Chapter 14: Crushed It

Lucian’s POV

​For several seconds, I didn’t move.

​My mind went completely blank. I stood frozen in the hallway, paralyzed by the shock of what had just happened. One second I was standing outside her door, and the next, a trembling body had launched itself directly at me.

​I wasn’t sure which part surprised me more: the fact that Annabel had screamed loud enough to wake half the mansion, or the fact that she was currently wrapped around me like her life depended on it. Her arms were locked around my neck, her legs were wrapped around my waist, and her face was buried deep against my shoulder. I could feel every quick, frantic breath she took against my skin.

​What the hell?

​Every single red flag in my mind screamed at me to shove her away. I was Alpha Lucian. I didn’t let anyone touch me like this, especially not the pampered, lying daughter of my greatest enemy. My wolf stirred violently inside me, demanding that I rip her off me and put distance between us.

​My hands moved to her waist, ready to do exactly that, but as I lifted them to push her off, my fingers hesitated. I couldn’t do it.

​I didn’t know why. Maybe it was because she was trembling against me, holding on as though letting go would kill her. Her hands held me so tightly that pulling her away would mean practically tearing her off me.

​Whatever the reason, my hands remained where they were, holding her up.

​Then she slowly lifted her head.

​Our eyes met. Her sea-blue eyes were wide, and for the first time since I had met her, there was no anger or defiance in them. Just shock. Her breath hitched, and I saw the sudden realization wash over her face, looking as if she had just remembered exactly who was holding her.

​Neither of us spoke.

​Then her gaze dropped between us, and her eyes widened even more.

​"Oh, gods."

​Panic flashed across her features. Before I could say anything, she quickly tried to scramble away and detach herself from me.

​My arms loosened, and she lost her footing entirely, slipping from my grip so fast that she tumbled to the floor with a soft thud, falling backward onto the cold stone at my feet.

​I stared down at her. She stared back up at me. For a moment, there was complete silence.

​Then another sharp hiss came from inside her bedroom.

​Annabel’s head snapped toward the open door. The color immediately disappeared from her face.

​"There!"

​She scrambled to her feet and rushed toward the doorway. I followed her gaze into the bedroom.

​That was when I saw it. Moving slowly across the carpet, its thick, long black body sliding toward the open doorway, was a serpent raising its head with silent confidence as it picked up our scent.

​My eyes narrowed as I identified it immediately. A Black Mamba.

​Anger flared in my chest. A Black Mamba was one of the most venomous serpents in the entire realm. Its bite meant a painful, fast death.

​Before I could demand an explanation for her bizarre behavior, Annabel suddenly disappeared from beside me. A second later, I felt something grab the back of my shirt.

​I glanced over my shoulder. She was hiding behind me, both hands twisted tightly into my shirt as she peeked around my arm, using my body as a shield.

​I gritted my teeth, absolute irritation boiling in my chest. I turned my head to glare back at her over my shoulder. "What are you doing?" I growled.

​"Please," she whispered, her voice trembling so badly it was barely audible.

​"Let go of my shirt."

​"No."

​My brows pulled together. "No?"

​She shook her head quickly. "I’m scared of snakes. There’s a snake in my room."

​I stared at her. First, enclosed spaces. Now, snakes. She was a wolf, for fuck’s sake.

​"You are a werewolf," I said.

​"I know."

​"And you’re afraid of a snake?"

​"Yes!"

​Another hiss came from the room, and Annabel immediately moved closer behind me.

​I closed my eyes for a second. Unbelievable.

​Yet, as I looked back at the snake, my annoyance faded. Something wasn’t right. A Black Mamba didn’t simply find its way up to the top floor of an upstairs bedroom in the middle of my mansion. Not with guards posted outside, servants constantly moving through the halls, and every entrance watched.

​Someone had put it there. Someone among the staff or guards had deliberately planted it here to kill her, or at least terrorize her.

​My jaw tightened. Apparently, locking her inside a dark room hadn’t been enough for my people. Someone in my mansion was still trying to punish her without my permission.

​The snake glided through the doorway, raising the front of its body high. Its mouth opened, and a sharp, aggressive hiss filled the hallway as if it were preparing to strike us both.

​Annabel’s fingers tightened around my shirt. "Lucian..."

​"Stay there," I commanded.

​"Trust me, I wasn’t planning on going anywhere."

​Despite my irritation, my eyes narrowed at her answer. Even terrified, she still had something to say.

​I turned back as the snake prepared to attack. My wolf immediately pushed forward. My lips pulled back over my teeth, and a low, terrifying growl rolled from my chest, vibrating with raw Alpha aura.

​The snake jerked backward, freezing instantly as it caught the scent of a true predator.

​I didn’t waste another second. I stepped into the room, closing the distance between us in a flash. My fingernails extended into razor-sharp black claws.

​"What are you doing?" Annabel whispered behind me.

​I ignored her. The snake struck, but my hand moved before it could reach me. With blinding speed, my hand shot down, and my claws dug into its scaly flesh directly behind its head.

​Annabel gasped. "Lucian!"

​The snake’s body twisted violently around my forearm, but I tightened my grip. One squeeze. With a brutal flick of my wrist, I applied crushing pressure to its neck. Bone snapped instantly under my strength. I squeezed hard, completely crushing the life out of it.

​Its body went limp. Without a second thought, I tossed the lifeless body onto the carpet like a piece of trash.

​Silence settled over the hallway. I retracted my claws, flicking the black blood from my hands before turning around.

​Annabel was staring at me. Her mouth was slightly open, and her eyes were so wide I almost wondered whether she was now more frightened of me than the dead snake. She looked small, trembling against the doorframe as if she were waiting for me to turn that brutal strength on her next.

​"What?" I asked.

​"You..." Her eyes dropped to the snake and then returned to me. "You killed it with your hand."

​"It was a snake."

​"I can see that."

​"Then why are you looking at me like that?"

​"Because normal people don’t grab deadly snakes with their bare hands!"

​"I’m not normal people."

​She opened her mouth, then closed it. For once, Princess Annabel had nothing to say.

​I glared at her. I couldn’t make sense of her. She was a wolf, a supposed noble princess from a powerful pack, yet she was terrified of enclosed spaces, terrified of a simple reptile, and didn’t show a single trace of an internal wolf.

​I took a heavy step toward her. Immediately, she stepped backward.

​I stopped.

​There it was again. Fear. Not the fear she had shown when she saw the snake. This was different. This was fear of me.

​She took another step backward, retreating until her spine hit the hard wall of the hallway.

​Her breath caught, and my eyes dropped briefly to her throat. Faint red marks remained where my fingers had gripped her earlier. My gaze moved lower to the cloth wrapped around her injured arm.

​Something uncomfortable settled in my chest, but I pushed it away. I was not in the mood for this shit. I didn’t want to be concerned about her, and I certainly had zero patience to play the hero or stand in a hallway wondering why the sight of her being afraid of me bothered me.

​Without another word, I turned my back on her.

​"Wait," she called out softly, but I didn’t respond... I kept walking.

​She shouted behind me, "What about the snake? I can’t go into that room!"

​I looked over my shoulder, and she immediately went quiet.

​I didn’t answer. Instead, I turned away and walked down the corridor.

​I reached my private quarters, pushed the heavy wooden door open, and stepped inside. I shut the door, walked toward the chair near the window, sat down heavily, and closed my eyes.

​That should have been the end of it. It wasn’t.

​The moment I closed my eyes, the memory of her came flooding back.

​Annabel jumping into my arms. Her legs wrapping around my waist. Her arms locked around my neck, her face buried against my shoulder.

​My eyes snapped open.

​"Damn it," I muttered, rubbing a hand over my face.

​Why the hell was I thinking about that?

​It was her scent. I had noticed it the moment she jumped into my arms. Soft, warm, faintly sweet, and strangely familiar.

​I frowned, my hands balling into tight fists. Why did she smell so damn good?

​"Get a grip on yourself," I muttered into the empty room.

​I stood up abruptly and walked toward the window, staring out into the dark night. This marriage wasn’t real. I hadn’t brought Kenneth’s daughter here because I wanted a wife, nor had I signed those papers seeking companionship.

​I had married her to make her life miserable. And tomorrow would be the first real step toward breaking her completely.