Chapter 27
Chapter 27
“You’ll be bathing me instead p>
86
55 vouchers
The words are a chain around my throat. The steam is thick, clinging to my skin like it wants to drown me before the King ever can. The perfume those women left behind lingers–sweet, floral, cloying–and I pray to every goddamn star in the sky that it’s strong enough to mask my own scent.
I don’t move at first. My fingers are slick around the bar of soap, my knees are unsteady, but his command holds me like iron. The heavy door is shut, there’s no witnesses left but me. Him. And the faint echo of my sanity crumbling.
I force my steps forward. The marble under my bare feet is still warm from the steaming pool, my reflection rippling in the water’s edge as I stop behind him.
His back greets me like as a mountain carved from war itself. Broad, cut with muscle so defined it looks chiseled by the gods, scar after scar stretching across his skin like maps of every battle he’s lived through. The water slides off his shoulders, rivulets racing down into the line of his spine, disappearing under the surface.
Fuck. He’s even bigger this close.
I dip the soap into the water, rub it until it lathers, and press it to his back. Small circles. Careful and silent small circles. The steam makes my hair cling to my face, my lungs dragging air that tastes like herbs and musk and power.
I say nothing. I can’t say anything. My voice would betray me in an instant.
“You know,” his voice rumbles, breaking through the silence, “she’s stubborn as hell p>
My hand freezes on his shoulder blade.
“She’d rather bleed herself dry than let me help her. Rather face a death sentence than admit she needs me p>
He’s talking about me.
My pulse spikes so hard I almost choke on it.
I keep scrubbing, pretending my hands aren’t shaking.
“She writes to me as if I’m some stranger,” he continues, voice deep and low, words laced with something dangerous. “Like I’m not the one who could tear the world apart for her. Do you know how fucking ridiculous that is? To act like I wouldn’t burn entire kingdoms just to keep her breathing p>
I grit my teeth, press the soap harder into his skin.
He hisses, low, sharp. “Watch it p>
“Sorry, Alpha,” I mutter quickly, lowering my voice to something hoarse, rough.
He leans forward on his arms, muscles flexing. “And yet… despite how much she infuriates me… I can’t
12:28 Sun, Dec 21 #4
Chapter 27
stop” His tone shifts, softer, edged with something raw. “I adore her. Every stubborn fucking word, every refusal, every bruise she’s survived. I’d give anything to have her under me again p>
The air leaves my lungs, heavy, weighted.
But then his voice darkens, every word dripping like venom. “Maybe I’ve been too soft. Maybe when I find her, I should stop asking p>
My hand falters, soap sliding down his arm.
86
“Maybe I should take what’s mine. Chain her if I have to. Leash her. Make it impossible for her to run again. She’ll thank me one day when she realizes no one else could ever protect her like I can p>
My breath catches. My chest tightens. I can’t fucking move. The steam feels like it’s choking me now, like every molecule of air is laced with the obsession dripping from his mouth.
My hands tremble as I scrub down his forearm, my nails almost digging into his skin to keep steady.
Silence. Finally, silence. Except for the soft drip of water and my hammering pulse.
He flexes his fingers on the pool’s edge. Slowly. Deliberately. “You think I don’t know, do you p>
My heart stops.
His back is still to me, but his voice is sharp, too sharp, like he’s carving straight into me without turning around.
My stomach drops, my entire body going rigid. He knows. He knows. Fuck—
“You’re a rogue, aren’t you? ”
The breath I’ve been strangling on finally rushes out. Relief hits me so hard my knees nearly buckle.
“Yes, Alpha,” I rasp, pitching my voice low again.
He hums, almost amused. “Did Luna Camila take you in p>
“Yes, Alpha p>
“And what are you doing here, scrubbing my back like a servant p>
“Yes, Alpha p>
His chuckle is humorless, a deep roll in his chest. “You’re boring when you don’t talk p>
I stay still, water dripping from my wrist into the pool, every muscle begging me to run.
Then he waves a hand dismissively, not bothering to turn. “Leave. You bore me p>
I don’t wait to be told twice.
12:28 Sun, Dec 21 M
Chapter 27
86
365 Vouchers:
I set the soap down, fingers numb, and walk out as steady as my legs will let me. The door is heavy, but the second it shuts behind me, my back slams against it.
My lungs finally expand, ragged and wild.
Fuck.
I almost got caught.
The steam clings to my skin, sliding down my spine like invisible fingers. The heat of the bathhouse seeps into every pore, carrying Alaric’s scent with it–cedar, smoke, and the faint sharpness of iron that always makes me think he’d taste like danger if I ever dared to put my mouth on him. I’m still catching my breath, still trying to collect myself, when the heavy door creaks open behind me.
Fuck.
I freeze.
And then–heels clicking on polished marble, the sound sharper than any blade.
Luna Camila.
Of course.
Her perfume hits me first, sweet and cloying, layered thick enough to choke. Behind her, Roslin follows like a dutiful shadow, head dipped, hands folded in front of her, eyes flicking once to me before darting away.
Camila’s eyes narrow when she sees me, standing too close to the King’s private quarters. Her lips curl into a smirk so sharp it could draw blood. “Well,” she drawls, voice slicing through the heat–thick air, “what do we have here p>
Shit. Shit. Shit.
I lower my head instinctively, hair falling forward like a curtain. My palms sweat. I turn to slip past her, chest tight with the instinct to survive, but her voice cracks like a whip.
“Roslin. Stop her p>
Roslin hesitates. Only a second. Then her hand clamps around my arm. Not harsh, not cruel, but enough to make my stomach twist.
The slap comes fast. So fast my cheek burns before I even register she’s raised her hand. The crack of it echoes off the marble walls, louder than it should be, and my head jerks to the side. I hit the floor hard, palms scraping against stone. Hair spills forward, hiding my face, and I don’t move.
Don’t. Fucking. Move.
“On the floor where you belong,” Camila sneers, towering above me. Her heels click closer, deliberate. “Did you really think you could slither your way into his bed? You filthy little rogue p>
The word tastes like poison in her mouth. Rogue. The same word Wade spat at me before stripping me of
12:28 Sun, vec z1
Chapter 27
everything. The same word that’s been shackled to my name ever since.
86
b vouchers?
She doesn’t wait for me to respond. Doesn’t care. She storms forward, throws the doors wide to Alaric’s bathhouse, steam rolling out in a thick wave.
And then she points. Not at me directly, but at the pathetic heap I make on the floor.
“Her!” she shrieks, voice cracking under the weight of her fury. “She’s nothing! A rogue we dragged from the mud outside our borders. And this-” her finger shakes, her face blotched red-“this is what you’re wasting your time on, Majesty? This is the filth you let crawl near you p>
The bathhouse is quiet. Too quiet.
And then–his voice.
Deep. Rough. Lazy in that way only power can afford to be.
“Rogue p>
One word. Flat. Drawled like it costs him nothing.
The air changes.
Alaric doesn’t even look at her. He drags a hand down his wet hair, water beading on bronzed skin, every line of muscle slick and carved like some ancient god sculpted him in fury. His eyes, golden and glowing faintly in the steam, flick lazily to me and back again.
“I need something for this headache,” he says. “Send someone to the clinic. Bring it here p>
Camila blinks. The silence that follows is suffocating. She’d stormed in expecting fire, expecting him to tear me apart on the spot. But his calm dismissal slices deeper than rage ever could.
Her jaw works, fury simmering under the surface, but she swallows it. His gaze is iron, and she’s smart enough not to push it. Not here. Not when he’s looking at her like she’s less than a distraction.
She spins, skirts snapping, and storms past me. Her heels cut into the stone with every step.
But she pauses. Just close enough to make sure her words sink. Her voice drops, quiet but sharp enough to pierce.
“I will ruin everything you’re trying to build here,” she whispers, venom lacing every syllable. “Everything p>
Then she’s gone. Roslin trailing behind her, eyes brushing mine with something that looks almost like pity before the door shuts.
The silence after is deafening.
I don’t move. My cheek still stings. My palms are raw against the marble. Something ugly churns low in my stomach, a warning I can’t shake.
Ominous. That’s the only word for it.
12:29 Sun, Dec 21 M
Chapter 27
86
655 vouchers
The mess hall hums with noise, Omegas clustered around the long wooden table, bowls of stew steaming between us. The air is thick with chatter and the earthy scent of bread, sweat, and damp stone. I sit at the head of the table, which still feels fucking strange, like I’m wearing someone else’s skin.
The others murmur, voices rising and falling with nervous excitement.
“This masked ceremony’s ridiculous,” one scoffs, tearing bread with her teeth.
“He’ll never choose an Omega,” another mutters. “It’s always politics. Always bloodlines p>
“Absurd,” someone agrees, rolling their eyes. “As if we’d ever stand a chance p>
The words grate. Their self–pity crawls under my skin until it’s unbearable. My palm slams down on the table, bowls rattling. The noise dies instantly.
“Enough.” My voice cuts through the room, sharper than I meant it to. “Behind those masks, once the full moon rises, everyone is equal. No titles. No names. No fucking chains holding you down p>
Their eyes are wide now, all fixed on me. My pulse hammers but I don’t stop.
“The King will choose with his own eyes. Not the elders. Not bloodlines. And if one of you is his mate? Then status won’t mean a damn thing. You’ll have the chance you’ve been pretending you never wanted p>
The silence stretches. And then, slowly, it cracks.
Hope seeps in.
Chatter bubbles up, louder this time, tinged with excitement.
“What kind of masks? ”
“Maybe lace p>
“No, gold p>
“They’ll never recognize us, not like that p>
Laughter, gossip, plans for dresses. The energy shifts like a tide, rising higher, and I catch Tilly’s eyes across the table. Then Marg’s. The three of us exchange a small, knowing smile.
Our plan is working.
The room is quiet. The fire burns low, shadows stretching across the stone walls. I sit at my desk, quill scratching against parchment, the weight of words grounding me the way nothing else can. Writing letters I’ll never send. Thoughts I’ll never speak.
Until-
12:29 Sun, Dec 21 M
Chapter 27
My eyes freeze. My breath catches.
The page is gone.
Ripped clean from the spine.
Not just any page.
The one with the song I sang. The one I thought was safe.
86
65 valichers
My heart drops into my stomach. Cold spreads through me, crawling across my skin like ice water.
Someone’s been here.
Someone knows.
And before I can even process what the hell that means—
BANG.
A sound shatters the silence.
And everything stops.
B
admin