As soon as they reached the guest wing, Hector pushed River into one of the rooms with Victoria and Brianna following. The moment he was inside, he slammed River into a wall. River winced as pain shot through her head but it quickly faded. He raised his palm to slowly caress her cheeks and down her pulse point. River’s body reacted in response to him and shivers ran down her due to the mate bond.
River started telling herself on the inside that his touch was not right. She just couldn’t give in so easily. She turned her face away from him as she bit her lip. He scowled and pinched her chin to make her look back at him. Then he trapped her with both his hands. He leaned over her and whispered over her ear, “River, listen to me.” His lips brushed her ears. He wedged his thigh between hers.
“Hector!” Victoria snapped. “What the ***are you doing? Stop it!” Her hands were on her heart as she watched Hector near River and her eyes were bloodshot. Her heart was pained as **and she wanted to wrench River away from Hector. She couldn’t believe her eyes. How could he do this to her just because of the *** who was mated to her by the moon goddess?
“Yes Hector, this isn’t right,” Brianna added, rife with jealousy. If it had been for her, she would have removed both Victoria and River from that place and surrounded herself with Hector’s smell and body. She desired him madly. Lusted after him. However, right now she couldn’t do much but side with Victoria and belittle her ****sister,
Heat traveled all the way up in her body and she clenched her thighs as desire blasted through River. She hated Hector and wanted to push away from herself, but when she glanced at Victoria, she couldn’t help but feel that she had stolen him from her. In order to teach her a lesson, she arched her body and touched his. Hector growled in approval.
Victoria cringed and cried, “Hector!” She grabbed his collar and tried to pull him, but Hector snapped his face towards her and peeled his lips to bare his fangs.
“Stay away!” he growled a command and Victoria was forced to step back.
Then he turned his face to look at River and said, “Before you leave for the Lycan King, I have a proposition for you.” Tears came in her eyes and she started crying. Brianna came to her and started stroking her back gently. “She is a wretched ****,” she murmured into Victoria’s ears.
Seeing Victoria’s reaction, River was pleased momentarily. But the next moment his betrayal bit her sharply. She wanted to do nothing with him or his proposition. All she wanted was him to leave with his mate whom he had marked in front of the entire school.
He continued, “If you agree to be my mistress, I will ask my father to stop you from sending to the Veil.”
“What?” River rasped.
Victoria’s eyes bulged out in shock. Covering her ***with her hands, she ran out of the room.
Brianna seethed with more jealousy. She would have happily stepped in Hector’s mistress’ shoes also.
Hector thought that River liked the proposition. He said, “Yes, I can convince my father to cancel the documents with the Lycan King and he can go and find a bride for himself somewhere else.”
Heat crept up her throat and face. She hated the shameful thing that he said right now and caused it. She felt so humiliated that her self-respect got a ***. Her ***dried that he could actually ask his real mate to be his mistress. She placed her hands on his chest and using all her power, pushed him away from her. “No!” she said. “I will never be your mistress! Tears threatened to burn behind her eyes.
He grabbed her hair and yanked her head back. “You know that I can make you submit to me.”
River winced as she tried to remove herself. Her scalp was burning with pain and tears slipped out of her eyes. “Leave me!”
“Hector!” Alpha Maxim’s voice startled them both. He was standing there, snarling at him.
Hector left River grudgingly as he glared at his father.
“Are you ***mad?” Alpha Maxim spat. “If Hunter comes to know, he is going to **half of us and that would include. you. Just let me ***deal with this problem in peace!”
Throwing one last glare at River, Hector stomped out of the room.
Alpha Maxim turned his attention to River. “Till evening do not come out of this room.” Then he said to Brianna, “If she gets anywhere near Hector, I will skin you alive!”
Brianna started shaking in fear. “I will make sure she is right here, Alpha!” she said hastily.
Alpha Maxim spun and exited the room.
River was so emotionally strung that she sagged on the floor sliding against the wall. She curled her legs up and placed her head on her head on her knee. Fresh bout of tears poured out. Brianna closed the door as soon as Alpha Maxim left and then looked at her older sister. Slowly, she walked to her and said, “What is your problem? Do you want me to die?
Can’t you just leave without causing trouble?”
“But I-” Before she could complete her sentence, Brianna slapped her hard across the face. River’s face twisted down. Pain seared her skin. She was sure that Brianna’s fingers got imprinted on her cheek.
“Shut up!” Brianna growled. She got up and walked away from her.
All River wanted was to escape from this madness. But how to do it? She just wanted to meet Lena once and then she knew she would sort it out. She heard heavy footsteps that came to a stop on her door. Guards.
After a long time, when she could no longer cry and when her cries were a dry retch, she rose to her feet shakily. Shel glanced at her sister who was now in the balcony of the room and reading a magazine, totally unconcerned. Picking her bag up, she went to the bathroom and dug her phone out.
River had very few numbers in her contact list. She dialed Lena’s number and waited nervously for her to pick up.
“River?” Lena picked up on the last ring.
In a very hushed and hoarse voice, River said, “I need to escape Lena. Can you help me?”
After a long silence, Lena said, “Where exactly are you?”
River explained to her the location of her room.
“I’ll see what I can do,” said Lena. “Be there in an hour.”
With trembling hands, River stashed her phone back in the bag.
