Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 120336 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 602(@200wpm)___ 481(@250wpm)___ 401(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 120336 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 602(@200wpm)___ 481(@250wpm)___ 401(@300wpm)
I looked down at her face, streaked with smears of blood and dirt, yet somehow still radiant in her unconsciousness.
There was a peace there, delicate and deceptive, that clawed at something buried deep within me.
She’s so beautiful.
These nights were rare when I allowed myself to dwell on this feeling—this uninvited and foolish attraction for her.
How could it take my son so long to truly make her his? She’s just. . .captivating. . .No. Stop it.
These thoughts were as unnecessary as they were dangerous.
Yet, as the moonlight cast her features in a soft glow, something tugged at my heart.
A year ago, when I first began to weave this plan, there had been moments when a thought crossed my mind—small, fleeting seconds where I wondered if I could just stay alive and keep Monique for myself.
If I could abandon this path of calculated ruin and seize a happiness that was not mine to claim.
But I knew better.
Such desires were selfish.
Ungodly.
Lei needed her more than I ever could. My son, with his fractured spirit and haunted eyes, needed her light to guide him through the shadows I had created.
But knowing that fact and believing it were two very different things.
As I felt the steady rise and fall of her chest, a question whispered through my mind.
Am I making the right choice? Should I simply give her to Lei?
Monique shifted slightly in her sleep.
Next, her brow furrowed as if a nightmare tried to reclaim her.
I tightened my hold, subtly enough that no one else would notice but enough to reassure her, even in unconsciousness, that she was safe. Safe in the arms of the man who had pushed her to become something she never wanted to be.
The irony was not lost on me.
“Leo.” Song’s voice went low.
I put my view on him. “Yes?”
His eyes didn’t meet mine but I could sense the question in them.
The doubt.
“Careful, Leo.”
“I’m just carrying her to bed. That is it. What else should I do? Put her on the ground and let her sleep there?”
“I could carry her.”
“That is unnecessary.”
“In the cabin, you had your hands on her earlier—”
“I was consoling her. You act like we were making love in the cabin when you walked in. Stop it.”
“I know you well, brother. I know what it means when you look at a woman in certain ways. We’ve talked about this—”
“Therefore, we do not need to talk about this again.” I focused on the path ahead.
The ground beneath us was treacherous with uneven rocks and loose gravel threatening to trip us if we weren’t careful.
It was a perfect metaphor for the path I mentally walked on.
One misstep and everything could come crashing down.
Song knew this as well as I did. He had seen the price of my choices, had stood by my side through every brutal decision. And while loyalty was a currency I valued; it was not without cost.
Against my will, my gaze drifted back to Monique.
She was my little weapon, yes, but she was also so much more.
I had seen it the moment she entered our world, defiant despite her vulnerability, her spirit refusing to be broken. That was why I had chosen her.
Not just because of my wife.
Not just because she could be shaped but because she could endure.
And Lei, despite his power, needed someone who could match his fire with resilience, someone who could withstand the monster I had created in him.
It was all so perfect.
She’d passed all my tests.
So. . .why am I not. . .truly happy?
I gritted my teeth.
Because. . .in the end. . .I can’t stop thinking. . .what of my own desires?
I couldn’t shut this part of me off. Couldn’t stop it. That gnawing, unwanted yearning that surfaced whenever I looked at her, whenever her laughter rang through my dark soul or when her eyes met mine.
She caught me by surprise today. Almost killed me. . .and I. . .went hard. . .
I swallowed down the embarrassment.
The student challenged the teacher. She’s such a perfect little monster.
And just like that my attraction began to rise for her again and it took all of me—all of my energy—to push it down, where it belonged, where all my weaknesses were kept, locked away in the dark corners of my mind.
Song spoke. “Do you think she is truly ready to serve now?”
I glanced at him, surprised that he would ask, after all that had happened. "She’s more than ready. She’s stronger than Lei, Chen, and Duck. She will keep them in line with a feminine touch. And her heart. . .well. . .it ensures they’ll rule the East with humanity, peace, and love—three things I never learned to lead with.”
He nodded, accepting the answer.
Minutes later, we reached a plateau, a brief respite from the steep path, and I adjusted my hold on Monique.
Her head shifted slightly, resting against my chest, and I felt the thrum of her heartbeat against mine.