OLEANDER
For some reason, Dante was convinced I was responsible for everything that happened last night.
As punishment, he ordered that I be given no food for three days and locked me inside some kind of cell, chains binding my body.
I didn’t know how I was expected to survive that long.
Secretly, I hoped I wouldn’t.
I was exhausted from living at his mercy.
There was nothing I could do to hurt him.
He ruled this place like a king.
They revered him.
Feared him.
No one would help me get revenge on the monster who destroyed my life.
I should stop hoping for anything different.
A groan slipped from my lips as the familiar dull ache throbbed in my stomach.
I had been here for hours, I thought.
Time was impossible to measure, but one thing was certain.
I was starving.
So hungry, my eyelids drooped from weakness.
My body sagged forward, mouth dry, throat raw and scratchy from thirst.
I rested my head against the cold metal bars of the cell, drawing in slow, steady breaths.
If food were denied me, at least I needed air—anything to keep me conscious in this suffocating, stale space.
“A pitiful sight.” Celina’s voice came from above me.
I couldn’t lift my head to look at her.
A chain held it in place.
So instead, I stared at her colourful pants and the sandals on her feet.
I scoffed.
“Are you here to mock me?” I murmured.
“Mock you?” She retorted, opening the cell.
“Barely.”
She crouched to my eye level, and only then did I see her clearly.
She held a tray carrying a loaf of bread, steak, strawberry jam, water, and milk.
My mouth watered, and the sharp ache in my stomach intensified, but I refused to fall for the bait.
I watched as she set the tray on the floor in front of me.
“Eat up.” She said, nudging the tray forward with her foot.
“You might not get this opportunity again.”
“I’m not a beggar,” I murmured, turning my face away from the food.
“Tell Dante to go to hell.” I spat.
Celina snorted, staring at me in disbelief.
I continued, ignoring the glare fixed on me.
“If he wants to kill me, he’d better do it now because I’ll not eat his food and let him touch me!”
That was precisely what was going through his sick mind.
He wanted me to be grateful that he was keeping me alive.
He had ordered no food for three days, so he should stick to the terms of his own bargain.
“You sure are gutsy despite being in an unfavourable position,” Celina muttered.
“Take the food away. I don’t want to be indebted to a monster. I’ll kill the first chance I get.”
Celina giggled, her shoulders shaking as she did.
“It’s okay to dream, Oleander. But killing Dante should be the last thing on your mind because he’s…well, he can’t die.”
I frowned at her.
What the hell was she talking about?
“However, I am not here to talk about your hate for him or how you should kill him.” She dismissed it with a wave of her hand, then reached for me.
I flinched, pulling back, but I didn’t get far enough because I was bound. This chapter is updated first at g.com.
Celina produced a key and unlocked the chain around me.
She glanced at the watch on her wrist.
“You have one hour to finish this. Also, another hour or more for the stench to leave you. The last thing I want is for your benefactor to get in trouble.”
“I said I don’t want anything from Dante,” I grunted, rubbing my aching wrist and neck.
Celina turned to me, eyes narrowed.
“Because this isn’t from him,” she said in a sharp voice.
“Do you think I’d be here if it were?”
I swallowed thickly, wincing at the pain in my throat.
Celina spun around and started to walk away, then paused.
“He’s out of town and won’t be back until night. Hex told me to bring the food.”
“Why?” I whispered.
My arms wrapped around myself as I suddenly felt the chill in the air.
“He’s Dante’s subordinate…”
“And someone compassionate enough to offer food to a prisoner, knowing it could cost him his life,” she said.
I stared down at the food.
Was he really that thoughtful?
I wondered if I had been wrong to snap at him last night.
After all, he had said he was trying to protect me.
Yet, he was also the reason I was trapped in this mess, and the protection he had spoken about was something I had yet to see.
“If you want to keep seeing him, better eat everything before my brother comes back. And if he catches you eating it, get ready to deny it with your life because…” Celina closed the space between us, getting right in my face, her voice dropping low.
“If you drag Hex into your mess, I’ll make sure you regret ever setting foot here.”
I watched her leave.
The moment she was gone, I stopped thinking about how humiliating it was to be indebted to strangers who had placed me in this situation.
I sank to the floor and devoured the food, barely tasting it.
A while later, a guard returned and chained me down again.
I stayed like that, unmoving, until Dante arrived.
I watched him warily as he approached, his expression unreadable.
Even the smile I loathed so much was gone.
This Dante felt different.
Colder.
More dangerous.
Like a predator closing in on its prey.
He grabbed the chain and hauled me to my feet, then shoved me back against the wall.
His face buried itself in my hair, my neck, my skin, sniffing.
I held my breath, my stomach twisting as he stepped back.
I dropped my gaze, unable to meet his eyes.
Maybe if I didn’t look at him for too long, he wouldn’t realize I had eaten something and punish me for that, too.
Such a cruel bastard.
“Look at me.”
I didn’t obey.
Dante didn’t wait for compliance.
He yanked the chain, forcing me to stumble forward.
My eyes flew up to his before I could stop myself.
He snarled.
“What are you?”
“What?” I stuttered, stunned by the question.
“You can release pheromones which are stronger than any human, nearly killing half the people in the party yesterday, your injuries are nearly nonexistent, and…” he paused, his gaze dragging slowly over my body.
“The one from the attack a week ago. No one should be able to heal that fast.”
“What are you talking about?” I whispered, confusion tightening my chest.
But I saw nothing.
The only injury I remembered having was from the shard of glass I’d grabbed before my freedom was stolen.
And Celina, she’d done something strange to my palm that day.
She wouldn’t explain it, just like now.
Nothing made sense.
“You don’t smell like one of us either,” Dante muttered, eyes thinned into slits.
“So tell me, Oleander, what the fuck are you?”
“I…” I blinked, shrinking back, every nerve in my body alert.
“I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”
“You don’t?” His gaze darkened.
“Or are you playing me…just like your father did for years?”
Something snapped inside me.
Rage.
Hot and wild unfurled within me.
“You want to punish me for his sins, don’t you?” I hissed.
“Even though I believe he did nothing wrong. Do it, then. Kill me. But stop dragging his name through the dirt every chance you get!”
Dante moved fast, slamming me back into the wall.
My breath hitched, spine arching from the cold stone.
His face hovered close, jaw clenched.
“My mate or not,” he growled in my face, “I’ll not tolerate disrespect from you.”
I stared at him, choking on my tears.
“Mate,” I snapped back.
“I don’t care what that means, but you will never force me to respect you, Dante. Over my dead body.”
He scoffed, his lower lip curling into a smirk.
Yes.
This was the monster I knew.
Not the brooding version from moments ago.
In one swift motion, he turned me around until my face was pressed flat against the wall.
“Then watch me force that respect out of you, Oleander.”
I didn’t have time to process his words before his hand gripped the sheer fabric of my dress.
It tore with a sharp rip that echoed through the room, exposing my back to the cold air.
I barely had time to register the chill before the first strike landed.
I screamed.
Pain exploded across my back, white and blinding.
Tears burned my eyes and spilled freely down my cheeks.
“What are you doing now, Oleander?” he asked, his voice cruelly calm.
Another blow followed.
I swallowed the scream, biting hard on my lower lip until I tasted blood.
My ears rang.
My knees buckled as my vision blurred from the intensity of the pain.
But Dante didn’t stop.
He kept striking me until I could no longer suppress my cries.
Until I screamed his name, begged him to stop.
At some point, my voice gave out completely.
I faded, then woke again, only for the torment to continue.
When he finally stopped, my body was too weak to support itself.
I collapsed to the floor, trembling, vision hazy.
I fought to stay conscious, but the darkness claimed me.
“I am merciful enough to keep you alive,” he said coldly.
“Be grateful. Your father didn’t give me that choice.”