CHAPTER 6

When Cassian says, “Kill her,” I expect pain. Instead, Nico grabs the rope around my neck and yanks me to my feet.

“Move,” he says.

With the leash on my neck, I stumble as he drags me out of the room. Jaxon doesn’t stop him. Cassian doesn’t say another word and that scares me more than anything else. 

Is Nico really going to kill me now?

My heart pounds so loud I swear Nico can hear it. Maybe he can actually because the corner of his mouth slightly lifts. 

“Are you really going to kill me?” I ask, trying to keep my voice calm. 

He doesn’t answer. 

“Where are you taking me?” 

There’s no response either. He just keeps walking. I try to get away but it’s impossible. Nico drags me to the stairs and that’s when I have a hunch as to where he is taking me. 

As soon as we reach his bedroom, he opens the door and pulls me inside. The door shuts behind us with a solid click and I bite my bottom lip. 

“What are you trying to do, Beta?” 

“Are you playing dumb, Vivienne?”

My eyes widen at the realization of what he is planning. I glance at the door and calculate if I can really escape but I don’t think so. 

“If you are planning to escape, think again,” he says as if he is able to read what’s inside my mind. 

“This is illegal!” I scream at him. 

Nico smirks. “Illegal? I can do anything I want with our slaves and you are a slave here, remember? Besides, you are my mate, Vivienne whether I like it or not.”

“Fuck the matebond! I don’t want it either!” 

He arches his brow. “You really know how to provoke a person,” he mumbles and then he walks toward the drawer near his bed. 

Damn! 

Is he going to kill me in his room?

“If you’re going to do it, just do it,” I say and he suddenly stops rummaging through the drawer. 

Slowly, he turns around and narrows his eyes at me. “Kill you?”

“Isn’t it what the Alpha asked you to do? To kill me?”

He studies me for a long second then he steps closer. “If I wanted to kill you, why would I bring you here in my room?”

My temper snaps. “Then what the fuck are you planning to do with me, asshole?” 

But then, the word barely leaves my mouth before I see the shift in his eyes. His jaw tightens and his breathing changes. 

“You really don’t know when to stop,” he says quietly. 

“Why should I?” I fire back. “You drag me on a leash and expect me to do what? Thank you?”

That does it. His hand moves so fast I don’t see it coming. The crack echoes in the room and for a second, everything goes silent. 

My head snaps to the left side and heat explodes across my cheek. I stagger backward, my vision spinning, and my knees hit the edge of his bed. In the end, I lose the balance and fall onto the mattress. 

I blink up at the ceiling, too stunned to do anything. He really hit me! Slowly, I turn my head. He stands a few feet away, and his hand is still half-raised like he can’t believe what he just did. 

I push myself up on my elbows. “Is that it?” I spit. “That’s how strong you are? You hit women now?”

His expression hardens. “You don’t get to speak to me like that,” he says in a low voice. 

“I’ll speak however I want,” I shoot back, even though my cheek is throbbing. “You don’t scare me!” 

That’s a lie.

He steps closer to the bed.

I scramble backward slightly without meaning to and his gaze drops to the movement. 

“Not scared, huh?” he teases. 

I clench my jaw as I glare at him but all of a sudden, he plants a hand on the mattress beside my thigh. 

“I warned you earlier,” he reminds me. As a slave, you dare to talk back. You even kicked the Alpha. Moreover, you tore his shirt!”

“So? You’re mad because of it?”

“You challenged our authority in front of everyone!” 

I smirk. “Is that so?” 

Nick grits his teeth. Then he leans down, his mouth close to my ear. “I’m not killing you now. Not yet,” he whispers. 

“Then what?” I ask. 

He pulls back just enough so I can see his face.

“I want something from you.”

My heart skips.

“What?” I ask but he doesn’t respond. 

Instead, his thumb brushes lightly under my chin, forcing me to look up at him. “Suck my dick.”

I blink several times, trying to process what he just told me. What is that again? Suck him? Has he lost his mind? Why on earth would I ever do something like that?

Never! 

“Pervert!” I snap.