The sun had set, casting a golden hue across the castle’s grand chambers. Raen’s presence was as imposing as ever, and Eliza stood before him, her body stiff, her mind clouded with confusion.

She had been fighting, planning to escape, but something deep inside her stirred uneasily. The memory of the collar-like sensation on her neck still lingered, pulling at her thoughts.

Her gaze flickered to Raen.

“Do I… have a collar?” Eliza asked softly, her voice trembling ever so slightly. She had asked herself this question many times in silence. There had to be something more than the torment of his touch, the control that twisted her mind. The way she couldn’t think clearly when he was near. The way her body betrayed her every command.@@novelbin@@

Raen’s golden eyes glinted with an unreadable expression. He tilted his head slightly, studying her with that predatory gaze. “A collar?” His voice was smooth, betraying no hint of guilt or malice. “No, my sweet Eliza. There is no collar on you. Only my love, my devotion.” He stepped closer, his presence enveloping her.

Eliza frowned, but before she could process what he had said, Raen’s hand brushed against hers. It was so subtle, so imperceptible, she didn’t even notice until it was too late.

A sudden jolt of energy surged through her. The fog returned. The haze of obedience filled her mind, and with it, a strange, overwhelming sense of warmth—an urge to obey, to surrender.

Her thoughts were a blur. She couldn’t think. She couldn’t resist. She felt only the pull of Raen’s presence, his dominance, his control. Her body softened against him, and she found herself unable to do anything but stand there, as if nothing else mattered. She loved him. She belonged to him.

Raen’s smirk widened, as though he were savoring her reaction. “You see, Eliza?” he whispered, his breath warm against her ear. “I told you there was nothing to fear.”

He pulled back slightly, letting his fingers trace a delicate path along her wrist. Eliza shuddered, her eyes hazy as the haze of the ring’s activation consumed her.

He had her.

“You will accompany me, Eliza,” Raen said, his voice dark and commanding, yet laced with satisfaction. “We’re going to the negotiations. It’s time for us to take what’s ours.”

Without even thinking, Eliza nodded, her mind nothing but an empty shell filled with his voice, his commands.

Raen’s smile grew broader. “You’ll sit on my lap. You’ll stay with me, as you should. You’ll let me kiss you, won’t you?”

She didn’t answer immediately. She couldn’t. But the moment she opened her lips, the words spilled out before she could control them. “Yes. I will.”

A laugh escaped Raen’s lips, deep and amused. “Good girl,” he murmured, before gently guiding her by the wrist. “Now, come with me.”

Eliza followed him, her feet moving of their own accord, her thoughts nowhere to be found. She was his, entirely. Every step she took was because he willed it. She didn’t want it any other way. The last remnants of resistance evaporated as she walked behind him, like a puppet, her strings pulled tight by his power.

When they reached his office, the room was dim, a few figures already gathered. Eliza’s heart fluttered as she glanced around, though she couldn’t bring herself to care. The haze still held her in a vice grip, her mind swimming in his influence.

Raen seated himself at the head of the table. His eyes turned to Eliza, who stood waiting beside him. Without hesitation, he pulled her onto his lap, one arm wrapping around her waist, the other resting lightly on her thigh.

The room fell into silence.

Raen looked over at the others, his expression a mixture of amusement and arrogance. “I believe our dear Eliza has given her consent,” he said, his voice as smooth as silk. He gave Eliza a light squeeze, his thumb brushing her lips as he spoke again. “She knows her place.”

Eliza didn’t resist. She couldn’t. She leaned back into his chest, her body molding to his, her head spinning with the need to please him, to be everything he wanted her to be.

One of the men—Elrik, if Eliza recalled correctly—glared at her, disbelief and anger flashing across his face. He seemed to hesitate, before speaking with barely contained fury. “Raen, what are you doing? This is... madness. You can’t control her like this!”

Raen chuckled softly, his voice a purr in Eliza’s ear. “Can’t I? Look at her. She chose this. She’s mine.”

Eliza shivered, not from fear but from something deeper, something she didn’t understand. She couldn’t help herself. She was drowning in him.

Raen looked at Elrik with amusement. “You think you can save her, don’t you?” he said, his voice oozing mockery. “But you don’t understand her. Not like I do. She’s already chosen, just as I have chosen her.”

He turned to the gathered men, his tone shifting. “We will take the throne. It’s time for a new king. A king who isn’t afraid to wield power. We will rise above all else, and together, we’ll topple the old regime. It’s simple. It’s inevitable.”

Elrik opened his mouth to speak, but Raen silenced him with a sharp gesture. “The question is... Eliza. Do you agree?”

Eliza blinked, her foggy mind struggling to form coherent thoughts. But the answer came without hesitation, as if her very soul had already agreed. “Yes,” she whispered, her voice soft and compliant. “I agree.”

Raen’s eyes glinted with satisfaction as he stood, bringing Eliza with him. “Perfect. We will move forward with this plan. Two weeks, gentlemen, and in a month, we’ll act. The king will fall. And I’ll take my place on the throne, with Eliza by my side. As my queen. As the mother of our children.”

Eliza’s heart stilled at the mention of children. She could feel the pull of his words, the way they wove a promise of forever into the air between them. She had no choice but to follow him.

Raen smiled, leaning down to press a kiss to her temple. “And once we’re crowned, Eliza,” he whispered softly, “I’ll make sure you never want to leave me. Not even for a moment.”

As Eliza nodded, her mind still clouded by the ring’s power, she couldn’t help but picture what the future might hold—what kind of life she would have with him, what their children would look like. The thought lingered in the air, and Eliza felt a strange warmth spread through her chest.

Raen’s eyes gleamed with a promise of power. And Eliza, in her heart, knew that she was his—forever.