Chapter 239: The Monster in chains
Natalie~
The dungeon held its breath.
Thick with silence, the kind that presses in from all sides. The kind that dares you to speak, only so it can swallow the sound whole.
And I just stood there, eyes locked on him. Watching.
Darius was free now—no chains, no guards, exactly how he’d demanded it. But he didn’t move. Not even a flicker. That smug, ever-present smirk of his had drained off his face like blood from a corpse. What replaced it was... confusion. Or maybe fear. Like his mind hadn’t caught up to the fact that the game had changed—and he was no longer the one holding the pieces.
I tilted my head, voice soft but cutting. "This is what you wanted, remember? No restraints. No backup. Just you and me. So go ahead, Alpha. Show me what all that posturing was really worth."
Inside my head, Jasmine purred, her voice laced with delicious menace. "Say the word. Let him lay a single finger on you. Give me an excuse, Mara. Just one."
My lips curled into a smile—slow, deliberate, and all teeth. I never broke eye contact. I wanted him to feel the challenge burn.
Darius’s fists clenched at his sides, jaw grinding tight enough to crack bone. "You think you’re powerful now, don’t you?" he sneered.
I gave a light shrug, my voice honeyed and cruel. "No. I don’t think it," I said, stepping forward, "I know it."
He flinched. Just barely. But I saw it.