Maria.

The door creaked open.

Adrien stepped inside.

The moment my eyes landed on him, all the color drained from my face. My body stiffened instinctively, every muscle locking in place as dread slid coldly down my spine. If there had been any hope left in me, any fragile belief that this night couldn’t get worse, it shattered the second his gaze found mine.

"Maria," he said, his voice deceptively calm, almost disappointed. "I really couldn’t believe you would make yourself available to other Alphas."

The words struck harder than any slap.

I opened my mouth to speak, to deny it, to explain, but nothing came out. My throat felt tight, clogged with fear and helplessness. Adrien’s eyes flicked briefly toward Damien, who was already seething, his jaw clenched as he stepped aside and dropped heavily onto the edge of the bed.

Adrien took his time walking closer, his presence pressing down on me like a weight I couldn’t escape.

"Now," he continued coolly, "tell me, Maria, what punishment do you think is befitting of you?"

Punishment.

The word echoed painfully in my head.

I froze completely, my mind scrambling in panic. Punishment for what? I hadn’t asked for any of this. I hadn’t begged to be fought over, claimed, or dragged from room to room like an object. Yet here I was, standing trial for sins I never committed.

Before I could gather enough courage to speak, Adrien’s hand came up, gripping my chin harshly. He turned my face to the side as if inspecting me, as though I were something disappointing, something flawed.

"I’ll take her to my room, Damien," he said flatly.

Damien didn’t argue. He didn’t even look at me. He simply nodded.

That silent agreement terrified me more than any shouting could have.

Adrien’s grip shifted from my chin to my wrist, his fingers closing painfully tight around it. I stumbled as he pulled me along, my feet barely keeping up as we moved through the corridor. The walk felt endless, each step heavier than the last, my heart pounding so loudly I was sure he could hear it.

When we reached his room, he shoved the door open and dragged me inside.

The moment the door shut behind us, he pushed me forward.

I fell hard onto the bed, the impact knocking the breath from my lungs. The mattress dipped beneath my weight, and for a second I just lay there, stunned, my chest rising and falling too fast.

Adrien didn’t speak right away.

He stood there, staring at me, his expression unreadable, his purple eyes dark and intense. The silence stretched, thick and suffocating, making my skin prickle with unease.

Finally, he spoke.

"Tell me," he said slowly, "why do you make yourself available to just anyone."

"I..." I started, desperation clawing its way up my chest.

"Shut up, Maria!" he snapped suddenly, his voice exploding through the room. "What excuse do you think you want to give?"

He crossed the distance between us in two long strides and grabbed the back of my head, his fingers tangling painfully in my hair. He forced me to look at him, his eyes boring into mine with frightening intensity.

"How many times," he shouted, "do we have to tell you that you belong to us?"

His breath hit my face, hot and sharp, and I instinctively tried to pull back, my hands pressing weakly against his chest. But there was no room to retreat. No space to breathe.

Before I could say another word, before I could even fully process what was happening, his lips crashed against mine.

The kiss was forceful, overwhelming, leaving no room for thought or protest. My mind screamed for me to fight, to push him away, but my body felt heavy, unresponsive, trapped between fear and exhaustion.

I struggled, my hands pushing against him, but the more I resisted, the more he pressed forward, stealing the air from my lungs. My strength drained rapidly, panic mixing with confusion, until my movements slowed despite my will.

I hated myself for it.

Hated the way my body betrayed me, the way it stopped fighting when my mind was still screaming no. My lips parted involuntarily as I gasped for air, and he took it as permission, deepening the contact, leaving me dizzy and shaken.

Tears burned behind my eyes, but I forced them back, refusing to give him that satisfaction.

In that moment, everything narrowed to a single, crushing truth, how utterly powerless I was, how completely this night had slipped beyond my grasp. Whatever illusions of choice I had clung to dissolved, leaving only the stark awareness of how far things had already gone, how little of it I had been able to stop.

Adrien didn’t pull away.

If anything, the kiss intensified.

It wasn’t gentle. It wasn’t meant to be. His lips pressed against mine with deliberate control, each movement asserting dominance rather than affection. My breath faltered as his hand tightened in my hair, fingers threading through it, holding me firmly in place as though reminding me that resistance was pointless. The contact stole my balance, left me disoriented, my thoughts scattering as his presence overwhelmed my senses.

The bed dipped beneath us as he leaned forward, his weight settling in, unyielding. The space around me vanished. I became acutely aware of how thoroughly I was caged in, his body blocking every angle, his grip dictating where I could move, how far I could turn my head. There was nowhere to look away, nowhere to retreat, no space to breathe without feeling him there.

The realization sank deeper with every passing second.

There was no escape.

Only the inescapable weight of his control pressing down, making certain I understood exactly where I stood.

My breath came out in shallow gasps between the brief moments he allowed me air. My chest rose rapidly, panic tightening its grip as my thoughts scattered in every direction at once. This wasn’t desire. It wasn’t warmth. It was suffocating.

I turned my face slightly, trying to break the contact, but he followed, his mouth relentless, unyielding. His other hand slid down to my waist, fingers digging in possessively as if reminding me that resistance was pointless.

"Stop..." the word barely made it past my lips, swallowed by the pressure of his mouth.

He didn’t listen.

Instead, he tightened his grip, the kiss turning rougher, more demanding, as though my refusal only fueled something darker in him. My hands pressed weakly against his chest, my palms trembling, but he didn’t budge. It was like pushing against stone.

My heart thundered violently in my ears.

I squeezed my eyes shut, fighting the sting of tears. I refused to let them fall, not in front of him. Not now. I tried to steady my breathing, tried to ground myself, but the closeness made it impossible. His scent surrounded me completely, drowning out every other thought.

Finally, I bit down, not hard enough to draw blood, but enough to make a point.

Adrien froze.

For half a second, the world stood still.

Then he pulled back abruptly, his breath ragged, his lips parted as he stared down at me. His eyes were darker now, stormy, flickering with something between anger and surprise. His hand loosened slightly in my hair, though it didn’t let go.

"So you still have fire," he muttered, his voice low, almost amused. "Interesting."

I swallowed hard, my throat burning. My lips tingled painfully, my body trembling in ways I couldn’t fully control, fear, shock, exhaustion all tangled together. I forced myself to meet his gaze, even though every instinct screamed at me to look away.

"I didn’t ask for this," I said, my voice shaking despite my effort to steady it. "I didn’t ask for any of it."

His expression hardened instantly.

"You don’t get to decide that," he replied coldly. "Not anymore."

He straightened slowly, finally releasing my hair. The sudden absence of his touch made me sway slightly before I caught myself, my hands clutching the bedsheet beneath me. My scalp throbbed where he’d held me, a dull reminder of how easily he could overpower me.

Adrien stepped back a pace, running a hand through his hair as if trying to rein himself in. His breathing was still uneven, his chest rising and falling with restrained intensity.

"You drive trouble wherever you go," he said, his tone sharp. "You walk into a room, and Alphas forget themselves. You think that’s coincidence?"

I shook my head faintly. "I never wanted anyone to fight over me. I just wanted to Live..."

He laughed, short and humorless. "Live?" He scoffed. "You should be grateful. Do you know how many rogues would kill to be in your position?"

Grateful.

The word twisted painfully in my chest.

I lowered my gaze, my fingers curling tightly into the fabric of the bed as I struggled to keep myself together. Every part of me felt raw, emotionally stripped bare, physically drained.

Adrien moved again, but this time he stopped just out of reach. He looked down at me as if weighing something unseen, his expression unreadable.

"Get yourself together," he finally said. "You’re not leaving this room tonight."

My breath hitched, but I said nothing.

He turned away, heading toward the window, leaving me sitting there on the bed, shaken, silent, and painfully aware that whatever awaited me next, this night was far from over.