Chapter 4: The Price of Protection
756 Words
The leather interior of the luxury Maybach smelled exactly like him—expensive leather, rich cedarwood, and the faint, dangerous chill of old money.
I sat pressed against the far side of the passenger seat, clutching Leo tightly against my chest. My heart was hammering a frantic rhythm against my ribs, so loud I was terrified Alexander could hear it with his supernatural ears. Beside me, the tinted windows blocked out the quiet coastal town I had spent four years building, blurring it into nothingness as the car sped toward the city.
Across the spacious cabin sat Alexander. He had shed his suit jacket, rolling the sleeves of his crisp white shirt up his forearms, revealing the lean, corded muscle beneath. He looked entirely too relaxed for a man who had just kidnapped a family.
His icy gray eyes, now reverted from their crimson state, were locked onto Leo.
Leo had finally fallen asleep, exhausted from the sheer weight of his father’s suffocating royal aura. His small, pale head rested against my collarbone, his breathing shallow.
"He looks exactly like me," Alexander murmured, his deep baritone sending an unwanted, familiar shiver straight down my spine. He reached out a long, pale hand, his fingers tracing the air just inches from Leo’s dark curls, as if he couldn't quite bring himself to touch something so fragile.
"Don't touch him," I snapped, my voice low but venomous. I pulled Leo slightly closer, glaring at the man who had broken me. "You wanted a pureblood heir. You wanted a Queen. You don't get to play proud father now."
Alexander’s hand paused in mid-air. His eyes snapped up to mine, darkening instantly. The temperature inside the vehicle plummeted.
"I did what I had to do to protect the throne, Elena," he said, his voice dropping into a dangerous, silky register. "You were a human assistant. If the elders knew I was sleeping with a human, they would have targeted you to weaken me. I sent you away with enough money to disappear safely."
"You threw me out like trash!" I hissed, the tears finally burning the backs of my eyes, though I refused to let them fall. "You didn't even look me in the eye. You handed me an NDA and a check. You chose your crown over me."
In a flash of terrifying, unreadable speed, Alexander shifted. Before I could even gasp, he crossed the space between the seats, his massive frame looming over me. He pinned me against the leather seat, one heavy hand resting on the headrest right beside my ear.
He was so close I could feel the unnatural chill radiating from his skin. The scent of him washed over me like a wave, triggering a sudden, overwhelming memory of the nights he used to hold me down just like this, his lips tracing my skin, making me beg for his bite. My body betrayed me, a heavy, sinful ache blooming deep in my core despite my hatred for him.
"Do you think it was easy?" Alexander growled, his face inches from mine, his breath brushing over my lips. His eyes flashed a volatile, warning crimson. "Do you think I wanted to let you go? I have spent every single night of the last four years tasting your blood in my dreams, Elena. I tore this country apart looking for you when the contract's tracking spell failed."
His gaze dropped to my mouth, his pupils blowing wide with a sudden, dark hunger. He leaned closer, his chest pressing lightly against mine, forcing me to feel the terrifying, rigid strength of his body.
"And now I find you," he whispered, his voice turning into a possessive purr that vibrated against my skin. "With my son. Living in a pathetic little shop. You think you hate me, little omega? You think you're strong? You are still just a fragile human, and you are entering my castle tonight. You belong to me. You always have."
I swallowed hard, my knuckles turning white as I gripped my sleeping son. I could feel the sharp edge of Alexander's fangs resting against his lower lip, begging to claim me all over again.
"I am only here for Leo," I whispered defiantly, though my breath hitched as his fingers brushed against the sensitive skin of my throat. "I will never be yours again, Alexander."
A dark, lethal smirk spread across his handsome face. "We will see about that, Elena. The night is young, and we have a very long drive ahead of us."
- Writer
