Page 106 of Nocturn

“So you were informed of my wishes,” he drawled.

“I am not leaving,” I announced, set my jaw and lifted my chin.

He opened his eyes until they were a thin slit.

Not a twitch of an expression.

He studied me with those cold eyes. There was no part of Cassiel there, not the one I had come to know. He sat up and I approached, my gait faltering from the tightness that wouldn’t let me extend my legs properly.

He inhaled sharply, sitting up. Concern flitted over his face briefly before it turned to distaste.

“Pathetic human, you never listen!” he roared.

I flinched, squeezing my eyes even tighter. He cupped the bottom of my jaw, squeezing hard. Excruciating stings sliced across my cheeks, forcing my eyes open. His hand on my face tightened, and I braced for that snap.

Liquid dripped from the slices of his nails puncturing my skin. He yanked my chin higher and bent even closer. His tongue ran up my cheek, over the stinging cuts.

I shuddered, fear and desire mingling. “Return to the feeder wing or I’ll have you dragged there.”

“Cassiel, please—” He had me on my back, the fur of the hood touching my jaw.

Had it been concern that crossed his face or was it my fruitless hope? His fangs hovered a pinky length away from my mouth, his lips curled in a sneer. But I would not stop.

Hatred bled from his hard gaze, but despite the anger, his length was a prodding stiffness.

“Cassiel,” I mumbled. “I must tell you many things. I—” I cut myself off, shaking my head. “I am your bondmate.”

A beat of silence—stillness so eerie the hair on my arms rose.

Breaths sawed free, and his eyes became wilder with every word that spilled out.

“You think me a fool?” His perfect eyebrow arched up.

“Not by choice,” I blurted, his arrogance rousing mine in a challenge. I clenched my teeth so hard they clicked.

He scoffed, and his head fell back with a harsh laugh. He raised his hand and dragged the back of it against my cheek in a caress. There was nothing kind about it.

He did not believe me, of course he did not.

“Please, Cassiel, listen. Your powers, I know why they falter.” I did not stop. “You are nothing more than an assassin. A figurehead.”

“Silence!” he roared, grabbing my chin and squeezing.

He became frighteningly still. Nerves turned in my stomach. In a smooth, feline glide, he pushed off the fur and stood before me. Moonlight beamed in from behind him, casting him in shadows.

“You think to trick me?” The silky threat in his tone rendered me frozen. Cassiel gripped my arm and pulled me closer, his head lowering. “You will not fool me again, filthy redblood.”

Without releasing me, he dragged me after him, the harsh grip pinching into my skin. I staggered, struggling to keep up with the pinch in my hip and leg.

“Drusilla!” he bellowed as he ascended the steps. Calling the very woman with a hand in orchestrating the destruction of his own bondmate.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

Discarded

He released me when we reached the foyer, and my knees buckled. I tumbled onto the cold stone, my leg not allowing me to remain upright. My hip screamed where it had been mended, the same hip he gripped while inside me, and now I was on the floor because of it. I pressed my palms to the stone and pushed myself up, despite the leg wanting to buckle again. I would not beg from the floor he put me on.

An officer posted at the exit kept his head forward.