Fated To Ruin My Mate

Chapter 3: The Enemy’s Claim

"You hate me," I whispered again, more for myself than him, my voice hoarse with the heat rising from my chest. "But you feel it too... don't you?"

Ryder didn't move. He didn't blink or even seem to breathe.

The shadows from the bonfire twisted across his face, highlighting the sharp edges of his cheekbones and dancing over the scar cutting along his jaw. His crimson eyes stared into mine, cold and demanding, searching for some reason to hate me even more than this invisible force pulling us together.

I took a step closer, erasing the gap between us.

The air turned heavy and suffocating. Before I could draw another breath, his hand shot out and clamped around my arm, his fingers tight and unyielding. He yanked me against his chest so fast the impact forced the air right out of my lungs.

He felt like hot iron, all tight muscle and barely restrained violence. A subtle tremor ran through his frame as he held me close.

"You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about,I hate you but I can't resist you because of your irresistible smell, you are seducing me on purpose right?" he growled low, the sound vibrating deep inside his chest.

I didn't flinch. I tilted my head up, staring back at him with my own heat. "if you don't Then let go of me, you said I am seducing you but you are the one coming closer and not being able to resist me."

"You think I want this?" His voice cracked, rough and uneven. "You think I chose to be tied to you?, to all of these, you are cursed remember"

My stomach twisted at his tone, at the venom he spat with my very existence.

"I didn’t choose it either," I snapped. "But it’s happening. Whether we want it or not, so come on mate claim me, if you don't want to f**k me, tell me or reject me"

His fingers tightened around my wrist, and for a second I thought he might actually push me away.

Instead, he suddenly slammed me back against the stone wall behind the bonfire.

The surrounding crowd seemed to vanish from my mind. The eclipse was over, but the air still crackled with the newly awakened curse. I gasped as my back hit the rough stone, my focus entirely locked on his eyes.

Ryder stepped in, caging me against the wall with his body, his palm flat against the stone right beside my head. We weren't quite touching, but the heat rolling off him scorched my skin, igniting every nerve.

"I should hate you," he muttered, his voice like gravel sliding over embers. "I do hate you. You’re the reason everything went to hell, but I can't resist you, I want to touch you, I want to feel you, I want to f**k you but at the same time I don't want to be cursed so stay away, I can't break the rules"

I let my lips part, staring right at his throat. "Then why are you shaking?, you can't escape my curse cause we are bound to each I thought you were the alpha but seems you are weak, and can't even get what you want, you are afraid of me, and that's why you can't f**k me, if you can then claim me, I command you"

His eyes flared.

Then his mouth crushed against mine.

There was no warning. His teeth caught my bottom lip, and when I gasped from the sharp sting, he took advantage, his tongue sliding against mine, claiming and dominating. I didn't fight him. My hands swept up, my fingers tangling in his dark, thick hair. A heavy, slick heat pooled between my thighs, pulsing like a second heartbeat. I breathed in his scent of woodsmoke and pure, raw aggression.

Suddenly, my mark flared, burning hot and bright against my skin.

Ryder tore his mouth away, chest heaving, his eyes burning like wildfire.

"I’m not your mate, even though I am, so if you dare challenge me again, I will teach you a lesson," he said through gritted teeth.

"Tell that to the mark," I whispered, my throat dry and ruined.

Something snapped in him.

His hands immediately gripped my thighs, hauling me off the ground and pinning me against the stone wall. I let out a sharp gasp as my legs instinctively wrapped around his hips. His hard, heavy frame pressed completely into mine, grinding against me with every ridge of his body.

"You don’t get to challenge me, not like this" he hissed against my neck, his lips dragging along the sensitive skin just below my jaw.

"I think it’s too late for both of us," I breathed, dazed by the sheer heat of him.

He growled, the low vibration rumbling against my chest as his mouth moved down to my collarbone, biting and marking my skin with hot, damp kisses. I arched my back, my nails digging into his shoulders, desperate for more.

But just as the haze threatened to take over, he locked up.

He went completely rigid, his breath coming in ragged bursts. His eyes flickered between crimson and gold, his wolf fighting for control. With a sudden jerk, he shoved me away.

I stumbled back onto my feet, my lips swollen, my skin tingling where his mouth had just been.

He turned his back to me, his shoulders tense. "This never happened," he said, his voice thick with denial.

"you can't deny it, it happened," I whispered, pulling myself up straight. "You’re going to remember every second."

His back muscles bunched. Then, with the sharp crack of shifting bones, fur erupted across his skin. Within seconds, a massive red wolf tore into the shadows of the forest, vanishing into the darkness of Ashmere.

I stood alone by the dying fire, my breathing ragged and my lips bruised. I raised a hand, my fingers pressing against the burning mark on my chest. It was still pulsing, still hot, still demanding the touch of the wolf who had just fled.

I need more.