ELLIOT"ROSELLA!" I roared with even more urgency, a sinister premonition assaulting my senses.I ran toward her scent and then… that suffocating, intense smell of iron.Before I reached her, I saw her stepping out from the shadow of the trees—her pale skin, trembling lips, and disheveled hair.My eyes dropped, stunned.Her hands… her hands clutched the hilt of a weapon, buried deep in her chest."NOOOO!" I bellowed, rushing toward her.She tried to take steps toward me, staggering, stumbling forward.I caught her midair in my arms; the coldness of her skin clenched my fears. I lifted her immediately, afraid to touch her chest, feeling her life slipping away with each breath.I sat on the ground, near the precipice, my back to the forest."No, no, Rosella, you can't do this to me, you can't! Damn it!" My fingers reached for that damned weapon.When did this happen? How could I be so careless?"I… I'm sorry…""Don't talk, don't talk, baby, damn it, no, no…" I bent over her dirt-streake

KATHERINE"Shhh," he brings a finger to his lips, signaling for me to stay quiet.I immediately press my lips together. The Duke closes the door and steps closer, his brow furrowed as his gaze drops to my chest.I watch as he sits on the edge of the bed, my mind a whirlwind of memories, my urge to bombard him with a thousand questions barely contained.He leans toward me, and I shudder at the closeness, his deep, low voice pouring into my ear."Don't call me by my title here. No one can know our identities. We're just a married couple who were attacked by bandits on the road," he whispers, and I swallow hard, nodding.He straightens slightly, his piercing blue eyes too close.I start to feel nervous—not just because of his proximity, but because I might have done something unnatural to heal myself.Did the Duke notice my magic?He couldn’t have—otherwise, he’d be tying me to a tree and setting me on fire like a torch."I… thank you for saving me, Du— I mean, E… Elliot," I say, tasting

KATHERINEA small garden greeted me at the entrance, though the plants were sparse.I lifted my head and took in the pitch-black darkness.Only a few faint lights flickered from a nearby house. The distant hills were covered in trees, rustic wooden fences lined the dirt road that wove through the homes—life in the countryside.In the midst of that darkness, a silhouette suddenly emerged.The rickety front gate creaked open, and the figure walked up the stone path. It was Elliot."Rossella, why did you come outside? It’s cold," he said, approaching immediately."I was waiting for you. Are you okay?" I asked, taking a few steps toward him.His expression remained serious and uneasy."I went to see the village. It’s… indescribable," he said through gritted teeth, his face dark with fury."This is the borderlands, and it’s obvious someone else is controlling them. I feel like an idiot."Well, that’s not something I’m going to argue with, little Duke, I thought, wisely keeping silent."You

ELLIOTHearing her so damn turned on was music to my ears, her back arching against my body.I pressed that little button that made her shudder with pleasure. I played with it for a bit, massaging it between my fingers, circling it gently as I did the same to her nipple.My open palm slid down, caressing her shameless vulva up and down.Despite the water’s moisture, something thick and viscous trickled from inside her.I spread her lips apart and teased the tiny entrance. I could hear her rapid breathing beneath her chest, her heart pounding wildly.So alive, so mine, so sensual—this woman belonged to me."Aaahh..." The husky moan echoed off the bathroom walls as I slid a finger inside her, melting into the hot furnace between her slick folds.I pushed it in and out, claiming more ground with each thrust, until my knuckles began to collide against her eager pussy.Rossella writhed in my arms, arching her ass back and rubbing against my rock-hard, swollen shaft, just from these damn pr

NARRATORElliot ran like a madman, barefoot, with no direction.He didn’t feel the sharp stones or the scratches on his bare torso from the jagged branches in his path.Sweat dripped from him, his breathing erratic.He collapsed onto the soft grass in the middle of the dense forest. His entire body burned, as if his temperature kept rising endlessly.His bones cracked in a strange way. He arched his back into a fetal position, enduring the painful tremors in his muscles.With clawed hands, he clutched his head, which throbbed as if thousands of burning nails were piercing his skull.His heart pounded so fast he thought it would explode, that he’d die right there.He clutched his chest, his nails digging into his strong pectorals. Something inside him clawed to break free, to take control, to command his will—but he resisted.He always resisted. The only time he hadn’t was that night.He didn’t know exactly what had happened, but it had been something very similar; he lost control comp