FRACTURED HEARTS
953 Words
Aria could no longer tell where hatred ended and desire began.
"You keep looking at me like you want to kill me," Viktor said, his voice low as he cornered her in the dimly lit study. "Or like you want me to f**k you until you forget your own name."
She backed up until her thighs hit the desk. "Maybe both."
His silver eyes darkened. He stepped closer, caging her with his body. "Tell me the truth, Aria. Do you still dream about stabbing me in my sleep?"
"Every night." Her breath hitched as his hand slid up her thigh. "But I wake up aching for you instead."
Viktor growled softly. "That's my girl."
He kissed her hard, lifting her onto the desk in one smooth motion. Papers scattered. His mouth moved down her neck, biting just hard enough to make her moan.
"I hate how much I need this," she gasped, fingers tangling in his hair.
"You don't hate it," he murmured against her skin. "You hate that you love it."
Their clothes came off in desperate tugs. He took her right there on the desk, deep and possessive. Every thrust felt like both punishment and salvation.
"Look at me," he demanded. "Tell me who you belong to."
"You," she cried out as pleasure crashed through her. "God help me, I belong to you."
Later that night, Viktor held her in his arms, his fingers tracing the fading bruises on her ribs.
"You shouldn't have run," he said quietly.
"I had to." Aria turned to face him. "I can't keep pretending this is normal. You're a murderer. And I'm... I'm starting to not care."
His expression tightened. "The world isn't black and white, princess. Your father made choices. Dangerous ones."
"Don't talk about him." She sat up, pulling the sheet around herself. "Not after what you did."
Viktor watched her with those unnerving silver eyes. "Then stop digging. For both our sakes."
But she couldn't stop.
The next few days blurred into a dangerous game. Viktor began bringing her into his world. Meetings in smoky back rooms. Late-night strategy sessions. She listened carefully. She learned names and faces. And she quietly gathered information whenever she could.
One evening, after a particularly tense meeting with his capos, Viktor pulled her into his private office.
"You did well tonight," he said, pouring them both drinks. "They respect you more than I expected."
"They're scared of you," Aria replied. "Not me."
He handed her the glass. Their fingers brushed. "They should be scared of both of us."
The air grew thick again. He set his drink down and pulled her close.
"I can't get enough of you," he admitted, voice rough. "Even when I know I should stay away."
"Then don't." She kissed him first this time, hungry and angry and desperate.
He took her against the wall, harder than usual. The full moon was approaching. She could feel it in the way he lost control, the way his strength bordered on supernatural.
"You're changing me," she whispered afterward, pressed against his chest.
"You're changing me too," he confessed.
But the real change came three nights later.
Aria had slipped away during a pack-related meeting Viktor thought she wasn't ready for. She followed Darius, Viktor's beta, to a hidden warehouse on the edge of the city.
What she saw there shattered everything.
Darius and several other men stood in a circle under the moonlight. One of them shifted partially, claws and fangs emerging.
"She's the one," Darius said. "The pure-hearted woman the prophecy spoke of. If she bonds with the alpha, the curse breaks. If not..."
"She dies," another man finished. "And Viktor loses control completely."
Aria's blood ran cold. She backed away, but her foot hit a loose piece of metal. The sound echoed.
Darius's head snapped toward her. "Who's there?"
She ran.
Viktor found her hours later, hiding in an abandoned building, breathing hard.
"Aria." Relief flooded his voice. He rushed to her. "What the hell were you thinking?"
She shoved him away. "I know everything. The curse. The prophecy. You need me to save you, don't you?"
His face went pale. "Aria, listen to me."
"No!" Tears burned her eyes. "I'm just a tool to you. A cure for your monster."
"That's not true." He grabbed her arms, pulling her close despite her resistance. "At first maybe. But not anymore. I love you. God help me, I love you."
She laughed bitterly even as her body leaned into him. "Love? You destroyed my life."
"And I'd burn the rest of the world to keep you." His voice cracked. "Stay with me. Let me show you."
The full moon hung heavy overhead. His eyes began to glow.
Aria's resolve crumbled. She kissed him fiercely, tears mixing with their passion.
They made love on the dusty floor of the abandoned building. It was raw and desperate, his beast closer to the surface than ever. He took her with an intensity that bordered on feral.
"Fight me," he growled as he moved inside her. "Fight how much you want this."
"I do," she gasped. "I fight it every single day."
He made her come apart in his arms, whispering his name like a prayer and a curse.
Afterward, as they lay tangled together, Viktor stroked her hair.
"The prophecy says only you can save me," he admitted softly. "But I won't force you. If you want to walk away, I'll let you go."
Aria looked up at him. Her heart was breaking and healing at the same time.
"I don't know what I want anymore," she whispered.
The moon watched them silently.
And somewhere in the shadows, new enemies were already planning their next move.
- Writer
