Free Web NovelChapter 167: Chapter 167
Irina’s POV
I woke up to absolute, paralyzing agony.
Every single muscle in my fragile body violently protested the moment I slowly blinked my eyes open. My thighs felt incredibly heavy, like they were made of solid lead. A dull, relentless ache throbbed deeply in my lower back. I felt completely battered.
The memories of last night instantly crashed into my brain like a freight train.
The dark, freezing foyer. The rough stone wall biting into my spine. The brutal, devastating way Nicholas had completely claimed me. My inner wolf purred lazily in the dark corners of my mind. She was thoroughly, sickeningly satisfied. She didn’t care about my human pride. She only cared that her Alpha had mated her.
I hated her. I hated myself even more.
I was lying on a ridiculously soft mattress. The heavy silk sheets smelled strongly of expensive cedar and his intoxicating, suffocating rain scent. He must have carried me up to his massive bedroom after I completely passed out in his arms.
I carefully took a shallow, shaky breath. I stared blankly at the faint gray morning light filtering through the heavy velvet curtains. I needed to move. I desperately needed to put physical space between us.
I shifted my weight forward. Just an inch. Just enough to slide toward the edge of the huge bed.
The second my body moved, a massive, heavy arm violently slammed across my bare stomach.
I gasped sharply.
His huge hand clamped down hard on my waist. His rough palm was scorchingly hot. It felt exactly like a branding iron violently burning through my sensitive skin. He yanked me backward with a terrifying, effortless strength.
My spine collided flush against his rock-hard, naked chest.
"Where do you think you’re going?" Nicholas’s dark, gravelly voice rumbled right against my ear.
I froze completely.
My heart instantly started hammering a frantic, sickening rhythm against my ribs. I tried to pull his heavy arm off me. My trembling fingers weakly pried at his thick wrist. It was completely useless. He was made of solid steel. His iron grip didn’t loosen even a fraction of an inch.
He buried his face in my messy, tangled blonde hair. He inhaled deeply, completely wrapping himself in my scent.
"Stop fighting me, Irina," he murmured, his morning voice dangerously low and thick with sleep.
I stopped struggling. I let my weak hands drop limply to the soft mattress.
If I couldn’t fight him physically, I would fight him the only way I had left. I tightly closed my mouth. I locked my jaw. I would not speak to him. I absolutely refused to give him another piece of my broken soul.
I stared blankly at the dark wall in front of me. I turned myself into a cold, empty, unfeeling statue.
Nicholas shifted his massive weight behind me. His rough fingers slowly, possessively stroked my bruised hip. I didn’t flinch. I didn’t sigh. I didn’t even let my breathing change. I completely detached my fragile mind from my aching body.
"Irina," he prompted. The possessive edge in his deep tone was incredibly sharp.
Absolute silence.
"Look at me."
I didn’t blink. I didn’t turn my head. I stared dead ahead.
He grabbed my chin. His thick fingers dug forcefully into my jaw as he brutally turned my face toward him. I was forced to look at him. His dark, intense eyes were studying my pale face intently. He was searching for a reaction. Any reaction at all. He wanted tears, he wanted anger, he wanted my fear.
I gave him absolutely nothing. My green eyes were completely dead.
"Are you really going to play this game?" he growled. His jaw clenched so tight a muscle ticked violently in his cheek.
I stared right through his handsome, cruel face.
He absolutely hated this. The Mad King thrived on total control. He demanded absolute obedience or passionate defiance. My complete, utter silence was violently infuriating him. I could actually feel the furious heat radiating off his massive body. His chest heaved with quiet rage.
"Fine," he snapped viciously. freёweɓnovel.com
He violently shoved the thick silk duvet off us. The cold morning air harshly hit my naked, bruised body, but I still refused to shiver.
Nicholas practically vaulted out of the bed. He was completely bare, his massive, heavily scarred body towering over me like a dark god. He didn’t even care about his nakedness. He grabbed his dark trousers from a velvet chair and yanked them on. His movements were sharp, aggressive, and full of barely contained violence.
He stormed heavily over to the massive double doors of his bedroom. He yanked them open with enough force to crack the thick wood.
Two large, heavily armed mafia guards were standing instantly at attention in the dark hallway.
"Alpha!" they barked in perfect unison.
Nicholas didn’t even look at them. He glared straight across the massive room at me. His dark eyes were completely cold. The obsessive, feral monster from last night was locked away. Right now, he was just the ruthless, untouchable Mafia boss.
"Get in here," Nicholas barked harshly at his men.
The guards hesitated for a fraction of a second. They clearly knew I was lying completely naked in their Alpha’s bed. But absolutely no one disobeyed Nicholas. They marched quickly into the room, keeping their eyes glued firmly to the ceiling.
"Pack up this lady’s clothes," Nicholas ordered sharply.
My heart violently skipped a beat. *What?*
"Throw whatever is left of her things in a bag," he continued, his deep voice dripping with absolute venom. "Take her out to the SUV. I want her sent straight to the border region. Dump her there."
My absolute, blinding panic instantly shattered my cold facade.
*The border?*
The border region was a barren, dangerous, lawless wasteland. It was hundreds of miles away from the pack territory. But infinitely worse than that—it was hundreds of miles away from *him*.
"Yes, Alpha!" the guards responded loudly.
One of them grabbed a dark wool blanket from the end of the large bed. He roughly threw it over my freezing body. The other guard quickly grabbed the torn, ruined pieces of my cheap clothes from the floor.
"Get up," the first guard ordered coldly. He grabbed my arm right through the thick blanket.
"No!" I shrieked.
I violently ripped my arm out of his harsh grasp. I scrambled backward on the soft mattress, frantically clutching the heavy blanket to my chest. My hands were shaking uncontrollably. My heart was pounding a frantic rhythm in my throat.
"Don’t touch me!" I screamed wildly at the terrifying men.
I looked frantically at Nicholas. He was leaning completely casually against the bedroom doorframe. His thick, muscular arms were tightly crossed over his broad chest. A dark, incredibly cruel sneer played on his handsome lips.
"I thought you had no reaction," Nicholas mocked. His deep voice was a slow, incredibly sadistic drawl. "I thought you were completely dead inside, Irina. What happened to the silent treatment?"
"Nicholas, stop them!" I begged. Hot, desperate tears instantly flooded my eyes, blurring my vision. The stubborn silence was totally, completely forgotten. My chest heaved with violent, ragged breaths.
He just stared at me. His expression was made of absolute stone. He didn’t wave the large guards off.
"Take her," Nicholas commanded flatly.
The heavy guards lunged. They grabbed both of my arms. Their tight grips were completely brutal. They forcefully dragged my thrashing body off the soft mattress. My bare feet hit the freezing hardwood floor with a harsh thud.
"No! Let me go!" I thrashed wildly like a trapped animal.
I violently kicked at their muscular legs. I fought with every single ounce of my pathetic, human strength. The dark blanket slipped dangerously low, exposing my heavily bruised shoulders and the dark marks on my neck, but I didn’t even care.
They were forcefully dragging me toward the open door. They were actually taking me away.
"Nicholas!" I sobbed heavily, my raw voice cracking in pure, devastating terror. "Please! Please don’t do this!"
He just watched me with those cold, dead eyes. He was violently breaking my spirit all over again. He wanted me to completely beg. He wanted me to utterly submit to his absolute power.
They hauled my struggling body out into the dark hallway. The physical distance between me and the massive bedroom was growing rapidly. Absolute panic clawed brutally at my tight throat. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t leave. I absolutely couldn’t leave this mafia territory.
I planted my bare feet desperately against the wooden doorframe. I fought the heavy guards’ brutal pull with everything I had left. I whipped my head back and looked right into Nicholas’s dark, merciless eyes.
"I need to see my son!"
