004
1316 Words
Hailey's POV
A breath caught in my throat.
I blinked, trying to make sense of his words. “What?”
His expression remained cold, impassive. “I have a wife.”
My stomach twisted.
Of course. Of course, fate would be this cruel. My second chance mate was already married to another woman. Isn't it interesting!
I gritted my teeth, forcing down the surge of anger and betrayal.
“I see,” I said, my voice measured. “Then why acknowledge the bond at all? Why stop me from rejecting you?”
His lips twitched, but it wasn’t a smile. “Because I’m giving you a choice.”
A choice?
His eyes bored into me as he leaned back, utterly unbothered by the chaos he had just dropped at my feet.
“You can stay with your fiancé,” he said smoothly, “or you can come with me.”
My heartbeat pounded in my ears.
Stay with Austin? The man who had betrayed and murdered me? The thought alone made bile rise in my throat.
But the alternative…
Going with a man who was already married. A man whose reputation was drenched in blood and whispered horrors.
The infamous King Zero?
It felt like choosing between a venomous snake and a roaring wildfire.
I inhaled sharply. “And what exactly does going with you mean?”
He studied me for a long moment before speaking.
“My wife…” He exhaled slowly, as if the very mention of her name drained him. “She cannot bear an heir.”
A sick feeling crept into my chest.
I knew what he was going to say before the words even left his mouth.
“Perhaps you could,” he said simply. “Become my breeder.”
A sharp gasp left my lips.
For a second, I was frozen, unable to comprehend what I had just heard.
Breeder.
Not a Queen. Not a partner. Not even a mistress.
A breeder.
My jaw clenched so tightly it ached. My fingers curled into fists, nails digging into my palms until pain flared.
“You’re joking,” I said, my voice a whisper, a deadly edge to it.
His expression didn’t change. “I don’t joke.”
I let out a slow, humorless laugh. “So that’s what I am to you? A womb to carry your heir? A damn vessel?”
“If that is what it takes to ensure my bloodline continues, then yes.”
The arrogance. The sheer, brutal honesty in his words made my blood boil.
My second chance mate was already married.
And instead of rejecting me outright, he wanted to strike a deal.
A damn business deal about my own body.
I wanted to slap him. I wanted to scream. But most of all…
I wanted to make him pay.
For daring to suggest something so vile. For even thinking he had control over my choices.
I forced my breathing to steady, my rage simmering just beneath the surface.
“You’re a bastard,” I finally said.
His lips curled slightly. “I’ve been called worse.”
I sucked in a sharp breath, my mind racing.
I had spent three years of my past life sacrificing for Austin, only for him to throw me away like trash. He had used me, betrayed me and even killed me.
And now, fate had given me a second chance but the choices are even worse cruel.
I looked past Zero’s shoulder, my gaze locking onto Austin, who stood at the entrance of the hall, watching me.
His expression was furious, and I saw the tension in his stance. He wasn’t backing down after all.
He’s waiting to see what I’ll do.
Good. Let him watch. Let him see how little he meant to me now.
I turned back to Zero.
“I’ll go with you.”
His golden eyes raced with sudden amusement “Is that so?”
I lifted my chin. “Yes.”
I didn’t say it because I had any intention of playing by his rules.
I said it because I knew one thing for certain.
No matter what happened next…I would never be a pawn again.
Zero leaned back in his seat, studying me with a sharp gaze. He didn’t seem surprised. If anything, it was as if he had expected this outcome.
I should have felt victorious, but there was something unsettling about the way he watched me, like a predator assessing its prey.
“Then you should be aware of one thing,” he said, his voice dropping to a chilling calm.
“You will not reject the mate bond,” he stated, his words absolute. “No matter what.”
I swallowed. No matter what.
I wanted to laugh at the irony. The same man who had so casually dismissed our bond as mates just minutes ago was now setting conditions on it.
I forced myself to meet his gaze. “And if I do?”
His expression shifted swiftly. “You won’t.”
I held his gaze, my pulse hammering in my throat.
“What happens after I bear you an heir?” I asked, my voice steady despite the war raging inside me.
“Then I can make you untouchable, get revenge on whoever you want and after that, you can do whatever you please,” he said smoothly. “Reject the bond. Leave. It will no longer matter.”
So that was it.
He wanted an heir. And once he had one, I would be discarded.
The thought should have terrified me, but all I felt was a cold, burning rage.
This wasn’t fate. This was a transaction.
My hands tightened, forcing myself to push down the emotions threatening to surface. “Understood.”
A muscle in his jaw twitched, as if he hadn’t expected me to agree so easily.
Good. Let him wonder. Let him try to figure me out.
Because I had already made my own silent vow.
No matter what game he thought he was playing—I would win.
Zero exhaled slowly, then stood.
The movement was so fluid, so effortless, yet it commanded the attention of everyone in the hall. Conversations halted and all eyes turned toward us.
The weight of his presence alone sent a ripple of tension through the crowd.
Then, in a voice that rang with quiet authority, he announced, “Hailey is leaving with me.”
A collective gasp echoed through the room.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Austin stiffen, his hands clenching into fists. My stepsister Sophie mouth fell open in shock. The Alphas seated around the room exchanged uneasy glances.
I could feel the shift in the air, the fear, the uncertainty.
But before I could even process the reactions, Zero moved Fast. Too fast.
One moment he was standing before me, the next, he was towering over me, his body mere inches away.
I barely had time to react before he reached for me, his large, calloused hand gripping the back of my neck.
My breath hitched. “What are—”
A sharp, burning pain seared through my skin.
My vision blurred.
A gasp tore from my lips as his fangs sank into me, piercing the flesh where my neck met my shoulder.
A claim. A mark. He marked me.
The unmistakable bond of a mate that could tie one forever to their partner.
I barely heard the gasps, the horrified whispers, the scrambling of chairs.
All I could feel was the fire spreading through my veins, the overwhelming surge of power, of connection, of possession.
"Mine." The word wasn’t spoken out loud, but I felt it.
His grip tightened for a fraction of a second before he finally pulled back, his lips stained with my blood.
His gaze met mine “You’re mine now, Hailey,” he said, voice low, dangerous.
- Writer
