Alpha's STOLEN Mate (by Abigail Hayes) novel Chapter 66

Chapter 66

Elowen

The moment Kaius deposited me into the chamber and slammed the door shut, I knew I was in hell.

尽

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This wasn’t like the previous dungeon cell. This place was vast and merciless–white stone floors that seemed to stretch forever, walls that disappeared into shadows, and a single window that showed nothing but pale, lifeless sky. The only furniture was a narrow bed with one

thin blanket, sitting like an island in an ocean of cold emptiness.

Fuck!

Without clothes, the chill hit me like a physical assault. I cursed Kaius with every vile word I knew as I stumbled toward the bed, my bare feet burning against the frigid stone. The blanket felt like salvation as I wrapped it around myself, but even then, I could feel the cold seeping through the thin fabric.

What did he mean about making me beg? What kind of sick game is this?

The answer came with horrifying clarity as I felt the temperature continue dropping. This wasn’t just a cold room–it was a weapon. Somewhere, somehow, freezing air was being pumped in systematically, turning my prison into an icebox designed to break my will.

That psychotic bastard. He really will do anything.

I pulled the blanket tighter, but it was like trying to stop a flood with tissue paper. The cold bit into my skin, settled into my bones, made every breath feel like swallowing razors. At least the handcuffs weren’t silver–when the time came, I could shift and break them easily.

If I get the chance to escape, I’m finding a way to sever this mate bond permanently. I can’t keep playing these games with him.

The memory of how close I’d come to surrendering in that opulent chamber made my stomach churn. For those final moments, when his mouth had been at my throat, my entire being had been screaming for him to complete the marking. Only a last flicker of stubborn pride

had saved me from that fate.

I almost wanted it. God, I almost begged him for it.

But now, facing the reality of what he was capable of, my resolve hardened like steel. No matter who came through that door, no matter how many guards, no matter if I bled or died in the attempt–I would fight my way out of here.

The cold intensified with vicious efficiency. What had started as uncomfortable became painful, then excruciating. I curled into a ball beneath the inadequate blanket, my body shaking violently as the frigid air attacked from every direction.

This is worse than wolfsbane. At least that poison had an endpoint.

Time became meaningless in the frozen hell. Minutes felt like hours as the cold consumed everything–my thoughts, my anger, my determination. All that remained was the desperate need for warmth, for any relief from the agony that had settled into my very soul.

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When consciousness began slipping away, when I thought I might finally escape through merciful unconsciousness, I heard the click of a

lock.

Escape!

I tried to move toward the door, toward the precious warmth that leaked through the opening, but my body betrayed me. The cold had

stolen my strength, left me too weak to do more than twitch helplessly on the bed.

The door slammed shut again, cutting off my last hope.

Kaius stood before me wearing nothing but shorts, his muscled torso radiating heat like a furnace. Even from across the room, I could feel

the warmth emanating from his skin.

“The temperature is now negative fifteen degrees,” he said conversationally, as if discussing the weather. “I imagine even the strongest

white wolf can’t endure much more of this.”

“I don’t need your concern,” I managed through chattering teeth, but the words came out as barely a whisper.

Look at him. All that heat. All that warmth. If I could just… if I could hold him for just a moment…

The traitorous thought crept through my frozen mind like poison. I could see the steam rising from his skin, could imagine how good it would feel to press against all that heat.

Kaius moved closer, his bare feet silent on the stone floor. When he reached the bed, he extended one hand and touched my ice–cold skin.

“Tell me,” he said softly, his voice carrying a hypnotic quality that cut through my defenses. “I know what you want. Say it. Tell me you want me to hold you. Tell me you need me.”

I shook my head violently, but the movement sent spikes of agony through my frozen body.

“You can kill me,” I gasped, “but you can’t make me submit to this!”

Something flickered in his eyes–regret, perhaps, or sympathy. But his voice remained steady.

“Shhh,” he murmured, moving even closer until I could feel his body heat washing over me like a benediction. ‘Don’t fight it. You know how much you want to hold me right now.”

The warmth was intoxicating. My anger, my defiance, my stubborn pride–everything began melting away under the promise of relief from this torment. All I could think about was pressing against that heated skin, burying myself in his arms until the cold couldn’t reach me

anymore.

My hands moved without conscious thought, reaching toward him like a drowning woman grasping for a lifeline.

For a moment, I saw hesitation in his eyes, as if he wanted to make me say the words before offering salvation. But as my fingers brushed

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his skin, he made his decision.

:

His arms wrapped around me, pulling me against his chest with fierce possession. The contact was like touching the sun–blissful, overwhelming heat that drove away every thought except gratitude.

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“I’ll take that embrace as agreement,” he said against my hair, his voice rough with something that might have been triumph or relief. ‘As

you wanting me.”

I should have been furious. Should have pulled away, should have cursed him for manipulating me. But the warmth was everything, the only thing that mattered in a world that had been reduced to ice and pain.

Gradually, the room began to warm–whether because the frigid air had stopped flowing or because Kaius’s body heat was enough to change the temperature, I didn’t know and didn’t care. My exhausted body began to relax, the violent shaking finally subsiding.

In his arms, surrounded by his heat and his scent, I felt safer than I had since this nightmare began. The mate bond purred with satisfaction, and for once, I didn’t have the strength to fight it.

Just for now. Just until I’m warm again.

Sleep pulled at me with irresistible force, my body finally able to rest now that survival wasn’t in question. As my eyes drifted closed, I caught sight of Kaius’s face.

The hard lines of dominance and control had softened into something else entirely. His storm–gray eyes held an expression I’d never seen before–tender, protective, almost reverent.

He looks like he loves me.

The thought should have terrified me. Instead, it was strangely comforting as I finally surrendered to unconsciousness, safe in the arms of

my worst enemy.