I tilt her head to the side and bite her neck, gently but firmly.
It works. She gasps and goes completely still in my arms, surrendering to my dominance.
A surge of victory swells in my chest. Her submission, no matter how begrudgingly given, is oh so sweet, and I can’t help the growl that rumbles up out of my chest, nor can I resist the urge to kiss and suck on the column of her throat.
She whimpers when I lave my tongue over her sensitive flesh. I feel the tremble go through her when I suck on it, urging all the blood to the surface so I can leave my mark on her.
I survey my handiwork with satisfaction when I’m done. Now when any male looks at her, he’ll see that she belongs to me. My cock is still hard. The beast inside me is still raging at me to claim her fully, but this will placate him for the time being until I can make Mya mine fully.
Her face is flushed, and her eyes are still wild. She’s already plotting a way to escape, and while part of me aches at the thought of my mate wanting to escape me so badly, another part of me is amused and even pleased. My mate is no pushover. She’s a fighter.
Still, I don’t need her fighting me right now. Not until I get her safely back to my compound where I can keep her contained.
I had anticipated the possibility of a fiery mate and came prepared.
“I’m sorry about this, little hellcat,” I apologize to her before I press the needle into her neck too quickly for her to protest.
Her mouth drops open, and her eyes flare with betrayal before they flutter closed, and she slumps in my arms.
I catch her against my chest and lift her in my arms, brushing her silky curls back from her face as I cradle her against me.
She feels so right, so perfect in my arms. A rush of protectiveness courses through me.
“Don’t worry, my love,” I murmur down to her even though she can’t hear me. “You’re going to be the most treasured mate in the universe.”
ChapterThree
Mya
I wake up slowly,blinking several times as my eyes adjust to the brightness of the sunlight shining in through the window—a window that’s not mine.
Suddenly, Raoul’s golden eyes are peering into mine, and I sit up in a panic, my heart hammering against my rib cage, as everything comes crashing back to me.
“Whoa, be careful, little hellcat.” Raoul reaches out a hand to steady me as the room spins.
“You drugged me,” I hiss at him.
He hands me a bottle of water and instructs me, “Drink.”
I take it and begrudgingly do as he says. It’s only because my throat is parched and I’m insanely thirsty. If not for that, I’d have tossed the bottle back in his handsome face.
A shifter. Raoul is a freaking shifter, though what type I don’t yet know.
I’ve heard about shifters, though I’ve never met one before—at least not that I knew of. They’re animals—literally. Insanely strong and powerful and worse than a serial killer because at least with a serial killer, you’re only dealing with a human. You have a tiny chance of escape. With a shifter, you have no chance of getting away. They’re natural-born hunters. I remember the look of hunger in Raoul’s eyes as he gazed down at me from his massive height. Predators.
“So what are you?” I ask him frankly.
Raoul just blinks at me, his golden eyes unwavering.
“You’re a shifter,” I prompt him. “What kind?”
When he doesn’t immediately answer me, I add acidly. “Don’t you think I have the right to know what type of animal the man who’s captured me might suddenly morph into?”
He frowns at my tone, but he stands from where he’s perched on the side of the bed, his muscles rippling and cording as he straightens to his full height. The man is insanely attractive. It’s not fair.
He smirks at me as if he can read the direction of my thoughts, and I flush angrily, glaring at him.
“Why don’t I just show you?” he proposes.