But as a wolf, all I can do is grumble—which I do—and that just worsens the situation entirely.
“All right.” He releases me and stands abruptly. “I guess we’re doing this here.”
“Uh, T, maybe—”
“No, Caius. I’m done with the disobedient act. I want a person to scold, not a wolf.”
What the hell? I want to snap. I’m not being disobedient!
Which of course comes out as another grumble.
And earns me an icy glower from the Alpha.
Okay, yeah, and I’m a dead wolf again. Awesome.
10
CLOVE
Tieran growls, the menacing sound wrapping around me in a thunderous vibration that pierces my heart and shoots lava through my veins.
It burns.
I immediately cower, trying to hide from the venom in his aura. It flows around me, ensnaring me in his Alpha web and demanding my full focus.
Moon…
I was right about him dampening his Alpha energy these last few days. Because this feels like a whiplash to my senses, his power an avalanche threatening to suffocate my entire being.
He growls again, this one even more intimidating than the last.
I can feel my wolf whimpering and my soul screaming for mercy.
But he merely squats again, blocking any escape attempt I may make.
This is the monster I’ve been warned about. The savage beast who slaughtered his mate.
He probably did this to her before ripping her apart with his teeth.
I’m going to die here.
My animal growls, refusing to go down without a fight.
Which only makes the Alpha snarl, demanding obedience.
I can’t breathe.
It’s all too much.
My body is breaking beneath the power of his wrath and he isn’t even touching me.
My fur is melting, morphing, leaving me behind as a shell of nothing but skin and shattering bones.
He’s only growled three times. Maybe four.
But my body is responding to his demand, shifting back into human form in the most excruciating display of submission.
I hate him.
I despise his growl.
I loathe his Alpha powers.
I want to kill them all. I want to shred them for making me feel so small and alone and helpless.
This is the worst punishment of all, the degradation of my spirit and taking all the control away from my mind. Forcing me to morph into a state without my permission.
Part of me knows it’s what I needed.
Part of me understands that he had to do this to break Alpha Canton’s hold.
But that part of me is no match for the living wrath building inside me. The need to lash out. To make him kneel. To make him bleed.
I lunge at him, my hands resembling fingers and nails instead of paws and claws. But it doesn’t matter.
I slam my palm against his face, my other going to his chest to scratch jagged grooves down that flawless skin.
He doesn’t fight me.
He doesn’t even retaliate.
He lets me slap him again.
Lets me drag my nails down his pec a second time.
And doesn’t budge when I try to shove him.
His eyes are no longer icy, they’re full of heat, the blue orbs resembling a deep ocean of need that makes my knees weak.
I suddenly want to attack him for a whole new reason.
He’s almost a foot taller than me and solid muscle. All pure Alpha male. It calls to a foreign part of me that has only awakened in the last few days. A part of me that inherently trusts this male and considers him hers.
I don’t understand it.
Fated mates don’t exist for my kind. It’s why we have arranged matings.
Yet I feel an undeniable pull toward him. One I’m helpless to ignore.
He growls, this time the sound more sensual than aggressive. It causes my stomach to clench, my thighs slickening with need.
This is so much more intense than the arousal I felt in the field with Canton.
This is visceral. All-consuming. Carnal.
His palm wraps around the back of my neck, pulling me to him. There are no words. Just savage heat.
He’s bleeding because of me.
And I like it.
I want to lick the marks, to stake my claim.
So I do.
It’s natural. It’s necessary. It’s glorious.
He growls again as I lap at the wound on his pec, his grip tightening around my nape. I have no idea what I’m doing or why I’m doing it, but I’m following the urges of my inner animal, allowing us to function as one.
She wants him.
Therefore, I want him.
No, it’s more than that. I need him. There’s an ache inside me that only he can soothe. I feel it now, throbbing between my legs and demanding I take this Alpha and make him mine.