Page 61 of Alpha Queen
This was who he was, who he was meant to be. The monster that everyone feared. King of the Lycans. King of everything.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
RIVER
River sat on her bed, staring at a random TV show and rubbing the fading bruises on her arms. Titan had gripped her hard, but that wasn't what unsettled her most; it was the look in his eyes when she'd defied him. The push and pull of anger and longing, dominance and something dangerously similar to desperation.
She traced a fingertip over the marks, anger simmering beneath the surface. He thought he could wear her down. That if he applied the right amount of pressure, she would fold. Submit. But River wasn't raised to be anyone's captive queen. As the anger rolled through her again, her stomach flopped, and she lurched for the bathroom just before throwing up soda. She heaved again and again until she broke out in a sheen of sweat.
Damn, being pregnant was not all it was cracked up to be. No wonder her mom had only had one kid. This might be her only one, too.
She flushed the toilet and lay down on the cement floor, letting the coolness seep into her face.
Her wolf whined.
"I'm fine," she croaked. "After being bitten, shot, and kidnapped, I'm not about to let nausea take us out."
Her wolf whined again.
River pushed herself from the cool bathroom floor, her limbs trembling with exertion. She gripped the sink, staring at her pale reflection. Dark circles shadowed her eyes, a stark contrast to her silvery hair. Her skin held a waxy pallor, and she was sure her face was thinner.
Shit. Was she losing weight? That wasn't good, was it? But what did she expect when all she possibly managed to keep down daily was a couple of hundred calories of sugar? Just walking seemed to fatigue her. Not good. Not. Good. She needed to escape before she died or, worse, miscarried.
The thought made her wolf yowl.
"No. We're going to make it through this," she murmured. Her hand drifted to her abdomen. “I’ll get us out. I promise."
Her wolf stirred restlessly. River took a deep breath, trying to calm both herself and her agitated other half.
Stay strong. Keep your wits about you.
Titan grew more unstable by the day, and she couldn't afford to be off her game.
A soft knock at the door startled her from her thoughts. A knock? No one knocked.
River tensed, she rushed out of the bathroom, and her eyes darted to the fake window. It was too early for her usual meal delivery. The sun hadn't set yet.
"Who is it?" Her voice came out steadier than she felt as she shuffled to the bed and sat quickly, hoping her room didn't smell like vomit.
She popped a mint from the nightstand into her mouth and crunched it between her teeth as she tensed, ready for another confrontation with Titan. But when the door eased open, it wasn't him.
Kane entered, his face unreadable as he shut the door.
River turned off the TV. "Came to deliver another threat?"
Kane exhaled through his nose and crossed his arms. "No threats tonight."
River narrowed her eyes and finished chewing her mint. Silence was often more unnerving than words. His eyes narrowed as he sniffed the air and then looked at her.
He studied her for a long moment before leaning against the dresser. "You're driving him insane, you know."
"Good," she said flatly.
Kane huffed a quiet laugh but shook his head. "Not good for you." His gaze flickered to the bruises on her arms. "He's losing it."
River swallowed hard but kept her expression blank. "Then maybe you should talk some sense into your almighty Alpha before there's nothing left to salvage."
"You think I haven't tried?" Kane shot back, voice low and sharp. "I told him this would go sideways if he forced it. But he's ready to… do something I just cannot agree with."
