Chapter 8
The next morning, with the armor washed away, it was my turn to handle the morning rush.
I’d finished the bathrooms before returning for a shower.
I pulled on a black skirt and my favorite oversized charcoal sweater—the kind that was so thick and loose the sleeves swallowed my hands.
The hem fell past the skirt, leaving the silhouette looking unfinished, so I did a quick tuck of the front corner into my waistband to fix it.
Gabe had the morning off, leaving me to handle the steady trickle of wolves looking for a meal before they disappeared into their own lives.
I spent the rest of my morning in the library.
It was a cathedral of soaring mahogany shelves filled with leather-bound volumes that smelled of vanilla and decay.
My favorite spot was a soft white lounge chair by the floor-to-ceiling windows.
The glass offered a panoramic view of the forest, the gray afternoon light filtered through the pines.
Books were the only thing that could make me turn down running through the woods.
It was always quiet here; most of the she-wolves preferred the gym or the social suites to the dusty silence of ink to paper.
Three monster romances later, a lingering heat hummed under my skin, though my limbs remained stiff from the long hours of stillness.
I sat up to stretch as the heavy oak door groaned on its hinges.
Shane stepped in, and the massive library—once an endless space—suddenly felt claustrophobic.
His eyes, filled with intent, scanned the stacks until his obsidian gaze locked onto mine in the corner.
A smirk pulled at his lips. “Good afternoon,” he rumbled, his voice vibrating through the mahogany shelves and into the very spine of the book I held.
I lowered my gaze to the page as he crossed the rug and hovered.
His overwhelming scent washed over me, and my fingers betrayed me, trembling against the ivory pages.
“Where have you been?” I flicked through the book, but the text blurred. I couldn’t focus on any of it anymore. He knelt beside me, his heat radiating off him in waves.
“You’re looking at it,” I said, my voice tight as I inched away from him.
He didn’t say another word, the silence eating up the remaining space. I huffed, closed my book, and tilted my head back to look at him.
He was devastating, in the way that made you forget you should be afraid. His perfectly sculpted cheekbones and lips could make any woman swoon. Despite the hatred boiling in my gut, a traitorous spark of heat flickered deep in my belly. The memory of what he’d done burned in my mind.
“Can I help you?” I snapped at the towering prince.
His hand found my leg, his fingers tracing the hem of my skirt.
My chest rose rapidly, and I reacted. The resounding crack of my hand against his skin mirrored the anger coiled tight in my chest. When my eyes met his again, I flinched back.
The affronted expression I expected was nowhere in sight; instead, the predatory spark of his beast stared back.
Instincts screamed that I should run, but my brain knew better—that would only summon his beast’s instinct to hunt.
His fingers hooked under my chin and yanked me forward. His dark eyes searched mine, daring me to run.
“Fuck off, Shane,” I declared, pulling my face from his grasp.
“I love it when filthy words drip from your tongue,” he cooed. My face scrunched in a scowl.
“Don’t you have a kennel full of women who actually want your attention, Shane?” I hissed. “Or is the only way you can feel like an Alpha is to force it on someone who finds you repulsive?”
The corners of his lips curled into a smirk that didn’t reach his eyes.
I closed my eyes, trying to find the composure I’d read about in my books as I blocked him out.
“The gym didn’t happen,” I said, opening my eyes to meet his.
“Are you jealous about them?” he asked, leaning in until I could smell the expensive cologne and the wild scent of his wolf. My cheeks heated and I scoffed.
“Why would I be jealous of who you… mingle with?” It was ludicrous and I couldn’t believe his audacity.
“Does it make you seethe with envy when you think of me with someone else?”
“You can do whatever you want with them.” I pinned him with steady eyes. “I’m waiting for my mate.”
Irritation flashed in his gaze, a fracture in the polished dark prince’s mask. “I could be your mate,” he said, his voice dropping an octave.
“You’re not.”
His hand gripped my throat. I grasped his wrist, trying to wrench it off, but he didn’t budge.
“I tire of these games, Princess,” he growled, his palm heavy and hot against my skin.
Panic spread through my veins as he blocked the air to my lungs. I choked, clawing at flesh, gasping. His gaze lowered to my mouth, and he loosened his grip. I rasped and my lungs ballooned as I gulped in air. “I could be your mate,” he repeated.
He leaned down, his forehead resting against mine in a parody of a man who loved a woman, his thumb gently smoothing over my aching throat. He inhaled deeply, as if my scent was an aphrodisiac.
“Being chained to you would be a curse,” I spat. He reeled back.
For just a moment, something moved across his face that I didn’t have a name for. It was gone before I could reach for it. His hand fell away, and he stood. “Did you not enjoy yourself?”
“You forced me. You have no right to touch me.” He slammed his shoulder into the mahogany, his beast breaching the surface, and the entire unit shrieked as it tore from the wall.
I gasped as the crash of worlds hit the floor in his rage.
Silence filled the room. The staff member who hadn’t fled went rigid, but didn’t look in our direction.
Shane whipped around, his eyes finding mine, the anger rolling off him.
“I can do whatever the fuck I want. I can claim who I choose because I am in control of my destiny. Not some bitch in the clouds.”
I stilled at his words.
“You will never own me.” I glared into the dark of his eyes and refused to avert my gaze. I may not want to find my mate, but I would cling to a man I’d never meet if it meant I could hold on to my freedom.
Something close to desperation flashed across his features as his chest heaved, the violent display of his power still vibrating through the floorboards.
For a long, agonizing moment, he didn’t move.
He just stared at me, his beast simmering just beneath the surface of his skin, begging to be unleashed so he could devour me whole.
Then it disappeared, and he looked at me as if I were nothing. He turned his back on me, an act that said I wasn’t a threat. He meticulously straightened his cuffs—dark and unhurried as if my presence was already something he’d forgotten.
He stepped over the ruins of the fallen books, the leather covers crunching beneath his heavy boots. He stopped just inches from me, leaning down until his lips brushed the shell of my ear. His proximity alone was enough to make my vision swim.
“Wait for this mystery man,” he whispered. “When the Moon drops him at your feet, know that I’ll be the one to sever your soul from his.”
He pulled back, his face a mask of cold indifference. He didn’t look back at the mess he’d made or the woman he’d bruised. He turned and walked toward the oak doors. The latch clicked with a finality that made a shiver run down my spine.
I stayed there, my heart hammering against my ribs, surrounded by the scent of vanilla, decay, and the lingering, dangerous musk of a beast who refused to be told no. I looked down at the scattered books. The silence returned, but with it the weight of his promise.
Eventually, I stumbled into the hallway, my chest heaving, nearly colliding with Gabe.
He caught me by the shoulders, his thumbs pressing firmly against my skin—grounding me.
His eyes rounded as he looked down at me, his gaze sweeping over my appearance and the way I was trembling.
For a second, his nostrils flared, catching where Shane’s scent mingled with my bitter one through my sweater.
He tensed, his jaw tightening, but he didn’t demand answers.
He didn’t ask what happened. He pulled me into his side, arm wrapping around me in a protective shield.
“Let’s get to the kitchen, Ady,” he murmured, his voice low. “It’s almost time for dinner.” He didn’t push. He just walked with me, his presence a quiet, unwavering barrier between me and the monster within the walls.