Chapter 5 BARGAIN WITH THE DEVIL.

"You're insane," I say, my voice trembling as I stare up at King Sven. My pulse hammers as I take a step back, trying to process his words. He wants me to bear his child? Why me? But I don't let the thought linger. My answer is cold and final. "I'd rather be used as a sex-toy than bear your child and accept this ridiculous mate bond!"

"Is that so?" he murmurs, his eyes darkening, a smug smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. Suddenly, he grabs my wrist, yanking me toward him until I'm pressed against his chest. His touch stirs something dangerous within me, but I shove it down, forcing myself to remember that regardless of the mate bond, King Sven is still the devil himself. "Are you certain about that?"

"I was a fool for thinking I could negotiate with the devil," I spit, my body trembling with a rage I've never felt before. "I should have known-nothing good ever comes from dealing with someone like you. I might be desperate, but that doesn't mean I'll bargain my worth and dignity in exchange for your depraved terms."

King Sven's smirk only widens, and it's beginning to grate on my nerves. "I overestimated you, Olivia. A Fae will always be a fool." He scoffs, his tone growing sharper. "One rule in any negotiation is to strip it of emotion and deal with reality. I offered you the best deal: sleep with me exclusively, bear my child, and I'll grant you a peaceful death. But if you choose to decline..." His smirk twists cruelly. "...and want to be a cumdump for hundreds of vampires and die within the year, then so be it."

With that he drags me out of the room, slamming the door behind us.

"Come with me," He instructs Isadora and the four bulky men standing guard outside the room and they don't waste any time as they obey.

"Where are you taking me?" I ask, as King Sven continues to drag me through the hallway that's beginning to look like a maze.

He casts a burning look over his shoulder. His eyes are a silent storm, rings of fiery gold encircling his dark green gaze. "Did you not say you wanted to spread your legs for the vampires? I'm taking you there. I do have a soft spot for voyeurism, after all." His tone is sardonic, and it makes me shudder.

I want to say something, but his pull on my hands forces me to keep my thoughts to myself. At the same time, I can't help but wonder if I've made the wrong decision. Choosing to be a sex-toy for vampires instead of bearing an heir for King Sven feels like choosing between different shades of death.

Just then, a desperate thought whispers in my mind-run. But as I glance at the guards flanking us, towering and intimidating, the foolishness of that idea settles in.

King Sven only stops dragging me along when we get to the front of a huge door, one with the spiral insignia of the Kingdom of Māui. The guards fling open the door without hesitation, bowing as their King enters. He tosses me to the floor, and I land on my chest with a painful thud.

I groan in pain as I try to stand up, only to be kicked to my knee by someone.

"Stay on your knees when in front of the council," a voice says sternly. I lift my head to see Isadora watching me with cold disdain, her lips pressed in a thin line. She's enjoying this, or perhaps she's indifferent.

I bite down on my tongue, resisting the urge to lash out as I stay kneeling and scan the room through the curtain of my tangled hair. The council members loom above, most of them draped in austere white and gold, their expressions dark and indifferent. Amid them, Lady Gwendolyn and Lord Emmett stand out, regal and poised, as if waiting for a show.

"Gwendolyn, Emmett, where's my ten bags of denarii? I brought you your toy," King Sven's voice reverberates around the room as he paces, circling me like I'm nothing more than a prize he's ready to auction.

"King Sven, surely she could've been clothed. The council room is a sacred place," one of the council members says and some hum in agreement.

Sven's face hardens as he fixes his gaze on the speaker. "Do you question my authority?" he challenges, his voice dropping to a lethal whisper. "If you dare, step forward."

The tension in the room is broken by the voice of the council elders. "Your mercy precedes us, Alpha King Sven."

"Good," King Sven says, yanking my head up by the hair, forcing me to look up at him. "Here's your product, Gwendolyn, Emmett. Do you perhaps want to test her before taking her along with you?"

Lord Emmett is the first to step out. He is ancient. I've heard he's over a thousand years old. He stands opposite me, his predatory eyes rakes over my body. I hold his gaze, staring into his crimson red eyes to show that I'm not a pushover.

"Is she... untouched? Double the price if she is." He says with a leering smile.

"Why don't you come check that yourself- GUARDS!" King Sven barks, releasing my hair as he steps away and gestures to the guards, who descend upon me immediately. He gives me a look, a wicked smile spreading on his lips as he says the next words. "Spread her legs for all to see."

I freak out. I know what they want to do. Checking someone's purity definitely means they'll try to poke through my vagina. I stand up on wobbly legs, shackles still biting into my ankles, and struggle against the guards trying to hold me down. But I'm overpowered. There are four of them-typical male werewolf warriors. And me? I'm too weak. I have no combat skills or experience, and I haven't even awakened my Fae energy.

"Let me go!" I yell at them as one of them grabs me by the shackles binding my legs together, and it sends me flying to the ground. My head collides painfully with the cold linoleum, and chuckles ripple from some of the council members watching. They're enjoying my misery, not lifting a finger to help-not that I expect them to.

I'm about to stand up again when a kick slams into my jaw. Blood floods my mouth, but it doesn't stop me from fighting.

"What's taking you so long against a Fae that hasn't even awakened her Fae energy? Hurry up!" King Sven says calmly, but with a tone of sardonicity at the guards.

One of the guards, a brawny bald man, immediately pounces on me as I'm on the floor, and clamps his hands around my neck, restricting the air to my lungs. I claw at him, but his armor is impenetrable. Soon, two guards hold down each of my legs, while a third grabs one of my arms. The one choking me releases my neck and takes my other hand.

"Let me down," I continue to yell, coughing, as tears well up in my eyes.

It's suffocating. Everything. Why am I so weak? Why can't I protect myself? A pang of desperation twists inside me. I should have awakened my Fae energy by now-felt it rise within me. But it's silent, leaving me helpless in a way that tears me apart internally.

"Spread her legs as wide as possible. Let Emmett have a taste of what he wants to buy," King Sven instructs, and I feel my last ounce of defiance slip away.

Lord Emmett licks his lips as he moves closer to me, and my stomach plummets, landing somewhere by my feet. The chill of dread sweeps through me as my tears roll down my cheeks.

I will be defiled, by one of the men who had a hand in the war of the fall of Eris wall, a war which took my parents and everything away from me. A war caused by hatred for my kind, one I'll never understand.

"Please, don't," I beg, crying like a baby. How did I get here? Why is there no fight left in me? I look at the room, at the council members who all greet me with their oppressive silence.

No, I don't want to be used as a sex toy. I don't want this.

As lord Emmett hands reach for my vagina, I glance at Sven, but his gaze is cold, his eyes alight with sadistic satisfaction. It's clear that my suffering is bringing him immense pleasure.

"P-please," I cry. "Don't let them do this, please. Just kill me."

"You chose, Olivia. Now live with it," he sneers.

Just then, lord Emmett's thumb grazes between the lips of my clit and I scream. Lord Emmett doesn't stop there as his finger pokes at my hole, and I thrash around in the hands of the guards till I'm set free.

Without even thinking, I crawl toward King Sven-the only monster I know in this sea of other monsters. Better the devil I know than the one I don't. I fall at his feet, lips quaking as I spill the words I never thought I would say, "You're right. I'm sorry. I... accept."

His lips curl into a slow, victorious smile as he crouches down, his fingers brushing away my tears with mock tenderness. "What was that, little Fae?"

"Y-your offer," I reply, tasting the salt from my tears on my lips, and I can't help but hate myself knowing that I'm left at the mercy of my captive. "I accept your offer."

King Sven lets out a low laugh, sending a shiver down my spine. "That's more like it."