Hateful Bond: His Wolfless Prey

His Favorite Sin

Artemis

This had to be a sick joke.

There was no way—no way—he was my mate.

I had no defenses against it.

No wolf to shield me. No instincts to fight it off.

Just raw terror and a heartbeat slamming out of control.

His gaze dropped to me—sharp, dark, cruel.

“A prey,” he sneered, voice dripping with disgust.

“A f*****g prey.”

He laughed—a brutal, humorless sound that scraped right over my skin.

“Let’s play a game, little wolfless,” he said, voice low and taunting.

I didn’t wait to find out what kind of game he meant.

I turned to run—but I didn’t get two steps before his hand clamped around my wrist like a vice.

I yelped as he yanked me back hard, spinning me and slamming me into the nearest tree. Bark bit into my spine, the impact knocking the breath right out of me.

His body caged me in—solid, furious, burning with some awful need—and I could feel it: the way he was barely holding himself back.

He snarled low against my face, the sound rumbling through his chest into mine.

Then he dipped lower, burying his face against my neck like he hated himself for needing it.

He inhaled—deep, feral, desperate—and I felt my legs weaken, the smell of him invading every inch of me.

“f**k,” he breathed, voice wrecked, like he couldn’t believe it either. His mouth grazed my skin, not a kiss, not anything gentle—just claiming, like he could own me by breathing me in.

He dragged his nose along the curve of my throat, his hands flexing against the bark beside my head.

“You smell like mine,” he growled, voice barely human anymore. “But if you think that’s gonna save you, you’re dead wrong.”

I shivered, every instinct in me screaming to run—

but his scent was already under my skin, in my blood.

I hated him.

I wanted to rip him apart.

And God help me…

some broken part of me wanted him to keep touching me.

But no—

This wasn’t fate.

This wasn’t salvation.

This was a monster in a man’s skin.

“f**k you!” I snarled, shoving at his chest. “If you think that’s gonna make me want you, you’re insane!”

I twisted, slammed my knee up hard—catching him in the ribs.

He grunted, stepping back a half-pace. Not hurt. Just… amused.

He looked at me like I was a broken toy.

“Run,” he said, voice dripping with mockery. His lip curled in disgust. “Come on, little prey. Show me what that wolfless body can do.”

I didn’t need to be told twice.

I spun on my heel and ran.

Behind me, his laughter followed—a cold, merciless sound that wrapped around my throat like a noose.

“Pathetic,” he called after me, voice echoing between the trees. “You won’t make it ten minutes.”

The forest swallowed me whole, roots tearing at my ankles, branches clawing at my arms. My heart slammed against my ribs, blood roaring in my ears.

But nothing—not the darkness, not the fear—was louder than him.

The way he hunted me.

Not like I was his mate.

Like I was a problem to be erased.

I ran. Harder. Faster.

Branches tore at my arms, mud sucked at my boots, but I didn’t dare slow down.

I pushed harder—

only to stumble to a dead stop.

He was there.

Already waiting.

Leaning against a tree like he had all the time in the world, like this wasn’t a hunt but a f*****g game.

His mouth curved into a slow, brutal grin when he saw my face.

Predator. King. Executioner.

“You ran so hard, little prey,” Zayvier mocked, his voice a dark, velvet rasp. “For what? Just to fall at my feet?”

I tried to back away, but he moved—fast, lethal—and in the next breath he slammed me against the tree.

Bark dug into my spine. His hand gripped my throat—not tight enough to cut off air, just enough to remind me he could snap me in half whenever he wanted.

He leaned in close, breathing me in like my scent was a drug he hated himself for needing.

“f*****g disgusting,” he growled against my skin, voice rough with hate—and something hotter, darker. “My mate. You. A wolfless little scrap.”

I bared my teeth at him. “Then kill me.”

His laugh was low, dangerous.

“I should.”

His fingers tightened just slightly, just enough to make my pulse hammer against his palm.

“I should gut you right here,” Zayvier whispered, his nose brushing the curve of my neck. “Tear you open and leave you for the vultures.”

But he didn’t move.

Didn’t kill me.

Didn’t let go.

Instead, he dragged his nose along my jawline, slow, savoring, like he couldn’t help himself. His body pressed against mine—heat, muscle, fury.

The mate bond crackled between us, an electric chain neither of us wanted but couldn’t break.

“You smell like a f*****g sin,” he muttered under his breath, almost to himself. “Makes me want to ruin you before I end you.”

My blood roared in my ears, a cocktail of rage and something hotter, more terrifying.

“Stop!” I shouted, my voice ragged, my wolf roaring through me, slamming against him with everything we had—

but it wasn’t enough.

He was stronger. Faster. A wall of muscle and fury that wouldn’t budge.

And just when I thought he’d crush me—

BANG!

A deafening crack split the night sky.

Both of us froze.

Then the voice of the Elders echoed across the blood-soaked forest, cold and merciless:

“Time’s up! If you’re still breathing, congratulations. You survived the night.”

A long pause, like they were savoring it.

“But don’t celebrate. You’re only heading for something worse. Get ready to face the palace. And the real Purge.”

The words hit harder than the gunshot.

I stumbled back from Zayvier, my chest heaving, my whole body shaking.

This nightmare…

was only just beginning.

He smirked, slow and cruel, like he already knew how this would end.

“See you soon, little prey,” he drawled, turning like he couldn’t be bothered to waste another second on me.

My chest heaved with rage. “You’re evil!” I shouted after him. “Why won’t you just reject me?!”

He paused. Just for a heartbeat.

Then he looked over his shoulder, and the smirk turned sharper, colder.

“Because rejecting you would be too easy,” he said, voice dripping with mockery. “You’re prey. Pathetic. Boring.”

He sneered. “And don’t worry — I wouldn’t waste a mark on something so… disgusting.”

My nails dug into my palms, fury burning hotter than fear now.

“You think you can hunt me, Voss?” I hissed, my voice shaking but loud. “You think you can break me?”

He chuckled — a low, dark sound that rolled through the air like a warning.

“I won’t just break you, little wolfless,” he said, stepping closer until the space between us crackled with raw hate.

“I’ll make you wish you broke yourself first.”

I bared my teeth at him, the new pulse of my wolf snarling inside me.

“I’ll be your death, Alpha,” I swore, the words like a blood oath between us.

He leaned in, just enough that I could feel the dangerous heat of him.

“Get in line,” he whispered, his breath ghosting over my ear like a promise — or a threat — before he disappeared into the night.