Chapter 3: What is he doing?
1300 Words
"Let go," I gasped, my boots sliding in the mud as he hauled me backward.
He didn't speak; instead, a vibrating growl rolled out of his vocal cords, so deep it vibrated in my chest too.
He was too big and his grip was just as solid. I twisted my body, trying to slip out of his hands, but it was like trying to break away from an iron grip.
"I said, let go!" I slammed my fist against his shoulder and it didn't do anything, it just felt like hitting a wall of solid rock.
"The rogues are gone! You're safe!"
He yanked me forward, dragging me straight into a narrow opening at the side of the clearing, a place with a smoother ground and shade. I still couldn't see his face no matter how hard I tried.
The air changed, and the heavy rain from the storm outside hit the leaves above us like a thousand tiny rocks. Inside the place that was half cave and half shade, it was pitch black and cold.
The only warmth came from him, his scent was amplified now and I knew it was thick enough to coat the back of my throat.
It didn't smell like any wolf I had ever met, even Kaelen and Seraphina’s mating bond didn't smell as intense as this.
He shoved me back against the stone wall of the cave and his massive body followed, trapping me before I could slide away.
"Stay back," I panted, my hands coming up to press against his bare, wet chest. He was shaking, even if his skin was burning hot, and his heart was hammering through his chest against my palms.
"Don't do this. I just saved your life."
"Quiet," he rasped.
It was the first word he had spoken, and it sounded like gravel scraping together. He leaned his head back against the stone, his breath hitching.
"They’re... still hunting."
"The rogues? They…they ran away," I whispered, my voice trembling as his body pressed closer. The heat radiating off him was making my head spin.
"You killed their leader, I’m sure they aren't coming back."
"Not them," he growled, his teeth baring in the dark. I could see the sharp gleam of his fangs.
"The others, my power... they can smell it for miles. Shut your mouth if you want to keep your head."
"Then let me leave," I said, trying to push him away again, but he didn't budge an inch.
"I don't even know you. I have to go back to my pack."
"You have no pack," he growled low, his face dropping down until his breath brushed against my ear.
"I smelled the rejection on you out there. You smell like ash. Who threw you away, little girl?"
The question felt like a physical blow, images of Kaelen holding Seraphina flashed behind my eyes.
The way my soon-to-be mate looked at me was like I was just a piece of garbage he was glad to finally drop. The pain flared up in my chest again, it was even sharper and more agonizing, making my throat tighten.
"None of your business," I choked out, my voice cracking. "Let me go."
"No." His grip tightened on my waist, his large hand spreading across my lower back, pulling me flush against his chest.
"You're staying right here."
"I am not your prisoner!" I yelled, my anger finally flaring up to fight the fear.
I brought my knee up, trying to hit him between the legs, but he anticipated the move, locking his thighs around mine and pinning me completely against the wall.
"Stop fighting me," he ordered, his voice dropping into a heavy, dominant register that made my inner wolf instantly want to drop her head and submit.
But my mother’s blood, didn't want to run from him, it craved the dangerous warmth rolling off his skin.
"You're hurting me," I lied, my voice shaking because of the strange, electric pull building between us, not because of his grip.
He froze for a second, the gold in his eyes seemed to distort, just a fraction.
His breathing was so heavy that it was the only sound filling the cave.
"I don't want to hurt you," he muttered, his forehead dropping down to rest against mine.
He smelled so good it was making me weak, my knees felt like they were melting to water.
"But I can't... I can't think straight. What did you do to me out there?"
"Your power. It was killing you."
"You took it," he murmured, his hand moving up from my waist, his calloused fingers tracing a slow line up my ribs, making my skin goosebumps.
"Who are you?"
"Nobody," I said, looking away from his burning gaze.
"Just an outcast."
"You smell like silver" he growled softly. He tilted his chin, his nose brushing against the side of my neck, right over my pounding pulse point. He took a deep, breath, inhaling my scent.
The moment his skin brushed against my neck, a jolt of electricity snapped through my entire body.
My hands, which had been pushing against his chest, suddenly clenched into the fabric of his torn shirt.
The heartbreak from earlier, the humiliation at the altar, Kaelen's betrayal, it all just dissolved, wiped away by a sudden, terrifying wave of pure heat.
My wolf whimpered inside me, completely drunk on his scent.
"Please," I whispered. I didn't even know what I was begging for anymore.
"You feel it too," he said, his voice turning thick and dark, driven entirely by an animal instinct that wasn't just a wolf.
"The heat. It's too much."
"We can't," I panted, my head tilting back against the stone as his mouth moved along my jawline.
"I don't even know your name."
"It doesn't matter" he murmured, his lips pressing a soft kiss just beneath my ear.
My mind screamed at me to stop him, he was a dangerous stranger, he was feral, unstable, and could kill me without even trying.
I was making a terrible mistake, throwing away my dignity with a monster in a cave just hours after the man I loved rejected me.
But my body wasn't listening to all these, it wasn't king sense of the logic, just the sheer pleasure it drew from this moment.
The magic in my blood was pushing me closer, I wrapped my arms around his neck, my fingers burying into his thick, dark hair.
"Don't make me regret this," I whispered against his skin.
He lifted me effortlessly, my feet leaving the damp floor of the cave as he pressed me harder against the stone wall.
His hands were everywhere, tearing at the lace of my dress, his touch leaving trails across my skin.
Every touch felt like a drug, we were two broken things clinging to each other in the middle of a storm.
I didn't care about the pack anymore. I didn't care about my uncle, or the fact that I had nowhere to go tomorrow. Right now, this burning pleasure in the darkness was the only thing that existed.
He pinned both of my wrists above my head with one hand, his chest heaving against mine as he stared down at me in the pitch black.
I couldn't see his face, but I could feel the intense, overwhelming weight of his gaze.
His sharp teeth grazed the sensitive skin of my neck right over the vein, and a primal, terrifying realization hit me.
He wasn't just kissing me anymore, he was about to claim me.
I knew I should pull away, but as the hot sting of his fangs touched my skin, I felt the pleasure in my bones, and a tear slipped from my cheeks.
I was going to regret this, surely.
- Writer
