BREA POVHe led me to his room. Then pushed me into the red high chair at the corner of it, with an order not to move.My eyes followed his movement, his earlier words ringing in my head. I watched him enter the bathroom, then he turned on the tap, drowning me out.I took a deep breath and made myself relax into the chair before closing my eyes and breathing in and out deeply.Nicolai was serious about keeping me with him, so that meant that in the meantime, he wasn't going to kill me- yet I still feared his unpredictability.But he had been right in his assumptions when he said I was already considering staying with him- smug bastard. But did I really want to stay or not? Then again, Was there really anything waiting for me back home? Thinking about it- deeply - made the idea of running back to my parents not so appealing. And judging by how sloppy I'd been at disposing of the body of Markus, I wouldn't be surprised if they found his remain already. They probably would. He was Mom an

BREA POV I was so going to lose. I could almost feel it, but I had to prove him wrong. Needed to just hold on for five minutes. I could do that. It shouldn't be that difficult to resist him right? Right? Nicolai's expression tightened as he dipped a brow. Tilting his head to the side, he hooked his fingers into the top of my shirt and then tore them down in one go, just like the last time.The rough action burned my skin, leaving me exposed. Every movement from Nicolai stirred the air around, making me feel hot in the chilly room. I tried to calm down, tried to regulate my breathing. If I was all worked up when he hadn't even started touching me, what was going to happen when he did? Nicolai’s wide and cool palm landed on the center of my chest right against my heart, and he stilled, listening to its beating.His left hand framed my head. His thumb brushed over the pulsing veins on my forehead and temple, then drifted lengthways down my cheekbone and crawled over the soft swells o

BREA POVRyder yanked me through the gardens, his grip on my wrist merciless. A little gate at the back that I was sure was locked when Nicolai had let me survey the house was wide open and it led into the woods. All the guards were probably trying to stop whoever the attackers were because there was no one guarding them. The night was still a fucking maze to me. I'd been sleeping contentedly and now I was living a freaking nightmare. Shot rang out, explosions rocking the very ground we ran on. The gravel beneath my feet dug in making me wince, and I ached all over from the stress my body had been through, but Ryder kept pulling me to match his pace, completely oblivious to my discomfort. There had been so much blood when Ryder had dragged me out of my room. The men stationed in the hallway had all been shot, and severely too, so how was Ryder even alive and dragging me through the woods? I tried to pry his hold off but he was relentless and the farther we ran, the more my heart le

NICOLAI POV Fire burned around me, heating the air, but the heat of anger that pierced through my veins was fiercer. All I saw was red, and the blood of the men I'd spilled clung onto me, dripping down to the floor as I walked up the stairs toward the one room that truly mattered. Bodies lay strewn everywhere, most of them the invading soldiers. They had attacked my mansion knowing fully well that they were all going to die. But why?Was it the Angrav? Did they plan the attack, because the Black organization had tipped them off I would not be around... But the tattoos on most of those men had been familiar... They were Xavier's soldiers. The soldiers I'd told Vicente to get rid of. I strode towards the hall where I'd kept Brea, and seeing the dead men that littered my path made the rage that poisoned my blood spread. I'd assigned them to keep her safe and here they were, lying dead on the floor. If Brea was dead... I paused, refusing to accept it. She couldn't be. I wasn't done wit

BREA POV.I was counting the seconds and every noise I heard made the hope in my chest flare to life, that Nicolai had come to rescue me, but it was always Lucas, and each time he came into my room, I couldn't help my blood running cold even though I feigned indifference.I knew he was going to snap soon. All his words had been to disarm me but he was foolish if he thought that I believed any of it.Love. I doubt he even knew what the word meant. The way he watched me though, I knew he wanted me, and that scared me. I didn't want him to touch me. Waking up to his hand grazing my thigh had made my skin crawl so bad, I wanted to cut my freaking flesh off. He was trying to act kind, but I knew how ugly he could get, how evil he truly was.Thinking about how he'd touched me- like he had a right to- made me see red, and if I'd had a weapon, he would have been dead in the blink of an eye, and it would be because of his nasty wondering hands. Just like Nicolai, Lucas was unpredictable, and