Page 15 of Craved By a Wolf

Hella tried to break free of his grip, but this time he tightened it, refusing to release her.

“My stubborn wife will learn her place in time.” He lifted his other hand and smoothed his knuckles across her cheek, and the touch felt more like a threat than a caress.

Her entire body locked up tight in response as his hand drifted lower to graze her neck, her legs trembling as she forced herself to hold his gaze, to keep her head tipped up and not let him see how afraid she was. She would escape this.

Sooner rather than later.

In fact, she was thinking right now might be as good a time as any.

She plastered a smile on her face and made herself lean into his touch as he opened his hand and cupped her cheek in his palm. She resisted the shudder that wracked her as he stroked his thumb over her lower lip and his gaze fell there.

“You will want for nothing, Hella, my love,” he murmured, his eyes growing hooded and his breaths shallowing as he continued to stare at her mouth.

“Except my freedom,” she whispered and rattled the chains, reminding him of the fact he had made her his prisoner, stealing her power from her and dragging her to his realm.

And now he intended to enslave her with another band around her flesh, this one made of gold and placed upon her finger, and she had no doubt in her mind that ring would be bespelled too, ensuring she never used her magic against him.

Never escaped him.

He smiled sweetly and caressed her throat as his grip on her arm loosened, allowing blood to flow back into her fingers. He lifted that arm and pressed a kiss to it, never taking his eyes from hers, as if the brush of his lips could take away the pain he had inflicted. She had half a mind to clock him with her restraints.

It wouldn’t get her anywhere though.

The way to disarm Ethyrian wasn’t being violent towards him. It was being sweet towards him. Adoring. As much as it sickened her, she had to pander to his inflated ego if she wanted to get away from him.

“Will you remove them once we are wed?” She lifted her hands and stroked his chest, feeling his heart picking up pace against her palms.

She didn’t miss the press of his erection against her hip as he angled them towards her either.

“Of course.” He brushed his fingers over one of the silver bands. “Although I would not be averse to restraining you in such a manner from time to time.”

She bet.

She stroked her fingers down his broad chest. “And what if I was inclined to restrain you?”

His blue eyes darkened, and not with anger this time, and he swooped on her mouth on a low growl, claiming her lips in a fierce kiss that did nothing for her. Had no female ever offered to tie him up? Maybe she could use his excitement about the prospect of being restrained and at her mercy to aid her escape.

A chained king couldn’t exactly stop her, not if the shackles he wore inhibited his ability to teleport, and she would use exactly that sort of handcuffs on him.

Although, she doubted he would remove her restraints first, which meant she couldn’t conjure manacles that would stop him from teleporting and she would still be in the same predicament. The balcony was looking more tempting than ever. How far below her was the river? How deep was it?

Hella subtly manoeuvred him towards the door to the balcony, kissing him and fisting his shirt to keep him in place. He tensed when a breeze swept around them and she deepened the kiss, fearing he would pull back to see what she was up to.

When they reached the balcony, she pushed him back against the arched stone doorframe, keeping him distracted as she cracked an eye open and scoped things out. Only she couldn’t see a damned thing. The stone wall around the balcony ran at hip height to her and it was solid, not a crack in it for her to see through.

So she broke away from Ethyrian and fanned herself, pretending his kiss had made her far too hot rather than ice-cold and she needed a little air.

She stopped at the wall and looked down, and discovered the true definition of ice-cold as the several hundred-foot drop to the broad canyon below froze her blood in her veins.

Mother earth.

That was a long way down.

Water churned white in the bottom of the canyon. If she didn’t hit the rocky walls, she would probably drown in the rapids.

Maybe the potion would work.

Ethyrian came up behind her and nuzzled her neck, peppering it with kisses as he murmured stomach-turning things in her ear. Maybe going splat would be better than subjecting herself to the twisted things he had planned for her.

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