Free Web NovelChapter 14: Chapter 14
Fleur’s entire body went rigid the moment she saw Christian standing before her.
For one suffocating heartbeat, the world seemed to stop.
No. No, this couldn’t be happening.
Six years ago, she had escaped that nightmare with blood on her hands, terror in her lungs, and two unborn pups growing inside her womb. She had buried the woman she used to be and rebuilt herself from ashes. Yet now, the monster who had once ruled her life stood directly in front of her again—alive, powerful, and devastatingly real.
Her pulse thundered violently beneath her skin.
And then... Christian kissed her.
The kiss hit her like wildfire crashing through a frozen forest—desperate, starving, possessive. His mouth devoured hers with a raw hunger that stole the air from her lungs, and Fleur’s mind spiraled into chaos.
Because this made no sense.
This was the same Christian Wayne who had once treated her like a cursed mate he despised. The same man who had only ever touched her to dominate, to punish, to remind her how powerless she was beneath the Alpha King of the Wayne bloodline.
Never like this. Never with trembling hands. Never with yearning.
But now, every second of that kiss felt drenched in agony, devotion, and something dangerously close to love.
Fleur nearly froze from the unfamiliar tenderness.
When Christian finally pulled away, his breathing came ragged and uneven. One large hand cradled her bruised face with heartbreaking care while his storm-dark eyes swept across every wound marring her skin.
"You’re alive..." he rasped hoarsely, as though the words themselves were a prayer to the Moon Goddess. "Fuck... you’re alive. My wife..."
Fleur snapped back to herself and shoved violently against his chest.
"Don’t touch me!" she spat, hatred blazing in her eyes. "I am not your wife!"
She would die before admitting the truth.
She had spent six years hiding her identity, protecting her children, surviving. She refused to let Christian drag her back into that gilded prison where her soul had slowly withered beneath his cruelty.
Her pups would never suffer the way she had. Never.
"What are you saying, baby?" Christian whispered, visibly shaken by her outburst.
Baby?
Fleur almost laughed in disbelief. He had never called her anything soft before. Never whispered endearments against her skin. Back then, she had merely been a political Luna he couldn’t wait to get rid of.
But Christian stared at her like a man standing before a ghost resurrected from the grave.
His wolf already knew. Every instinct inside him screamed that this woman belonged to him.
"You are Odette," he growled possessively, silver flickering through his eyes. "My wife."
Before Fleur could react, he seized her face and kissed her again—harder this time, deeper, devastatingly dominant.
A startled gasp escaped her lips, giving him access. His tongue swept into her mouth with savage desperation, and despite herself, Fleur felt her traitorous body weaken in his arms.
Moon Goddess help her... Even after all these years, this man still had the power to unravel her.
Pain throbbed through her battered body from Carrie’s torture earlier, yet Christian’s scent—dark cedarwood, winter smoke, and Alpha pheromones—wrapped around her senses like chains.
Fleur hated herself for the way her body responded.
She forced herself to remain cold, refusing to kiss him back even as it became harder with every passing second.
Then Carrie’s shrill voice shattered the moment.
"Christian, what the hell are you doing?!" she screamed.
Christian tore his mouth away from Fleur’s and turned slowly toward her, murderous fury radiating from him in suffocating waves.
"She is not your wife! She’s just that pathetic interior designer!" Carrie shrieked hysterically. "Did you forget your medication again? Are you hallucinating?!"
Medication? Hallucinating?
Confusion flickered through Fleur’s eyes.
Christian had been perfectly healthy when she fled six years ago. If anything, he looked even more terrifying now—stronger, deadlier, every inch the ruthless Alpha ruler feared across the country.
So what was Carrie talking about?
But Fleur’s thoughts shattered beneath Christian’s thunderous growl.
"Shut the fuck up, will you?"
The room trembled beneath the force of his Alpha command.
"If you value your miserable life," he snarled, eyes glowing silver, "get out of my sight before I kill you for laying your hands on my mate."
Carrie’s face drained of color. Fleur looked equally stunned.
Why was he furious at her?
Wasn’t this what he had always wanted? Carrie had been the woman he loved. The woman he intended to make his Luna after destroying Odette.
Yet now he held Fleur like she was the most precious thing in existence.
Goddess, Christian Wayne was impossible to understand.
Fear curled coldly inside her chest. What if this was another trap? Another cruel game to lure her back into hell?
The thought made her tremble.
Gathering every ounce of strength she had left, Fleur struggled against his iron hold.
"Are you insane?" she snapped. "I told you already—I’m not your wife. I’m Fleur Swann, the interior designer your fiancée kidnapped and tortured."
Her eyes burned with fury. "Now let me go before I call the police."
Christian stared at her as though each word was a knife twisting inside his chest.
"Don’t say that," he murmured brokenly, his voice unbearably gentle compared to the terrifying rage he had directed at Carrie moments earlier.
He brushed trembling fingers across her cheek.
"I’ll punish her," he promised desperately. "I’ll throw her into the dungeon. I’ll let my wolves tear her apart if that’s what you want."
His jaw tightened murderously. "Or I’ll leave her there to bleed until she dies for hurting you."
Then his expression cracked completely.
"But please..." he whispered. "Don’t look at me like this, my love."
Fleur nearly choked on the absurdity of it all.
This had to be an act. It had to be.
"Wait," she mocked bitterly. "Why would you do that to your precious fiancée?" frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
She yanked at the restraints cutting into her wrists.
"Untie me, let me leave, and I’ll forget any of this happened."
Christian moved instantly.
"I’m sorry," he muttered while hurriedly untying her restraints. "I’m so fucking sorry, baby."
The moment her hands were free, he gently rubbed the raw skin around her wrists like the sight physically hurt him.
"We’re leaving. I’m taking you to the hospital." His voice became frantic. "You’re in shock. That’s why you don’t remember me."
Fleur groaned in frustration. "For the last time, I’m not who you think I am!"
"Yeah," Christian said softly, clearly not believing a word. "We’ll let the doctors check you first."
Before she could protest again, he lifted her effortlessly into his arms.
His Beta assistants stood frozen nearby, staring in utter disbelief.
Christian Wayne—the merciless Alpha feared throughout the country—had never begged anyone in his life.
Yet here he was, holding his wife like she was the only thing keeping him alive.
Halfway to the exit, Christian suddenly stopped. Without turning around, he spoke coldly to his men.
"Take care of her."
Those simple words... But the deadly promise behind them made Carrie collapse to her knees in terror.
"No! Christian, please!" she screamed hysterically. "I’m sorry! I’m sorry!"
Christian never even glanced back.
Ignoring her cries completely, he carried Fleur out of the filthy warehouse and toward his waiting car, determined to get his mate to safety—no matter what it cost him.
