He stared into her eyes, and she watched in awe as the violet irises appeared to spark to life, becoming a rare crystal of intensity and power.
“Your submission. Your acceptance. But most of all... your trust.” His words could have been so sweet, and she would have melted right then over them.
But the way he said them, as if he knew she would just accept what they said, didn’t set well with her.
“I just escaped from a life of servitude and don’t have any intentions of belonging to anyone but myself.”
The bastard smirked at her. Actually smirked. He took a step back, and she couldn’t help how her eyes widened when she saw how aroused he was.
His erection was enormous as it pressed against his leather pants. She had just told him she didn’t belong to anyone, yet he was still aroused.
“Erak, you’re pushing her. Ease up, brother.” Genet’s voice was calm, but Erak just grinned broader.
“Genet, I am what I am, and I am who I am. And the sooner our mate realizes that the better.”
“Erak, she is still healing, and the things you’re saying—” Erak held up his hand and stopped Raimi from finishing. “Luna, is what I’m saying making you uncomfortable?”
Was it? She was uncomfortable, but it wasn’t because he was directing those statements at her but because she was feeling her body betray her from hearing them.
The corner of his mouth kicked up, and she knew she wouldn’t have to answer because he knew.
“Luna, your body recognizes that you were born to be our mate, even if your mind is having trouble realizing that right now.”
He smiled, his straight, white teeth reminding her of the predators their species truly were.
“And when it comes to my mate standing right before me, her body knowing what it wants but her mind being stubborn, I will do everything in my power to make you realize and understand what you want here.” He placed a large hand on her chest, above over her heart.
Luna was so stunned by his actions. All she could do was stand there and stare at him.
“Right now, your heart beats wildly because you can sense who and what we are to you.” He leaned in ever so slightly until their lips were an inch from each other. “And you can run from anything you want but never from us. You are our mate.” His gaze lowered, so he was staring at her mouth. “And when the time comes where you come to us, accepting what is inevitable, it will be the sweetest of all things.”
Luna held her head higher and stared Erak in the eye. Shame and desire warred within her, and self-disgust that she was soaked between her thighs moved inside of her like another entity.
They could smell it—smell how much she wanted them even though she was furious—and humiliated her. His cockiness was astounding.
“I could never be yours, not in the way you want me to be.” Her voice was soft, but she kept her words clear and to the point.
Maybe she was being ungrateful, but there was a part of her that refused to bend to this male, who expected everyone to bow before him.
A low, deadly rumble left his chest, and she swallowed roughly. Had she pushed him too far with her defiance? They had saved her, after all, but she couldn’t go back to living as something that was ornamental. She wanted her freedom, but would these alpha males allow it?
Forcing herself not to cry from her turbulent emotions, she licked her lips and flicked her eyes to the other two men standing stoically behind Erak.
Genet and Raimi were just as physically superior as their brother, but unlike Erak, they could actually wield a gentler disposition and not be so intimidating and blunt.
“I just want to be free.”
The muscles under his cheeks ticked as he ground his teeth. She knew she should have kept her mouth shut. They had saved her and made it clear she was their mate and would stay with them, and here she was acting ungrateful.
But in her defense, she felt she had every right to feel this way, to not bow down and let another dictate how her life should be. He may say she wasn’t a prisoner but a treasure to them, but in reality, how much leeway could they give her when she wanted nothing but freedom?
Erak moved back, and she could see his unrestrained anger. She knew he wouldn’t harm her, could feel that he wanted to do the opposite—protect. That didn’t mean the aggression and testosterone that emanated from him didn’t frighten her all the same.
“You think we mean to keep you in a cage like a pretty, little bird?” His voice was low, deadly, and she pressed herself fully against the wall. Genet and Raimi glanced at each other warily, and their reaction had her growing even more uncomfortable.
They moved closer to their brother, and each laid a hand on his shoulder.
“Brother, calm down,” Genet said softly, but Erak shoved their touch off and lowered his head but kept his eyes on her.