There’s growling in my head, and I know instinctively it’s my wolf calling out to him. Mine. The bite. That’s what he did to me when he bit me. I remember the wolf in the bathroom, the mark on her neck that she was so proud of, the mark I knew I would never wear, but now I am because he bit me.
He marked me.
And I’m his. I know it the way I know gravity will keep my feet on the floor. It’s that true, that fundamental. And nothing in my life has ever mattered until now, until this moment. The moment I first looked into his eyes.
“Little liar.” His words are a whisper so light that I can barely hear them over the roaring of the blood in my veins.
A flush covers my body, my skin tingling. My nipples tighten into painfully hard points, but that’s nothing compared to the way my pussy tightens, then floods, coating me in wetness. I don’t even care that everyone will be able to smell my arousal. I only know he will, the scent will call to him, and he’ll take me and claim me like I need him to do right this very second. I’ll die if he doesn’t ease the ache between my legs, my clit swollen and throbbing, my pussy desperate to be filled and stretched by him. I smell him on me, and all that does is heighten my arousal, leaving me barely able to hold back a moan of sheer desperation.
He has to feel this, too. He has to hear my wolf calling out to him, begging for him.
And he does. I see the recognition in his eyes when they meet mine, but I also see that he doesn’t care. He doesn’t feel a thing, and my entire world shatters for the second time in less than a day.
12
WILDE
This couldn’t be worse. Surrounded by the pack elders, not to mention the way my father is glaring at me. Why does he have to be here? As if it wasn’t bad enough, marking her in front of all of them—if I could only have done it a few seconds sooner, I could have avoided this. She would be mine without them having to know about it.
And now she’s staring at me, and I hear her wolf begging to be claimed, and all my wolf wants is to give her what she craves. I know what she’s going through—in theory, at least. And I don’t envy her.
I’m too busy trying not to strangle her.
Either that or fuck her in front of her father. She’s more intriguing in this moment than she was when I watched her naked in the lake. Even though I have absolutely no feelings for her, that doesn’t change the primal, instinctive drive that results from the mark on her skin… the promise that once she marks me back, our mating bond will be complete.
Fuck fated mates. Claimed Mates are more powerful. And the only thing I crave more than getting my dick drained by a pretty face is attaining more power.
I might not have feelings for her, but my cock is ramrod stiff, and there’s only one place I want to put it.
I’m going to fuck her. Right here, in front of everyone, if I don’t get out of this room right now.
I don’t have to say a word. Our wolves understand what we don’t need words to express. That’s why the beta takes a step toward me when he senses what my wolf so clearly demands. “Don’t even fucking think about it.” His words are a bucket of ice over my head. “Touch another hair on her head, and I’ll rip your heart out of your chest. Baby alpha or not.”
“All right, all right, let’s not turn this into something ugly.” Daniel is scrambling, raising his hands to silence the surprised muttering and growling happening all around us. “Let’s not jump to the wrong conclusion.”
“Wrong conclusion?” Benedict points to me, snarling. “You saw what he just did.”
“Yes, and since when are we to question what fate puts in motion?” Oh, he’s good. He is practically tap dancing, eager to keep the peace by any means necessary. “It’s unexpected, but we can’t afford to fly off half-cocked.”
Let them hash it out. All I can do is stare at her, waiting for her to decide whether she’s going to fight or flee.
If she runs, I can find somewhere quiet to snap her neck… or force her to her knees with my dick in her mouth to prove she belongs to me. Because she is mine now. My mark on her skin means that she’s mine to claim.
Mine to hurt.
Mine to own.
I’m going to claim her, and it would be a good idea for everyone in this room to get the fuck out of my way before I have to take all of them down to do it. And I will if they’re stupid enough to get in my way.