To AishwaryaGupta532, happy very, very, very belated birthday. I hope you enjoy this and know there is another to follow ;)

He sat, fingers clenched tightly as he heard her retreating footsteps.

He had become weak. He should have sent her away the moment he first saw her, not play along with her.

Arya.

As felt her name leave his mouth, his chest burned as she grew further and further away. Her scent still lingered. On him, his clothes, it was imprinted in the very depths of his soul.

The way she said goodbye to him, it made his head hurt. There was a note of finality to it. A note of pain, anger and anguish. If she did go, it was for the best. She would be safe and free, able to live the rest of her life in peace. She wouldn't be shackled down to a monstrous beast.

But... he didn't want that. He wanted to be selfish and cruel. He wanted to snatch her away and hide her in a place where no one would ever find her. A place where no one would ever look at her again.

She was beautiful, painfully so. Those wide brown eyes were etched into his memory and his hands ached to caress her curly locks. Even her smile was full and inviting, tempting more and more with each passing day. He craved for her more than oxygen itself, needed her more than he could handle. She was like a candle and he a moth, he was drawn helplessly to her bright, warm flame, even if his wings scorched in the process.

Suddenly he felt the hair on his arms stand on one end.

He was here.

Mikhail was here.

His wretched, sadistic brother was here. Malik sniffed the air deeply but couldn't smell Arya's scent so he sighed a sigh of relief. Arya had left on time, she was safe.

He had kissed her. As that realisation dawned on him, he fought down his panic. She was gone, he couldn't sense her. But... but if Mikhail caught wind of her scent, he would have sealed her death warrant. He forced himself to calm down as he felt his brother's presence approaching and waited, apprehensively. Mikhail liked to brag, he liked to make it known when he had the upper hand. If he somehow knew about Arya, he would say it just to see Malik worry and suffer.

Then the door opened.

"Malik", Mikhail said with a smile, his deep eyes glittering with malice. "I've come to visit".

Mikhail lounged against the door frame, completely at ease. He looked down to where Malik sat, chained, with a mixture of satisfaction and smugness. Malik was a mirror copy of himself, except Malik was ever so slightly bigger. Malik's eyes were golden whereas his were diluted with brown. Malik was more imposing, more stronger, more of everything. Mikhail felt a wave of bitterness wash over him as watched his twin.

"I see that", Malik growled. "I don't particularly care for your presence".

Mikhail kept that wide smile on his face even as he turned to sniff the room. "Oh, you lucky bastard, you have a female worker? She smells delicious".

"They all smell the same to me", Malik grumbled, keeping his pulse steady.

"Do they now?" Mikhail said, uninterested. "I suppose the Aconitum is working".

Malik growled at him and stood, pushing his chair back.

"Careful now", Mikhail warned with a glint in his eye. "Respect your Alpha".

Malik growled again and pushed on his chains with force. "Alpha?" He said calmly but with a bite. "Is that what you call yourself?"

Mikhail snarled and stepped closer until their faces were centimetres apart. "It's what my people call me".

"By force?" Malik laughed. "Do you threaten to murder their pups and rape their women?"

Both men stood, gazes locked in an intense hatred. Their eyes shone, one a bright molten gold and the other, a dim, sluggish brownish-gold. The room was charged with electricity as neither backed down from the fierce battle they had. Each held a storm, a demon fighting to break free and dominate over the other.

"Maybe I did", Mikhail chuckled deeply, his breath brushing against Malik's face. "I guess you'll never know".

Malik bristled in anger. If it wasn't for what Mikhail had over him, he would leave. The aconitum was strong, everyday he felt it leeching at his soul as it was injected into his bloodstream. It was so potent, he couldn't block out the nightmares that tormented his sleep. There were only two things that kept him going, one was the psychologist and the other was locked away from him by Mikhail.

In fact, he was surprised when he smelt his mate that day. It had been a typical day, the staff moving like clockwork. He knew who was where from the guards to the patients. Then there was something new, something so fresh, so sweet that it hit him like a truck, sending him reeling.

It was all he could think about.

He had to see her, the source of such a tantalisingly seductive scent.

As he sat in his cell, racking his brain as to how, the realisation settled upon him like cold snow to an angry flame. He would go to her just to have a face to this beautiful scent. The plan began to hatch and he prepared himself to see her the very same day. There would be repercussions. If Mikhail were to find out, he would investigate, he might even harm her. But the moment his eyes met hers, he knew it was worth it. She was beautiful, everything he had imagined his mate would have been like. Strong, unwavering and headstrong.

The image of her standing there engraved itself into his heart, made his heart beat in a frenzy and his mind hazy with a burning feeling.

Malik hadn't thought it was possible. He thought his senses were so numbed that he would never know. But her scent washed over every nerve and made him feel so very alive, filled him with purpose. It was like his nerves were electrified and every sense was heightened. He carved that feeling again like a drug addict craved his next drug.

He wanted, needed to see her again. She was a clinical psychologist, he saw her name tag. Malik knew the risks but it was like he was possessed by this cruel desire that wouldn't let him sleep or eat. And like a possessed man, he found himself refusing to take the aconitum, he found himself angry, so angry he broke things. It was like he was in the passenger seat and someone else was controlling his every move, his every action. Dr Patel listened with a hint of curiosity, wondering what had driven Malik so mad that he was acting like he never had before so allowed his psychologist to be changed. Sure enough, his crazy plan worked and sure enough, she walked into the basement and looked into his cell in anger. As their eyes met, he knew why he had done everything to bring her down to him and he would do it all over again just to catch another glimpse.

Malik had decided that he would give up everything for her. His wolf, his life, his everything. She was now his everything. She plagued his mind, invaded his every thought. If she so much as opened her mouth for help, he would break free to save her. So much so that he would risk everything else he loved.

"How is she?" Malik asked, breaking the tense silence.

"Who?" Mikhail said, his eyes sparkling.

"You know who", Malik said through gritted teeth. "You know exactly what you hold over me like the coward you are".

"Ohh", Mikhail giggled. "I remember now. I sort of forgot about her".

Mikhail growled and slammed his hands on the table so forcefully that the military-grade windows vibrated. "Where is she?" He snarled.

Mikhail giggled and held his hands up in mock surrender. "Gosh, can't you take a joke?"

Malik took a step closer, still snarling.

"Fine, fine. Mother is alive, yes. Healthy? Well, I really don't know".

Malik sighed and leaned against the wall. "She's your mother too", he whispered. "Don't mistreat her because you hate me".

For a second, he thought he saw something in Mikhail's eyes but it was quickly covered up with a dark grin. "Oh no, I hate her as much as I hate you. Poor little mother cared too much for the wrong son and see where it got her", Mikhail stopped for a breath and thought back to the past in annoyance. "Maybe she'll learn her lesson or maybe I'll have to teach it to her..."

"You do anything to her, there's nothing keeping me in here", Malik warned. "Nothing".

"I know, I know", Mikhail chuckled. "I'll try to remember that once I've remembered where I've left her".

Malik growled but Mikhail looked seemingly unbothered as he headed to the door.

"But you know", Mikhail said, stopping suddenly. He turned and smirked at Malik. "I've always loved having things that were yours".

Then the door was shut and Malik was left alone.

What had he meant by that?

Malik walked a few angry steps and stopped. He couldn't mean Arya. Mikhail wouldn't even know about her.

He couldn't.

Arya should come back. She said she was resigning but the mate bond would keep her here. Keep her close.

What if she never came back?

He would give it a week. If she never came back after a week, he would break out.

How long had he been here?

If he were to escape, what would happen to his mother?

He sat back on his chair and ran his hands through his unruly hair in frustration.

He had to make a choice.

Stay here and never see his mate again while keeping his mother safe.

Or, leave and be with his mate at the expense of his mother.

He had to choose, and soon.

Hello there,

I've had a thing...

A very valid thing as to why I've disappeared from the face of this Earth.

The next chapter is mostly written so for those who are still sticking around (thank you), it will be up soon. 

Question for Today:

Do you want some good news?

Here it is:

I am entering the Wattys. Not to win exactly but more so I can finish this book. The deadline to enter is September and entries have to be marked as finished so I'm going to use that as motivation.

That means that this book will be finished really soon!

I'm going to priorities this and Royal(ties) so I can finish up some of my books :)

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