This wasn't Dahmer's usual MO, but today, he had reached his breaking point. He could no longer deny the dark desire that had been simmering beneath the surface, a desire he had previously suppressed due to Esme being his 'supposed' sister.
He never once accepted it, yet, seeing her get flustered in the king's carriage sparked an irritation he fought hard to conceal. He couldn't stomach the thought of losing his control over her, and her potential alliance with the king threatened to undermine his authority. If not for the fact that it was the king, he would have disapproved without batting an eyelid.
In his twisted mind, Esme was his to claim, a possession, his property, and he would stop at nothing to keep her within his grasp.
He had fabricated an excuse to slip away from the king and Leonardo, but that was only to reassert his claim over Esme. He needed to remind her that she was his to obtain, and his alone. Moreover, he was curious about the rumored benefits of intimacy with a Montague female. Would bedding her truly benefit him and his wolf? He intended to find out, and that meant exploring her body to uncover the hidden advantages it might hold.
"You're shaking like a leaf." Dahmer sneered as she trembled on the bed, his merciless eyes locked into the terrified gaze of Esme. "Don't be so nervous. We are not blood relatives, and you don't think of me as a brother like you do with Finnian. Do you?" he taunted.
Esme tried to sit up, but her body felt like a lead. She collapsed back onto the bed with a small cry, her strength sapped. Her blue eyes swirled with a mixture of uncertainty, fear and confusion. But when Dahmer crouched beside her, she involuntarily recoiled, her eyes fluttering shut in distress. His gentle gesture of tucking her hair behind her ear only made her feel more trapped and vulnerable.
She hated this feeling.
"What makes you think that the king cares about you?" Dahmer scoffed, his voice dripping with condescension. "Use your head, Esme. He's just using you for his own gain. I'm the only one who can keep you safe, remember? If it wasn't for me, you would have been a play toy to the bullies who wanted to get their hands on you. But you're too blind to appreciate my generosity at all, aren't you?" he grasped her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze.
Esme's tears streamed down her face, her lips quivering as she whispered, "Please, don't do this." But Dahmer wiped away her tears with a false tenderness. His cool lips brushed against her forehead in a mocking kiss, and Esme's fingers clutched the bedsheet, her heart at the verge of leaving her mouth, but she struggled to maintain her sanity.
Just as Dahmer made attempts to kiss her on the lips, a sudden knock on the door disrupted the tension. Leonardo's voice filtered through, and he knocked again.
"Alpha Dahmer." He called, making the Alpha freeze in his spot. Esme tried to speak, but Dahmer's hand clamped over her mouth, silencing her. His eyes spoke of his lingering threat earlier should she attempt to speak, and the thought of Vivienne forced her to keep quiet.
"Alpha Dahmer?"
"What is it?" Dahmer finally responded, and there was silence. Leonardo's voice eventually came through. "I figured you'd be here since you were absent from the room that was assigned to you. You were just too exhausted earlier yet somehow, miraculously, recovered enough to sneak off and indulge in… whatever it is you're doing here. Something came up, the king wants you present for the meeting." He relayed the king's words to him, his tone lacking humor, causing Dahmer to sigh in frustration.
"I'll be there soon," he replied curtly, "leave us."
"I'm afraid it's urgent, Alpha." Leonardo's voice came back, sounding more insistent. "Don't keep His Majesty waiting. He was generous enough to withhold the meeting so we can start together. If you aren't there in two minutes, it will start without you, and that will be you ignoring the king's order." With that, he was gone.
His receding footsteps echoed till it couldn't be heard any more, and Dahmer rose to his full height. It was the audacity of the king's puny advisor that irked him. Though, the way he spoke earlier about him sneaking off raised an alarm in Dahmer's eyes.
That puny advisor couldn't possibly have known his intention. It wouldn't matter if he did, but he would have to tread wiser from now on since that advisor could be a huge problem for him in the future.
Turning around to look at Esme, a sly smile spread on his face as an idea formed in his head. He had already formulated another plan in case this one goes awry, and he was pleased with himself for having a contingency in place. Reaching into his pocket, he brought out two slender sticks resembling incense and placed them on her table. After finding a matchbox, he lit the stick, filling the room with a faint, yet pungent smoke. He then closed the window, trapping the fog-like atmosphere inside.
"I'll be back." he said, his voice low and curt, before fixing his belt in place and walking out of her room. The door closed shut behind him.
Esme's eyes shifted to the smoldering stick, her unease intensifying with each passing second. The fragrance wafting from them was strangely alluring, but it did little to soothe her racing heart. With immense effort, she tried to push herself up, but her body refused to cooperate.
Sweat droplets formed on her forehead, a testament to her relentless struggle, but at the end, she found herself lying on the bed, breathless. Her mind raced with a single, desperate thought: if only she could reach the door and find help, or lock it even so Dahmer wouldn't get in.
Twenty minutes ticked by, and Esme's throat felt parched, making her crave water. A wave of unnatural heat washed over her body, leaving her breathless and gasping. She turned her head from side to side, searching for some respite, but there was none. Her body was aflame, radiating an intense, agonizing heat that left her whimpering in frustration.
"..!!!!.."
Her nails clawed at the bedsheet, as if trying to escape the torturous sensation coursing through her veins. She felt like an omega in heat, except, she doesn't even have a wolf, so how can she explain this feeling? What did Dahmer do to her body? The pill he had forced her to take seemed to have awakened a primal, uncontrollable hunger within her, leaving her utterly bewildered and helpless.
'What should I do?' She panicked.
"Someone…" she tried to speak, to call for anyone, but she could not. Her vision had begun to dissolve into a hazy blur, and she struggled to keep her eyes open, her gaze stuck on the door as if willing someone to enter. Her eyelids fluttered, and they grew heavier with each passing moment. Just as she was about to surrender to the darkness clouding her vision, the door suddenly creaked open.
Someone's approaching footsteps echoed through the room, the sound of heavy boots signaling the arrival of an unknown presence.