Isabella’s Reviews > Dire Bound > Status Update

Shaking my head, I clutch the bars tighter. "If you're my ..." Not my, he's not mine. "If you're my family's protector, why have you been trying to kill me since the moment I got here?"

Instantly, his expression twists with rage. Menacing energy explodes from him. It's that intense, overpowering presence he embodies when we spar, when he kills, when he goes to war.

Stark, meanwhile, have coordinated this whole operation.

I find myself mesmerized by him, here in this cold mountain wilderness, closed in on every side by darkness and danger.

He's the consummate Alpha - no trace of the man who seemed so worried about the scars on my thighs yesterday. I almost don't believe it happened at all, watching him now.

"If you're going to be reckless, princess, at least let me keep vou alive."

I look at him with a start. Is that concern in his voice?

He meets my gaze with the usual scowling intensity, but there's no malice in it. No condescension. Almost like he guessed what passed between me and Anassa just now and he's trying to ... what? Reassure me?

What the actual f*ck?

Stark's voice quiets, but only slightly. It's still loud enough for the whole training yard to hear, laced through with menace.

"You are a powerful Rawbound, but strength is not the only thing we value in Daemos. You'll do well to remember that if you want to make it through the rest of Proving. And in case my implication is not cristal f*cking clear : You touch her again and I'll cull you myself."

"The Alpha's time is too valuable to waste on pointless questions," he says.

Stark's dark gaze fixes on me with the same intensity it always has, like the rest of the room doesn't matter as long as he keeps his prey in sight. He tilts his head slightly to the side, and a lock of his dark hair falls across his brow. It's like a tether has snapped taut between us.

I keep seeing flashes of the Kryptos boy behind my eyes. Hearing his horrible screams. His death hangs over me like a cloud, leaving a bitter, metallic taste in my mouth.

And when I'm not thinking about him, my mind is on the prince wearing my lover's face.

"F*ck, Stark is so hot," the first woman chokes out slumping in her seat.

I raise a brow and study Stark again. I... guess?

Or, yes.

It's obvious. It's really obvious. He's probably six and a half feet of bulky, toned muscle with a perfect jawline and eyelashes prettier than mine. His lips are full and his perpetually messy dark hair is actually artfully tousled and thick the kind of hair you'd like to pull when

His face is viciously beautiful, with thick eyebrows and full lips pulled into a condescending smirk as he looks over the crowd. It's unfair how all the Bonded are so... hot. Even assholes like him.