Morning light seeped through the heavy curtains, slithering between the dancing dust particles in the air. Your eyelids fluttered open slowly. But what you felt first wasn’t the softness of your bed, nor the comforting scent of your pillow.

It was the cold touch of iron bars.

Your eyes widened in shock. A sob clawed its way up your throat as you realized where you were.

A cage.

A birdcage—large enough to fit your petite body, yet still suffocatingly small. You crouched inside, dressed in nothing but a thin nightdress, the same one you wore last night when you tried to escape. Your knees trembled. Your heartbeat pounded erratically.

And in front of you

Aeron Velmor Acastelle.

He sat on a black leather sofa, bare-chested, wearing only black satin pants. His sculpted chest moved slightly with every breath he took. His face was calm, handsome, but laced with danger. His dark eyes bore into you—consumed by lust, possession, and madness.

“You’re awake,” he murmured, his voice deep and low, like a baritone that vibrated through your bones. “Shit, Look at this, hmm? The most beautiful thing I’ve ever captured.”

His gaze raked over your body through the bars, like a predator admiring its captured prey.

“Aeron, you’re insane.” Your voice trembled as you scooted back, pressing into the cold wall of the cage.

He chuckled softly and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

“Insane?” he repeated with a slow grin, though his eyes stayed pitch black. “No, babe. Insane is what you did—trying to run away. After all the love I gave you? After all the nights you melted in my arms, and then you tried to leave? That’s madness.”

“I was scared, Aeron.”

“What are you afraid of, hmm?” he murmured, rising slowly. He was tall, and even from within the cage, his shadow loomed over you. He stepped closer, crouching in front of the bars, his fingers curling around the iron rods.

“Is my love too much for you? Too deep? Too, hot?” he whispered.

You turned your face away, lips trembling.

“I’m just wondering” he said, voice low, dangerous, “what it’ll take to make sure you never leave this house again.”

You froze. When he spoke like that, there was no reason, no compromise. Only him and the twisted world inside his mind.

He leaned in closer, his breath against the bars. “Should I plant more of my seed in your womb, hmm?”

You shuddered.

“I could do it right now, in your little cage.”

The iron groaned beneath his grip. “So you’ll never leave again. Because if you're carrying my child, you’ll belong to me forever.”