Chapter 26 #2
On the mat, Violet fights. She twists beneath Reaper, hips bucking, trying to create space.
He’s heavier, though, and he has the leverage.
His arm tightens around her throat, cutting off her air supply.
Her face flushes red, and for a second, I think she’s going to lose consciousness before she yields.
Then her palm hits the mat. Once. Twice.
The ref intervenes immediately, dragging Reaper off her as the MC shouts that he’s taken the round.
I barely register the words over the blood pounding in my ears.
Reaper raises his arms in celebration, and for one dark, reckless moment, I consider stepping into that ring and ending him where he stands.
But Violet is already pushing herself upright, and my focus snaps back to her reflexively.
She shakes his hand, then slips through the ropes and makes a beeline for the back of the room. I cut through the crowd, following the path she carved and reaching the door at the rear just after she barrels through it, catching it before it closes and stepping inside behind her.
The space beyond is a locker room– or at least what passes for one in a shithole like this.
Harsh fluorescent lights flicker over a single wooden bench, the air tinged with the metallic tang of blood sweat.
Violet’s already tearing at the tape around her hands, ripping it free with jerky movements that betray the adrenaline still flooding her system.
Blood smears across her knuckles as it comes loose, her chest heaving with every labored breath.
I close the door behind me and flip the lock. Violet whirls to face me, blue eyes blazing.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” she demands, voice still rough from being half-choked minutes ago.
“I could ask you the same,” I snap, taking a step toward her.
She hurls the bloody tape at my chest. “You distracted me,” she spits. “I had him, and you just cost me ten grand!”
“You shouldn’t have been in that fucking ring in the first place,” I growl, closing the remaining distance between us in a single stride. “What the hell were you thinking?”
“I was thinking I was about to get a huge payout,” she snarls, fury radiating off her. “Did you follow me here? Are you fucking stalking me now?”
“I’m here on official pack business,” I say, voice low and dangerous. “This place is unsanctioned. Everyone out there could be hauled in for questioning. But you already knew that, didn’t you?”
She scoffs a bitter laugh. “What, you gonna rat me out to Alpha?”
I fold my arms, glaring down at her. “Maybe I should. It’d be the fastest way to keep you out of trouble, since you seem hellbent on trying to get yourself killed.”
Her eyes go wide, then narrow to slits. “You wouldn’t fucking dare.”
“Try me, mate.” I lean in close, the tips of our noses almost brushing. “Grab your shit, you’re done here. This was your last fight.”
She plants her palms against my chest, shoving me hard, but I don’t budge. She shouts in frustration, but I just plant my feet and let her push until she exhausts herself, hands fisted in the front of my hoodie.
“You don’t get to tell me what to do,” she snarls, teeth bared. “You’re not my fucking father, you’re not my Alpha, you’re not–”
Something snaps inside me. I wrap a hand around her throat, pivoting to slam her back against the wall. She gasps, clawing at my hand, but I just hold her there firmly, my other hand gripping her hip.
“You are mine,” I snarl. “And I’m done letting you put yourself in harm’s way.”
Her blue eyes blaze with defiance, but she pushes into my hand like she enjoys the pressure, the scent of her arousal flooding the space between us.
“You want a fight?” I ask, voice gone rough. “I’ll give you one. Every fuckin’ day, until you stop treating your life like it’s disposable.”
Her pupils dilate, breath coming hard and fast.
“You’re my mate,” I rasp, flexing my grip around her throat. “Mine.”
I slam my mouth down over hers, fury and relief tangling into something reckless.
The kiss is desperate, punishing, fueled by the image of her fighting in that ring.
She meets me with equal fire, her hands bracketing my face to drag me down to her level, teeth catching my lip and drawing blood.
The sting only feeds the heat coiling between us, turning anger into something hotter.
I grip her neck tighter, then release her, dragging my hand down to her breast and squeezing until she moans into my mouth.
Her back arches, fingers twisting in the fabric of my hoodie.
She yanks it up and over my head, my hat coming off with it, then frantically claws at the shirt underneath.
I grab the hem and pull it off, tossing it to the floor while she shoves her shorts down and kicks them away.
She’s on me instantly, raking her nails down my chest, legs hitching around my waist. I lift her and slam her back against the wall, hooking my thumb in her panties and ripping them in half with a single pull. She grabs at my jeans, unzipping and yanking them down just enough.
I’m so hard it’s fucking painful. I can scent how wet she is, and my mind goes blank to everything except the overwhelming, feral need to claim her. I line up and thrust inside in one savage motion, burying myself deep in her tight cunt.
She screams, muscles tensing at the intrusion, nails digging into my biceps.
A savage growl rumbles in my chest as I start to move, barely giving her time to adjust. Not that she needs it.
She’s slick and ready, bucking her hips, the locker room filling with the sound of skin slapping and our breathless gasps.
Distantly, I hear someone start pounding on the locker room door, but I’m so lost to the moment that it barely even registers. A female voice calls Violet’s name and she answers with a strangled moan, calling out to whoever it is that she’s busy.
Damn right she is.
I fuck her hard, punishing, not out of anger but necessity.
I need this– need to exert my control, need to remind her what it feels like to surrender to me.
My wolf’s so close to the surface I can feel the heat writhing underneath my skin, overwhelming me with the urge to claim her in every way possible.
She’s right there with me, clawing and bucking, matching me thrust for thrust. “Harder, Kane,” she pants, grinding against me like a cat in heat. “C’mon, is that all you’ve got?”
I scoop her wrists into one hand, pinning them above her head and slamming into her relentlessly.
Her whole body tenses, and she comes with a choked gasp, legs trembling around my waist. I pause my thrusts, watching her unravel, and the sight of her like this– flushed and breathless, wild and uninhibited– nearly pushes me over the edge.
But then something else happens.
My gums tingle. My teeth ache. Pressure builds in my jaw, and the next thing I know, my canines descend, the sharp tips pressing into my lower lip.
I want to bite her.
No, not just want. Need.
I lower my mouth to the crook of her neck instinctively, and she feels it, jerking her head back.
Her eyes widen as she takes in the sight of my canines poking through. “Don’t you fucking dare,” she hisses, voice trembling.
I freeze, every muscle in my body on fire.
She meets my eyes, and for a second, we’re both animals. Snarling, staring each other down, alpha to alpha.
I pull out with a grunt, spinning her around and gripping onto her hips. She braces herself with both hands on the wall, legs spread, smirking back at me over her shoulder like a dare.
I drive into her from behind, hands roaming over her back, searching for anywhere I can mark her without drawing blood. I slap her ass hard enough to leave a handprint, then grip her hips and fuck her so hard she can barely keep herself upright.
My canines retract, but my wolf is still howling for a real mark, for something that says mine to the whole damn world. I hold back. Because she told me to, and because some part of me would rather die than hurt her for real.
She starts coming again, her pussy strangling my cock, and I let myself go, pounding into her until I lose control. My eyes roll back as I come with a savage growl, spilling inside her.
I band an arm around her waist, pulling her back flush to my chest, and we stay pressed together like that for a long moment, fighting to catch our breath. Then I pull out, ensuring she’s steady on her feet before letting go and taking a step back.
I drag a hand through my hair, trying to get my shit together. “Let’s go home,” I grumble.
“Fine.” She heaves a sigh, twisting to face me. “Take me back to the Tower, Commander.”
“We’re not going to the Tower,” I murmur, eyes flicking over her bare body. “We’re going to the lake.”