. Reckless. But I had nothing left to lose.
Even death made more sense.
One of the guards, a young one—barely older than me—watched me like he didn’t know what to think of me. His gaze lingered longer than the others. And I noticed.
So I started to smile when I passed him. Just a little. I’d brush my fingers against the wall near him, like I didn’t mean to touch him, but maybe I did.
I let my dress slip off my shoulder once. Just for a second.
I told myself I hated doing it.
But I had no choice.
And it worked…
He started to let his guard down. Asked me once if I was cold. The next day, he brought me a cup of hot water. The third day, I asked him his name. He told me it was Aaron.
The fourth day, he came too close.
And I made my move.
I kissed him…
Just enough to distract him. Just enough to get his key.
I was already outside the hallway when the alarm blared.
Then came the sound of boots. Of guns c*****g. Of orders being shouted.
“Do not let her escape!” came the order.
“Get her, alive or in pieces!” I heard Cardan’s voice, commanding and hard to miss.
Surely, my end was before me.
They caught me before I even made it to the exit.
Two guards tackled me to the ground. My chin scraped the floor. My ribs screamed in pain. Aaron yelled at them to stop.
But Cardan didn’t.
He showed up a minute later, eyes glowing silver.
He didn’t speak at first.
He just looked at me like I was filth. Like I had ruined his favorite toy.
“You really thought you could run?” he said finally, voice quiet, deadly.
I opened my mouth.
But what came out wasn’t a smart answer.
It was blood.
I spat some on the floor.
His boots stopped right in front of me.
He knelt.
Grabbed my chin and forced me to look at him.
“You’re not leaving,” he said, “and you’re not dying.”
“Why?” I choked.
“Because I’m not done with you yet.”
I looked at him then.
At the man I was supposed to kill.
At the mate I didn’t want.
At the monster who might just be my only shot at destroying the people who destroyed me.
And for the first time since he brought me here, I smiled.
But not because I was happy.
Because I had a new plan.
I’d stop trying to run.
I’d stay.
I’d play nice.
And then…
A loud bang sounded at the door.
One of the guards opened it and whispered something to Cardan.
His expression changed instantly.
I couldn’t hear what the guard said, but whatever it was, Cardan looked... furious.
Not cold. Not angry.
Furious.
He stood up sharply.
Then he looked at me.
"You," he said, voice clipped, tight. “Stay right here. Don’t move.”
“What happened?” I asked.
His jaw clenched.
“If she moves, kill her.”
- Writer
