Vengeance in His Bed

Jannah wrapped her fingers tightly around the hilt, her knuckles turning stark white as she fought against the staggering weight of his iron grip. The blade was still biting into the linen of his bandages, the trail widening by the second, and the panic in her chest turned into a suffocating frenzy.

"Let go, Dorrent!" she hissed, her voice cracking with a terrifying mix of desperation and rage as she wrenched the weapon out of his palm.

Dorrent didn’t want to release it. His fingers resisted for a fraction of a second, his eyes flashing with a dangerous, self-destructive light that dared her to pull the trigger. But Jannah used every ounce of her leverage, twisting her wrist until the blade finally snapped free from his hold. She immediately flung the knife across the room. It clattered sharply against the floor, sliding beneath the shadow of a heavy wardrobe, far out of reach.

She stood over him, her chest heaving in rapid, jagged breaths, her vision still blurred by the tears pouring down her cheeks. Her dark eyes locked onto the small, fresh puncture wound on his sternum where the crimson fluid was slowly bubbling through the white threads.

"Of course it is what I want!" Jannah shrieked, her voice breaking hysterically as she pointed a trembling finger at his face. "Do you hear me, Dorrent?! I want you dead! I want you to burn in hell for what happened to my family! But not like this anymore! Not in some pathetic, self-inflicted display to ease your own sick conscience!"

She stepped back, her frame shaking violently as she wiped the wetness from her face with the back of her hand, her mind completely shattered by the conflicting emotions tearing through her core. When she looked down at him, her gaze faltered. The symmetrical, sculpted lines of his jaw and cheekbones illuminated by the soft light of the room. He looked incredibly handsome—devastatingly so. His eyes were wide, clear, and filled with bleeding sincerity that she had never seen on him before.

It confused her. It maddened her. Her heart hammered against her ribs in a contradictory rhythm; she hated him with every fiber of her being, yet looking at that genuinely pained, strikingly beautiful face made a heavy, suffocating warmth coil within her stomach. She hated how safe he made her feel even while he was the architect of her nightmares.

"I am willing to have us look into the case," Jannah rasped out, her tone dropping into a sharp, venomous promise that cut through the heavy silence. "We will find out what happened nine years ago. We will unearth whatever filth triggered that black cycle rut. But listen to me very carefully, Alpha... if by some chance it turns out you are lying to me right now, if you are weaving some pathetic fabrication to shield yourself... I will skin you alive. I will personally ensure your death is the most agonizing thing this world has ever witnessed."

Instead of flinching at her lethal vow, Dorrent’s face completely transformed. The crushing weight of his guilt seemed to lift, replaced by a sudden surge of relief.

Before she could even register his movement, his frame lunged forward from the edge of the bed. His arms slammed around her waist with terrifying speed, hauling her flush against his solid torso. He buried his face deep into the crook of her neck, his broad chest heaving against her as he hugged her with a tight, desperate force that threatened to crush her ribs.

"Thank you," Dorrent growled, his deep voice muffled against her skin, vibrating right through her collarbone. His winter-frost pheromones flared, thick and heavy with a rare, shattering gratitude. "Thank you for giving me a chance, Jannah. Thank you."

"Let go of me!" Jannah screamed, her hands immediately slamming against his broad shoulders as she began to twist and thrash against his hold. His touch felt like liquid fire, making her nerve endings spark with an involuntary thrill that she loathed herself for feeling. "Let go, Dorrent! This is not a chance! Do you hear me?! I still hate you! You are still the murderer who tore my family apart, and absolutely nothing you say or do can change that horrific fact!"

With a desperate, explosive shove, she planted her palms against his chest and pushed with all her might.

Dorrent, still physically weakened from his unhealed system and the fresh strain on his torso, lost his balance. He fell backward onto the mattress with a heavy thud. The sudden impact sent a violent jolt through his torso, and a gasp escaped his lips. His features contorted in agony as he winced, his hand instantly flying to his stomach, his fingers digging into his bandaged ribs as his breath hitched.

Jannah’s medical instincts overrode her fury in a single heartbeat. The sight of him formatting in pain made her stomach drop. Without thinking, she immediately dropped down onto her knees beside him on the edge of the mattress, her hands hovering frantically over his shaking form.

"Are you okay?!" she demanded, her voice rising in panic as her eyes scanned his pale face. "Where does it hurt?! Look at you—you’re the one constantly pushing me into hurting you! Why do you have to be so completely reckless?!"

Before she could pull her hands away, Dorrent’s arm shot out like a striking viper. His hand wrapped firmly around her wrist, and with a sudden, deceptive burst of strength, he yanked her forward.

Jannah let out a small gasp as she was pulled directly onto his lap. Dorrent shifted instantly, his long legs locking her frame in place as he maneuvered her body, brushing her chest directly against his torso. The heat radiating from his skin was suffocating. He looked up at her, the sharp pain in his features instantly melting into a triumphant smirk that made her blood boil.

"I’m happy to see you worried about me, little physician," Dorrent murmured, his eyes flashing with a predatory, self-satisfied warmth as he stared at her flushed face. His thumb stroked the side of her waist, anchoring her hips down against his thigh. "For someone who claims to want me dead, your hands sure move fast when I’m bleeding. You should be rewarded for taking such good care of your future husband."

"Don’t you dare—"

Dorrent didn’t let her finish. He surged upward, his hand cupping the back of her neck, his fingers tangling into her hair as he forcefully slammed his lips down onto hers.

The kiss was intense, possessive, and thick with the heavy scent of his winter-frost pheromones. Jannah froze, her eyes widening in fury as she immediately began to push against his chest, her fists bunching into the fabric of his shirt. But as his mouth dominated hers, parting her lips with practiced authority, a sudden, treacherous weakness flooded her limbs. The familiarity of his touch, combined with the confusing, handsome intensity of his genuine face so close to hers, completely drained her strength. Her hands went limp against his shoulders. She let out a soft, defeated whimper into the kiss, letting him have his way as her head swam in chaos.

After a long, agonizing moment of complete dominance, Dorrent slowly let go of her mouth. He pulled back just an inch, his hot breath brushing against her swollen lips, though his hand remained tangled in her hair. His eyes were uncharacteristically soft as he looked at her blotchy, tear-stained face.

"I know you can’t forgive me," Dorrent said softly, his deep voice dropping into a rough, quiet frequency that felt too intimate. "I know how deep that wound goes, Jannah. It is very painful losing your parents at that age... left alone in those gutters. I don’t expect you to just forget it." He paused, his thumb gently tracing the line of her jaw. "But you need to know that I was also looking into the case before you even jumped at me. The moment my mother dropped that bomb on me last week, I ordered my handlers to dig up the old sector records."

Jannah pulled her head back, wrenching her hair from his fingers as she glared down at him, her chest heaving as she tried to reclaim her slipping sanity.

"It doesn’t matter," she whispered, her voice trembling with a breaking sorrow. "Even if it turns out you are telling the truth... even if someone manipulated you, poisoned your system, and forced you into that black cycle... it changes nothing between us, Dorrent. It is so difficult to look at your face."