HER MATE'S CRUEL VENGEANCE

Hate him

Darren and his men escorted me through the corridors that were now filled up with unfamiliar faces. My own pack members were nowhere to be seen. In their place lingered the mixed, clashing scents of strangers, human hunters with their sharp gunpowder tang, vampires carrying the faint chill of blood, and rogue werewolves reeking of wild aggression.

How had he possibly united such bitter enemies?

He must have promised them power, revenge, or spoils in exchange for helping him kill my father and take over everything. And he had succeeded. My father was dead, and now Darren intended to break me slowly , first with humiliation, then with his body, before finally ending my life. The only small mercy his men offered was shielding me as we walked. With nothing but a threadbare shirt covering me, they formed a loose wall, blocking leering eyes from the invaders.

I was grateful for that, at least. The thought of any surviving pack member seeing me like this made my stomach twist.

When we reached my old bedroom door, Ronan stepped past me and shoved it open. His expression darkened instantly. Inside, the room was crowded with terrified women from my pack, they had hidden here instead of fleeing into the night.

“They believed they could hide from you, Alpha” Ronan said with a low, mocking laugh.

“GET OUT,” Darren roared, the deep, thunderous growl vibrating through the walls and making every woman in the room flinch violently.

His men chuckled cruelly as the women scrambled to escape, some crawling on hands and knees, others sobbing openly. Darren yanked me back against his chest, forcing me to watch my people’s fear and humiliation.

“I’m going to make all of them suffer,” he whispered against my ear, his breath hot. “But your suffering will be far more… personal.”

Without warning, his thumb brushed deliberately over my n****e through the thin fabric, the touch evident and full of dark promise. He was going to break me with pleasure and pain intertwined.

The moment the last woman fled, Ronan and the others swept through the room, checking every corner and drawer for hidden weapons. After finding nothing, they walked out, leaving us alone.

Darren instantly shoved me inside without any mercy. I stumbled, barely catching myself on the edge of the bed. When I turned, I watched him step in after me and closed the door with a soft click that sounded far too final. His gaze moved slowly over the sparsely furnished room before he dragged a chair to the foot of the bed and sat down, lounging back like a king on his throne.

“Take it off,” he ordered, his voice a low but with a dangerous rumble then he leaned back, hands resting casually on the armrests.

“No,” I snapped, crossing my arms tightly over my chest to hide how badly my hands were shaking.

His lips curved into a cold, amused smile as his eyes raked over my body. “Remove the ragged shirt, spoilt princess. I won’t repeat myself.”

“I said no, Darren.” I hissed out but I regretted it after.

In one fluid motion he rose and closed the distance between us. I backed away instinctively until my hips hit the dresser behind me. His hands slammed down on either side of me, caging me in. The dark amusement in his expression sent a fresh wave of warning through my veins. He leaned in until his mouth hovered just above mine, close enough that I could feel the heat of his breath but not the touch I both dreaded and craved.

“It wasn’t a request,” he growled. “I wasn’t asking 'Brat'.” He empasized the word brat to show that he wasn't playing with me.

Before I could respond, his hands slid from the dresser to my shoulder and gripped the front of the threadbare shirt. With a single, brutal yank, he tore it open. The worn fabric ripped apart and fluttered to the floor in tatters.

Cool air kissed my bare skin, but his gaze never dropped to my breasts. Instead, it stayed locked on my face, searching, probing, as if looking for something buried deep beneath my defiance.

Confusion clouded my thoughts until I felt the press of cold steel against my stomach. My entire body jolted. A blade. My eyes remained fixed on his, even as my lips trembled. If this was how I died, I refused to look away.

The flat of the blade glided slowly upward over my heated skin. His mouth curved into a sinful, predatory smile as he finally let his attention drift lower, tracing the dull edge along the swell of my breast.

“Did you let him touch you?” he asked, voice low but rough while running the cool metal lightly across my hardening n****e.

I knew exactly who he meant. For a long moment I stayed silent, hyper-aware of the threatening caress of steel against sensitive flesh. My breathing grew uneven, chest rising and falling rapidly.

“Answer. Me. or I’ll carve my name into your skin so you never forget who owns you now.”

“No,” I gasped out finally, the word tumbling free under the pressure. “I didn’t. I swear it.”

“Did you want to?” His eyes stayed on my chest as I shook my head.

“Use your words, spoilt brat. I’m holding a blade to your n****e. I’d hate for my hand to slip.”

“No,” I whispered, gasping sharply as the edge nicked my skin, drawing a thin line of blood. Darren leaned down and dragged his tongue slowly over the small cut. The sting lingered even as his saliva began to heal it. He pulled back, studying my reaction with dark satisfaction.

Snorting softly, he reached past me to light the candles on the dresser, the warm glow flickering across the room. Then he turned me around to face the mirror above it. His hands guided mine to rest flat on the wooden surface before he used his boot to nudge my thighs apart.

“Are you afraid of me… or is your body betraying you?” he chuckled, voice thick with dark hunger. “You smell terrified, yet you’re already responding to me.”

“Both,” I admitted through gritted teeth, hating how easily he could read my scent.

His warm lips brushed my shoulder, sending a violent shiver racing through me. Heat pooled low in my belly even as fear clawed at my mind. He laughed softly against my skin, the sound vibrating through me as he stepped back to admire the arch of my back and the curve of my ass presented to him.

The dull side of the blade started at the nape of my neck and trailed slowly downward, following the line of my spine until it reached the swell of my backside. I dropped my head forward, biting back the moan rising in my throat. I didn’t need to see his face to know he was drinking in every inch of my unwilling submission.

A deep, rumbling growl built in his chest and finally rolled out over me, raw, primal, and bordering on demonic. The sound hit me like a physical force, pulling a rush of arousal from my body despite myself. My spine arched higher, offering more without conscious thought. The ache inside me was visceral, genetic and impossible to fully resist.

“Holy s**t,” I breathed, hating how desperately my body wanted to push back against him, to feel him take me hard and fast before sinking his fangs deep and marking me forever.

It shouldn’t be this easy for him to unravel me. Yet every instinct screamed for my mate to claim what was his.

The dull side of his blade lowered from the base of my neck, slowly trailing to the curve of my ass. I dropped my head forward, fighting the moan that built in my throat. I didn't need to see his eyes to know he was taking in the curve of my spine, bowed in submission.

A deep, rumbling growl built in his chest until he finally unleashed it on me. It quaked against my skin, causing small bumps of awareness to continue until his tone bordered on demonic. The air left my lungs in a whoosh, and arousal coated my s*x from the deep, demanding growl he released. My spine lifted and arched up invitingly, begging him to take what I offered. It wasn't just need rushing through me; it was a visceral ache that tore at the genetics embedded in my soul.

"Holy s**t," I murmured, hating that my body wanted to gyrate and spread for Alexander to f**k me hard and fast before burying his fangs into my body, leaving me marked deeper than ever before. It shouldn't be that easy to get me, yet everything within me was screaming for him.