Once again I was a damn fish out of water. I sputtered. He turned his back to me to stoke the fire, and I was fucking tempted to call him a few choice words.
“This isn’t how being mated works.” I ground those words out.
He glanced over his shoulder at me, his expression stoic. Unmovable. “It is when you’re mated to me, sweetheart.”
I threw my hands into the air just as he rose to face me again, his arms now crossed over that beefy, wide chest.
“Maybe I’ll just say screw this mating and leave once we get out of here. I don’t need some overbearing caveman keeping me prisoner.”
Because not getting out of here wasn’t an option. I was thinking positively and all. When I gave him a saucy smirk, as if that would for sure change his mind on all this, that little smile faltered when he growled and stalked forward.
“Let’s get one thing straight, Ada.” His voice was dangerously low. “I’ve only ever cared about two people in my life. Kane and Adryan. And that’s because they are family. It’s all about loyalty.” He kept stepping closer, forcing me to move back. “But what I feel for you,” he gritted out, “is unlike anything I have ever felt. It consumes me. It’s changed the very way I think and see things. It’s made me fucking feel, Ada.”
I couldn’t breathe as he said the words, his eyes glowing red now from his very clear emotions.
“And I refuse to let that go. I refuse to let you go. Ever.”
My heart was racing as emotions rose up almost violently in me.
“Before you I just moved through this godforsaken world because I was loyal to those around me. I didn’t care if I died, didn’t care how many bodies littered the ground at my feet.” His chest was pumping up and down from the force of his breathing. “You’re mine, and I will do anything to ensure you stay with me. Do you understand that, Ada?” He was all but snarling now. “Do you understand the lengths I’ll go to, to ensure that?” He bared his teeth, his fangs lengthening.
I didn’t know what to say or how to respond. I was so startled by how fiercely he was acting that it was even hard to breathe.
“If that means killing everyone to make it safe for you, so be it. If it means keeping you as a captive because that’s the only way I can have you, I’ll fucking do it in a heartbeat.”
“You are insane,” I whispered, stunned by how strongly he clearly felt about this. “I’m a person, Sebastian—”
“No. I’m mated. My behavior is completely normal and justifiable given the circumstances.” His glare was hard, unbending. “And you’re mine.” He all but roared that last word as if solidifying it in his mind that I wasn’t going anywhere. “And nothing—no one—in this world matters to me but you. So hate me, fight me, fucking curse me out. But no matter how far you run, how much you hide, I will always find you.”
He lifted his hand, and I tensed, knowing he wouldn’t harm me but still so uneasy about how vehemently he reacted to all this.
When he cupped my cheek, my body instantly leaned in, as if the damn bitch couldn’t control herself where he was concerned.
He leaned in so we were nose to nose. “Because without you there is no me.”
All I could do was stand there with wide eyes, my mind whirling at all he’d just confessed. I wanted him, felt a connection with Sebastian that could never be matched or equaled. Fate had put us together, but at the same time I would not be some toy he could cart around as he saw fit.
I stepped back, his hand falling from my face, this gruff sound of impatience leaving him.
“You need to get your shit together. If you want me to be happy, then the first thing you need to realize is keeping me prisoner is not the way to go, buddy.” I stabbed my finger in the center of his very hard chest.
With that I turned and took two steps toward the forest. But he reached out and gripped my wrist with a firm hold.
“Female,” he gritted out. “Where the hell are you going?”
I huffed out my impatience and turned to point to a boulder just ten feet away. “To pee, Sebastian.” He wore a surprised expression at my candor, but when he didn’t release me, I pursed my lips. “I am so not gonna have you hover over my shoulder as I go to the bathroom.”
His nostrils flared and he glanced at where the boulder was.
“Literally ten feet away, big guy. Stand right here if you want.” I pointed to his spot. “You’ll be able to hear if something creepy-crawly is coming, all right?” My tone was hard even though I was trying to keep my annoyance to a simmer.