CHAPTER 223: CONVINCED

"The Dark Master is about to return." Even as Emira said the words, she felt a strange pull inside her and a quiet confusion about her own feelings.

Somehow, she knew she should feel bad about wanting the Dark Master to return. After all, he could cause mass destruction. She should feel fear or regret or at least some hesitation. But the dark witch blood inside her whispered something different. It made her feel as if she was doing the right thing, as if this path had always belonged to her.

She should have felt guilty towards the Alpha triplets, guilty for even thinking of helping their greatest threat, but instead she felt a rise of power curling through her chest. As if all this was just fun and games.

The Dark Master really was going to return. The knowledge settled in her like a certainty she couldn’t shake.

On the other hand, she smiled slowly and felt an urge to push Crown Prince Lance further, to goad him in ways she normally wouldn’t dare. What had he said earlier? That she could say anything in this room and he would not retaliate. Ha. Could she test it?

She wondered if he could truly hold onto that vow, or if his control would crack the moment she crossed this line he didn’t expect her to cross. After all, she had just promised that their biggest enemy would return.

Along with that, a darker, almost perverse part of her wondered how he would respond to this challenge she was throwing at him. Would he try to force her, like he had done just now with ordering her wolf?

She didn’t like the heavy pressure her wolf had put her under. Inside, though, she was already thinking ahead. If he called her wolf to help him again, if he dared to pull her into obedience for something important like this, he would live to regret it. She would make sure of that. She stared at him and raised an eyebrow at him in challenge.

Prince Lance didn’t look shocked by her words. Instead, a slow, dangerous smile spread across his face. The kind of smile that made her stomach tighten and had alarm bells ringing in her head.

Emira frowned. She didn’t trust that smile one bit. She opened her mouth to speak, maybe to push him again, but she didn’t even get the chance.

In the next moment, something cold and metallic wrapped around her wrists. Before she could step back, she felt herself pulled upwards, her hands raised and she was now standing on her toes and then the sound of a lock clicking into place.

Her arms were raised above her head, secured before she could blink. She tried to pull back but the restraints didn’t budge. The sudden lift of her body, the unfamiliar stretch of her arms, and the cold touch of metal all made her breath leave her for a second.

She stared at him, stunned and then huffed sarcastically, "Really? This is what you call ’no retaliation’?"

Prince Lance only tilted his head, still wearing that dangerous smile. He didn’t rush to defend himself. He simply watched her, as if he had been waiting for this exact moment.

"You lied," she added sharply as she lifted her chin and glared at him. Hmpf. Wolves only knew to give fake promises... it seemed. "You said I could say anything and you wouldn’t do anything back while we are in this room. And yet, here we are...

Once again, Lance remained silent and didn’t reply. His silence felt heavier than his voice would have. Emira narrowed her eyes.

She tugged at the cuffs again. No movement. No escape. She hissed under her breath and then fixed her glare on him.

"You think keeping me tied here will stop me?" she said, "I’ll still escape. And when I do, I’ll go straight to the Dark Master."

That finally broke his silence. His eyes narrowed. Slowly.

He stepped back a little, his boots making a soft sound against the floor. Then he looked at her and gave her a once over... She frowned. Why was he looking at her like that? He didn’t look angry or annoyed at her insistence.

Instead, he seemed to be appreciating her body... Emira frowned and that is when she came to a realisation. She was not just bound.. She was bound topless! Her clothes had been discarded by Lance sometime during the conversation, without her realizing it fully. And now, with her hands raised like that, her chest seemed to be on display like an offering to him. And he was appreciating the ’offering’ quite shamelessly!

His eyes moved over her slowly, tracing the lines of her body from where her arms were bound to the faint rise her chest, then lower still. He took his time, as if he was memorising every part of her stance. She shivered. How had they shifted from such an important topic to this?

Lance Stormhol wasn’t the least worried about her threat. Instead, he liked her challenging him and pushing him. She shivered, wanting to cover herself, even as she felt her flesh tighten in anticipation of his touch.

He lifted his gaze back to her face. The appreciative look hadn’t faded. If anything, it had deepened.

Emira felt the back of her neck grow warm. She didn’t like that reaction, but she couldn’t stop it. She tried to lift her chin again, but his eyes followed the motion and something in them darkened.

She wanted to curse him. She wanted to kick him. She wanted to... she didn’t even know what she wanted.

But she knew one thing. He might not retaliate the way she was thinking, but this was definitely retaliation. And he wasn’t going to untie her anytime soon.

His eyes held hers for a long, tense moment as he walked forward.

"Emira, baby, this is not retaliation. This is negotiation. You want to be his apprentice and try to bring him back? Sure. We won’t step in your way. But, of course, we would need something in return."