Trapped in His Dark Obsession

The Devil's Wrath

I slammed into Valerius’s solid chest with enough force to knock the wind out of a normal man. But Valerius didn't even sway. His massive left arm immediately wrapped around my freezing, trembling body, crushing me against the rough, wet fabric of his tactical armor. He felt like a walking fortress—impenetrable, radiating a terrifying, unnatural heat in the middle of the freezing storm.

I buried my face in his chest, my numb fingers desperately gripping the heavy straps of his vest. I was shaking so violently my teeth rattled, but for the first time since he kidnapped me, I wasn't running away from the monster. I was actively hiding behind him.

"You are safe," Valerius murmured against my wet hair, his deep voice vibrating right through my cheek. It wasn't a comforting reassurance; it was a lethal, absolute fact.

He didn't look down at me. His icy, murderous gaze remained entirely fixed on Marcus.

The traitor had completely lost his nerve. Realizing I was no longer his human shield, Marcus dropped the heavy Glock into the mud, turned sharply on his heel, and sprinted blindly into the pitch-black woods.

Valerius didn't shout. He didn't order his men. He simply raised his right arm and threw the heavy combat knife with a terrifying, unnatural velocity.

A sharp, agonizing scream violently ripped through the howling wind.

Marcus collapsed roughly twenty yards away, thrashing wildly in the freezing mud. The wicked blade was buried deeply into the back of his right thigh, completely severing the muscle and dropping him instantly.

Before the traitor could even attempt to crawl, the surrounding darkness suddenly came alive. A dozen heavily armed syndicate soldiers materialized seamlessly from the dense pine trees. They didn't make a single sound as they rapidly descended upon Marcus, dragging his screaming, bleeding form up from the mud and violently restraining his arms behind his back.

"Take him to the warehouse," Valerius commanded smoothly over the roar of the storm. His tone was chillingly calm, completely devoid of the explosive rage he had shown just moments prior. "Keep him conscious. I have a very specific set of questions for him, and I want him fully aware when I slowly carve the answers out of his flesh."

"Yes, Boss," Viktor's stoic voice answered from the deep shadows.

Valerius finally looked down at me. The lethal, cold-blooded warlord melted away instantly. He noted my bare, bleeding feet, my completely soaked clothing, and the violent shivers racking my small frame. A dark, terrifying emotion flashed in his blue eyes—a devastating mixture of absolute relief and profound fury.

Without a single word of warning, he bent down and scooped me effortlessly into his arms.

"Put me down," I rasped instinctively, my voice raw and broken.

"Never," Valerius replied simply, adjusting his strong grip to shield my body completely from the driving rain. "The estate is compromised. We are moving to a highly secure secondary location. You are never leaving my sight again, Aria."

He carried me out of the dense woods with terrifying ease, moving swiftly toward a heavily armored, black SUV waiting idling on a concealed dirt road. A guard instantly threw open the rear door. Valerius climbed inside, completely ignoring the luxurious leather seats, and settled me firmly across his lap.

The heavy door slammed shut, instantly cutting off the deafening roar of the October storm. The interior of the SUV was suffocatingly warm, filled with the dark, intoxicating scent of expensive leather, bergamot, and gunpowder.

As the massive vehicle accelerated into the night, leaving the Thorne estate far behind, the sheer adrenaline that had kept me moving finally crashed. The agonizing pain in my bruised ribs and bleeding feet flared to life, forcing a soft, pathetic whimper from my pale lips.

Valerius's jaw clenched tightly. He reached over, pulling a thick, heated wool blanket from a compartment and wrapping it securely around my shivering shoulders.

"I thought you were dead," Valerius whispered into the heavy silence of the cabin. His large hand gently cupped my freezing cheek, his thumb slowly brushing away a streak of dark mud. "When the perimeter alarms tripped and I saw that balcony open... I thought you had jumped."

"I was just trying to survive," I whispered back, my heavy eyelids fluttering shut as his intense heat began to thaw my frozen bones.

"I will burn this entire city to ash before I ever let anyone hurt you," Valerius vowed darkly, pressing his warm lips fiercely against my forehead. "Sleep, my Queen. When you wake up, your enemies will no longer exist."