My Alpha Mate Is A Jerk

Chapter2

Resisting the Pull

Viktor hurled his crystal whiskey glass against the wall, watching it shatter like the control he was rapidly losing. Her scent still lingered in his office – wild roses and midnight rain, taunting him. His wolf clawed at his insides, demanding he chase down their mate before she could leave their territory.

"Find her." The words escaped before he could stop them. His Beta, Marcus, looked up sharply from cleaning the blood off the floor – remnants of tonight's earlier *discussion*. "The girl from the ball. I want to know every detail of her life within the hour."

"I thought you wanted her gone, Boss."

Viktor's growl had Marcus lowering his eyes. "I want to know exactly what I'm dealing with. Knowledge is power." It was easier to pretend this was about strategy than admit his wolf wouldn't let him rest until he knew she was safe.

*Safe from everyone but me*, he thought darkly.

---

Aria's hands shook so badly she could barely get her key in the ignition. The mate bond pulled at her like a physical chain, every mile she put between them sending fresh waves of pain through her body. Her wolf was going crazy, howling and throwing itself against her control.

*He's a killer. A monster. We have to leave.*

But even as she repeated the words, tears blurred her vision. Nature had played a cruel joke, matching her with a man who'd rather see her dead than claimed. The same man whose touch still burned on her skin, whose scent made her want to bare her throat in submission.

Her phone buzzed. Unknown number.

"Hello?" Her voice trembled.

"Miss Mason." Viktor's voice slid through the speaker like dark honey, and her treacherous body responded instantly. "Running already? I expected you to last at least until morning."

"H-how did you get this number?"

"I own this city, little wolf. Did you really think you could leave without me knowing?" A pause. "Your lease on Oak Street. Your job at the bookstore. Your weekly coffee at Gloria's. Your entire life, laid out for my inspection."

Aria's blood ran cold. She pulled into a gas station, her legs too shaky to keep driving. "Are you threatening me?"

"Not yet." The word *yet* hung between them like a blade. "But my patience with disobedient wolves is limited. You have one hour to return to the Highland Pack compound."

"Or what?"

"Or I'll come collect you myself." His voice dropped lower, rougher. "And trust me, little mate, you don't want that. Because if I have to chase you..." She heard him inhale sharply, and knew he was fighting the same primal urges she was. "If I have to chase you, I won't be gentle when I catch you."

Her wolf preened at the possessiveness in his tone, even as fear slithered down her spine. "You said you didn't want a mate."

"I don't. But I want even less to spend the next month fighting this f*****g bond while you run around *my* territory unprotected. Other alphas will see you as a weakness to exploit. Your presence here is now a security risk."

"I'm not your property," Aria snapped, her own alpha bloodline giving her courage. "You don't get to dictate my life just because fate played a sick joke on us both."

The line went quiet for so long she thought he'd hung up. Then: "Forty-seven minutes, little wolf. Tick tock."

The call ended.

Aria slumped against her steering wheel, breath coming in gasps. Every cell in her body screamed at her to go to him, to submit to the claiming her wolf desperately wanted. The pain of resistance was getting worse – a burning ache that started in her chest and radiated outward.

But she'd seen what Viktor Volkov did to people who displeased him. The way he'd ordered that man's death without blinking. The casual cruelty in his eyes when he'd dismissed her.

*Some monsters aren't meant to be tamed*, she'd thought earlier.

The question was: could she live with being devoured instead?

---

Viktor paced his office like a caged animal, fighting the urge to shift and hunt down his mate. His wolf was going berserk, raging at letting her leave in the first place. The bond between them pulled taut with every passing minute, a maddening awareness of her location hovering at the edges of his consciousness.

She was still in his territory. Still close enough to catch.

"You could just let her go," Marcus suggested carefully. "Other wolves have survived rejected mate bonds."

*Survived* being the operative word. Viktor had seen what happened to wolves who denied the mate bond too long – the slow descent into madness, the physical deterioration, the eventual death of either body or soul. He'd thought it a fitting end for weak wolves who couldn't overcome their baser instincts.

Now the universe had saddled him with a mate whose delicate scent made him want to commit violence against anyone who dared look at her. A mate whose quiet strength and defiance called to both man and wolf in ways he couldn't afford.

His phone chirped. A text from his security team: *Target stopped at Gas Station on 5th. Appears to be having panic attack. Orders?*

Viktor's claws extended, piercing his palm. The scent of his own blood helped him focus.

"Clear the compound's east wing," he ordered Marcus. "All of it. And have the doctor on standby."

"You're going to claim her?" Marcus couldn't hide his surprise.

Viktor's laugh held no humor. "No. I'm going to make her wish she'd never set foot in my territory." He checked his watch. "Thirty-six minutes left. Let's see if the little wolf is smart enough to run while she still can."

But even as he said the words, his wolf rumbled in satisfaction. They both knew the truth – she wouldn't run. Couldn't run, any more than he could let her go.

The only question was how many pieces of themselves they'd destroy in the process of fighting fate itself.