Claimed in the dark

THE TASTE OF BETRAYAL His mouth was a bruising and wounded , relentless conquest against hers, hot with the scent of pine, rain, and dark power. Clara whimpered into the kiss, her fingers digging desperately into his massive, structured shoulders as he lifted her completely off her feet. She should have pulled away. She should have fought. But the sheer, intoxicating heat of his touch was the only thing keeping her from shattering into a million pieces. How had she ended up pinned against a crumbling stone wall in the forbidden ruins of the Silver Moon, letting a dangerous stranger claim her mouth with such ruthless hunger? Clara’s POV I was standing against a cold marble pillar in the Silver Moon ballroom, my heart throat-high. The room smelled of expensive champagne and predatory ambition, but all I could focus on was Julian. The golden prince. The boy I had loved since our freshman year of high school. I had spent years waiting for him to notice me, dreaming of the day he would claim me as his mate. But tonight, he claimed someone else. Right there in the center of the crowded floor, Julian pressed his lips against the exposed, pale throat of another girl. He gripped her waist tightly, parading his new political alliance to the entire pack. The girl wrapping her arms around his neck wasn't a stranger. It was Ella Sterling. My best friend. My sister in everything but blood. When Julian’s amber eyes finally met mine through the glittering crowd, there was no remorse. No guilt. Just a cold, calculating dismissiveness that told me I was nothing but a casualty of his rise to power. Ella didn't even look my way; she just held onto him tighter. The betrayal felt like a silver blade to the chest. I fled. I ran blindly into the dark, freezing woods where the pack borders faded into nothingness. Desperate to numb the agonizing ache tearing through my wolf, I downed a bottle of stolen wolfshade elixir a dangerous, forbidden liquor meant to completely paralyze a werewolf’s hyper-sensitive feelings. By the time I stumbled into the ancient, ruined territory of the Silver moon, the world was spinning in a haze of toxic heat. My inner wolf was screaming, lost and broken. Then, a massive, towering silhouette stepped out of the blackness. "Julian..." I whimpered, my eyes swimming with tears and poison. I stumbled forward, throwing my body against his broad, solid chest. The man didn't move. He felt like carved granite, radiating a suffocating, dark energy that instantly made my knees buckle. I didn't care who he was. I just needed to drown out the sight of Julian and Ella. I reached up, wrapped my arms around his thick neck, and pulled his face down to mine. That was my mistake. And he didn't hesitate to exploit it. The moment our lips met, a low, savage growl vibrated deep in his chest. His massive hands locked around my waist, hoisting me up as his tongue invaded my mouth, tasting the sweet wolfshade on my breath. It was a dominant, breathtaking assault. Every touch of his calloused hands burned my skin, marking me in the dark. The silver moonlight caught the sharp glint of his fangs just before he buried his face in my neck, biting down hard enough to draw a single drop of copper-sweet blood. He licked it away with a searing stroke of his tongue, taking me there in the dark and the shadows. It was breathless, chaotic, and entirely consuming a dark, beautiful ruin of everything I thought I knew.