Total pages in book: 144
Estimated words: 137871 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 689(@200wpm)___ 551(@250wpm)___ 460(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 137871 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 689(@200wpm)___ 551(@250wpm)___ 460(@300wpm)
He seethed, hating the memory as his body reflexively responded with an unwanted jolt of lust. Damn the conniving cunt for still holding power over him. He still dreamt of her, still fantasized that she might choose him, even after what he’d done to her children.
It was a piss poor way to mask the current pain he suffered, pain caused by her daughter, but those memories were his only escape from his reality. Until his mind walked him to the end of his memories, and he suffered her abandonment all over again.
Like his lust, his hatred for Lilias never waned. He craved to cut her open, ignore her cries for mercy as her blood and tears flowed into a river, from which he would fill his cup. He’d drain her of every falsehood she’d spoken.
She was a beautiful pit of lies. She only used him for blood, protection, and secrets. She was a poison that needed to be cut out. Cauterized from this earth. Destroyed once and for all.
Color flashed in a memory and he could still hear her laughter. The exquisite sound thrilled him despite knowing it was a lie. Even the exact green of her eyes was still so precise in his mind.
He’d do anything to escape his present pain as the earth crushed him inside this fossilized tomb, so he chased the vision, hunting it down and transforming her affection into a malleable pleasure it never was.
He let his mind play, recalling the reality and imagining what it might have been had she not betrayed him in the end—poisonous witch.
The phantom tingle of his missing hands balling into fists haunted his delirium. An unfulfilled twitch that started to itch where he could not reach—would not reach for several more years.
Ah, she’s going to pay… And her daughter would pay. And her sons… well, they had already paid for the sins of their mother in life’s blood and hopeless cries.
He should have slaughtered them all, including Lilias’s self-righteous mate.
At least here, in the dark, she was still his. He had time to experience his Lilias in every way he could imagine.
Sometimes, he fantasized about choking her until her sobs silenced. Other times, he dreamt of slitting her throat again and again. But mostly, he envisioned the peaceful moment when she could have looked into his eyes and confessed her love.
In his mind, she could become anything he wanted, so why not make her the fantasy of his dreams? It was a cruel game because in those clawing final moments, when he was jerked back to the present and suffocated by the crushing earth once more, the dream ripped away, and the truth cleaved through him with ruthless precision.
It was his last thought before every death. His greatest failure. His eternal regret. And the one inescapable truth he could not erase.
She never loved him.
CHAPTER 1
Centuries Later…
Branches tore at Adriel’s skin and clothes as she launched into the canopy of trees. Her heart beat frantically as her body slammed hard into the trunk, her claws embedded into the soft bark. Eyes wild, she scanned the area, but her senses stayed dull for her protection.
The moment she’d spent centuries dreading was finally here. How much time did she have before Cerberus caught her? Minutes? Maybe days if she was lucky? Her time had always been marked, but now it was up.
Her mate tracked her down and burned her out of her home, leaving her no choice but to run. Adriel knew he’d inevitably come for her, for his revenge. Just as the lion could not resist toying with the pitiful, helpless mouse, Cerberus, no doubt, relished the chase ahead of him.
For all of her worry, she was no more and no less prepared to face him.
He found her. Taunted her. Vowed to have his long-awaited vengeance as he burned her house down and forced her into the open. Without shelter, she was truly vulnerable and had no choice but to run. The Order could no longer protect her, and it was now her duty to protect those who saved her years ago. That meant luring Cerberus as far away from her friends as possible.
Her time was up.
Labored breath wheezed from her lungs as she raced through the woods. Heart pounding with the muffled chirp of nightcrawlers, she ran as fast as she could. With serpentine leaps, she raced from the trees to the forest floor, trying hard to disguise her scent.
Owls screeched, aware of a predator nearby. While she was far more fearsome than a night bird, she was nothing compared to her mate, Cerberus Maddox XI.
Shutting her eyes, she paused and focused on the ground below. He'd easily track her if she searched too closely for him, so she kept her touch feather-light as she scanned the dark forest. The tingle of his nearness sent chills knifing down her spine. Slamming her mind shut, she sucked in a sharp breath.