073
1552 Words
~ Iris POV
I didn’t sleep that night.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw it again, the council chamber, the map on the table, the way Eunice said silver weapons like she was talking about flowers.
The ambush was perfect.
Too perfect.
The ravine bend. The timing of the full moon run. The witnesses who would swear it was a fair challenge gone wrong. Even Cassian’s role,clean, deniable, wrapped in pack law.
And then the part that made my chest cave in completely.
Alice.
“They’ll remove the heir too,” Eunice had said casually. Like it was a loose end to be snipped, not a person. Not the girl who loved me. Not the girl who still believed in me.
If Duncan died…
If Alice died…
The pack would burn. Civil war. Rogue factions. Crimson Ridge sweeping in to “restore order.”
I couldn’t let that happen.
But I also couldn’t go to Duncan.
Not without exposing everything,our bond, our secret, the nights that had already put his rule at risk. If Eunice realized I’d told him, she’d shift the plan instantly. Make it worse.
Make it messier.
So I did the only thing left.
The next day,I went to her.
Eunice’s office was dim, lit only by a single lamp when I entered. She didn’t look surprised to see me. If anything, she looked… amused.
“So,” she said, leaning back in her chair, legs crossed. “You finally figured it out.”
My knees hit the floor before my pride could stop them.
The sound echoed.
I bowed my head, hands clenched in my dress. “Please,” I whispered. “Call it off.”
Eunice stood slowly, heels clicking as she circled me. “You’re begging now? After everything?”
“They’ll die,” I said, voice breaking. “Duncan. Alice. The pack. Innocent people. This isn’t just revenge anymore.”
She stopped in front of me.
“That’s where you’re wrong,” she said softly.
“This is exactly revenge.”
I lifted my head, tears blurring my vision.
“Name your price.”
Her smile sharpened.
She leaned down, fingers tilting my chin up.
“i will take what I have always wanted.”
My stomach dropped.
“You,” Eunice said. “Finally. Completely.”
I froze.
“No games. No defiance. “ she continued calmly. “You will belong to me when I say. As long as I say. You will let me f**k you as much as I want.” And in return…”
She straightened.
“I delay the ambush.”
Not cancel.
Delay.
I swallowed hard. “And Alice?”
Eunice’s eyes flickered. “She lives. For now. I mean unless she decide to come in the way of being Luna.”
The room felt like it was closing in on me.
If I refused, Duncan died.
If I agreed, I lost myself.
I closed my eyes.
“…Okay,” I whispered.
Eunice smiled like she’d already won.
The first night was the worst.
Not because of what happened..
but because of what it meant.
Eunice didn’t touch me immediately.
That was the cruelty of it.
She made me stand there in her room for what felt like hours, the door locked behind me, the air thick with the scent of her perfume and polished wood.
“You came willingly,” she said at last, pouring herself a drink. “I didn’t drag you.”
I said nothing.
Because that was the truth.
I had walked into this.
For Duncan.
For Alice.
For the pack.
But I can't imagine that at last Eunice blackwood was finally going to f**k me.
My pride. Gone. But at least, the time was being pushed, at least it will give me time to think.
She crossed the room slowly, studying me like I was something she’d purchased after years of bidding.
“I always wondered,” she murmured, brushing a strand of hair behind my ear, “if you would ever kneel for me.”
My jaw tightened.
“I’m not kneeling for you,” I said quietly. “I’m negotiating.”
She laughed softly. “Call it whatever helps you sleep.”
Sleep.
As if that was still possible.
She tilted my chin upward again, forcing me to meet her eyes.
“You hate me,” she observed.
“Yes.”
“And yet you’re here.”
“Yes.”
Something flickered in her gaze then,something darker than desire.
Something wounded.
“You chose Duncan,” she said, voice lowering. “After everything. After all my pursue.”
“I didn’t choose,” I replied. “The bond did.”
Her hand dropped from my face.
“Convenient,” she said coldly.
What happened after wasn’t violent.
That would have been easier.
There were no bruises.
No screaming.
No force.
Just control.
She dictated where I stood.
Where I sat.
When I left.
She touched me like she was claiming territory, not seeking affection. Like I was a prize she had finally won, not a person.
And the entire time, I kept my face blank.
Because if I cried, she would savor it.
If I trembled, she would think it was fear.
So I gave her nothing.
When it was over, she stepped back, adjusting her sleeve as if we had just finished a business meeting.
“Remember,” she said lightly, “this buys them time. Not safety.”
I nodded once.
I walked out of her office on steady legs.
Only when I reached the privacy of the corridor did I let myself breathe.
The next morning, Alice smiled at me like nothing had changed.
“Where were you last night?” she asked casually over breakfast.
“Studying,” I replied.
The lie tasted like ash.
She bumped her knee against mine under the table.
“You look tired.”
“I didn’t sleep much.”
I was being f****d by eunice the entire time.
She frowned slightly. “You okay?”
No.
“Yes.”
Her hand squeezed mine briefly before she stood to grab more coffee.
I almost broke right there.
Because she trusted me.
Because she would never forgive me if she knew.
Three days passed.
Three nights.
Each one the same.
Each one a reminder that I was trading pieces of myself for time.
Eunice kept her word,for now.
The council vote was delayed. Cassian remained at Crimson Ridge. The formal challenge announcement stalled under procedural review.
But she watched me constantly.
Like she was waiting for me to crack.
On the fourth day, something changed.
I felt it before I saw it.
Duncan.
The bond between us pulsed sharply,uneasy.
I found him in the training grounds, sparring harder than necessary, movements sharp and restless.
He sensed me immediately.
The second his eyes locked onto mine, he stopped.
“You’re pulling away,” he said without preamble.
My stomach tightened.
“I’m not.”
“You are. You ignore my text, you don't come to the hotel again. Little wolf.”
He stepped closer, dismissing the others with a glance.
“What’s happening?” he asked quietly.
Nothing.
Everything.
“I’m just tired,” I said.” Reading for exams.”
His hand hovered near my waist,but didn’t touch.
As if he was afraid I’d step back.
“You don’t look at me the same,” he said.” Are you worried about Eunice,about the other day?”
That hurt more than anything Eunice had done.
Because he was right.
Not because I loved him less.
But because I felt… stained.
I was scared.
And I hated that word.
I mean, everything was coming out.
“I’m handling something,” I said carefully.
“Alone?”
“Yes.”
His jaw flexed.
“Iris,” he said softly, “you don’t have to carry everything.”
I almost laughed at the irony.
If only he knew.
If only he knew I was carrying his life in my hands every night.
“I’m fine,” I repeated.
He studied me for a long moment.
Then, quietly..
“If anyone is threatening you..”
“They’re not.”
That part, at least, was true.
Eunice wasn’t threatening me.
She had already made the deal.
And I had accepted.
Duncan exhaled slowly, frustration flickering beneath the surface.
Later in the night, I had ditched Duncan's meeting for Eunice call.
When it was over, she fixed her clothes and said, “Good girl,” like she’d trained me.
I threw up afterward.
Days passed.
The ambush date moved. Just a little. Enough to keep Duncan unaware. Enough to make me hope I could still find another way.
Eunice grew possessive,not loudly, but carefully. She watched me. Tested me. Made sure I didn’t speak too freely, didn’t linger too long with Duncan.
“You’re buying time,” she reminded me once, lips near my ear. “Don’t waste it.”
Every smile I gave Duncan felt like a lie carved into my bones. Every touch from him burned with guilt. I wanted to scream. To confess. To beg him to lock her away.
But I couldn’t risk it.
Not yet.
Because Eunice was right about one thing.
The plan was still alive.
And the clock was still ticking.
- Writer
