Page 53 of Happily Ever Bitten (Underworld Royals 2)

“Not by choice, Zay.” His grasp on my nape tightened. “Look at me.”

I hadn’t realized my gaze had slipped from his until he said it, but I was too ashamed to pull my attention back to him. I killed him.

“Look at me,” he repeated, his voice underlined in demand.

I tried to do as he commanded, but the words I killed him continued to repeat in my thoughts. They echoed so loudly I couldn’t focus on anything else. My cheeks were damp with tears, my heart breaking in my chest.

I had begged once.

I’d implored Necros’s men to stop.

They were killing me.

Fucking me to within an inch of my life and laughing the whole time.

I’d craved death by the end, even while I still cried for them to stop.

Yakariah had cried, too.

And I killed him.

Grigory bit my lower lip—hard—and used his tongue to soothe the ache. I flinched, his punishment unexpected and harsh. Yet it pulled me back to him, away from the obsidian depths of my mind that threatened to swallow me in the nightmarish recollectio

ns of my past.

He grounded me in the present, his dark eyes glittering as he stared down at me. I hadn’t even felt him push me to my back, hadn’t noticed his hips pinning me to the mattress, but I felt him now. He balanced himself on his elbows on either side of my head, caging me between him and the bed.

I felt the weight of his dominance and the power in his spirit. It seeped into my bones, melting me beneath him and forcing me to give him my undivided attention.

He’d move if I wanted him to.

But I would never ask him to.

“You didn’t kill him by choice,” Grigory said, his minty breath hot against my parted lips. “Someone compelled you to do it. That person murdered Yakariah, not you.”

I shuddered, his words resonating deep within me as if he were persuading me to believe him. Yet I didn’t feel his influence, just his vehemence. He didn’t blame me and urged me not to blame myself.

“It wasn’t you,” he added in a softer tone. “Someone violated your mind and forced your will, and I’m going to make him pay for it with his life.” His lips touched mine, sealing his vow. “No one will ever be allowed to hurt you again, Zaya. I’ll slaughter anyone who tries. Destroy them with my mind.”

His promise settled over me, through me, securing itself to my soul.

I believed him.

Could see the way he’d rip apart my enemies inside his mind.

Whatever tunnel he’d opened between us had been strengthened by him imbibing my blood. It was as though he’d given me access into his spirit, allowing me to see all his true intentions, the real Grigory that lurked beneath the shield of duty.

And I liked what I found.

“What’s happening between us?” I asked him, breathless from the sensation of having my essence woven with his. “It feels like our bond is… growing.”

“Because it is,” he replied, pressing his forehead to mine. “You’re mine to protect and I failed you, but that will never happen again. No one will be able to touch your mind now. It’s safeguarded by my own.”

“You’re claiming me,” I realized out loud, my heart racing in my chest.

“I claimed you the moment I saved your life,” he corrected. “I’m just following through on the promise I should have made to you last year.”

“By turning me?”

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