Defy The Alpha(s) novel Chapter 685

Chapter 685: Her New Place

Queen Seraphira jolted awake with a gasp, her chest heaving as she shot upright in bed. Her heart was racing, her blood still pumping with the adrenaline of nearly killing that bastard.

How dare he? How dare he mock her restraint and mistake it for weakness? Just because she had chosen peace did not mean she was incapable of war. He was lucky tonight because he won’t be the next time they meet.

A sudden cough broke through the Queen’s fury. Then another and another and harder now, rattling through her chest.

Seraphira leaned forward, hand clutched over her mouth until the cough finally ended. Then she slowly pulled her hand away, and her eyes widened at what she saw.

Her eyes widened because a bright smear of red glistened in her palm.

It was blood.

Queen Seraphira stared at it in stunned silence.

"What the hell...?" She whispered, shocked.

Then she pushed herself off the bed, determined to stand but the moment her feet touched the cold floor, her world tilted.

A low, dizzy hum filled her ears and the room spun. She reached for the bed post and missed it by inches.

To be honest, Seraphira had no idea what happened except the ground rushed up faster than she could catch herself. Just like that, the Queen collapsed onto the floor with a heavy thud.

At once, the door to her chambers swung open, as if the sentient palace had sensed the Queen’s distress. At the same time, Seraphira’s eyes fluttered shut, her body sinking fully into unconsciousness.

—--------

Hannah followed after Taryn, keeping a very safe—and very intentional—distance between them. He claimed he was taking her to her resting chambers, but with the night she’d had, she prayed to God he wasn’t secretly leading her to some dark corner to murder her.

Of course she was joking. Mostly.

But something deep in Hannah’s gut whispered that if he did decide to kill her, it wouldn’t be beyond him. The man looked like he enjoyed violence the same way some men enjoyed breakfast.

As they walked through the hallway, Hannah found herself glancing around. The palace was beautiful but the statues lining the walls were another story entirely.

After her experience with Taryn, she knew very well they weren’t actually statues. They were shifters, frozen in stillness, watching her. She could feel their eyes on her, tracking every breath she took. Goosebumps erupted along her arms.

"Creepy bastards," she muttered under her breath.

Lost in her thoughts, Hannah didn’t notice that Taryn had stopped walking.

She walked straight into his back.

Her nose bounced off rock-solid muscle, and she stumbled backward with a small yelp. When she lifted her gaze, Taryn was glaring at her as usual.

Hannah rolled her eyes. "Oh, for goodness sake. Do you have any other expression aside from glaring at me?"

She lifted her fingers and dramatically pulled the corners of her own eyes down, mimicking his perpetual scowl. "You look like happiness personally offended you."

Taryn said nothing. He just kept glaring at her with that same stone-carved expression he seemed born with. Honestly, at this point Hannah was convinced his face was stuck that way.

He stepped forward and stopped before a tall white door. "We’re here."

Hannah blinked, then approached the door cautiously. Except she couldn’t find a handle. There was not a knob nor a latch, just smooth, annoyingly perfect wood.

She shot Taryn a confused look. "How do I open this?"

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