HIS RUIN, HIS QUEEN

A TEST OF POWER

Chapter Six:

Selene’s hands were still stained with blood when Darius led her away from the training grounds.

She should be trembling. Should be disgusted.

But instead, she felt light-headed. Breathless. Thrillingly alive.

Darius had praised her.

And she wanted more.

He brought her to his private chambers—dark, luxurious, filled with his scent.

Selene barely had time to catch her breath before Darius was behind her, his fingers brushing against her wrist, tracing over the veins that still pulsed with adrenaline.

“Do you see now?” he murmured. “What power feels like?”

Selene swallowed hard.

Darius moved closer, his heat pressing against her back. His lips brushed against the side of her neck—not quite a kiss, but close enough that her whole body shuddered.

“I’m proud of you, little mate,” he whispered.

Something inside her cracked open.

It was small, just a flicker, but it was enough.

Enough to make her crave his voice. His approval.

Darius’s fingers trailed up her arm, slow and deliberate.

“You listened to me,” he continued. “You pleased me.”

Selene’s pulse jumped.

Darius exhaled, his lips grazing her skin again. “And now, you’ll be rewarded.”

Selene should pull away.

She didn’t.

Because she wanted it.

Darius turned her around, his golden eyes locking onto hers.

Then he cupped her chin, tilting her face up to his.

Selene’s breath caught.

He smirked. He knew.

His thumb brushed over her lower lip, teasing, testing.

Then—finally—he kissed her.

The moment their lips met, the mate bond roared to life.

Selene gasped, her body igniting under his touch.

Darius wasn’t gentle. He kissed her like he owned her, like he was claiming her piece by piece.

And the worst part?

Selene let him.

No—she kissed him back.

Darius growled in approval, pressing her against the nearest wall, his grip possessive. Hungry.

Mine.

The word whispered through Selene’s mind, and it wasn’t just his voice anymore.

It was hers, too.

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Meanwhile…

Lilith sat in the Omega quarters, staring at the wall.

Her fingers traced over the scars on her arms, over the wounds that hadn’t healed properly.

The other Omegas avoided her now.

Because she didn’t scream anymore.

She didn’t beg.

She didn’t fight.

She just sat there.

Still. Too still.

A wolf who had given up would cry. Break.

But Lilith?

Lilith was waiting.

Her eyes flickered to the door, where two guards whispered about something unimportant.

They didn’t even watch her anymore.

Because they thought she was done.

Lilith smiled.

A slow, empty smile.

Because soon, they would all see.

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