Hate her!
675 Words
RYKER POV
The scent of blood always clears the mind, but right now, it only made the beast in my chest roar louder.
My claws were dug into her throat. Under my palm, her pulse fluttered like a dying bird—fast, frantic, and fragile. A single bead of blood slipped down her pale skin, staining the collar of her wretched maid’s uniform.
"How dare you touch her!!!"
My voice didn't sound human. It was the guttural, grinding fury of my wolf, demanding absolute ruin.
Iris stared up at me, her gasp cut short by the iron grip of my hand. Her eyes, wide and glassy with sheer terror, darted from my face down to the framed portrait she had dropped onto the mattress.
Lola's face smiled back at us from the bed, untouched by the violence filling the room.
"I-I..." Iris choked out, her fingers weakly clawing at my wrist. Her grip was pathetic, "I was... just..."
"Silence!" I slammed her harder against the bedpost, the wood groaning under her weight.
My wolf was screaming at me. He wanted to rip, to tear, to avenge the mate we had lost. But underneath that bloodlust, a sickening, confusing spark of warmth flared where my skin met hers. Her scent—sweet lavender and crushed pine—was fighting the stench of my anger, trying to wrap around my senses.
It made me despise her even more.
"You are a slave in this pack," I growled, leaning in so close my breath fanned across her trembling lips. "You wash the floors. You clean the dirt. You do not touch my things. And you should never touch her."
"I didn't... mean to..." Her voice was barely a squeak, her face turning a dangerous shade of pale as the air left her lungs. "It was... on the floor..."
"Do you think I care about your excuses?" I tightened my grip just enough to make her gasp, my golden eyes locked onto her face. "If you ever touch her portrait again, I will not hesitate to show you how a murder’s daughter should truly bleed."
She didn't answer. She couldn't. Her eyes were beginning to close, her small body going limp against the wood.
The sight of her fading should have brought me satisfaction. But my wolf suddenly whined, a sharp, stabbing pain blooming in my chest that made me flinch.
“Let her go,” the beast grumbled, suddenly fighting my grip.
I cursed and released my grip.
Iris collapsed onto the thick rug beside the bed, clutching her throat and drawing in air. She coughed violently, her body curling into a protective ball as she trembled on the floor.
I stood over her, my chest heaving, slowly drawing my claws back into my fingers. The gold in my eyes faded back to a dark, stormy brown, but the ice in my chest remained.
"Get out," I commanded, my voice flat and deadly. "Before I change my mind."
She didn't need to be told twice. Scrambling to her feet, Iris didn't even dare to look at me. She kept her head low, wiping the single drop of blood from her neck, and bolted out of the bedroom door like a frightened rabbit.
I stared at the empty doorway for a long moment, the lingering scent of her sweet lavender slowly fading from the air, leaving only the cold smell of dust and my own bitter fury.
My gaze drifted down to the portrait on the bed. I picked it up, my thumb gently tracing Lola's painted cheek, trying to feel the spark that used to keep me warm.
Nothing. Only cold paper.
"Alpha?"
Derek concerned voice mind-linked me.
I set the portrait back on the bedside table and marched out of the bedroom, my face reverting to its usual emotionless mask.
"What is it?"
“I just want to ask if you are okay?”
“I am, just go away and don’t let anyone disturb me!”
“Okay,” He said and cut off the mind-link.
- Writer
