To Break a Wolf

Chapter 35: The Night is Far From Over

Mira moved to stand, yanking the remnants of her clothes from the ground, her hands shaking with frustration and a multitude of other emotions.

Bastian’s golden eyes tracked every movement, his body humming with the lingering intensity of what had just happened. His wolf wasn’t satisfied, not even close.

He sat up, his powerful arms bracing against the forest floor as his gaze locked onto her. “Where do you think you’re going?”

Mira froze. The authority in his voice was absolute, commanding, laced with danger.

Her chin lifted, defiant, furious. “Anywhere that isn’t here.”

Bastian growled, standing in one fluid, predatory motion. “It’s the full moon, Mira. The night is far from over.”

She spun on him, eyes flashing with rage. “You got what you wanted, right? You won, Alpha. I gave in. Congratulations.”

The words came out before she could stop them, and she knew she was lashing out from the intensity of the moment. He was everywhere. She could even hear his heartbeat pulsing in her ears as if it were her own. Too much, too fast, she couldn’t think straight, couldn’t see through the thick clouds of his emotions drowning her own.

Bastian’s stance shifted, opposing forces of determination and a softer side warring within him. “This isn’t about winning.”

Anger simmering, Mira crossed her arms over her chest, the defiant gesture marred by the shiver she couldn’t suppress. “Then what is it about?”

His silence was heavy, like he couldn’t put words to what even he didn’t completely understand. Finally, he said, “You.”

The simplicity of it struck her, leaving her floundering for a response. She opened her mouth, but no witty retort flowed out.

Seeing her uncharacteristic speechlessness seemed to spur him on. Bastian closed the distance between them with deliberate paces, his presence overshadowing the darkness itself. His voice came out hushed yet solemn. “You don’t know what you’ve done to me.”

The raw honesty in his words sent another tremor through her, not from cold this time but frighteningly warm.

“And you don’t know how you’ve turned my life upside down,” she shot back, though her voice wavered, betraying the conviction behind her words.

A faint flicker of dry amusement crossed his features. “I’ll admit, you are not at all what I expected.”

“Oh, good. I love exceeding expectations,” Mira muttered, her sarcasm undercut by the undeniable connection crackling in the air between them.

Bastian’s gaze softened just a fraction, a shift only someone like her, maybe only her, might notice. “I should have known you wouldn’t make this easy.”

She uncrossed her arms and let out a shaky breath, the tension of resistance starting to unravel. “What fun would that be?”

In response, he took another step closer, and Mira could see the restraint in every line of his body as he held himself back with every ounce of restraint he had. The realization sent another jolt through her system.

“It’s going to be a long night,” Bastian said softly, the words a promise and a warning.

She could feel his need still thrumming through her veins, igniting every nerve in her body. It was too much. Mira took a step back, her heel catching on a gnarled root. Bastian reached out with reflexive swiftness, his hand wrapping around her wrist, steadying her. Energy surged at the contact, a tingling awareness that made her pulse drum louder than the forest around them.

Bastian took a slow, measured step toward her, forcing himself to stay calm. “You think this is over?”

Mira’s arms crossed her free arm tightly over her chest, her body still trembling, not just with anger, but with denial.

“Yes,” she snapped. “I do.”

Bastian’s lips curled into something that wasn’t quite a smile, more of a warning, a promise.

“On the first full moon?” His golden eyes darkened. “It wasn’t nearly enough.”

Mira let out a sharp, frustrated breath. “When will it ever be enough, Bastian?”

His gaze locked onto hers, unwavering, unreadable. Then he took another slow step forward, closing the space between them. ‘‘This was never just about me.”

Mira stiffened. Her frustration flared hotter, but something about the way he said it, raw, heavy, weighted with something more than just instinct, made her breath catch. She didn’t speak, didn’t dare, because he hadn’t finished.

Bastian’s voice pitched lower, firmer. “Marking you wasn’t just about saving you, Mira. It wasn’t just about the bond.” He let the words sink in before continuing. “It was about the pack.”

Mira’s stomach dropped. He wasn’t talking about wanting her, wasn’t talking about the undeniable pull that had consumed them both. The bond was bigger than either of them.

“If I rejected you, Mira, it wouldn’t have just hurt you.” His jaw tightened, his golden gaze blazing with something more profound than anger. “It could kill me.”

Mira’s breath hitched.

Bastian continued, voice even, measured. “At best, I’d be too weak to lead or be Alpha.” His eyes never left hers. “And that would mean war over who runs the pack.”

Mira’s heart slammed into her ribs. He was dead serious, and the full impact of his words settled as heavy as a stone in her chest. It wasn’t just about them. If Bastian rejected her, if he turned his back on the bond, it wouldn’t just cost them their sanity, it would cost him everything he knew.

Mira swallowed hard. “You’re saying… if I had left, if I hadn’t wanted this, your whole pack would have fallen apart?”

Bastian exhaled slowly, observing her cautiously. “I’m saying that rejecting you wasn’t an option at any point, Mira.”

His voice wasn’t cruel, manipulative, or demanding. It was just… the gods’ honest truth.

A truth neither of them could argue.

Mira scoffed, shaking her head as she tried to process all he had said. She turned away from him, running her hands through her tangled hair, holding them there as she pulled on her roots. “I need to think—”

Bastian’s arms wrapped around her waist, and before she could take another step, he lifted her off the ground and threw her naked body over his shoulder.

“What the hell, Bastian?!” she shrieked, kicking wildly.

His grip tightened around her thighs as he turned back toward the village, walking as if she weighed nothing.

“You’re not wandering off in the middle of the full moon, naked,” he growled.

Mira pounded her fists against his back, her breath coming fast and sharp. “Put me down!”

“No.”

“Bastian!”

“Keep screaming, Mira. See where it gets you.”

Her view, unfortunately, was a very direct one.

Skin. Muscle. Naked Alpha ass.

Oh my god, she thought, eyes wide as the rhythmic movement of his gait did visual things that she absolutely didn’t need burned into her brain right now.

“You know,” she muttered, trying to sound casual, “for a species that’s all about dominance and pack order, you guys sure love to prance around naked.”

Bastian let out a low growl that might’ve been a laugh. “You’re welcome.”

“Wasn’t a compliment,” she mumbled, cheeks burning.

Mira’s face burned as he carried her effortlessly through the forest, back toward the village. She twisted and thrashed, trying to break free, but his grip didn’t budge. His grip was an iron band, unyielding. She was trapped, and worse, a part of her liked it. Damn him.

By the time they reached his cabin, Mira was breathless, seething. Bastian kicked the door open and stepped inside, ignoring her frantic squirming as he crossed the room and strode down the hallway to his bedroom in three strides.

Then, without warning, he dropped her.

Mira gasped as her back hit the bed, the mattress dipping beneath her weight. She scrambled back, but he moved a step closer, and she instinctively turned to escape, but he grabbed her ankle and effortlessly pulled her back towards him. She yelped as he grasped her hips, forcing her onto all fours.

Her breath caught, she knew resisting him was futile, and deep down, she secretly wanted this. His body was tense, his muscles coiled with restraint, his scent thick in the air around them.

The bond wasn’t satisfied. The full moon not quite done with them. Neither was he.

Bastian’s voice dropped into a warning growl. “You’re not running from me, Mira. Not tonight.”

Bastian let out a feral grunt, and before she could even think, he slammed into her. All thoughts of fighting or resisting flew out the window.

The bond roared to life, her body collapsing under the weight of its intensity, but Bastian reached for her hair and pulled her back onto all fours, the sheer size of him filling her, hitting every inch by delicious inch, making her scream in pleasure.

“That’s it, Mira. You. Are. Mine.” he slammed into her harder, faster, punctuating every word.

“Yes! I’m…yours, Bastian,” she could only reply as she gripped the sheets tighter, gasping as everything her anger, fear, and resistance melted away, all swallowed by the urgent, primal need consuming them both.

Bastian’s hands tightened on her hips, fingers bruising, guiding their rhythm without hesitation, no doubt as to their completion. He let loose a snarl that vibrated through her entire body, commanding and wild. Mira let out a sharp cry, focusing her whole being on where they joined. Her mind spun in dizzy circles, unable to keep up with the flood of sensations rushing through her veins.

The energy between them was beyond reason, beyond comprehension. She couldn’t fight it. Didn’t even want to, now. It claimed every atom of her, leaving no molecule untouched.

Suddenly, it wasn’t just about his drive for control or her attempts to keep herself together. It was about so much more. Mira was unraveling with him at the center, pulling everything into orbit around this one impossible moment.

Her pulse soared, raced, tangled with his in a new, wild rhythm, one she’d never known could exist, and then they hit a crescendo, a breaking point where their very beings shattered into white-hot oblivion. Mira’s scream mingled with Bastian’s roar as they lost themselves in each other, and the world fell away completely.

Time splintered, scattered. Their breaths collided, tangled, and left them gasping desperately as the haze of sensation slowly faded.

Once reality began to solidify again, they collapsed in a heap of tangled limbs and ragged breathing. Bastian’s weight was heavy and reassuring against her back. Mira let out a shuddering exhale, the sound bordering between surrender and relief.

Minutes stretched, thick with tension and new understanding.

Finally, Bastian shifted his grip; his hand brushed her cheek gently, a stark contrast to the frenzy that had gripped them moments before.

“I meant what I said.” His voice was gravelly and raspy, reverberating through her even now. “You’re mine.”

Mira lay still, her heart pounding from more than just exhaustion. His words soaked the space between them, both a promise and a warning, and she knew better than to doubt the sincerity in them now.

His grip loosened, a hint of uncertainty beneath the certainty, and Mira realized he was waiting. For what? Reassurance? Her agreement? She didn’t even know if she could give him that yet, not with how much had changed in so little time, but he’d spoken his truth. She owed him the same.

Shifting onto her side, she faced him, taking in his dark hair spread wildly across his forehead, and how those sharp features softened just enough to reveal a c***k in his stoic façade. He looked as undone as she felt.

“I’m yours,” she said slowly, tasting each word. There was a tremor there, between fear and exhilaration. “But I don’t… have to like it yet.”

Bastian’s lips twitched with almost a smile, a hint of a growl.

“We’ll see about that.”

He pulled her against him, enveloping her in warmth as if daring her to retreat, as if he already knew she wouldn’t. His heartbeat was a steady drum beneath her palm, grounding and infuriatingly smug.

Mira rolled her eyes, a feeble defense against the grin tugging at her lips. Stubborn brute. Maybe he was right and she’d come to want this as much as he did. Or perhaps this curse-bond-thingy would drive them both completely insane first. Either way, she was screwed—in more ways than one.

A flicker of defiance flared in her chest. She wasn’t going down without dragging him into the chaos, too, but first, he took her, again and again, until she collapsed from sheer exhaustion. He was relentless, showing her exactly just how strong the power of the full moon could, and would, drive his wolf mad for his mate, every time.