Hunted by the Possessive Alpha King

Harring

eady behind me when

Moonwise lanterns glimmered between black pines. My arms hung u

slow and heavy, like a drum I was not meant to hear. His breath touched my neck,

?" he murmured. "W

r, but my throat

ear. "No answer? Then I

ist, its warmth a brand I could not escape. I tried

n't get

words frightening. They did not sound like a threat shout

rt before I could see it. Only his eyes remained-amber, watchful, c

t, the dream

s flew

ngle torch met my gaze. As a human slave in the dungeon beneath Blackstone Keep, I lay on a thin pal

had traded our names in whispers during the journey,

d of sweat, fe

. His inhuman, yellow eyes swept over us with the de

ed in the common tongue. "Mat

the cell. Girls scrambled over one

lave cart who had shared her bread with me when the guards

. I forced myself to take a slow, steadying breath. Fr

o a single file line and he

hold and fell hard. The guard turned toward her. I sta

" she b

d any. The journey had taught us the rule quickly enough: one

woman who controlled every servant and slave in Blackstone

and her eyes were as sharp as shards of g

d her, whispered in terrif

gaze passed over me without a flicker of recogni

silence with unquestionable authority. "From this day forward, you have no names. Yo

alm. "Here, your only value is obedience. Learn the

r face pale with terro

warmth. "Crying is a sign of weakness. Here, the

Tessa, dragging her away as sh

ence fell over the room, broken only by

ide my sleeves. My nails dug into my palms, the sha

the door-two of them, one on each side of the entrance. Their hands were on their belts, where the keys hung.

ape tonight. Tha

teps it had taken from the cell door to here. I had worked on enough project timelines in my old life t

lace where a human could expect mercy. This was a living hell. But I w

nued, her voice unchanged. "You will learn how to serve the Vorrath n

till water, sending ripples of hope a

the road of our new lives. And I had to s

last time, finally landing on a colle

ning," she said coldly, "is absolute ob