Creed

Chapter Eleven

Angel hated the formal gown. Her middle was squeezed together so tight she could barely take a breath. Re

She couldn’t even see her feet with the yards of material that made up the skirt, not that she pla

The big man who escorted her to Lord Aveoth hadn’t said a word. He opened a door and stood there. She hesitated and entered, hoping that’s what he wanted, since he sure didn’t give any hints.

The room was large and had an open balcony. She could see sky and the fresh air was nice to breathe. That was, until the man standing in the center of the room drew her attention.

Lord Aveoth was a striking, yet daunting figure. His good looks would make any woman feel at a loss for words and have a difficult time summoning thoughts.

“Come closer,” he ordered.

She had a hard time taking those steps. Power seemed to radiate from him, and she knew a deadly predator when she saw one. He was lethal. She swallowed hard and tried to remember Gali’s and Re

“Lord Aveoth.” She was supposed to say it was a pleasure to meet him but couldn’t do it. He scared her. She wanted to flee from the room.

“It was brought to my attention that Creed mated you. Did he explain why that shouldn’t have happened?”

“Yes.”

“You thought it was an acceptable risk and I’d have mercy?”

She wasn’t supposed to look directly into his eyes, but his cold, angry tone didn’t sit well with her. She raised her chin and met his glare. “No. It wasn’t pla

He arched one eyebrow.

“It was my fault, Lord Aveoth.”

“You overpowered Creed and forced him to mate you?” He swept his gaze over her from head to foot. “Did he ask you to say that?”

“No. He told me to let him take the blame.. But he was vulnerable and warned me to stop touching him. I actually just about tackled him to get him back on that bed. He demanded I stop but I didn’t listen.”

“He could have forced you away from him.”

“Creed wouldn’t risk hurting me. Have you been to his lair? It’s all rock with just a thin rug carpet on the floor. There’s only a bed and a small dresser in his bedroom. I would have either hit the floor or one of the walls if he’d thrown me off him. As a human, one blow to the head against rock could kill me. He’d never risk that. I straddled him and wasn’t letting go. I did this. I didn’t understand that he was fighting the urge to mate me.”

“Why would you do that?”

“I just wanted to be with him one more time.”

“You spent the night with him. That wasn’t enough?”

“I was chained down and couldn’t touch him all night. I knew it was a onetime thing, and I’ve loved him forever. I just wanted to do all the things I’ve fantasized about. It is my fault, Lord Aveoth. Creed shouldn’t be punished for what I did.” She sucked in air. “Do you feel anything?” She stepped closer. “I love him. I finally had the chance to be with him. He was going to take me home, and I’m human…I knew it was the only time I’d ever have with him. I just…” Her voice broke. “I wasn’t willing to let him go yet. I wanted one more memory to take with me. It was going to have to last me until the day I died.”

Aveoth frowned.

“I tried to get over how I felt about Creed. I couldn’t stay with my pack, knowing he was so close but wouldn’t spend time with me. I dated other men after I left home. It didn’t work. I never got over Creed. I couldn’t stop wishing he wanted me too. Then we were together finally, and I—”

“Enough.”

She lowered her gaze. “Punish me instead. Please?” She looked at him again. “I think it’s wrong that his father could promise a hundred years of his life to someone else, but I understand it’s how your world runs. I respect that. Creed tried to keep me distanced. I threatened him. I told him I’d buy a grenade launcher and blow him out of his lair if he picked someone else to spend the night with during the ravage. I deserve to take whatever punishment you want to give him.”

His features blanked. “I don’t believe he took that threat seriously.”

“You don’t know me. You’d also be surprised at the kind of things you can buy on the internet. I meant it when I made that threat. The idea of him taking another woman up there probably would have driven me insane. I have a temper. He knows that. Please punish me instead.”

“His punishment will be a hundred lashes and encasement for ten years.”

“I know. He told me. I can’t turn to stone but I’m sure you have cells here. We have them in my pack. I’ll take the beating and the prison time. Just tell him you’ll do it to me regardless of what he does. He threatened to fall to spare my life. He’s a good man. I can’t stand the idea of him being hurt because of me. I pushed him, Lord Aveoth. I refused to listen when he told me to stop, and he was emotional. I took advantage of knowing I could get away with it because I wanted to touch him.”

“You’re human. Do you know what it would mean if you were to agree to take his hundred lashes? We’d have to do it over a period of months so it wouldn’t kill you. You’d have to heal and then take more.” He paused. “It would leave you scarred and disfigured.”

She inwardly winced. “I understand.”

“Yet you are still willing to take his punishment?”

“Yes.”

“Our cells have no light. You’d be in the dark.”

“I figured. We’re inside a mountain.”

“Yet you still offer to take his punishment?”

“Yes.”

He studied her. “Are you relying on me having mercy?”

“No. I was raised with a pack. I understand that it would cause opposition amongst your people. Lycans would challenge our alpha if they thought he was getting softhearted. They respect ruthlessness. Fear is needed to set boundaries, and those keep us safe as a whole. Every time a law is broken it could expose what we are to humans, and that puts everyone in danger. The punishment needs to be brutal enough to discourage others from even thinking about breaking a law again.”

He grew quiet. She stood there waiting for him to tell her what he’d decided. She knew he was thinking about it. The urge to hug her waist was strong but she kept her hands down at her sides and even bowed her head, staring at the floor. Minutes dragged on.

“Creed has been in service to me since his birth sixty years ago. I reviewed his accomplishments. He was sent to patrol at a younger age than normal. He spent hardly any time here at the cliffs, beyond some of the training he received.” He paused. “I was unaware of it, or I would have prevented him from being sent away at fifteen. It would have left him without the interaction he needed to fully mature the way the rest of our men do. It was also brought to my attention that he was sent somewhere on his first assignment that didn’t allow for him to have access to women. He went through the first stage of manhood without temptations to learn to control his urges.”