Chapter 259
Chapter 259
He grabbed my hand and placed the eyepatch in my palm. It was still warm from resting on his face. He curled my fingers around it and squeezed tight, so tight it hurt. “Don’t you want to be my queen p>
“I’ll never be your rogue queen p>
He snorted. “Of course not. I would never expect a Lycan princess to lower herself to the status of a rogue. But you will marry me, Avery, and you will bear my pups. Just as our parents intended. I’m afraid you have no choice in the matter. You never did p>
My throat tightened. I felt bile rising up, but I swallowed it down and gripped the eyepatch tightly.
“No. I won’t marry you p>
Before he could react, I threw the eyepatch and the torch deeper into the cave. He turned, momentarily stunned. While he was distracted, I drove my elbow into his spine. Hard. Hard enough to send him sprawling across the stone floor.
And then I ran.
Asher was stunned for a moment. I could hear him scrambling in the cave, struggling to his feet. “STOP!” his voice called after me, but I didn’t. I ran as fast as I could, aiming for that fading spot of sunlight at the entrance of the cave. I dug deep for my wolf’s strength and began to transform. My nails extended into claws. The world sharpened.
“GET HER p>
His guard at the mouth of the cave pushed away from where he’d been leaning when I burst out, and he gave chase. I pushed faster and dug deeper.
If I could just finish the shift, then-
Something slammed into me before I could fully transform. The wind was knocked from my lungs, and the world tilted. Hard-packed dirt slammed into the side of my face, my stomach wrenched with agony, and for a moment, the sunset went dark.
I was only unconscious for a moment, but it was enough. When I awoke, my head was reeling and the taste of blood and dirt was in my mouth. My stomach throbbed where I’d fallen, waves of cramps washing over me,
No. No, no, no. My baby-
The Rogue King-Asher-was already standing over me. His eyepatch was firmly in
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Chapter 259
place once more, and his face was twisted into a mien of anger.
+25 Bonus
“You ran from me, Avery.” Asher dropped to a crouch and grabbed a fistful of my hair. His fingers dug into my scalp, making my eyes water, as he lifted my head off the ground. “I don’t like it when you run from me p>
“Fuck… You,” I spat. I tried to shift again, but it was no use. Asher had my hair gripped tight, and his guard had his foot on my back. My wolf’s strength was focused on protecting the baby, on ensuring its survival. The transformation wouldn’t come.
“Give me your hand,” Asher said calmly.
He took my hand anyway when I didn’t obey I tried to rip it away, but he was too strong. He splayed my fingers wide across the dirt, holding them down, and reached into his pocket with his free one. A scream lodged in my throat as he pulled something out and positioned it over my ring finger. I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for the pain. He was going to cut my finger off, wasn’t he?
But the pain never came. I only felt something cool slip onto my ring finger.
When I opened my eyes, I saw a simple silver band etched with the phases of the moon. There was a single moonstone, glowing faintly in the fading sunlight, laid gently on the top.
“Marry me,” Asher whispered, so close now I could feel his hot breath fanning across my cheek. He lifted my hand, my nails now crusted with red soil, and pressed a lingering kiss to my knuckle.
“Marry me, and become my mate p>
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