Chapter 6 The Vow

The hours blurred into a haze of pain and exhaustion. My throat was raw from screaming, but no one came. No one cared. The scent of blood-my blood-clung to the damp air, mixing with the cold, metallic tang of the dungeon.

But beneath the terror, beneath the mark still burning into my skin, something else stirred.

Rage.

It curled deep within me, coiling tighter with every breath I took. The bond tethered me to Xander, his power lacing through my veins like poison-but I would not let it break me. If he thought he could drown me in suffering, he was wrong.

He had awakened something far worse.

I would make him pay.

The door creaked open, the harsh scrape of metal against stone jolting me back to reality. My head snapped up, heart racing. I expected Xander.

But it wasn't him.

A man stepped inside-tall, lean, with dark eyes that glimmered with cruelty. He closed the door behind him, locking it with a slow, deliberate click.

"Awake, are we?" he sneered, his gaze raking over my chained body. "He said you're trying to be tough... but everyone breaks eventually."

I stiffened, forcing my breathing to steady. My wrists throbbed where the silver chains bit into them, but I refused to show weakness.

"Xander's dog, I presume?" I shot back, my voice hoarse but defiant.

His eyes darkened. "Careful, omega. Your tongue will get you hurt."

I bared my teeth in a mock smile. "I'm already hurting. You'll have to try harder."

The slap came fast-sharp, brutal. My head snapped to the side, the sting exploding across my cheek. I tasted blood on my tongue. He gripped my jaw, forcing me to look up.

"You think you're clever," he hissed. "But you're nothing but a marked bitch, bound to a man who hates her."

I glared at him, my heart pounding. He didn't see it-the flicker behind my eyes.

The fire.

Let him hit me. Let him spit his venom. Every blow, every threat, would only sharpen the blade I was forging inside myself.

One day, I would use it to gut them all.

The man released me with a grunt, his grip leaving bruises on my skin. He stepped back, smirking.

"You'll learn your place soon enough. Xander will see to that."

He turned to leave, and for a brief moment, I felt the bitter kiss of hopelessness. The weight of the chains. The mark on my neck.

But as the door closed behind him, that feeling turned to steel.

I would survive.

Because there was one truth Xander had overlooked:

I was not someone he could break easily.

Never.

That night, the bond pulsed relentlessly, dragging me into a haze of pain and desire. My wolf was crying out for him-for the one who marked us.

But I fought her. I fought the bond.

Every second of agony was a reminder:

He could mark my skin. He could chain my body.

But he would never own my soul.

I whispered the words into the dark, like a vow etched in blood.

"I will destroy you, Xander."

My heart hammered, my fists curling into the cold stone beneath me.

"I swear it."

********

I was awoken by cold water being poured on me and I gasped sitting up and my whole body was drenched with water, my worn out gown clinging to my body.

"What the hell?!" I snapped in anger as I looked up to see a woman holding a bucket with a smirk on her face. Blue eyes, blonde hair. The typical bully.

"Who the hell are you?" I asked, my insides burning with anger. Who the hell do they all think they are? Coming in here and treating me like garbage.

"You know, when I learnt that Xander found his mate I was worried..."

"If I had a face like yours I would be worried," I said with a sneer and her smirk faltered for a second before she masked it.

"I would really kiss the Moon Goddess right now if I were to see her. She answered my prayer and I don't have to worry about anyone taking my Xander away from me. He'll be all mine. He hates you and would never want anything to do with you which means you'll never be a threat to me,"

I couldn't help but scoff and she narrowed her eyes at me. "What was that?"

"Xander sure has bad taste in women," the words came out before I could stop myself,

"How dare you?!" she growled as he went down to my level and then she grabbed my hair painfully.

"You don't have the right to talk to me like that. I am your Queen!" I couldn't help it when I laughed, looking at like she was a failure.

"If you're going to be the queen of this kingdom then it's a shame. I feel bad for this kingdom," I said with a smirk and she held my hair tighter.

"We shall see about that," she said with a sneer before releasing me and then she looked at me like she knew something I didn't before smirking and walking out of the cell.

For a moment I crunched my brows in confusion but just as the woman left a man walked into the cell and then he started unlocking the chains.

"What are you doing?" I asked but all I got was silence then when he was done with the chains he yanked me up and started dragging me out of the cell.

"Where the hell are you taking me?" I asked as I struggled against the man but he didn't bulge he just kept dragging me until we were outside the dungeon.

For a moment I had to close my eyes to adjust to the bright light but the man didn't slow down; he just kept dragging me.

A few people were looking at me with disgust in their eyes but I didn't care. I just wanted to know where this hulk of a man was taking me.

Despite my protest he didn't stop until he reached a set of double doors that had two guards standing outside.

The man opened the door without effort and then he pushed me inside the room, the door closing behind me.

"Hey! Let me out of here!" I said as I pounded on the door but it didn't open.

What the hell?

I turned to the room and took the time out to see where I was.

There was no mistaking that this was a room fit for a king. The expensive sheets on the king size bed. The curtain, the design of the room.

Everything was perfect.

Before I couldn start wandering around, a door opened and there he was.

Xander.

He had only a towel wrapped around his waist and the sight of him made something inside me burn hot.

The mark.

My wolf was calling for him but I clenched my hands controlling myself.

Our eyes met and for a moment he just stared at me. Something wicked glinted in his eyes and then started taking measured steps towards me.

I refuse to move back or cower before him.

He suddenly stopped in front of me and his scent hit me like a train and my wolf roared and it was taking everything in me to keep her in check.

Suddenly, Xander let the towel around his waist fall to the floor and my eyes couldn't help it when they landed on his cock.

Fuck!

"You want it don't you?" He asked his voice mocking,

"You wish," I said, my voice surprisingly firm despite the turmoil going on inside me.

"I can smell your arousal, you want it, you're dripping. The smell of your arousal is thick on the air,"

Something in me twisted and my wolf was fighting me really hard. My eyes went down to his cock once again and my pussy clenched.

No, it was too early to fall. To be a fool for him.

"What sick game are you playing?" I asked as I gritted my teeth and my eyes met his but he only smirked like he was winning this.

And then to my shock he commanded me in his Alpha king voice.

"Get on your knees and beg for it,"