Chapter 6
1119 Words
Dimitri’s POV
I watched her sleep—curled in the corner of the cage like a wounded animal. Her breathing was uneven. Even in slumber, she wasn’t at peace. Because of me.
I could smell the lingering scent of her tears, still fresh, staining the air with salt and despair. Guilt. That emotion clawed at the walls I’d spent centuries building. I’d known monsters. I’d been one. But her?
She didn’t belong here. And the worst part?
She was mine.
Fate had bound us together in the cruellest twist possible.
The moment I saw her at the gate—shaking, terrified, soaked to the bone—my instincts had gone feral. Not because I wanted to kill her. No. Because the bond snapped into place so violently, I almost lost control.
She was the only thing keeping me human.
But I couldn’t show her that. Couldn’t let her see how deeply she already affected me. Because I was still bound by a blood oath… to him.
Nero.
The bastard who had once saved me from death, only to chain me in a different kind of cage.
He’d found me when I was nothing more than a ghost—half-mad from centuries of isolation after my own kind turned on me. He offered me land, warriors, and a place among the dominants again. In return, I had to honour one condition: silence and obedience.
When I learned what he planned to do to her pack, I tried to back out. I did. But Nero had made sure I couldn’t—he’d taken something too valuable. And if I defied him now… I’d lose everything, including her.
But she didn’t know any of this.
She thought I was a monster.
And I let her.
Because if she saw the truth, she’d only get herself killed faster.
I stood and walked toward the cage slowly. Her wolf stirred, sensing me before she even opened her eyes.
She jolted up when I knelt in front of the bars.
“Why are you here again?” she asked, voice groggy, guarded.
“You talk in your sleep,” I said flatly, even though I hadn’t heard a single word. “You begged me to let you go.”
She scowled. “I won’t beg anymore.”
“I know.”
Silence stretched between us. The rain had stopped. A strange stillness had taken over the mansion—as if the whole world was holding its breath.
She stared at me with those stubborn, furious eyes. “If you’re here to gloat or threaten me again, just go.”
“I’m not.”
“Then why are you here, Dimitri?”
My name on her lips did something to me. Something dangerous.
I leaned closer, my voice low. “Because every time you look at me like I’m a beast… it kills me.”
Her lips parted, but she didn’t say anything.
“I didn’t want a mate,” I continued. “Didn’t think I deserved one. I still don’t. But the moment I saw you, every instinct I buried came roaring back. You’ve done something to me, Lyra. And I hate it.”
Her voice was barely a whisper. “Then why don’t you let me go?”
I laughed bitterly. “Because you’re the only thing anchoring me to this world. And if I let you go… Nero will make sure you never survive.”
“Then fight him!” she snapped. “You’re the Lycan King, aren’t you? Act like one!”
I looked away, jaw clenched. “It’s not that simple.”
“Then explain it to me! Stop treating me like a prisoner and start treating me like your mate!”
I rose to my feet, pacing.
She didn’t get it. She couldn’t. The bond was driving me to the edge—I wanted to protect her, claim her, tear down the entire kingdom if it meant keeping her safe.
But I’d already made a deal with the devil.
One wrong move, and Nero would unleash the full force of his black magic. I’d seen what he was capable of.
And he still had her.
The girl I failed to save.
The only reason I agreed to serve him in the first place was
“You think I’m just doing this for power?” I asked her. “You think I enjoy watching you suffer?”
“Then what is it?” she demanded.
I turned to face her, letting my mask drop for just a second.
“He has someone I love,” I said quietly.
Lyra blinked. “What?”
I hated the way her face fell, like those words cut deeper than my fangs ever could.
“She’s not what you think,” I added quickly. “It was a long time ago. She’s… family. The last piece of it I have. He has her under his control. And if I defy him, she dies.”
Lyra stared at me, stunned into silence.
“I don’t expect you to understand,” I muttered. “But now you know why I can’t help you. Why am I doing this?
She shook her head slowly. “No. You’re wrong.”
“What?”
“I do understand,” she said, her voice trembling. “Because I would burn this entire world to the ground for my family too.”
And there it was.
The thread.
The thing we had in common, beyond blood and fate.
We were both trapped. Both are torn between duty and desire.
“You still hate me,” I said quietly.
She nodded. “Yes. But I hate Nero more.”
A strange laugh escaped me—soft, bitter, amused. “That makes two of us.”
We stared at each other, the space between us charged with something neither of us dared name.
Then I did the unthinkable.
I opened the cage.
Lyra blinked in disbelief. “What… are you doing?”
“You’re not a prisoner,” I said. “Not anymore.”
“Why now?”
“Because you deserve to know what we’re up against. And if we’re going to survive what’s coming… I need you as more than a captive. I need you as an ally.”
She stepped out slowly, cautiously. Her hand brushed mine as she passed, and the bond surged between us again—wild, electric.
“Don’t make me regret this,” I said.
“Don’t give me a reason to,” she replied sharply.
And just like that, the lines between us began to blur.
No longer captor and captive.
But two broken creatures, bound by fate and blood, standing on the edge of war.
- Writer
