Caught
1176 Words
Ariselle’s POV
The interrogation had been a disaster. One of the spies had finally cracked under the pressure of my father’s lead enforcer, but the truth was worse than the silence. There was a traitor inside Ironcrest. Someone close to the inner circle had opened the backdoor to let the enemy in.
I felt like the ground was falling out from under me. I had been so busy fighting Caelan, so distracted by the heat in my blood and the constant bickering, that I had missed a snake in my own home. I was supposed to be the shield of this pack. Instead, I had been playing games while my people were sold out.
I couldn't stay in the pack house. I slipped out to the stables, my heart hammering with a mix of guilt and rage. I saddled my mare, Shadow, and rode out into the night.
The cool air hit my face as I cleared the gates. I pushed her into a gallop, the rhythm of her hooves against the dirt the only thing keeping me from screaming. I needed the speed. I needed the wind to wash the shame off me.
“I'm failing my own people. I'm supposed to be protecting them, not wearing dresses and impressing a man I'd rather die than marry.”
I was miles into the forest when I heard the heavy thud of another horse behind me. I didn't have to look back to know who it was. The scent of storm clouds was already catching up to me.
"Go back if you're following me, Caelan!" I shouted over my shoulder.
His black stallion, Midnight, pulled up alongside me. Caelan wasn't wearing his formal coat or his crown. He was in a simple leather vest, his dark hair windblown. He looked wilder than I had ever seen him.
"You're riding like a woman possessed, Ariselle!" he called out. "Are you trying to outrun the traitor or your own head?"
"I don't have time for your lectures!" I urged Shadow faster.
"I'm not here to lecture!" Caelan kicked his horse into a full sprint.
"I'm here to challenge you! Last one to the Blackwood Ridge has to listen to the winner for an entire week without talking back!"
"You're on!" I yelled.
We flew through the trees. The moonlight turned the world into shades of silver and gray. It was dangerous, reckless, and exactly what I needed. My horse was fast, but Caelan’s stallion was a beast of pure muscle. We were neck and neck, the adrenaline pumping through my veins until I forgot about the spies and the guilt.
We reached the ridge at the same time, the horses skidding to a halt near the edge of the cliff. I slid off Shadow, my legs shaking and my breath coming in short, jagged gasps.
Caelan was off his horse in a second. He marched toward me, his chest heaving. The adrenaline from the ride hadn't faded; it had curdled into something far more volatile.
"You're insane," he said, stopping inches from me. He seemed completely relaxed while I was panting for dear life.
"You almost took a branch to the face back there."
"I had it under control," I snapped, though I was struggling to keep my balance. "Why did you follow me?"
"Because you were spiraling," he said. He reached out and grabbed my shoulders, his grip tight and hot.
"You think you failed because of those spies. You think you're distracted."
"I am distracted!" I yelled, shoving at his chest. "I'm distracted by you! I'm distracted by this stupid alliance and the way you look at me! I should have seen the traitor, Caelan. That’s my job!"
"It isn't just your job, it’s the responsibility of everyone at the pack and more of mine because your pack is under mine to protect," he growled. He pulled me back toward him, his face inches from mine.
"And if you're distracted, then so am I. Because seeing you ride like that... seeing you take those turns like a valkyrie... it’s driving me out of my mind."
The air between us was electric. The silence of the ridge was heavy with the sound of our shared breathing.
I tried to take step back but my feet won't move.
"Right now, Ariselle, I could make love to you right here on the dirt. I could have you against that tree and make you forget everything but the way I feel inside you."
My heart stopped. I looked at him, and I knew I didn't have the will to fight him. My wolf was purring, leaning into the pull. I was scared of myself. I was scared that if he made the move, I would fall and never get back up.
"Don't," I whispered. "Don't say things like that."
"Why not? It’s the truth." He reached out and cupped my face, his thumb rubbing over my lower lip.
"Your body is shaking, Ariselle. And it isn't from cold."
He leaned down and crashed his lips onto mine. It wasn't a gentle kiss. It was a claim. It tasted like sweat and salt and pure, unadulterated need. I groaned into his mouth, my hands flying to his hair to pull him closer.
Caelan groaned back, his hand sliding down my back until he gripped my butt, lifting me slightly and pressing me hard against his erection. I leaned into him completely, my mind going blank. I was hungry for it. I wanted him to take me right there, to end the tension that had been building since the moment we met.
Just as I thought he was going to lay me down, he pulled back.
He was breathing hard, his eyes dark with triumph. He didn't let go of me immediately, but the heat of the kiss was replaced by a cold realization.
"Look at you," he said, his voice a rough, low vibration.
I looked up at him, my hand moved up to touch my my swollen lips. My face was flushed. I was clinging to his arms for support.
"Your body just submitted to me, Ariselle," he said. He let go of my waist and stepped back, leaving me standing alone in the moonlight.
"You can tell yourself you hate me all you want. You can curse my name in the hallway. But your body knows the truth."
I felt the embarrassment wash over me like ice water. I straightened my tunic, my hands trembling.
"You're a bastard."
"Maybe," he said, walking back to his stallion. He swung into the saddle and looked down at me. "But I’m a bastard who knows you want me just as much as I want you. Your mind will submit soon enough. It’s only a matter of time."
“Get on your horse and let's get back.”
I stood there for a long time, cursing the wind. I was angry, I was embarrassed, and most of all, I was terrified.
Because he was right. I didn't have the will to resist him.
- Writer
