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1295 Words
My breathing hitched, and I closed my eyes, heat gathering in my core. Goddess, I couldn’t wait for him to tug on my n*****s. I drew a finger against them, making them hard. To pull my hair. I inhaled the sweet air and pushed my knees together. To thrust into me until I begged him to stop.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, and Tony’s name flashed on the screen.
Tony: Sorry. Dad dragged me to the meeting with your parents tonight. Won’t be able to make it until later.
I stared down at my phone, gripping it until my fingertips turned white. Why was he only telling me this now, and why the hell hadn’t I been invited? It was almost as if he’d waited until now because he didn’t want me to know about him attending the meeting without me—the soon-to-be alpha.
I hummed at the thought of Mom inviting Tony to this meeting instead of her own daughter. My phone buzzed again, and I knew it was Mom nagging me about something important. The mind link didn’t work at this distance, and she never contacted me for just anything.
Mom: The Ironmane Pack was spotted ten miles away from our borders. You’d better be at home.
There it was again. The Ironmane Pack. Alpha Ares.
Get back home now, Aurora. You know you can’t fight. They’ll rip you in half, limb by limb.
You’ll die, like the way Jeremy did—in the hands of a monster.
I put my phone back into my pocket and stared out at the water. Not many people had ever seen Ares up close, and I couldn’t find any pictures of him when I searched this morning. Legend was that he killed so many and so quickly that people didn’t have a chance to even catch a glimpse of him. But the ones who had survived his brutality said he looked like a god with a back sculpted by the Moon Goddess herself, black tattoos that crawled up his forearms, and thick, tousled brown hair.
But I thought that was bullshit. No alpha ever looked that goo—
A twig snapped close behind me in the woods. I sat up taller and tensed. Someone had found my little hideout in the Sanguine Wilds, and I really didn’t want to deal with whoever it was.
“Tony?” I asked, knowing for damn sure it wasn’t him. I sniffed the air but couldn’t catch any familiar scent anywhere. “I’m not in the mood for one of your games right now. You know I’m here for one thing,” I said, standing up and trying to calm my racing heart.
It definitely wasn’t Tony, but his name was the only damn thing that could calm my nerves right now. He might’ve been the most aggravating man sometimes, but at least he answered me when I called for him.
Almost instinctively, my eyes closed, and I breathed in the most captivating scent that I had ever smelled—hazelnut.
“And what are you here for?” someone asked in my ear, his voice impeccably smooth and deep.
I hopped up, my heart racing in my chest, and gazed at a naked man I had never seen before. The moonlight glistened off his rippling muscles, his hair was a wild mess on his head, and his deep brown eyes were nearly glowing when they gazed into mine.
Mate!
My wolf jumped around inside of me, doing flips in my stomach, acting giddy, like she did under every full moon. But I wasn’t feeling giddy at all. From that small scar running diagonally through his left eyebrow to that captivating stare, I was terrified by how easily he had crept up on me.
“You’re not Tony,” I said, my voice smaller than I wanted it to be.
But of course, he wasn’t Tony. Tony was off at the damn meeting and probably would be all night.
Something about him told me to run and to run fast, but an alpha didn’t run from just anyone, especially when he wasn’t a threat … yet. He eyed me, his eyes flickering between his brown human color and his wolf’s gold, canines lengthening from his mouth and then disappearing almost as quickly. A torn expression crossed his face, but then he clenched his jaw and stepped toward me.
“No, I’m not. But I’m curious why this Tony was planning to meet you here.”
He took another step closer, and I sucked in a breath. His scent was driving my wolf wild. All she wanted to do was jump the man, get down on all fours, and let him take us, do whatever he asked.
He stood inches from me, and I scolded my wolf for all the dirty thoughts running through my mind because … Goddess … they were starting to drive me wild. I pressed my thighs together, so he couldn’t smell me.
“Was Tony planning on taking what is mine tonight?” He towered over me, his large frame making mine feel so small, and then he grasped my chin between his fingers and forced me to gaze up into his dark eyes. His touch sent tingles throughout my entire body, making me feel things that I shouldn’t feel for a stranger. “Because if he was, I’m going to have to take care of him. Aren’t I?” he asked, fingers digging into my chin. So dominant, so chillingly dominant.
I gathered all my senses, c****d a brow, and pushed his hand away. “Aren’t you what?” I asked, looking him up and down. “Going to act all ruthless and merciless just because I’m your mate and you’re some”—sexy—“egotistical asshole who thinks he owns me?”
When he growled, his eyes flashing a breathtaking wolf gold, I forced myself to look away. Dad had told me never to settle for someone who thought they owned me. I had alpha blood and soon I would be the alpha of the Darkmoon Pack; I deserved more than that.
“Not interested,” I said, but as soon as the words left my mouth, my heart started thrashing in my chest.
Maybe it was the way he stared at me, like he wanted to devour me, or the way I wanted to let him, but he made me nervous. More nervous than I had ever been. My gaze landed on the lake again, and I tried to admire the rippling reflection of the moon.
He snatched my jaw in his hand this time and stepped closer until he pressed himself into my side. I could feel every muscle of his front. Every muscle. And I inhaled deeply, pushing my thighs closer together.
He caressed my cheek with his thumb. He was a daunting gentle, the kind that told me that though he wasn’t thrusting himself upon me like any alpha would at the first sight of his mate he controlled this conversation, the kind that told me he could snap at any moment, the kind that made me wet.
“Cute,” he said against my ear, voice husky. His hand slipped from my jaw to my throat. “Look at you …” He drew his nose up the side of my neck. “My mate acting like she hasn’t been turned on since the moment she laid her eyes on me.”
I gulped and stared up at him, my wolf purring at his touch. He lightly trailed his fingers down my forearm until he reached the front of my thighs. Heat warmed my core as they lingered right over the front of my pants.
- Writer
