His dark voice trails down her spine, lighting a path of desire that renders her breathless. "If only I were in a position of no consequence."
Alia's breath wavers when the pad of his thumb slowly glides across her bottom lip.
"Then I could give in...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"She was the monster that defended them from the other horrors of the world." - Sarah J. Maas
•
Blood warms Alia's hand, red droplets dripping onto the stone floor of the supply store. She doesn't let go of Mila's hair until the girl's final, gurgling breaths reach her ears. Only then does she let the lifeless body flop to the ground, right onto the crimson pool.
Sasha's shaky hands cover her mouth, eyes wide and horrified.
Alia inspects her reddened hand, already hating the scent staining her skin. She looks at Sasha, incredibly displeased, and asks, "Where are the scissors?"
Sasha's eyes snap to Alia's. She points in the direction of the aisles Alia has yet to inspect and says, "T-two aisles down."
Alia's eyes are still black when she leaves the bloodied aisle. Red shoe prints follow her every step, and she has to ball her stained hand into a fist to stop herself from going back to Mila's body and gouging out her eyes.
Reaching the aisle, Alia takes her time inspecting both sides until she finally finds a pair of scissors suitable for hair. Dozens and dozens of wolves have migrated towards Mila and Sasha, unable to look away from the corpse. Some watch Alia at the ends of the aisle she's in, hesitant to move any closer.
Their heads collectively turn towards the entrance, eyes glistening with curiosity and a hint of excitement. But it soon changes to discomfort when a fiery pain slithers up their necks, forcing them to bear the skin to the entering General. They keep their distance from the tall male as he manoeuvres towards the aisle filled with the metallic scent of blood.
His expression is blank as he stands in the almost barren aisle. Sasha jumps when she sees Valen, and she quickly averts her gaze and lowers her head.
Alia felt his presence the moment he approached the building, but she grew hesitant when she realised that she just killed a girl for nothing other than desiring her mate. Is such a reason viable for murder? If not, will she lose a finger because of it?
She shakes her head. Valen told her those rules don't apply to her, but that doesn't mean she still won't go unpunished. What if he withholds himself from her? What if her punishment is the loss of his touch?
She places her hands on her forehead. Fuck. She'd bear anything but that.
Valen's voice sounds inside the silent store, and it makes Sasha's shoulders curl as she tries to angle her body away from him.
"What did she do?"
"Mila, she—"
"Not her."
Alia grabs the pair of scissors and forces herself to walk back to the aisle harbouring the evidence of her crime. Wolves step away from her as she moves past them, and eventually, she's standing at the edge of Mila's pool of blood.
