C12 Desires

Zephyr’s POV Cont'd:

I angrily marched to the room opposite her and slammed the door. I chose to stay here temporarily because I didn't trust myself sharing a room with her every night. I was concerned about losing control and giving Luca the opportunity to influence me. He wanted to Mark her.

I stood by the window, staring out into the dark expanse of the night, my mind raging with different emotions. The night offered no solace, no escape from the thoughts that plagued me.

Thoughts of why I do not find myself punishing her for the sins of Ronan and how much I hate her. But I hated myself more for how much I had shared with her, how much I had let her in. Amber, her name was a slow poison that seeped into my veins, spreading through my body and making me weak to my knees and I cannot afford for that to happen.

I have always prided myself on my self-control, and my ability to remain detached and untouchable. But with her, I could feel it breaking, little by little. I decided to bury it deep within me, to not delve into it, Yet, here I stand unable to deny the fact that she is in fact doing something to me. She managed to slip past my defenses with her cunning games and disarming innocence, and now I am left to feel exposed, vulnerable.

I clenched my fists, the tension in my muscles doing nothing to ease my mind. I replayed the moment in my mind, each memory cutting deeper into my resolve, a dagger would not stand a chance to how painful the memory sliced in. The way she chewed on her bottom lips, the way her eyes sparkled, all of it haunted me, making me feel things I had never felt.

I couldn’t stop myself from wanting her. I craved her presence, her scent, her touch even though I knew it would complicate the situation more, I cannot not want her. It is a dangerous desire, one that threatened to consume my whole.

Shaking my head, I tried to push her from my mind. I have more pressing matters to attend to. The deal I am currently working on requires my full attention. I couldn’t afford to be distracted by a woman, no matter how much she had gotten under my skin.

I strode out of the room because I needed to personally check on the prisoners. Delegating my tasks to subordinates has its own merits, but sometimes personal involvement is necessary to assert dominance and instill fear.

Moreover, Rafe, the Gamma of this pack reported to me that among the captives someone might be plotting something, I needed to see him with my eyes. All of the captives’ affairs lay in his hands, If I had my way, Luca would seize this opportunity and dismiss every one of them. Understanding my impatience with questioning, it's wiser for me to steer clear of it.

I paused at the entrance of the punishment chamber, steeling myself. When the guards outside bowed to pay off their respects and pushed the heavy iron door, the creak of the hinges and loud echoes of screams resonated. The dim light from a few scattered torches cast unsettling shadows, flickering and dancing like phantoms on the rough stone wall.

The guards inside straightened up at my approach, a mix of fear and respect in their eyes. I acknowledged them with a curt nod, my gaze already moving to the row of cells. I walked slowly and deliberately, my eyes scanning each prisoner.

I stopped in front of a cell where the particularly troublesome captive was held. A whirly man with a wild look in his eyes. “Has he been talking?” my voice was low.

The guard nodded nervously. “Yes, Alpha, He’s been trying to rally the others, saying there’s a way out.”

My eyes narrowed as I studied the man inside the cell. The prisoner met my gaze, a flicker of challenge in his eyes. I smiled at him, but it was a cold, predatory smile.

“Open it,” I ordered.

The guard fumbled with the keys and swung the door open, I stepped inside. My presence filling the small space. “So,” I began, my voice calm. “You think you can escape?”

“I admire your spirit, but let’s get one thing clear. No one escapes from me.”

With a swift motion, I grabbed the prisoner by his collar, slamming him against the wall. The man grunted in pain and sputtered blood from his mouth earning a satisfied growl from Luca.

“I.. I… please” he choked on his words and I wanted nothing more to do now than feed on his fears. But, I tossed the thought aside.

“I know what you want, you want me to kill you. You think when you die you can escape me?” His eyes turned sharply at my words. I know this is what he wanted. He wanted to die. He knew there was no escape route. but in his eyes, I could see how much of a weakling and coward he was. He wants to end it all. He wanted someone to do it for him because he couldn’t. He wanted an easy way.

‘I can’t grant you that, but what I can promise to grant you is insanity. I will strip you off everything, even your identity. That way, you can escape from who you are.” I flung him across the cell and decided it would be best to stay away from here before Luca snapped.

********************************

“You look like hell,” Xander remarked, leaning against the doorway with a smirk. “What has gotten into you.”

I scowled, not in the mood for his teasing. “Nothing that should concern you, just business.”

“Business issues huh?”, he raised an eyebrow. “Funny, because what I see, is that you’ve been unusually distracted lately. And don’t think I haven’t noticed you’ve stopped looking at other women.”

I shot him a glare suddenly becoming defensive. “What are you getting at?”

He only chuckled, shaking his head. “It’s obvious, man you’re hung on her. Amber.”

The mention of her name sent a jolt through me. I turned away, unable to meet his knowing gaze. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Sure, you don’t,” he said, his tone light but with an undercurrent of seriousness.

I smirked at him, ready to beat him at his own game. I took the challenge and I am not one to back down. I picked up my phone from the table stand to prove to him that his claims were false. Dialing on Rafe’s number. He picked in one ring. “Yes, Alpha”.

“Send me Amanda.” Xander threw a disgusted look my way. I never do women more than once, but she was an exception. I have called on her several times. She knew exactly how to please a man. She was wild in bed and gave me exactly what I wanted.

She takes it like a good little slut. Rafe told me few days back that she persisted in coming to see me, but I shrugged it off. Now maybe a release won’t be a bad idea after all.

Without wasting much time, she knocked on the door and Xander gave me a disappointed look before he walked away. That is his fucking business. I needed to get my stick wet.

She wasted no time and was ready for business. She fell on her knees and made her way to my slacks. My length was as limp as a deflated balloon but when I imagined my pretty girl and her pretty lips, my shaft painfully sprang to life. I would love to see how fucking beautiful she would look with my member in her mouth.

I rolled my sleeves and grabbed her by her hair.

Shoving her further against my length as I became more frustrated. This doesn’t feel right to me, something is missing.

“Leave.” She looked at me surprised that today I resisted her touch.

“I said FUCKING leave, do not make me repeat myself.” She wasted no time in grabbing her coat, and gathered what was left of her self-respect and made her way out of the door.

Furiously rubbing my hair, I tried taking sharp breaths closing my eyes in the process. Fucking ocean blue eyes was all I could see. I didn’t even realize how I let my wants cloud my judgment, or when I came into her bedroom, standing beside the bed.

The world around me faded into whispers, leaving only the pounding of my heart and the soft intake of her breath. Without conscious thought, I leaned in. my resolve crumbling like a sandcastle before the tide.

When our lips met, it was like the first bloom of spring after a long, cold winter. It was hesitant at first, a delicate brush of testing the waters of a forbidden sea. But when I grabbed her soft ass, she gasped and the warmth of her mouth enveloped me, I deepened the kiss, surrendering to the tidal wave of longing I had built within me.

She tasted just like her name. At that moment, nothing else mattered, Not the betrayal, not the revenge, not the contract, not the hatred, not my title. What only mattered, in her arms, I was only “Zeph.”

I pulled her closer to my erection, she should feel every outline of my want for her. I wanted her and I did nothing to hide the fact that I needed to have her.