“And from where I stand, you’re a psychotic asshole.”
“I’m not going to deny that.” Her face falls, and I have to suppress laughter. She honestly thought it would be that easy, like I would be so deeply insulted I’d let the matter drop. In many ways, she is still a child, no matter how her body says otherwise.
“As I was saying, we need to get a few things straight between us.”
“What you need to do is get the hell out of my room.” When she shoves me, I catch her wrist and hold on to it, freezing her in place. She tries to yank it free, but I only tighten my grip on her.
“I admire your spirit, little wolf, but you may as well give up the fight. You are not going to win against me, no matter how much you think you might.” I’m laughing as I let her go because she is completely incapable of hiding her frustration. She’s like a new plaything, something for me to fuck with. The sight and sound of her frustration are having the opposite effect she intended, putting it mildly.
“Fine.” She folds her arms, lifts her chin, and gives me a look that could turn me to ice. “What’s so important that we have to talk about it right now?”
“What’s so important?” I parrot. “How about catching you up on a few things?”
“Such as what?”
“For starters, there’s no fighting what’s happening now. You belong to me.”
“Because you went and bit me.”
“Yes, that’s exactly why.”
“Even though I had no say in it? Even though I didn’t know you were going to do it?”
I nod. “Exactly. See, you’re already catching on.”
“Fuck you.”
“That will have to wait. I wouldn’t want to overwhelm you all at once.” She growls at me, and it’s almost cute. I’m smart enough to keep that to myself, even though watching her fall to pieces is better than any other form of entertainment I’ve ever found. Even sex, which is saying something since eating her out was a lot of fun, too. But a different sort of fun.
“You can fight this all you want,” I continue. “But it would be like trying to fight back the tide. In other words, a total waste of time. It’ll get you nowhere.”
“Says you.”
“Says me and everyone else, and I do mean literally everyone,” I insist when she rolls her eyes. “I’m sorry that no one ever told you how these things work. They failed you.”
She huffs. “You don’t know the half of it.”
“I’m sure I don’t. And that’s a real shame—no joking, either. I mean it. They failed you, and I’m sorry they did, but it’s time to face reality now.”
“So your idea of me facing reality is letting this happen without saying a word? Refusing to let me have control over my own fate? Is that what you’re telling me?” She’s flabbergasted, and understandably so, but it doesn’t change what’s already happened.
“Right now, yes. That’s the situation.”
She shakes her head. “I don’t accept that.”
My wolf is growing more irritated with every second that passes. “I don’t remember asking you if you accepted a damn thing.”
“Of course not. Why would you do that? Why would anyone?”
This again. “Listen. I already told you I’m sorry for the shitty way you were treated, but you need to stop making it my problem. Whatever happened in the past is in the past. You need to get real and accept the way things are, and I mean right now. Or else this could all get much worse for you.”
“This could get worse?” she asks sarcastically.
“Yes, you fucking moron,” I snarl, and I’m gratified when she can’t contain her tremor of apprehension at the sudden change in my tone. That’s good, that’s how I need her to be, so I snarl again. “Yes, this could get much worse. You don’t seem to understand you’re fucking with nature here. Trying to deny what’s already been put in place. All you’re going to do is regret it. Why not stop wasting time denying what you can’t change and instead learn how to live with it?”
“I don’t want to live with it.”
“That doesn’t fucking matter. What do I have to do to get through to you? Do I need to hurt you? Is that it? Is that the only way a lesson can be drilled into your head?” I look her up and down, sneering in distaste. “Maybe you spent so much of your life getting knocked around that you learned to like it. Is that what it is?”
“Fuck you. Don’t ever say that kind of thing to me again.”
“Then stop being obtuse. Yes, I marked you. And because I did, things are going to go the way I say they will.”
“And if I don’t get in line and follow your rules?”
“I know you’re going to think this is a threat, but I promise you, it isn’t. If you reject what’s been put in place, it’s going to tear your wolf apart. It’ll drive you both insane. I’ve heard stories of wolves who thought they were clever enough or somehow special. That thought the fundamental, basic laws we all live by didn’t apply to them. And it drove them insane. Do you want to end up like that? Because that’s what is in store for you if you refuse to accept what’s been put in place with my mark.”