Chapter 3
1042 Words
Kairo - POV
I could still see the way she looked at me—her eyes wide with disbelief, hurt, and betrayal. That look would probably haunt me forever.
When I told Selene she’d now serve as my slave, something inside her shattered. And maybe, something inside me cracked too. But I buried it quickly.
She had to pay. They all did.
Her people… her bloodline… they killed my parents. They took everything from me. I was only a boy when it happened, but the screams of my mother still ring in my ears. I remember my father’s lifeless eyes, his body burned beyond recognition, the ashes still warm when I touched them.
That night, I made a vow.
And today, I fulfilled it.
There was no space for weakness. No space for love. Especially not for my enemies.
Even if one of them had soft brown eyes, a laugh that made my heart race, and lips I’d memorized far too well.
I clenched my jaw, staring out from the balcony as the flames of the celebration lit the night sky. My people were cheering, dancing, drinking. They were proud of their king. The king who gave them victory.
But I felt hollow.
Since I was eighteen, I’d been trained to be ruthless. Cold. My guardian—the man who served my father before he was murdered—raised me to be a weapon. And I became one.
When I was sent to the MoonVale Pack, it was for one purpose: revenge. I was to blend in, win their trust, and strike when they least expected.
What I didn’t plan for… was her.
Selene.
The first time I saw her, she was practicing combat moves in the royal courtyard. Her movements were sharp, determined—graceful, even in sweat. I should’ve turned away. I should’ve reminded myself that she was the daughter of my enemies.
Instead, I watched her. I let myself become intrigued… then obsessed.
And when we began spending time together, when her smile became something I craved, I knew I was in trouble.
I told myself it was part of the plan. I told myself it was a game.
But I was lying.
To her.
And worse… to myself.
The heavy doors to my chambers creaked open behind me, pulling me out of my thoughts.
I didn’t need to turn around to know who it was.
“Baby,” came a sultry voice, thick with playful teasing. “Why are you brooding on a night like this? We won. You did it.”
I turned slowly to find her leaning against the doorframe. My fiancée. The daughter of my father’s most loyal warrior. The one I was promised to.
Liana.
She was wearing a tight crimson dress, barely covering her curves, the slit running dangerously high on her thigh. Her dark hair tumbled over her shoulders in waves, and her lips were painted blood red.
She was confident. Beautiful. Seductive.
And completely wrong for me.
Liana had always been my… release. We shared a bed more times than I could count. She knew how to distract me, how to make me forget for a few hours. But it was never love. Just physical. Just a transaction we both understood.
I used her to numb myself.
She used me to rise in power.
“You’re quiet,” she said, walking toward me with that familiar sway in her hips. “You should be celebrating. You brought down a whole kingdom. That deserves a reward…”
Her hand slid over my chest, down to my stomach. She leaned up and kissed my neck. “Let me help you forget all that stress. I have a few tricks you like, remember?”
I didn’t stop her when she pressed her lips to mine. Her kiss was hungry, needy. She was trying to claim me, remind me of what we used to be before Selene.
But all I could see was Selene’s eyes.
I closed mine, trying to lose myself in the sensation, in the heat.
Liana whispered against my skin, “You’ve been distant lately… I miss the way you used to pin me against the wall and—”
“Liana,” I muttered, my voice low.
She paused, looking up at me with knowing eyes.
“You’re thinking about her,” she said flatly. “Aren’t you?”
I didn’t reply.
“Don’t tell me you’ve actually fallen for her?” She laughed bitterly. “The enemy princess? The same girl you just chained like the rest of her people?”
“She wasn’t supposed to matter,” I said quietly, more to myself than her.
But she did.
She mattered too much.
Liana’s expression twisted into something unreadable. Jealousy. Anger. Pain. But she smoothed it over in an instant with a seductive smile.
“Well… if you’re feeling guilty, I can help ease that too.”
She pulled me toward the bed, fingers tugging at my belt. I let her. For a moment, I let her hands run over me, her lips find my neck.
I tried to pretend. To fall back into old habits.
But Selene’s voice echoed in my head. “I loved you.”
I flinched and pulled away.
Liana stared at me. “You’re in love with her.”
“I’m a king,” I said stiffly. “I don’t have the luxury of love.”
“But you did love her,” she said, eyes narrowing.
Silence.
She sighed and backed away, running her hand through her hair. “Just don’t forget who you are, Kairo. You can sleep with a pretty prisoner all you want, but she’ll always be your enemy. Your people won’t forgive weakness.”
I knew she was right.
But why did it feel like I was the one losing?
After Liana left, I sat at the edge of my bed, staring at the floor.
I hated myself for what I did to Selene.
I hated how I watched her cry and didn’t flinch.
I hated that I could still hear her whispering my name like it meant something.
And most of all… I hated that I wanted to see her again.
Even as her captor.
Even as her king.
- Writer
