8
 

 

 

 

Antonio perched in a chair near the bed, watching me like a wary hawk.

This had to be his room.

My throat felt parched; the burning in my airway had brought me back to consciousness regardless of the sedation.

I had to be in the Keep, the wolves’ compound.

“Bella,” Antonio called. “How do you feel?”

How do I feel? How do I feel?!

Hot rage, cold dread, destitute, and grief twisted into a violent current within me, threatening to burst me open. I had no one to share the horrible emotions with. Thane was dead. I had no one to lean on.

I turned my face to the wall and refused to look at him.

He sighed.

“Are you sure, Antonio?” a deep male voice sounded from the door.

Someone had come in. Actually, there were two of them. I caught their scent. One was a shifter, who emitted power and sunlight. How could anyone be sunny on this planet? I wanted to take a peek at him, but I wasn’t going to turn my face away from the wall now.

I still didn’t want to acknowledge Antonio’s existence.  

The other one wasn’t a shifter. She was something else. A calm ocean wave radiating with sunrays reached me, lapping at my feet. She was trying to sooth me.

I didn’t want tranquility. I wanted my wrath and grief, but somehow, I calmed and clung to her warmth.

“I’m fucking sure,” Antonio snarled. “I’ll never put a chain on Bella, no matter what. She isn’t a prisoner or a rabid animal. She’s my mate!”

“I’m just saying it’s better to be safe than sorry,” the sunny male said coolly, but with evident authority. “And check who you’re talking to when you curse.”

“I apologize, Your Majesty,” Antonio said. “It was a one in a million chance you found Queen Kaara Nightshades on this planet. I never thought the same would happen to me, and that my mate would come here. But I got lucky, too. If you were me, and Kaara were Bella, would you chain her?”

So, the male was the Wolf King, Marrok, and the female who had entered the room with him was his mate. What was she? She’d simmered me down with a touch of magic.  

Was she the Wickedest Witch?

But her magic didn’t feel terrifying; it was the opposite of dark and vile.

“I understand, Antonio,” King Marrok said. “But you can’t watch her all the time. What if the Wickedest Witch can’t help her? What are you going to do then? I can’t have a rogue vampire running around in the Keep. You know the laws.”

So, his mate wasn’t the witch.

“I’ll watch her every second,” Antonio said. “When I can’t, Lou will stand in. Two of us can handle it. You’ll just have to excuse Lou and me from guarding your queen and the witch.” The steel returned to his voice when he said, “If you want to put down my mate, you’ll have to kill me first.”

“Can we stop talking about this dreadful business of putting anyone down for a second?” the queen asked. “Bella is now one of us, and we aren’t going to hurt her. She’s had enough nightmares for one day. She’s made it so far, and she’s under my protection as well from now on.”

King Marrok sighed. “You can’t shelter every stranded cat, love.”

“My mate isn’t a stranded cat!” Antonio said. “She’s shown her courage. She’s a fighter, just like us.”

As if he knew me!

I would never be one of them. Since the king and queen were here now—though they weren’t my monarchs—it was a perfect chance to plead my case.

They would grant my wish as it would also be what the king wanted.

I felt the queen approach me. She wasn’t a shifter, but she moved like a well-trained warrior.

She smelled like summer flowers. No wonder she and the Wolf King were mates.

I bolted up in bed just as she reached the bedside.

Marrok leaped toward us, as if I would harm his queen. Antonio jumped from his chair as well.

Three of them all stood, towering over me—Marrok in a position to defend his mate, and Antonio posing to shield me.

“Guys, guys!” the queen waved both males back in irritation. “Back off. Bella won’t attack me.”

The queen was beautiful. She had youthful, amber skin, the rarest violet-colored hair, and darker violet eyes that shone with warmth, reason, and brilliance.

“You can’t know that, Queen Kaara,” I said. “What if I attacked you?”

She smiled at me before turning to frown at the two males in the room. “See? We have a good start.”

She waved at them again, and Marrok and Antonio stepped back.

The queen shook her head. “Overbearing Alpha shifters! I have to deal with this one at home every day. Look what I have to put up with.”

Her mate grinned and looked at her as if she was his whole world. But when his eyes fell upon me, they were wary again. From his tensed pose, I believed he would wring my neck if I so much as looked at his queen wrong. Even Antonio wouldn’t stop him then.

They were both Alpha males, and if they fought—

Then slowly, recognition flashed in Marrok’s deep sapphire eyes.

We had played together as children in his father’s court before mine had helped slaughter his. Marrok had been friendly toward me. He’d been powerful even when he’d been a boy, and my father had once planned to give me to him.

I wouldn’t have run away if I’d been promised to Prince Marrok. 

Antonio growled threateningly as he noticed Marrok’s gaze and mine connect. He’d heard about the original marriage proposal my father had made to merge two powerful royal houses.

“Rein yourself in, Antonio,” Marrok said. “I have my beloved mate, and I don’t want any others. I recognize Princess Bella as that little freckled, shy girl I grew up with. That is all.”

There wasn’t a trace of hatred in his eyes, unlike the one I’d seen in Antonio’s eyes when he’d first realized who I was after he’d fucked me.

Kaara ignored them both and perched on the edge of the bed. “Hello, Bella.” She greeted me with a smile, compassion rolling off her.

“Your magic won’t calm me after I turn into a vampire,” I said, adding nastiness into my tone. “I won’t feel your damn warmth, and you won’t be able to manipulate me.”

Surprise flashed in the queen’s eyes.

“Careful when you talk to my queen,” Marrok snapped. 

He was indeed overprotective toward his queen, but I didn’t give a damn to any threat in my condition.

“Marrok, we’re fine,” the queen said, sending her mate a mild chiding look, before turning to me again. “You see they both are overbearing, but their hearts are in the right place.”

Antonio nodded to the part of their hearts being in the right place.

“Your magic can’t help me, Queen Kaara,” I added. “You aren’t the Wickedest Witch.”

Her eyes narrowed at my mention of the witch. 

“I heard the vampires talk about her,” I said.

I liked Queen Kaara. My instinct told me this queen had honor in her blood. She would protect me as she’d promised even after I turned into a bloodsucker. 

“Tell me what the vampires know about the Wickedest Witch,” she said.

My next words came out tauntingly, not by my intention. And my voice was harsh. “Tell me what you know about your mistress first, Kaara Nightshades.” A vicious light that was alien to me glinted in my eyes.

I inhaled sharply.

Queen Kaara felt the shift in me. “Bella, no matter what happens we won’t give up on you. But you need to fight back. Fight him as hard as you can.”

She knew what was happening to me.

“You have no idea how this works, do you, Wolf Queen?” I said, and didn’t recognize my own sharp voice. “Oh, you aren’t really a wolf. Feel like a phony?”

Both Marrok and Antonio stepped toward me again.

I blinked, my vision cleared, but my body couldn’t stop shaking. 

“It’s happening,” I said. “The venom is speeding up.”

Antonio tried to pull me into his arms to comfort me, but I held up a hand to fend him off. My iciness stopped him from making any further advance. I ignored the waves of frustration and anxiety rolling off him.

“Lady Fiammetta is coming,” Kaara said. “She’ll purge the venom in you. She once purged mine.”

“The Wickedest Witch is coming?” I asked. A string of words that weren’t mine tore through my throat. “How delightful!”

Everyone looked at me in alarm.

Marrok pulled his queen into his arms and stood between us. Kaara sighed, but didn’t fight him. The queen knew when to fight and when to quit.

Desdemona was gaining control and enacting his will through me, while I slipped away. He wouldn’t have revealed himself so soon if he hadn’t heard about the visit of the Wickedest Witch. I wondered what kind of witch could rile him up so.

I wouldn’t let him play me like a pawn.

My misery ends today.

For a second, I thought of lunging at Kaara to attack her, so Marrok would put me to death. Or I could attempt to bite Marrok, and the queen would for sure give up on protecting me.

A stern warning flashed in Kaara’s eyes, and her serene magic streamed toward me. She’d detected my intention, yet she still wanted to preserve me.

I wouldn’t trouble her much longer. 

I might have been a spoiled princess in the past, but I’d always repaid kindness with kindness. I wouldn’t let this savage planet rob the last thread of goodness in me.

Before I dragged down the vampire prince with me, I needed to warn Kaara.

I put up a mental block and enforced it to prevent Desdemona from taking over again.

“The Wickedest Witch can do nothing for me at this stage,” I said. “I’m beyond help. Dark Prince Desdemona has made sure of that. I wasn’t turned by other vampires but Desdemona himself. Did you really think you would snatch me out of the vampires’ hands so easily today? He arranged it, so I could come to the Keep and cause damage beyond your imagination. He presumed you wouldn’t hurt me since he thought I was a mate to a shifter.”

Antonio tensed beside me, but I didn’t look at him.

A raging force pounded against my mental barrier, giving me an instant headache. Desdemona wanted to come through and seize control of me to stop me from exposing his plan.

I gritted my teeth and threw my weight against the barrier, but the impact rumbled through me, hurting my bones. Beads of sweat appeared on my hairline.

Kaara tried to leave her mate’s arms and come to me, concern in her eyes. “Bella?”

“I don’t have much time,” I said. “Desdemona is on the other side. He’ll soon control me again, but you must put me down before that happens. That’ll be your last kind act toward me.”

“No!” Antonio growled. “No one is putting you down. We’ll get through this, Bella.”

“Let me finish,” I snarled at him. I turned my gaze on the violet-haired queen. “I wish I could pay you back for your grace, Queen Kaara. You’re the only one who has showed me kindness and compassion after my crash.”

Antonio looked rueful, but I didn’t care about his broken heart, for mine had been shattered. I had no kindness left toward him.

“My target is King Marrok,” I said.

Kaara tensed like a whip. For the first time, there was no warmth in her. She turned to a cold blade from sunshine in an instant.

“One bite from me,” I ground out, “with the Dark Prince’s potent venom, Marrok will be done for. The venom in me has been especially manufactured for the powerful Wolf King.”

Kaara shifted her position, trying to shield the king, but Marrok only gripped her tighter to protect her back.  

They now looked at me differently, realizing I wasn’t Bella anymore but a vampire lord’s weapon.

That was fine. It would only make them send me to a quick death just as I wanted. That was the least I could do to savage the dark vampire’s plan.

Antonio leaned forward to put himself between me and his king.

I laughed without humor.

The pounding force on the other side grew more aggressively and I felt my skull would crack if I kept fending off the Dark Prince’s invasion. But I needed to get my words out before he took over.

“If King Marrok goes down, the pack goes with him,” I continued. “And then the Wickedest Witch will have no shield. Desdemona wants to make her his for eternity. He won’t allow her to lead anyone off the planet. He’s allied himself with the most powerful, dark force—”

Desdemona smashed my barrier, and I screamed at the excruciating pain and curled into a ball clutching my head. He was so infuriated at my defiance he was squeezing my brain with an iron fist, breaking through my resolve.

Before I became his to command, I shouted my last words, “Kill me and kill him! Now!”

At the same time, we—Desdemona and I—lunged at Marrok. We wanted to bring down the Wolf King.

Before Marrok struck me down, Kaara acted. We hadn’t expected the queen to be lightning fast. She rammed a fist on the joint of my jaw and neck and threw me backwards.

My head collided into the wall toward the end of the bed.

“Be careful with Bella,” Antonio growled. “Don’t hurt her!”

“Don’t you growl at my queen again,” Marrok said. “If she attacks again, I’ll kill her. I don’t give a fuck if she is your mate. She isn’t Bella anymore. If you go against me or my queen for that vampire’s sake, I’ll kill you as well, general.”

I laughed. No, the Dark Prince chuckled.

I was in the passenger seat, watching him hijack my body. His immense power bound me, stronger than chains and shackles. And whenever I pushed my will against his, an unbearable stabbing pain rammed my skull.

I let out an angry, useless whimper.

My rage was great, but it couldn’t help me. I had no experience or power to fight against such a formidable foe. 

I was a prisoner in my own body.

All I could hope was that the king was pissed off enough to behead me or tear out my heart—whatever they usually did to kill a vampire.

Antonio looked as if I’d torn his heart out.

I tried to rise and attack whoever I could, but the bitch queen had done some voodoo on me.

“Come, mate,” the Dark Prince said in my soft voice. “Come closer to me, and I’ll give you a nice bite. You’ll like it, I promise.”

Marrok regarded me. “We need to bind her.”

“Don’t chain her, please, Your Majesties,” Antonio said. “Bella has suffered enough. I’ll keep watch. I’ll subdue her.”

I didn’t know the proud wolf general could beg.

But he begged for me—his vampire mate.

How touching and endearing! Desdemona smiled cruelly at me. 

“My Meridian points bind her for now,” the Wolf Queen said, “but the Dark Prince’s power is immense. My Meridian won’t hold her for long.”

“But my magic can render her useless,” a glacial, silvery voice said.

A strikingly gorgeous woman strode in. Her raven-black hair made her skin even paler than the vampires. She was icier than them too.

She breathed frost. Darkness, darker than midnight, rippled behind her.

The guarding wolves at the door shunned away from her, but Marrok and Antonio remained unmoved.

Her piercing gray eyes regarded me, a formidable power flaring in them.

I wanted to slink away from her, but the Dark Prince instantly came alive.

Antonio moved closer to me. “You’ll not render my mate useless, Wicked—Lady Fiammetta.”  

The Wickedest Witch didn’t spare Antonio, or anyone else, a glance.

Desdemona broke the Wolf Queen’s invisible bindings and leaped toward the witch. This was his chance to grab her and hold her hostage, but a wave of darkness crashed into me, before the warriors in the room could react.

The witch’s darkness bound me worse than the Wolf Queen’s Meridian points, choking me breathless like a living thing.

The Wolf Queen smiled. “Fia, you came. Thank you.”

They were quite cozy, weren’t they?

“Learn not to summon me again,” the Wickedest Witch said icily. “I’m very busy this month.”

The Wolf Queen only grinned. No amount of ice or storm could reduce her warmth.

“Hello, Desdemona,” the Wickedest Witch purred, her voice sweet and menacing at the same time. “Found yourself a shiny new toy?”

Antonio glowered, but he wouldn’t attack her. He needed the witch to cure me.

Nevertheless, Marrok sent Antonio a warning look.

We smiled. At the witch’s presence, the venom in me surged up like a shark that leapt out of the churning sea.

The Dark Prince craved her. He coveted her blood and her wicked magic more than anything. He’d wanted a sip of it since he’d first laid eyes on her. 

“Do you like this one?” Desdemona asked softly with my voice.

The witch studied us coolly. “Have you counted how many of your vassals I’ve beheaded?”

I also came alive like a smaller shark.

I needed this witch. The wolves wouldn’t get rid of me without Antonio’s nod, and Antonio would never agree to it, no matter how much I suffered. A wolf mated for a lifetime. If I was gone, he wouldn’t fare well. His mind might break, and he’d be rendered useless. 

He preserved me for his own sake.  

The Wickedest Witch was merciless. She would do whatever she wanted and how she wanted, without consulting either the wolves or the vampires.

She wouldn’t be able to purge the venom in me, as I said I was beyond salvage, but she’d grant me a merciful, quick death.

I rammed into the Dark Prince to gain the reins. I wanted a moment so badly I became a whirlwind and shoved the vampire aside.

The Wickedest Witch narrowed her eyes. She’d seen me. She’d seen I’d taken control.

“Interesting. This is a first.” She regarded me with more interest, and a wind pulled me toward her.

“Lady Fiammetta,” I said. “It’s too late for me now. Desdemona has made sure of that. He’ll try everything to sabotage your plan of leaving this planet. Queen Kaara is too softhearted; the stupid ass—the wolf general—assumes I’m his mate. He’d rather I suffer than end my misery. But you alone will show me mercy and let me have a quick exit. Someone has betrayed you, and—”

Desdemona punched me, and I tasted blood at the back of my throat. 

I let out one last whimpering sound before he shoved me into a small glass box and locked me inside.

I slammed into the glass again and again, screaming, but my voice was mute, my pounding carrying no weight.

No one heard me. No one knew my struggle.

It was pure hell. 

I didn’t stop ramming into the glass.  

Desdemona flashed a velvet smile that was both for me and the Wickedest Witch.

“She’s lost control,” the Wickedest Witch said, “but it’s probably the first time any of his vassals fought back. For her spirit, she shall be rewarded.”

Kill me! Kill him! I pleaded and screamed, hoping she could hear me.

“Death is not how you get your revenge,” the Wickedest Witch scolded.

Desdemona let out a rich, sexy laugh, and I’d never loathed my laughter so much. 

“There’s nothing you can do, witch,” Desdemona said. “My venom flows in her every vein. She’s my most elaborate instrument. I spent hours imprinting her. I etched my name on her soul. She’s my prisoner forever. Not even you can do anything about it.”

“Let her go, leech!” Antonio roared. “I’ll tear your fucking throat out!”

“Come on then, lover,” I/Desdemona said, cocking my head to the side and exposing my neck for Antonio. “But I think you prefer to fuck me. I’m a vampire now, through and through. Will you still take me into your bed, mate?”

We tried to bounce my ass on the soft bed to make a point, but the witch’s darkness still bound us.

I/Desdemona chuckled. “That just turns me on, love. I’m so wet for you. Come feel my hot pussy.”

Antonio drove his fist onto the chair he’d been sitting on, and it broke apart and crumbled. 

“Feisty, just my type,” I/Desdemona said.

I turned my face away, so I wouldn’t see Antonio so helpless and tormented.

“Don’t engage with him again, wolf,” the Wickedest Witch said. “If you can’t help yourself, get out of the room.”

“I stay where my mate is,” Antonio countered. 

“I can release Bella under one condition,” Desdemona said softly.

Antonio balled his hands tight. “Name it, leech!”

I/Desdemona leered at the witch. “Fulfill your obligation and have a date with me, Lady Fiammetta. Come to my tower and dine. I’ll guarantee your safety. That’s all I’m asking.”

“We’ll do it,” Antonio said.

The Wickedest Witch trained him with an icy look, but Antonio remained steadfast. Everyone else would have backed off under her terrifying glare, but he didn’t give an inch. 

“It’ll be just one date with the bloodsucker,” Antonio said. “I’ll escort you, Lady Fiammetta. After this, I’ll owe you a life debt.”

“Are you out of your fucking mind, Antonio?” Queen Kaara exploded. “How dare you offer Lady Fiammetta! She can snuff out your pathetic life without wiggling a finger. If Marrok and I weren’t here, you’d already be dead for offending the great Wickedest Witch.”

I/Desdemona laughed again. “This is entertaining.”

Antonio looked ashamed and injured at the same time. Such a powerful wolf shifter was brought to his knees. He would do anything, including begging and forsaking his own honor, to save me.

But I didn’t feel touched or anything. My heart was dead.

“Don’t you dare suggest sacrificing my mistress again,” Queen Kaara said, practically spitting fire. “If you don’t know how to be useful, get the fuck out of the room and let the professionals handle it.”

The queen was clearly fiercely protective of the witch. I wondered why. At the moment, she was no sunshine but a cold blade.

Desdemona had tried to figure out the special tie between the Wickedest Witch and the Wolf Queen. He’d almost got his hands on Kaara a couple of times, but every time the Wickedest Witch had arrived to pry Kaara from his clutches. Only when Desdemona had a taste of the blood of either would he know their secrets.

“I won’t leave my mate alone,” Antonio said, a muscle twitching in his stubborn jaw.

Queen Kaara turned to the Wickedest Witch. “Fia, is there anything we can do?”

“His venom is in every drop of her blood,” the Wickedest Witch said. “Unless I bleed her dry—”

“No one bleeds Bella dry!” Antonio said, his every muscle taut. He was ready to fight everyone to keep me alive.

I’d heard before that matehood could drive a powerful shifter mad. He’d seemed to be at the brink of insanity ever since he’d lost me to the vampires.

I/Desdemona smirked. “Admit defeat, witch. Come to me, and I’ll leave this pitiful, pretty thing alone.”

“Tempting,” she said. “But once again you underestimate the Wickedest Witch in the universe. I can’t purge your venom, but I can banish you.”

Desdemona sneered. “I imprinted her soul.”

The Wickedest Witch scanned the room, icy light radiating on her skin.

I/Desdemona tried to break her dark magic while she wasn’t paying attention, but her darkness only clutched us further with crashing weight. 

The Wickedest Witch couldn’t bind us forever. When she left, she’d have to take her nasty darkness pet with her.

“Leave the room,” the witch ordered the wolves.

“I’ll stay,” Antonio insisted. 

A gust of icy wind rose from the witch, tossing everyone—except Queen Kaara—out of the door.

The witch trusted only the Wolf Queen.

The wolves howled furiously outside, and Antonio roared in anger, but the Wickedest Witch ignored them while the Wolf King restrained Antonio at the doorway.

Thick darkness twirled around the witch and me, forming unbreakable walls and separating us from the rest of the world. All I could see was the witch and her wheeling walls of darkness.

An ice spear materialized in her hand from out of an icy mist.

Was she going to stab me? She’d said she wouldn’t bleed me.

I/ Desdemona didn’t show any care. He believed the wolves—at least Antonio and his friends—would go to war with the witch if she finished me off. And I wanted death rather than live in slavery.

The Wickedest Witch cut the heel of her palm with the spear. Blood dripped from her hand, but it didn’t fall onto the ground. It hovered in the air between us, the color of a firestorm.

“You covet my blood more than anything, don’t you, Desdemona?” the witch asked. 

Through the shining blade of her ice spear, I saw my eyes turning deep crimson.

A hunger like no other rose in the Dark Prince, filling his every desire and thought. I/ Desdemona struggled against her darkness. “Witch, please.”

The Wickedest Witch smiled heartlessly. “Darling, but you’ll never have a drop.”  

She lifted her finger and drew intricate runes into the air with her blood. They glowed an eerie red. When she stopped, a string of beaming runes, words, and symbols dashed toward me.

I/Desdemona tried to dodge, but we were kept immobile by the witch’s darkness.

I laughed at his fear. I wished we were both burned to ashes and the flame would be hotter than hellfire. I didn’t mind suffering one last time, as long as the Dark Prince suffered with me.

The runes hit my forehead like a hot blade, and the burn was worse than I could imagine.

I/ Desdemona screamed.

“I’ve been burning myself like that for years,” the witch said frostily. “I never whined.” 

Her firestorm burned down the box that held me captive.

“Do you still like this pretty vassal, Desdemona?” she asked. “You can stay and endure every burn with her. But if you choose to leave, you’ll never be able to come back to her, because my blood will seal the path.”

Amid my shriek, Antonio roared and fought to come inside, but the witch’s magic warded the door.

“The choice is yours, darling,” the witch smiled wider. “You long for my wicked blood, but can you really take it?”

The Dark Prince spewed several profaned curses, then he was gone.

I smelt ash, sulfur, and blood in me, but I’d never felt lighter.

I was my own.

I panted as if I had just run a marathon.

The Wickedest Witch waved a hand, and her darkness retreated. 

Antonio charged into the room and bellowed. “Bella!” He wanted to pull me into his arms, but I put a hand up and hissed.

The Wickedest Witch chuckled with dark delight. “You’ll have to earn the right to touch her, wolf, and it won’t be an easy fight.”

“What did you do to her, Wicked Witch?” He turned to the great witch, taking his frustration out on her.

She flicked her wrist, and an icy storm sent him crashing against the wall and pinned him there. He opened his mouth, probably trying to curse, but no words came out.

“Really, Antonio?” Queen Kaara snapped as Marrok moved to her side protectively. “Lady Fiammetta shed her precious blood to exorcise the Dark Prince and burn away his claim on Bella’s soul. You owe her more than a life debt. So, stop being a dick!”

She waved a hand at him, and her magic also slammed into him. It was nothing like the gentle, warm wave she’d sent to soothe me. It had to be the opposite since anguish twisted his face.   

“Please let him go,” I said in a small voice.

Antonio gazed at me with gratitude.

“Little one,” the Wickedest Witch said.

Little one? She had to be younger than me. She appeared a few years younger than the queen as well.

“You’ll turn,” she said. “You’ll be a vampire, but only half. That’s the best I could do. Half vampire or not, your life is yours. It’s up to you how to live the rest of it.”

“I live for revenge,” I said.

A deep understanding flitted in the witch’s piercing, gray eyes.

“That can be a valid reason,” she said.

“Thank you, Lady Fiammetta,” I said.

She didn’t acknowledge or care for my gratefulness, her face paler than she’d come in, faint dark circles obvious under the hollow of her eyes.

It suddenly dawned on me. Her every drop of blood—with firestorm in it—was precious. That was why Dark Prince Desdemona craved her blood more than anything. Shedding even one bead consumed her.

She treaded toward the door, ignoring everyone. Darkness trailed behind her, guarding the witch.

Icy crystals coated the ground she walked on.

The wolves gave her a wide berth at the hiss of her darkness.

She halted at the door, sending Antonio a glance. “Time does not mend a broken heart.” Then she left.

Queen Kaara followed her mistress out. “Fia, there’s only one open bar in the City of Nine. Let’s go drink a round of the Fuzzy Devil, their house special.”

“Devil and I don’t get along, fuzzy or not,” the Wickedest Witch said icily. “But I can take a look at what else they have.”

“What about Ice Rainbow, Lady Fiammetta?” Marrok joined them. “I’ll mix it for you personally.”

Queen Kaara whistled. 

As soon as the Wickedest Witch was out of sight, her darkness freed Antonio. He landed with a thud and a curse.

He rose and hurried toward me. “Bella,” he called, thick emotion choking his voice.

Ignoring my snarl, he pulled me toward him.

I didn’t want to get into anyone’s arms, considering what I’d just gone through. As Lady Fiammetta had put it, I was broken.

But the wolf general had proved to be a hard ass, who wouldn’t take no for an answer. So, I punched him in the face, partly to test if my fist was under my command and mine alone. 

Antonio threw his head back. “Bella?”

Two guards at the door chuckled, but their gleeful chortle turned to coughs when Antonio swept a glare at them.

It was going to be a long night with Antonio not moving an inch away from me. In a small way that brought me comfort. At least I’d be safe the rest of the night.

I closed my eyes and slept.