Every memory of her—the way she laughed, the heat of her skin, the wildness in her eyes—was etched into the walls of my heart, impossible to erase.
The grief surged up, sharp and uncontrollable.
A guttural howl tore from my chest—raw and inhuman—rattling the walls with its force.
The moonstone necklace dangling from Alina’s throat shimmered like a ghost, taunting me with its cursed beauty. My gaze locked on it, and in a flash of rage, I seized the chain and yanked. The gold snapped with a metallic cry, and the gem shattered in my fist. Shards of stone and twisted links rained to the floor like broken promises.
Alina gasped, her hand flying to her throat. “Why would you do that? Ilovedthat necklace!”
A thin red line marked her delicate skin, where the chain had bitten into her as it broke.
“BecauseIgave that necklace toher,” I snarled through clenched teeth. “It washers. The woman whose name I will never repeat.”
Alina recoiled, her expression morphing in disgust, as if horrified that she had worn something soaked in the memory of my dead lover.
I straddled her, my hand closing around her throat—not to choke her, but enough to let herfeelthe threat behind my fury. My voice dropped into something cold and final.
“The worst thing you could ever do to me, Alina,” I growled, “is love another. That is theonlyline you cannot cross. If you ever open your legs to another man, I swear to you, Iwillkillyou. My dark lover betrayed me. She was everything.Everything.”
My voice simmered with barely leashed intensity.
Alina shoved my hand away with a sudden, startling strength. “Then why,” she hissed, “did you allow me to take lovers at the start of all this?”
I bared my teeth in a low, animal growl. “Because I was trying to protect the last pieces of my dark, broken heart. But no more.”
I leaned in close, voice vibrating with menace. “Promise me.Swearto me. Never betray me. Because if you do, I’ll ensure you never live long enough to regret it.”
“I won’t,” she said, looking directly into my eyes, her tone solemn. “No one will ever accept me like you do. That’s over now. We are the future. We are invincible.”
She paused, her breath warm against my jaw.
“I’m glad you killed my father,” she said. “Because if you hadn’t… I would have.”
Her soft hands moved with purpose, wrapping around my hardened length and guiding it to her slick opening. She was ready for me—eager, unashamed.
I growled in approval.
“I only ever wanted to corrupt the world,” I whispered. “To infect humanity. To overthrow my teacher. Mymaster.But he betrayed me. Took away the only light I ever had.”
My muscles trembled as I hovered over the woman who now held that place—my everything.
But then I saw her expression shift into something primal and dark. Rage mixed with lust. It was as if she might tear my throat out if I spoke another word.
So, I silenced myself.
I crushed my mouth to hers in a savage kiss, devouring her breath, her doubt, her defiance.
And then Ifuckedher—hard, relentless, like war made flesh—branding every thrust into her bones. Letting her know she was mine.Onlymine.
And if she ever dared to break her vow?—
I’d already told her what would happen.
And I meant every fucking word.
Chapter 16
Alina
