Mated, But Not Marked

Chapter Seven: Eclipse

I have never seen a nightclub this big. Every room had different types of music ranging from EDM to Reggaeton. Flashing lights, dancers on platforms, smoke shooting onto the dance floor. This is a place where people went to lose control and live in the moment.

Most of the wolves that came with us immediately left to explore the scene and disappear into the chaos to find some company for the night. All that was left was Beta Aaron, Clara, Alpha Kaden and I. Of course. I was surprised he was still here. He disappeared towards the bar and returned with shots.

I hesitated, not necessarily wanting to lose too much control. I wanted to be in my right mind and keep an eye on Clara. I also wanted to have fun, but didn’t want to act stupid.

All of that self righteousness went out the window once I took the first shot. Combined with the drinks from before, I was starting to feel good. Really good. I went back to the bar and grabbed us some more. The liquid courage was finally giving me the relief I needed to let go a bit.

I wanted to be there as a good wingwoman to Clara, but I noticed she was already dragging Aaron onto the dance floor and he was loving every moment of it.

I decided to make some small talk, the effects of the alcohol making me feel confident.

“Why are you still here?” I said with hope that he wanted to stay near me.

He kept his eyes forward toward Aaron and Clara. “Aaron is a great Beta, but sometimes gets himself into trouble. I’m just here to make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid.”

“Yeah, Clara tends to do that as well. I always try to keep an eye on her.”

Kaden didn’t respond and we just stood there in an uncomfortable silence, watching Clara and Aaron.

Screw this, I thought to myself. Not wanting to be left alone with Kaden in this awkwardness anymore, I decided to go in another room to get lost in the crowd and dance by myself.

I could feel his eyes on me as he followed me from a distance, but I did my best not to care. I took off the sweater I was wearing, getting hot from all the body heat in the room. My tank top and leggings clung to me like a second skin.

I moved my body to the beat of the music, closing my eyes, and getting lost in the sensation of it all. I let my hips sway to the changing rhythms, getting caught up in the sounds and atmosphere. My arms were caressing the silhouette of my hourglass curves and trailing into my long, wavy dark hair.

I smiled when I felt someone grab my waist, and they began to dance provocatively to the music with me. Wait…no tingles, not my mate. I opened my eyes, annoyed that it wasn’t him.

I immediately felt uncomfortable as the show I was putting on wasn’t for anyone else. This guy was handsome, definitely a wolf, but not the wolf I wanted tonight. I tried to brush his hand off of me, but he only grabbed onto me tighter, thinking I was just teasing him and enticing him more.

“Get off of me.” I glared at him.

“Oh come on baby, don’t be like that.” He tried to convince me as he let his hands wander around the small of my back.

“First off, I’m taken. Second, get your hands off me before I take them off for you.” I warned one last time.

“Hard to get. I like that.” He leaned in to brush his lips near my marking spot. “And I don’t see a mark on your neck. I’d show you a good time…whoa what’s happening to your eyes?”

Who the hell does he think he is? Arayla was trying to take over and whenever that happened, my eyes would start to have a magenta glow around my irises, just like my wolf did.

In an instant, I grabbed his arm off of me and twisted it behind his back, threatening to break it when I heard a growl behind me.

“DON’T YOU DARE f*****g TOUCH HER!” Kaden roared as he landed a hard blow across the guy’s face, knocking him out completely. When Kaden looked up at me, I noticed a red hue around his irises, as though his wolf was fighting to come out.

I thought only my wolf had cool colors, I marveled. Maybe it’s the alcohol and I imagined it.

Luckily, the music was so loud and most people were far too drunk that barely anyone noticed the altercation.

I looked up at Kaden, unsure of how to proceed. It felt good that he tried to protect me, but his hot and cold nature pissed me off. I also didn’t want him thinking I couldn’t take care of myself.

He hurriedly grabbed my arm and dragged me through the crowd to a different room. Once we were there, he spun around to be directly in front of me, our faces only inches from each other. He turned around so quickly that I had to put my hand on his chest to stop myself from bumping into him.

“Do you always bring trouble to yourself?”

I stayed quiet, lost in the tingles, afraid to look at him. My eyes always gave my feelings away.

“For f**k’s sake Myla, look at me!” Kaden demanded.

I wanted to pay attention to what he was saying, but all I could do is focus on his ragged breathing and the sparks that were created through our bond. He was angry, and maybe even a little worried, but all I could think about was tracing the contours of his body and I lightly trailed my tongue across my lips.

His eyes darkened to complete black. “Damnit Myla, I can smell your arousal from here. Is this what you wanted? To get all the men’s attention? It wasn’t just my eyes watching you. Are you trying to put on a show for all the men to see?”

This time, it was my turn to get angry. He doesn’t even know me, mate or not. “What are you talking about Kaden? I’m not trying to seduce any other guy. I needed to let off some steam. I am always taking care of everyone else and doing what’s right for everyone, even at my own expense. For one night, just one freaking night, I just wanted to take care of me and not be a future Luna or a pack warrior constantly having to prove myself. After tonight, I’m back to my normal life. I go back to being Evan’s mate---“

“MINE! My mate. Myla, you are supposed to be mine! You belong to me, no one else.” He roared as he cut me off. I could tell he surprised himself with his own outburst.

We stood there silently glaring at each other, practically panting with anger. I could feel his chest pounding almost as fast as the rhythm of the music. I didn’t understand him. I waited for him to say more, but he didn’t say another word. I went to pull away, but he grabbed my arm and caught me by my waist. He laid my sweater across his shoulder so that I didn’t have to hold it. That small act of kindness weakened me.

It seems like minutes passed by as we stared at each other. Instead of letting go, Kaden started to dance with me.

I was still angry at him, but his confession and the incredible feeling from his touch started to calm me down. We started to sway our bodies to the music together, sparks flying wherever we touched. We danced like this for a while to the different changes in songs and started to get in our own rhythm.

Our bodies were moving in perfect synchrony to the music as we started exploring each other’s bodies. My hand on his chest started to trail downwards as I could feel his muscular abs tense at the contact. A shiver of pleasure crept down my spine as my heart started racing.

Once I went lower to the tip of his belt, making contact with the top button of his pants, he gave a low growl and grabbed my hair at the back of my neck and pulled me in, halting my movements.

I could feel him breathing in my scent as his nose and his lips trailed from my hair to my marking spot.

“Don’t tease me, Myla. I’m barely holding myself together.”

He closed his eyes and paused when his lips were just a brush away from mine. Arayla started to take control as she spoke to him through me.

“Kaden, I know we can’t happen, but I just need to know what this feels like, what you feel like. Please, just kiss me so I know.”

I shoved Arayla back to the corner of my mind, pissed that she interfered. I looked at Kaden, embarrassed, and could see him having a mental argument with his wolf as his eyes kept flashing back and forth. His wolf seemed to be winning. A predatory growl that was now the sexiest sound I ever heard of came out of his mouth and he started to close the distance between the two of us.

“Mine” He growled.

Our lips barely touched for the briefest of moments, before he paused as if he was listening to something and pulled away.

“Aaron linked me. Clara and him want to head back to the hotel. We should probably go with him before this goes farther than it should.”

The alcohol was preventing me from doing a decent job at masking my emotions. He looked me over, seeing the disappointment on my face while his swirled with many different emotions. His expression then hardened in a way I couldn’t decipher.

He spoke in a low, almost desperate voice. “This can’t happen, Myla. WE can’t happen. You know that. I know that. I have a chosen mate, just like you. She is Luna to my pack. She gave me my son. It may not be perfect and we may not be a fated pair, but I can’t fail my pack and choose someone else…even if part of me wishes I could. I can’t pick you. I never will.”

He didn’t give me an opportunity to respond as he stalked off towards the direction of Clara and Aaron.