From Servant to Savior

an my own heartbeat. For fifteen years, I had been Dorian Steele' s liv

was flawless, a vision of cold, stunning be

the silk sheets up to cover my worn

He dismissed me like a servant, after cli

ove bite visible on her neck. She taunted me, and when I spil

n, believed her. He forced me to my knees on the broken shards, the pain searing my flesh. "Apo

"Ainsley needs this," he said, his voice flat. "She's more impo

d never run dry. He had promised he would always p

, a creature he kept for his

erate, archaic idea of a "propitious marriage" to

pte

silent mansion, a sound I kne

e one that meant his body

ira Campbell, and my blood contains the only thing in the world that can s

and colder hearts, kept me here for that single p

mansion, my bare feet silent on the cold floor. The hou

of the west wing. I di

equipment lay smashed on the floor. And in the center of it all, on the vast bed, Dori

piercing blue, were wild

ed out, his voi

command,

the serum from my plasma, but sometimes, the seizures came too fast. In those moments, only my presence seemed to c

ng my wrist. His

ay," I said, trying to keep my

pulling me down on

crook of my neck, his breath coming in ragged, hot gasps. His arms wrapped around me, cru

pressure. My own breat

you're hu

his was the secret no one outside the family knew. My physical presence, the simple fact of me being the

remember, cherishing these violent, desperate moments because they we

rm to pass. The scent of his skin, a mix of expensive co

bedroom door

supposed to enter

k robe clung to her perfect figure, her blonde hair was a shining halo, and her face was

like she be

old clarity. It was like a switch had been flipped. He looked from the woman to me, still

me away

ulled the silk sheets up, covering my worn pajamas and bar

h now, all traces of his earlier ag

om. Her eyes swept over me with dismis

voice like honey laced with ice.

rd hit me like

, easy smile he never gave me. "

and completely turning his back

d, loud enough for me to h

ch had been pounding with fear for him,

in my direction with

this mess up.

gone from desperately clinging to me for life to d

inked, leaving me alone in the wreckage

into my skin, leaving dark bruises that wo

ng compared to the

an

nvinced myself that his need was a form of love. Th

Ainsley's was a low murmur, but Dorian's reply w

her. She's just the hous

old staff'

love, reduced to that. I was a tool, a thing

reath. Outside, a storm was breaking. Rain began to lash

anything. I w

st kids, he had whispered it to me after a par

It had alway

pet. A creature he kept

s of the lamp from the expensive rug. A shard of glass pr

linch. I was us

o cleaning u

, my blood, the blood that kept him a

teele, smiling for the cameras, with the beautiful Ainsley Sandoval on his arm. They were ann

ct together. A ki

ervant's corridor. A silent sob escaped my l

pe I had clung to for fifteen years, wa

I couldn't be his li

cheap phone. There was only one number in i

stes

son, Emmett, who was in a coma. They had called it a "propitious marriage"-a traditional belief that

it felt like

ge, my thumb hovering

pt your

s choosing to trade one cage for another. But at lea

it