HALSTON.
The morning had been quiet, until Mrs.
Redd began wandering into places she had no business being.
The surveillance monitors in my study hummed, casting a glow across the polished desk.
Oliver stood beside me, mid-sentence through a report on our shipping routes, but my attention had already drifted to the screen on the far left.
A figure flashed on the screen.
It was Kaira.
She was taking a stroll through the estate grounds.
She wore black pants and one of my oversized shirts she’d probably stolen from the master suite simply because she knew it would irritate me.
Her dark hair was loose around her shoulders as she wandered farther down the restricted wing of the estate.
I watched as her steps slowed, her head turning toward the secluded stone building at the edge of the property like something was drawing her to it.
Oliver looked up.
“She’s always up to something.”
Most people avoided that building entirely but she stepped inside anyway.
I guess the terror of the building did nothing to her.
I leaned back in my chair, watching the surveillance feed as she moved down the concrete hallway then stopped.
The torture room camera showed exactly what she was seeing.
A man hung from chains bolted into the ceiling, barely conscious.
Blood dripped steadily from his fingertips onto the floor beneath him.
Burn marks crawled across his chest and neck like melted flesh.
His head hung low beneath a soaked gag.
Kaira froze.
For a second, I thought she might walk away.
Then the prisoner made a weak muffled sound.
I watched her hesitate before stepping closer.
She pulled the gag from his mouth despite the blood and saliva staining it.
The man coughed violently.
“Help…” he rasped weakly.
“Please…”
Kaira looked disturbed.
And because she had absolutely no survival instincts whatsoever, she started trying to unlock the chains.
Oliver looked over at me carefully.
“Should I handle it?”
I stood.
“No.”
***********
By the time we entered the torture room, Kaira had managed to loosen one of the restraints halfway.
The prisoner wheezed desperately behind her.
She spun around immediately when the doors slammed open.
Her expression hardened the second she saw me.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” she snapped.
The guards remained silent behind me.
I walked forward slowly.
“He sold shipment routes to our enemies.”
Kaira’s eyes flashed.
“So this is your solution?”
“Some of my men were killed.”
“And that gives you the right to do this?”
I glanced at the bleeding prisoner before looking back at her.
“Yes.”
Disgust crossed her face instantly.
“You’re sick.”
I ignored it.
She had called me worse.
“He betrayed my organization,” I continued calmly.
“People died because of him.”
“And people are dying because of you!” she shot back.
“You stand here acting like some untouchable god while treating human beings like animals!”
My jaw tightened slightly.
It was interesting how she believed monsters needed justification.
I stepped closer.
“Move.”
“No.”
“Kaira.”
“No.” She lifted her chin stubbornly. Visit g.com for the full chapter.
“This is disgusting and unfortunately for you, I am not one who lets you have your way.”
I stared at her for a long second before reaching for her wrist.
She lunged at me.
Pain shot through my arm as her teeth sank into my skin.
A sharp hiss escaped through my teeth.
Before the guards and Oliver could even react, I grabbed the back of her neck, jerking her head away from my arm before she took another piece of flesh with her.
Kaira glared at me like a feral animal.
Breathing hard, eyes blazing, blood stained my wrist where she’d bitten me.
“Hold her down.” I commanded.
Kaira’s eyes widened as the guards grabbed her arms.
“Let me go!” She began struggling, cursing at me.
All attempts proved futile.
I adjusted my cuff calmly over the bite mark before looking at the prisoner again.
“Since my wife is so fascinated by how I conduct my business…” My gaze slid lazily back toward her struggling form.
“…she can stay and enjoy the full experience.”
The guards pinned her in place facing the prisoner.
“Begin.” I ordered.
The first scream echoed so violently through the room, Kaira went rigid.
By the third strike, her face had gone pale, her breathing heavier.
Now she understood exactly what kind of man she married.
Good.
The prisoner sobbed brokenly as another whip split his skin open.
Kaira stopped struggling after that, her eyes burning with anger.
After several long minutes, I finally lifted a hand.
“Enough.”
Silence dropped heavily into the room except for the prisoner’s weak choking breaths.
Kaira looked at me with pure, undiluted hatred.
I walked toward her slowly until I stood directly in front of her.
“You wanted some form of entertainment,” I said softly.
“I do hope you enjoyed the show.”
“Go to hell.” She spat.
A faint smirk pulled at my mouth.
“Take her to the dungeon,” I ordered after a pause, “Clearly the master suite has become too boring for her.”
Oliver looked dangerously close to laughing.
Kaira kicked one of the guards as they dragged her away.
***********
Eamon Luke arrived at the estate shortly after noon.
I was sitting in the parlor when the heavy front doors opened.
Unlike most men in my world, Eamon never announced his authority loudly.
He walked in, immaculate in his tailored grey suit.
He was a man who had guided my father before me and had practically raised me after my parents death.
“Halston,” Eamon said, a warm smile gracing his face as he stepped forward, offering a fatherly embrace.
“Eamon,” I nodded, a genuine sense of relief settling into my chest at his presence.
He was the one man in this city whose counsel I trusted implicitly.
“It’s good to see you.”
His sharp eyes dropped to the fresh bite mark visible near my wrist.
One brow lifted, but I ignored it entirely.
“I leave the country for one week, and you go and tie yourself to a wedding vow.” His mouth twitched faintly.
I almost rolled my eyes.
Eamon removed his gloves calmly.
“So you told me everything but you left out the most important detail—who is the girl?” He sat in the armchair opposite me, leaning back with a curious, paternal glint in his eye.
“Am I meeting her?”
I looked over at Oliver, who was standing by the door.
“Bring her up.”
A few minutes later, heavy footsteps of the guards echoed down the hall.
When Kaira stepped into the room, she looked like a beautiful disaster, her hair a bit tangled from struggling with the guards, her jaw set in a hard, unyielding line.
Eamon stood up immediately, the perfect picture of a polite, old-school gentleman.
He looked her over, his expression softening with a warm smile.
“Mrs.
Redd,” Eamon greeted politely.
Kaira barely acknowledged him, her jaw tightening at the mention of the name.
“Miss Voss,” she corrected flatly.
Eamon, however, only smiled back and handed her a small gift box.
“A wedding gift.”
She stared at it, visibly uninterested. Enjoying the story? Read on at novelping.com.
“I leave the country for one week and Halston starts collecting wives,” he said lightly.
Kaira’s expression darkened at the word collecting.
Her eyes stared blankly ahead.
A sharp, mocking huff escaped her.
Her chest rose and fell rapidly, insulted by the implication that the sentence may have referred to her as a piece of art to be hoarded on a shelf.
Ignoring Eamon entirely, she turned her shoulder to him, her gaze locking onto the guard beside her.
“Take me back,” she said, her voice completely deadpan.
The guard hesitated, looking at me.
I gave a nod before they turned and led her back.
Eamon watched her departure, his eyebrows raised in utter shock.
The smile faded from his face, replaced by genuine feeling of concern.
He turned back to me, adjusting his jacket.
“Was this union out of love?” Eamon asked, his tone shifting to something deeply serious.
“Do you have feelings for each other?
Does she have feelings for you?”
I leaned back lazily into my chair and picked up my glass of water.
“Apparently, she hates my guts,” a faint, dark spark of amusement danced in my eyes.
“But hate is also a feeling, so I would say…
she has feelings for me.”
Eamon sighed, shaking his head at my lack of gravity.
“Halston, be serious for a moment.”
“I am serious,” I replied smoothly, leaning back.
“But I really don’t care.”
Eamon rubbed his temples.
“And her family?”
“The Voss family.” I drank the water and dropped the glass.
“Years ago, our fathers drafted a marriage contract between us.
Now both of her parents are dead.
Either way, I have claimed what is mine.”
Eamon watched me quietly for a moment.
“Your father would’ve found this ironic.”
“My father found many things amusing.” My lips curled into a faint smile
We talked for a while, till it was time for him to leave.
Before exiting, he placed a hand briefly against my shoulder.
“Be careful with that girl, son.”
I smirked faintly.
“I think she’s the one who should be careful with me.”
He laughed, tapping my shoulder before making his way to the door.
*************
Late that night, the master suite felt unbearably quiet.
I sat at the edge of the bed for a long while, unbuttoned a button of my nightshirt subconsciously, staring at nothing.
I had never had a problem with the silence in my suite, but somehow it felt off.
I told myself it was because the room had become too accustomed to arguments, threats and Kaira’s constant attempts at violence.
Nothing more.
Eventually, with a low curse under my breath, I stood up, pulled a heavy, fur-lined black robe over my nightwear, tying it loosely at the waist, and headed out into the corridor.
The guards outside the dungeon straightened, terror flashing in their eyes at my sudden midnight appearance.
“Open it,” I ordered.
The heavy door creaked loudly as it unlocked.
The dungeon was freezing at night, cold stone swallowing warmth whole.
I stepped inside quietly.
Kaira was curled against the corner wall asleep.
Her arms wrapped weakly around herself against the cold, her body shivering terribly.
Even in her sleep, her brow was furrowed.
My jaw tightened slightly.
Annoying woman.
I stood over her for a long time, the shadows stretching across her pale face.
I untied my heavy robe and slid it off my shoulders.
Stepping closer, I leaned down to gently drape the thick, warm fabric over her shivering body, tucking it around her shoulders until the trembling stopped.
Kaira stirred faintly but didn’t wake.
A slow breath escaped her as warmth settled around her body.
I slid one arm beneath her knees and the other behind her back as I lifted her up.
She let out a soft, subconscious sigh, her head rolling naturally into the crook of my neck, her breathing evening out against my skin.
I carried her out of the dark, suffocating cold of the cell, walking back up the stone steps toward the main building and toward the master suite, entirely unfinished with the war we had started.