My Second Chance Mate is a Barbarian (Sera and Fenris) novel Chapter 141

Irina

"Lock the damn door, Torin."

I didn't turn around to see if he obeyed. I heard the iron latch drop with a loud, final clank.

I stood in the center of the guest quarters, my chest heaving, the freezing air of the room instantly biting through the thin silk of my under-dress. I ripped the heavy, fur-lined cloak off my shoulders and let it drop onto the dirty stone floor. I despised this place. I despised the smell of burning pine, wet fur, and that stinging smell seemed to be permanently baked into the walls of this barbaric fortress.

But right now, I despised my own body even more.

My hands were shaking. I pressed my palms flat against the cold stone of the fireplace mantel, trying to steady my breathing. My skin was flushed hot. My heart was hammering a frantic, erratic rhythm against my ribs.

I had just stood in the snow and watched my daughter—my compliant, weak, sacrificial pawn of a daughter—hike up her dress and bare her ass to a feral monster. I watched her demand a public claiming. I watched her eat a raw, bloody elk heart.

And the sick, twisted reality was that watching the sheer, violent dominance of that Alpha had sent a heavy, throbbing rush of heat straight to my core.

I squeezed my eyes shut, completely disgusted by my own wetness.

"Irina," Torin whispered. His voice was trembling. "We have to leave. The Alpha ordered us out by morning. Aldric is going to kill us."

I opened my eyes and turned around.

Lord Torin stood by the heavy oak door. He looked pathetic. He was a high-ranking lord of the Valdris court. He was supposed to be a man of influence and power. Right now, he looked like a terrified child. His expensive velvet tunic was rumpled. His perfectly groomed beard was slick with cold sweat. His hands were actually shaking.

"Take your pants off," I ordered.

Torin blinked. He stared at me like I had lost my mind. "What? Irina, did you hear me? We have hours to pack. The king will have our heads on pikes the second we cross the southern border. We failed."

"I said, take your pants off, Torin." I kept my voice completely flat. I walked toward him. I didn't want a conversation. I didn't want to hear his whining. I needed to quiet the relentless, buzzing noise in my head. I needed the friction. I needed to feel something solid and real to ground the spiraling panic threatening to completely collapse my mind.

I reached out, grabbed the thick fabric of his velvet tunic, and shoved him hard backward.

The back of his knees hit the edge of the large guest bed. He fell backward onto the mattress.

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