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I scanned the document, mentally redacting the flowery verbiage for the gist of the message.
“Give her my regards,” I said, my tone welcoming no rebuttals. “I will be home soon.”
Before he could say anything further, I shut the door again, leaning back against it with a thud.
I needed a plan—a firm, airtight strategy that wouldn’t crumble the moment I was in Olympia’s presence.
Failing that, I might just have to kill her and get it over with.
Chapter Fifteen
Olympia
I was better prepared when she next returned—braced for the punch of her scent and the assault of her questions.
Without any running water in the room, I had wiped myself down as best I could with the silken throws that had been strewn almost artfully at the foot of the bed. They now lay in a soiled pile under the window.
Even hours later, my skin was bright red and almost raw from the waterless scrubbing. No matter how hard I tried, I simply couldn’t rid myself of the mark she had left behind. It seemed to cover every inch of me, burning my nostrils with each inhale.
I couldn’t escape.
She was everywhere, marking my skin with her scent as though I was an omega.
I hated it.Hated it, hated it, hated it.
Nothing could be more demeaning—nothing except the knowledge that I had willingly submitted to my own humiliation.
I stood by the large windows, gazing longingly at the thick-rooted buttresses that were too far away to access with my powers. Their energies vibrated with an intense rhythm, indicating they had been secure in the ground for more than a century. Nothing had disturbed their existence—not the reedy winds, not the wildlife, and certainly not the humans that had erected a high tower right next to their habitat.
I scented Zoei before she made her presence known. She had bathed recently, and the smell of bergamot soap grated across my senses.
It was an assault—a tactical one.
Gone was any trace of my own scent on her skin, and my Alpha howled in my chest in protest. Zoei knew exactly what she was doing by scrubbing herself clean while I marinated in a mix of our come. She wished to establish a power imbalance by reminding me of my humiliation while she rose above the incident with nary a consequence.
Anger bubbled in my blood.
Thewrongnessof it all became prominent when Zoei stepped fully into the room, still dressed in her leathers. After an initial glance, I gave her my back, staring out into the cloudy horizon.
“Didn’t your tutors warn you never to give your back to your enemies?” she asked, a notable hoarseness in her voice. “Where is your sense of survival?”
A scoff puffed from my lips, but I didn’t turn to face her. Irefusedto give her that satisfaction.
“You don’t scare me, Zoei.”
I jumped as a swirl of flames touched my skin for a brief second before fading away.
“You sure?” she questioned again, boots clicking on the stone floors as she stepped forward.
I felt my chin tilt up in a deliberately obstinate move.
“I’m sure,” I reiterated. “You don’t scare me. Not one bit.”
“Then you are a fool.”
Her voice resonated with dangerous finality, but I refused to let my heart shudder.
“Would I be more or less of a fool for letting you into my body?” I asked, placing both palms on the stone ledge, gripping tight. “Would I be more or less of a fool for letting you humiliate me? Treat me worse than a whore?”
