You Wouldn't Dare

CHAPTER 11 - VIOLET

We remained on the carpet for a while, Khaos gently running his fingers up and

down my spine, keeping my body pressed close to his side. I could feel his

strong, steady heartbeat under my head, and my wolf was finally calm and at

ease, content with being this close to her mate.

I placed a final kiss on his chest and raised my head up to look at him,

“can I ask you something?” I asked hesitantly, feeling strangely shy with him,

considering not even half an hour ago this same man had me begging and

panting.

“Be my guest.”

He raised one of my hands, bringing his up to join it so they were palm to

palm, seemingly fascinated at the huge difference in size as he compared the

length of our fingers, chuckling slightly when he realised how tiny mine were

against his.

“Why didn’t you want to have s*x with me?” He laced his fingers

through mine, planting a kiss on my forehead.

“So that’s what’s been keeping you so quiet. What strange thoughts go

round your head, little one. It’s not that I didn’t want to, I want nothing more

than to make you mine in every way possible. You’re just not ready.”

“But... we’re mates…”

He sighed heavily before answering me, “Violet... I’m not an easy man to

be around. Despite what I said earlier, I will not force you to stay. I would like

you to give us a chance, but if you want to leave and have a life away from this,

I’ll understand. You remained a virgin for a reason. You could have had your

pick of men a long time ago, you know the beauty you possess. I will not take

that away from you, I want you to remain pure for the man you want to spend

your life with - if that’s not me, then so be it.”

I remained silent; my finger drawing circles across his torso as I let his

words sink in. I knew enough of Khaos to know that he was a very s****l man,

yet I also knew the brutal gang rape he had suffered meant he would treat me

with the utmost caution when it came to my virginity.

“I do have a favour to ask you though.” He chuckled as my body tensed

next to him. “I just want you to sit in on a pack meeting - I’m sure you’ve heard

the stories of what a terrible wolf I am, how violent and deadly I can be and I’m

not going to deny it. No rumour is ever completely false, and though I never

want to be that way around you, I won’t hide what I am. But that’s not the way I

run this pack; I promise you. I know you had a horrible experience with the warriors, but they are an extremely specific set of wolves whose one purpose is

to help with attacks. They are not the same as everyone here. I meant what I said

to you. There are some amazing wolves who would jump at the opportunity to

be your friend. They won’t avoid you because of your status here. Titles do not

guarantee respect, the same way they do not instil instant fear. Your actions will

be what gets you accepted here. Everyone has the same, equal chance.” He

paused, and I nodded, letting him know I had been paying attention.

“The second thing is, I want you to run with me as a wolf. Let’s see the

connection that the two of them have. If after that you want to leave, I’ll drive

you back to your mother’s pack personally.”

“Do you promise?” I asked, although seeing this side of him, I wasn’t

sure I wanted to leave anymore.

“I can’t promise I’ll be happy about it; I’ll more than likely fly off into a

rage - shocking I know,” he grinned at me in an attempt to lighten the

atmosphere. “But I’ll respect your wishes. Once I’ve finished knocking down

every wall in this pack house, I’ll take you wherever you want to go.” I laughed

out loud, planting a kiss on his cheek.

“I can’t really ask for anything more. I’ll hold you to your promises, and

in return, I’ll try to be more understanding, Khaos. But know that I won’t be

spoken to like s**t all the time - You cannot call me a slut or say derogatory

things to me. It doesn’t work that way.”

“You didn’t seem to mind earlier,” he said with a devilish grin, nuzzling

into my neck. I bit down on my lip to stop the moan from escaping my throat.

Not that it mattered. He knew well the effect he had on me.

“Okay, so maybe you can call me those names sometimes.” I said shyly,

grateful that he was still sucking on the pulse in my neck so he couldn’t see the

way my cheeks flamed.

“You’re such a naughty girl,” he whispered. I felt my stomach tighten

and knew that I had to stop this before it went too far.

“You--” he cut me off with a kiss.

“I know what you’re going to say, and I’m working on it, Violet. I just

need you to help me out now and then. There will be times when my temper gets

the better of me. I don’t know how else to behave. But with your help, I can get

there.”

“And if you won’t listen? If you’re too far gone in your temper to be

reasoned with?”

“I won’t--”

“Humour me,” I insisted.

Khaos paused for a moment, a look of fear crossing his face before he broke out into a wide grin, “I’ll make you a room all of your own, your special

escape room. If I’m becoming overbearing and a brute, walk away from me and

enter your room. I make a solum swear to the Moon Goddess to never enter your

little sanctuary.” He laid his palm across his chest as he made his pledge.

“That won’t be necessary, you i***t!” I laughed, slapping him on the

arm. “I trust you.” I said, surprising myself with how much I meant this.

He placed his fingers under my chin and raised my face up to his, “you

won’t regret this, I promise. Stay with me?” He breathed, kissing along my

jawline and up to my lips.

“Okay,” I whispered back against his lips, deepening the kiss.

“Now, where were we?” Khaos chuckled, bringing his hands up to my

chest as we sank back against the carpet together.

Okay. Breathe. Just breathe. It’s simple: in-out, in-out. Slow and steady, with

deep breaths. You can do this. It’s just a pack meeting.

I was fighting myself, determined not to go to this meeting, yet

determined not to miss it. The entire pack already hated me; I was sure of it.

Well, despite Jasmine, who had in fact been an angel when we met. Khaos

assured me that no opinion of me had been formed as yet, that they all

understood I was under a lot of pressure - I had been ripped away from my home

and loved ones and dumped in the middle of a fully formed pack without a

single connection with anybody other than my mate. Some even took my side,

saying it was disrespectful that Khaos hadn’t even given me a chance to say

goodbye, that his actions had been unforgivable.

It’s funny how quickly I forgot that.

I had judged him so quickly based on the image he projected on the

surface. A few days in his company had taught me I was more like my mother

than I thought, making snap judgements based on gossip and hearsay.

More and more wolves crowded into the large hall, most of them taking

their seats on the many chairs provided, a few standing guard at the doors. I

glanced around looking for Khaos and instead met the eyes of the last wolf I

wanted to see.

“Well, well, well. I thought Khaos would be done with you by now.” He

snarled at me with a nasty smirk on his face.

“Hello again, Beta Morgan.”

He pressed up close to me, brushing the hair off my shoulder and tutted.

“Mm-hmm, just as I thought, all bark, no bite.” He ran his finger up and

down my neck, his eyes widening. “What’s this? No mark, I see. Not as special as you thought - are you, princess?”

“Get that finger off my neck, grandpa, before I ram it up your arsehole.”

He laughed at my bravado, pressing even closer to me, and I swallowed down

the lump of fear that turned up in my throat.

“Isn’t that the most delicious smell? There’s nothing quite like a

woman’s fear to whet a man’s appetite. Tell me--”

“Morgan!” A loud man’s voice boomed out, pulling Morgan away from

me. My knees went weak with relief when I noticed Jasmine, who immediately

came to my side as the two males barked at each other.

“Thank you,” I whispered as she slipped her arm through mine.

“Don’t mention it. Morgan is a d**k. He always has been. Goddess

knows why Khaos chose him as a Beta. That’s my brother, Arthur,’’ she inclined

her head towards my rescuer as he marched Morgan away from me and towards

the other warriors. “The sooner you join our pack, the better. It’s arseholes like

Morgan that make the mind-link come in handy.”

She offered me to join her with the other ladies, but I declined, more

decided than ever to remain on the side-lines. My anxiety was playing with me,

letting me know that many other wolves would feel the same way towards me as

Morgan did, and no amount of persuasion could convince me otherwise.

Jasmine gave me one last concerned glance as she made her way down

the walkway and headed for her seat.

The crowd quietened as Khaos entered. Almost immediately his eyes

found mine, calming my nerves in a way I hadn’t thought possible. He shot me a

small wink and my knees went weak, a stupid smile splitting across my face.

Everything was going to be okay.

The meeting went on for a while. I didn’t take much notice of the points that

were made, but what impressed me was the fact that every wolf was free to

speak. If they had any concerns, they were welcome to voice them and Khaos

would do what he could do to reassure them, although he wouldn’t lie. He was

very transparent with his intentions, letting them know who he was planning on

attacking next and some of his reasons for doing so. He had assured me earlier

that everyone here was an equal, and after seeing the way this meeting had gone

ahead so far, there was no denying it.

Wolves of all ranks were shouting out questions, a couple of them even

teased him when he scanned the room, looking for where I was hiding. He

laughed it all off good-naturedly, even though I blushed a deep red, wanting the

floor to swallow me whole when Khaos informed them all that if they had a wolf of my beauty by their side, they wouldn’t want me out of their sight either.

Amid all the laughing and jibes being thrown, a young man raised his

hand and my stomach flipped with the way the room silenced as Khaos signalled

them. The man had some dominance, and both my wolf and I were more than

impressed.

“Congratulations on your mating, Alpha. Is her pack okay with her being

here?” He said, inclining his head in my direction. “Only, we’ve all noticed she

has yet to join our pack.”

“Would anyone be happy with their daughter being here after some of the

rumours that have been spread around about us?” The sound of laughter

resounded around the hall once more, and I couldn’t help but smile along. He

wasn’t wrong. My mother was no doubt still throwing a fit about it.

“The truth is, no, they weren’t happy. I haven’t contacted them and I’ve

no idea whether or not my mate has, although we are too far away for her to link

with them, unfortunately. My mate is not here against her will, I have assured

her that if she is not happy, she can leave. I will not hold anyone against their

will. Please be patient with her, remember that she has left behind her parents,

her brother, his mate, and all of her friends. Violet will take her place as your

Luna, if and when she is ready. I’ll admit I was forceful when taking her and she

didn’t get the best goodbye. In fact, she didn’t get a goodbye at all and that is

one thing I regret. However, you know the way I work. I don’t play games. They

wouldn’t have let her come willingly, and so I took what was mine. If any of you

have a problem with that, the stage is yours.”

He waited patiently, but no one spoke up. “Moving on, Violet has

expressed some displeasure with my rudeness in not introducing her to the pack

already and so I’d like to call her out from her hiding place behind the curtain,

since we all know she’s there anyway, and formally announce our mating.” My

heart stopped as hundreds of heads turned my way, staring at me with wide,

curious eyes.

I caught Jasmine’s gaze as she grinned at me. “Go on,” she mouthed, but

I couldn’t get my legs to move, I was capable of nothing other than standing

there and shaking. Khaos gently cleared his throat, drawing my attention. As our

gazes locked, the same trance fell over us, the room seeming to disappear as we

had eyes for no one but each other.

His eyes beckoned me forward, full of gentleness and softness meant

solely for me. I shyly made my way forward, keeping my focus on nothing else

but the man in front. I was mere steps away when he grabbed hold of me and

hauled me up against him, dipping his head low to press his lips against mine.

The crowd cheered, and he gently pushed me back, rubbing his nose against mine for a split second before dropping his hold on me completely.

I tried to hide my disappointment, reminding myself that I had to take

baby steps with him. He shot me a look out of the corner of his eye and, noticing

my disappointment, he linked his fingers with mine, giving them a tight squeeze

before he turned back to the pack.

Something had changed. No longer did the meeting have the easy,

natural atmosphere. Instead, the room grew tense as the Alpha’s mood shifted

and the pack followed suit.

He rounded off the meeting, his voice gruffer and harsher, seeming to

have run out of patience with the whole situation.

He quickly said his goodbyes and headed for the door, announcing I

would stay behind to get to know people. I didn’t even have the chance to speak

to him before dozens of wolves, each speaking over the other, surrounded me.

I glanced over my shoulder, trying to find Khaos amid all the heads in

front of me, but he was gone. The only evidence he was here at all was the

ominous slamming of the door as he left.

            KHAOS 

I headed straight for my home gym, stripping down to my briefs, and slipped on

boxing gloves. I repeatedly hammered the punching bag, feeling wild and out of

control.

Violet was getting too close, and I didn’t know how to handle it. I had

never displayed such affection in front of my pack before, had never even

allowed a woman to stand by my side. I knew she was different, that she was my

mate, their Luna, but it didn’t change the way I was feeling. I wanted her

fiercely, but at the same time, I wanted her gone. I was at war with myself. I

hadn’t wanted a f*****g mate and now that she was here, I didn’t know what to

do with her.

Words such as love didn’t feature in my vocabulary, but I knew it was

what Violet craved.

I wouldn’t be able to give her that. The best I could offer was s*x. I knew

that would fast lose its appeal. Right now, everything I did to her, every bit of

pleasure I delivered to her body was new and exciting. It was understandable

that she couldn’t get enough, but it couldn’t stay that way. I could tell a mile off

that the woman lived with her head in the clouds, waiting for her white knight to

come and find her. Just look at her ex, for f**k’s sake! He looked like he

belonged modelling Calvin Klein.

It wasn’t her fault; she was painfully beautiful after all, and her mother

had conditioned her to believe a strong mating was the be-all and end-all of a woman’s life. She was used to tea parties and grand balls. I still had her dress in

my f*****g room, her coming out dress, her stupid, sexy, stunning mating dress -

another reminder that as far as her pack was concerned, she was not meant for

me.

What did I have to offer?

Nothing.

If your own parents couldn’t love you well then who the f**k would? I

gave one last roundhouse kick to the punch bag, sending it crashing to the wall

in front.

I had no intention of letting Violet go, despite what I told her. I knew

deep down that it was wrong to lie to her, that this could all come crashing down

on me if she decided that she wanted to leave, but it was a risk I was willing to

take.

I felt something towards her I couldn’t place, but I knew I wanted the

feeling to last. I would just have to try harder to be the man she wants and needs.

That’s where the problem lay. I didn’t want to change who I was. All my

childhood my emotions had gotten the better of me, allowing me to be hurt time

and time again. I didn’t want to be vulnerable again. My wolf felt my anger and

snarled in my head, demanding to be let out. He was as reluctant to go back to

the old days as I was. He would never be caged and locked away again.

We were one, together always.

Violet needed someone who could give her the world. I could be that

man. But, in my version, I would kill everyone to give her it.

I had to get out of here, away from her, away from the beckoning call of

the mating bond that urged me to find her and stay by her side.

I glanced at the window and before I knew what I was doing, I jumped,

shifting into my wolf before I even hit the ground.

Our black fur was lost in the night sky as we thundered over the grass

towards the forest. We roared and crashed into any obstacle in our path, laying

waste to all animals we came across. We ran until we were exhausted and spent,

hours having passed. My wolf lifted his muzzle to the moon and howled out his

anger and then curled into a ball, whining softly.

He wanted his mate.

When all was said and done, we were a simple pair. We secretly wanted

the love and affection that was on offer, we just didn’t know how to reach out

and make it ours without destroying it completely.