Page 146 of Uncrowned

“We can’t forget. Love me here—hate me there. You can’t forget to hate me, Penelope. Hate me, so you can keep me. And…” his voice broke through his deep moan. “And I’m the asshole. Intolerable. Cold. But you know I love you. They can’t know. They can never know.”

“Never. They’ll never know.”

Our lips met, and I broke away sucking in a deep breath as his cum shot into me.

If it meant protecting our love, I’d be the queen nightmares were made of. I’d be vicious. Cruel. Even hated, if that’s what it took to keep us safe. Love was many things, but it wasn’t guaranteed. I had Vaughn’s love, and I was going to do everything in my power to keep it.

“I don’t know, Unavowed… Should we get her a chair? I mean—You’ve been waiting for months. Hasn’t she been through enough?”

“Theodore, sit there and eat. Stop worrying about my Intended. She’ll get a chair when she earns it. For now, Penelope can sit on the floor where she belongs.”

“How long are you going to make her wear that slave dress? Shouldn’t she be⁠—”

“Theo.”

Vaughn’s voice was sharp causing Theodore to stop talking. I held in my smile at his concern. I was blissful, even though I didn’t appear so. I stayed true to our arrangement. I sat with a scowl, keeping my head down. I fought him at every turn. On occasion, Vaughn would slide his finger along my neck, and I’d try not to shiver. Even with as sore as I was from our night of lovemaking, I wanted to go again, and again, and again.

“Unavowed—”

Theo paused, and the talking died out, only to turn into a buzz as heads whipped around. Some Masters even pointed.

“It’s her.”

I looked over curiously, craning my neck. A guard was leading a woman. One, that had my heart nearly stopping.

Blonde hair with red highlights was a mess around her shoulders. Her white slip dress was dirty, and she had blood smeared across her face. She was looking around, scared but curious. I didn’t think. She turned to me, and I felt myself keep my hand low as I waved.

One minute she was there, the next she was ripping free of the guard and sprinting right for me. Gasps sounded, and my head flew up. Panic had me fidgeting. If I stood and defied Vaughn, I would be overshadowing him in front of The Order. I couldn’t do that.

I started waving my hand, no. I moved it faster so she would not come. To stop. Stop. Stop!

The large guard was chasing and gaining on her. His hand reached out and manage to catch the bottom length of her hair. With a hard yank, she screamed, getting ripped back.

“Penny! Let go of me! Penny, are you okay? Penny!”

The guard kneeled at seeing Vaughn, slamming Marian to the ground as he did. All air left her as her mouth shot open, and she tried to search for oxygen.

“I apologize, High Master—Unavowed. She doesn’t learn.”

I shifted on the ground in a panic. Vaughn headed forward as Marian coughed, trying to catch her breath. Before I could stop myself, my screams and sobs were filling the room.

“Mercy! Please, anything! Mercy!”

“Stand her up.”

A loud cry left Marian. She swayed as the guard held her upright. Vaughn moved in close. From my view of his peripheral, I could see him glaring down at her. The beginning of a smile was there, but it wasn’t a nice one.

“The infamous Marian LaRoe. You have no idea how long I’ve waited for this.”

“Waited? I don’t know you.”

His head slowly shook back and forth. “No. But you know her.”

I was on my knees, my arms outstretched as if I could somehow help Marian. As if I were begging. And I was. I pleaded to Vaughn with my eyes as sobs left me. My dear friend. My only friend… She’d treated me so good and this is what I was allowing? Even now, Marian was only thinking about me.

“I promised to protect her, and I will.”

“Protect her from me?” His smile grew wide. “But she’s mine.”