Chapter 13 #3
“Don’t let this go to your head, mate. If you run, my wolf will follow you and I can’t guarantee your safety when he catches you, or what I or my pack will do to you once I’ve dragged you back here.
Reluctant or not, you are my Luna and you are not going anywhere.
I’ll leash you to my side for the rest of our lives if I have to.
” He took a step closer to me, leaving me in no doubt that this wasn’t an idle threat.
“But I can see my words have had no effect on you. Even now you’re thinking of escaping. ”
“That’s not what I was thinking.”
“No?” He arched an eyebrow.
“No. I was thinking that your mother was wrong about you. She said you were compassionate and brave but you’re just a scared, insecure—” The wave washed over me and my mad words turned to dust in my mouth.
The Alpha stepped into my space, rumbling deep from his chest. His fists clenched, and I gasped for breath as his power filled my lungs.
A low whine hit my ears and I found Marcus and Carrick, heads bowed. I looked up, meeting Kole’s eyes.
“Relax, mate. Breathe and find the calm my dominance provides.”
I gritted my teeth, fury flowing fresh through me, but despite everything, my body responded. Is this what Dinah had meant by us needing to find each other to be calm again?
I allowed him to wash over me. I had to bend.
If I ever wanted out of here he had to think he was winning.
I let myself relax, closing my eyes until finally, I found peace.
A calm quiet that my frayed nerves grabbed onto like a life raft in a tumultuous sea.
Long moments passed, and eventually, I felt him pull his dominance away until I could think again.
“Do you see?” I opened my eyes and found Kole looking at his Gamma. “You said it was wrong to exploit my power over her but the Elders were right. She responds to submission.”
“Alpha, willing submission and forced submission are not the same.” His head tilted in his own submission, but Carrick’s point was clear. I stayed silent, watching their interaction, searching for cracks in their relationship, anything I could exploit.
“If I allow her to disrespect me she brings punishments on herself. At least this way, I can silence her before she gets that far.” Kole fixed his gaze back on me. “As I said, my job is to protect you, even from yourself. Even if it makes you hate me more.”
My fists clenched at my side. I couldn’t stand any more of this. I needed to get out of here before I punched something.
“I want to get away from you,” I said, but once again, Kole seemed unmoved. He towered over me, his scent swarming my senses.
“And I want to take you hard under the moon, until you’re so full of my seed that Carson Gulf will smell my claim from miles away.
” His words washed over me, a decadent syrup making my limbs limp.
I tried to fight it, but the ache in my core was unmistakable, the flush on my skin too hot to will away.
His nostrils flared, a low growl emitting from deep inside. Carrick and Marcus stepped back. My cheeks burned as I realised they smelled my need too. Our pheromones. They were giving his wolf space. Wise move. I wished I could do the same, but instead, I had to stand still as he inhaled me.
“We can’t always get what we want, mate, but some of us are getting closer to our goals.”
I tilted my head away from him, doing my best to calm my raging heart. I focused on the two other men who were looking away, yet didn’t seem at all uncomfortable. I didn’t want them to see this. Once again, Kole seemed to sense what I was feeling. He smirked. He was having fun with me.
“Like I said, we’re less squeamish than your kind. Our bond is growing, they can feel it. The last thing they are is embarrassed.”
He was right. On the contrary, they seemed to be enjoying it.
It sickened me. I welcomed that feeling in, using it to eradicate the lust he’d evoked inside me.
My flushed skin faded, making way for the roiling in my stomach.
All I had to do was imagine that mating ceremony.
He sensed my lust fading and stepped away. I released a breath, my mind spinning.
“One day, you’ll order them out of this room so I can fuck you hard over that desk.
You’ll walk around this pack house, my seed between your thighs, proud that every male will be able to scent my claim on you.
” He focused on my mouth and, for a moment, I thought he might be insane enough to try to kiss me.
“For now,” he pulled the chair in front of me, snapping me out of my lust-filled stupor, “sit. I want you close.”
I stared at the chair. The last thing I wanted to be was close, but I sat anyway. Kole threaded the chain through the table hinge, securing me, like a dog.
“There are three of us in here, Alpha, and Konnor right outside. Are you sure that’s necessary?”
I met Carrick’s honey-coloured eyes, not bothering to hide the humiliation I felt. He needed to see it. There might come a time when pity was the only bargaining chip I had.
Kole’s mouth set in a firm line, but his eyes held a sadness that caught me off guard. “I wish it wasn’t.”
I spent the rest of the meeting in silence, but that didn’t mean I was idle. I studied the map, memorising every line, curve, and marker. I had to get away from here. I had to.