Irina’s POV

My heart practically exploded in my chest.

I gasped sharply, choking on a mouthful of hot steam and shower water. The cold, hard marble wall bit viciously into my bare back. But that was nothing compared to the blazing, suffocating heat of the massive Alpha trapping me.

Nicholas’s large, calloused hand held my jaw in an absolute iron grip. His fingers pressed tightly against my fragile skin, forcing my face up. I was completely paralyzed.

His golden eyes were entirely black with unhinged, territorial rage. He looked like a lethal predator about to tear my throat out.

"Does sleeping with me disgust you that much? Hmm?" he growled. His deep, rumbling voice vibrated forcefully over the loud roar of the scalding shower water.

I flinched violently. A fresh wave of absolute terror crashed heavily over me.

I raised my trembling, wet hands. I slammed my palms desperately against his massive, rock-hard chest. I pushed with every single ounce of strength I had left in my exhausted body. I just wanted to get away. I wanted to escape his suffocating scent, his crushing presence, his terrifying anger.

But it was completely useless.

Pushing against Nicholas was like trying to move a literal mountain. He didn’t even budge a single inch. My small hands just slipped uselessly against his wet, muscular chest.

I couldn’t break free. I was completely trapped.

Hearing his vicious question, my control entirely shattered. The tears I was already crying multiplied instantly. I sobbed uncontrollably, my chest heaving with violent, ragged gasps. Hot tears poured heavily from my eyes, mixing with the scalding shower water streaming down my pale cheeks.

I wasn’t disgusted by him. I was terrified. I was completely consumed by agonizing, suffocating guilt and raw fear.

Did he really not know? After everything that had happened? After the sheer violence of his rut, the way he had pinned me down and marked every single inch of my flesh? I thought this was it. I thought my punishment had finally come.

I stopped fighting his chest. My trembling hands fell limply to my sides in absolute defeat.

I looked up into his furious, burning eyes. My vision was completely blurred by my heavy tears. My throat burned like actual fire.

"Don’t you know what I did?" I cried out. My voice was broken, raw, and completely hysterical.

Nicholas completely froze.

The heavy, rushing water battered against his broad, scarred shoulders, completely soaking his dark sweatpants. For a single, terrifying second, the entire world went completely dead silent.

Then, his perfectly sculpted face shifted. The violent rage in his eyes morphed into something entirely different. Something dark, twisted, and incredibly dangerous.

A low, vibrating sound rumbled deep in his throat.

He laughed.

It wasn’t a happy sound. It was a dark, bitter, completely infuriated chuckle that made the blood in my veins run completely freezing cold. It was the laugh of a ruthless mafia king who held absolutely all the cards.

"Of course I know," Nicholas sneered darkly. His hot, minty breath washed completely over my trembling face. "I know everything, Irina."

My breath hitched violently.

My heart dropped straight into the pit of my stomach. *He knows.*

The absolute confirmation hit me like a speeding freight train. He knew about my betrayal. He knew about my secrets. He knew exactly what I had done behind his back.

A cold, numbing sense of finality washed entirely over me. The frantic panic in my chest suddenly gave way to sheer, crushing despair. It was over. I was a dead woman walking.

But then, an image violently flashed into my mind.

Luka.

My beautiful, innocent, perfect baby boy. Lying in his crib, completely unaware that his mother was about to be executed by his own father.

A fierce, desperate wave of maternal instinct violently exploded in my chest. I didn’t care about my own life anymore. I didn’t care if Nicholas killed me. I didn’t care if he tortured me until I begged for death. I just needed to protect my son.

I tilted my head up. I looked directly into the eyes of the monster who held my life in his massive hands.

"Then since you know!" I screamed hysterically over the rushing water. "Since you know everything!"

My voice cracked violently. My whole body shook like a leaf in a hurricane. I sobbed so hard my ribs actually ached.

"If you want to kill me... or if you want to torture me... just do it yourself!" I cried out, tears completely blinding me. "Do whatever you want to me! Rip me apart! I don’t care!"

Nicholas’s jaw clenched so hard a muscle feathered dangerously in his cheek. His grip on my jaw tightened even further, but I didn’t stop. I couldn’t stop.

"Just please," I begged. My voice dropped into a desperate, agonizing whisper. "Please, Nicholas. Leave Luka out of this. Spare him. Please spare my baby."

I grabbed his thick, muscular wrist with both of my trembling hands. I squeezed tightly, practically pleading for my son’s life.

"He is your child after all!" I sobbed miserably. "He has your blood! Please don’t hurt him!"

The silence that followed my desperate plea was absolutely deafening.

Nicholas stared down at me. The dark, furious amusement completely vanished from his face. A terrifying, blinding wave of pure Alpha fury violently contorted his harsh features. His golden eyes flared so brightly they practically glowed in the steam-filled shower.

He didn’t speak. He didn’t yell.

Instead, he lunged completely forward.

Before I could even process what was happening, his massive hand tangled violently in my wet hair. He yanked my head back and crashed his mouth fiercely onto mine. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

I let out a muffled shriek of pure shock against his lips.

It wasn’t a gentle kiss. It was a violent, punishing collision of teeth and lips. He kissed me with absolute, unhinged desperation. His tongue forced its way brutally past my lips, completely invading my mouth, tasting my hot tears and the scalding shower water.

He kissed me like he was trying to devour my very soul. He crushed my fragile body entirely against the cold marble wall. His massive chest pressed heavily against my bare breasts. The heat radiating off his skin was absolutely unbearable.

I whimpered softly in the back of my throat. I was completely overwhelmed by his suffocating scent, his dominant power, his aggressive possession.

Just as suddenly as he grabbed me, he ripped his mouth away.

We were both panting heavily. My chest heaved violently up and down. My lips were completely swollen, stinging fiercely from the aggressive force of his kiss.

Nicholas hovered entirely over me. His chest violently rose and fell. His golden eyes burned straight through my skull.

"If I wanted to kill you," Nicholas snarled viciously, his voice dripping with absolute, furious disbelief. "Would I have slept with you??"

I froze completely.

My mind violently short-circuited. I stared up at him in absolute, utter confusion. My tear-soaked eyelashes fluttered rapidly.

I couldn’t process his words. If he wasn’t going to kill me... if he wasn’t going to punish me for what I did... why was he doing this? Why did he claim me so brutally? Why did he corner me in the shower looking like a man possessed?

I swallowed hard. My throat clicked loudly in the heavy silence.

"Then..." I whispered weakly, my voice barely audible over the roaring water. "Then what do you want?"

Nicholas leaned entirely down. His wet, dark hair completely brushed my forehead. His golden eyes locked intensely onto mine, burning with a dark, obsessive hunger that absolutely terrified me.

"I want you to give me another child."