“P-please… d-don’t k-kill me…” I begged, my voice trembling.
I couldn’t understand myself. Moments ago, I was willing to die, wishing I had never married him. Now, here I was, pleading for my life.
But then again, I was his wife. I should survive… right? As long as I didn’t break the rules.
Then it hit me—I already broke them.
“Who must I kill? You… or them?” His voice dripped with malice.
I swallowed hard, my gaze darting to August and Aidan, bleeding and broken on the floor. He hadn’t fought them fair; instead, he’d unleashed the beast within, his hybrid strength obliterating their lycan prowess.
No match for him.
This wasn’t just a fight; it was slaughter. Even together, Aidan and August couldn’t hold a candle to the raw power of a hybrid—especially one awakened after years of slumber. And worse? A hybrid bound by marriage was even stronger.
If he ever impregnated me… he'd become more powerful. A hybrid seed in a pureblood lycan? It would destroy me.
I looked at my friends again. They were more than allies—they were family. I had risked everything to save them once. Was that all for nothing? Would they die here, in front of me?
“L-let them go, and… I won’t leave this place.”
“And why should I believe you?” His voice slithered into my mind like a predator stalking prey.
His eyes scanned the room, full of disdain.
“All the women who came before you—all the ones who awakened me—wanted to leave. None of them wanted to stay. None of them wanted to carry my child. Just like you. You’re all the same.”
My lips parted in shock.
“What…?”
“You think I killed them because they broke the rules? No. I gave them everything they could ever want—a throne, a crown, a life as my queen. And yet…” He crouched, his claws gripping my chin, forcing me to meet his gaze. “They rejected me. They chose death.”
I froze.
Could it be true? Had everyone misunderstood? Were those women not killed for breaking his rules, but because they refused him?
“They didn’t want me to touch them. They didn’t want to bear my child. And so,” he smirked, “what else could I give them but death? Rejection deserves punishment.”
My heart pounded as I tried to crawl backward, but he closed the distance with ease.
Panic clawed at my chest. What could I do against him? All my life, I’d relied on Aidan and August. Yes, I was pureblood, but I was no match for a hybrid. No one was—except…
Except their mate.
The realization hit me like a bolt of lightning.
“Now… do you want to suffer the same fate?”
His red eyes burned brighter, his pale skin almost luminous. His fangs lengthened as his monstrous form came closer.
I was going to die. I knew it. He was unstoppable, and I was just another victim in the endless cycle of women sacrificed to his rage. Unless… I'd end it.
“C-can you promise me everything you promised them as well?” I forced my voice to steady as I asked.
His head tilted.
“Of course, mate. I will do anything for you. Anything…”
“Would you… would you die for me?” I asked through gritted teeth. “Those two… they were willing to die for me. They loved me enough to make their lives revolve around me. That’s why I loved them. So could you do the same?”
Lie.
I locked my thoughts, shutting them away. He didn't know what I was planning.
Legends flooded my memory, stories told to us as children about the hybrids. Only four had ever existed in our world. Their dual bloodlines made them invincible—unstoppable monsters worshipped and feared. Only their mates had ever defeated them.
And that’s what I’d do.
“P-promise me you’d love me.”
“I’d love you, mate,” he purred. “I’d offer you my life. I’d die for you. I’d rule the world and make you queen. No one could harm you. No one would even dare.”
I bowed my head, pretending to submit, masking my disgust with feigned loyalty.
“I will stay with you, Alaric. Through thick and thin.”
Lie.
I would kill him. I’d drive the blade into his heart myself and end this nightmare. For Aidan, for August, for all the women who’d died before me.
“How about bearing my child?” he probed.
I bit my lip. Could I fake that too? Could I carry his child long enough to destroy him, or would I have to end it before it even began?
I raised my head and met his gaze.
“I’d bear as many children as you want. I promise.”
Another lie.
I’d make sure none of his kind would survive.
Before I could think further, he crossed the distance between us in a blur, his strength overwhelming as he lifted me and carried me toward the window.
My brows furrowed. Confusion prickled at the edges of my panic.
His lips curled into a chillingly sweet smile, his eyes gleaming with wicked intent.
“Then before we begin our forever…” he pressed a cold kiss to my lips, “you should die first.”
My heart stopped.
Before I could react, he hurled me out of the tower window.
