encountered at the gathering a week ago. Sure, he’d been quiet most of the time, but I assumed he was nervous. Now he wears a loose shirt over his large frame, his black pants stained at the knees, and he’s barefoot. I can’t even tell if he can walk a straight line.
“Come. Join me,” he demands, the look on his face a mix of hardness and arousal.
Unease curls in my stomach at the way he beckons me, but my Omega wolf sparks at his command, and I unwillingly step forward. The reality of what’s coming slams into me. I can’t do this. My earlier bravado is now an illusion, even as I move closer to him.
Outside the house, I hear the men talking, and the room seems to close in around me. They’re waiting for the proof that will confirm Martell is my first. The proof that he’s claimed me and no other man can dare touch me.
“Hurry up,” he yells.
I stiffen, my throat thickening.
“Tell me a bit about yourself,” I say with a strong voice, forcing myself to stop several feet away from him.
He snorts. “What for?” He takes a long swig from his bottle, alcohol splashing onto his shirt, before setting it down on the floor. Behind him waits a large bed covered in fur throws.
Bile climbs up to my throat. This is happening too fast.
“We should get to know each other if we are soulmates.” I recoil a bit, my voice cracking. “What is your favorite meal, where were you before you joined this pack, those kinds of things?”
He barks a laugh as though I made a joke and takes long strides to reach me. His hand lashes out toward me.
Instinct has me jutting my arm out to block him. He narrows his eyes in response.
“You’re a fighter.” He growls, and in his presence, my wolf comes to life even more. A single damn touch, and she’s there, pining for him. Heat flushes my skin at being so close.
“Good. I like someone who can keep up with me,” he announces, and my chest automatically sticks out for his attention at the small compliment.
Martell studies me, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he grins. Then his hand falls to my shoulder. In seconds, he tears the fabric down my arm, material ripping, ruining my dress… Mother’s dress.
I gasp and shove him away. “Stop!”
The need to run away drills into my skull. He’s triggered a button in my head, one where I suddenly see myself abused by this man, used like I’ve seen others treat females.
I’ve been wrong and so stupid to think he was anything but a brute. Fear grips my spine, while a fire bursts between my thighs. My wolf completely betrays me. I recoil, not wanting to cry and seem weaker than he already sees me.
But with meaty hands, he snatches me by the waist and swoops me off my feet, then walks us into his bedroom. A small whimper falls past my lips from the sudden move, my heart pounding against my chest for escape.
“If you want to play hard to get, that works for me.” He growls and tosses me onto his bed. “I prefer a fighter over someone who will just lay there.”
I bounce on the mattress and rush to frantically scramble off the other side of his bed.
But he’s too fast and snatches my arm, then hauls me back toward him. His hands wrench at my skirt, tearing more of the fabric.
A scream wedges in my throat, and I fight him, throwing a punch. “Don’t touch me.”
He catches my fist with his hand and makes a tsking sound. “You better hope that when I knot inside you, your body bears me many children, or...”
The way he leaves his sentence unfinished scares the hell out of me at what lays in store for me. His hand grabs the back of my neck and wrenches me toward him, his breath stinking of Țuică, a local spirit made from plums, and I almost vomit at the stench.
“Can you feel our wolves? They are calling each other. You aren’t going anywhere, soulmate. I smell your arousal. You want me, and I will fuck you for a week straight.”
My fingers grasp onto his arm, digging fingernails into his flesh, but it makes no difference against someone this strong.
My wolf rises as if beckoned, and there’s no denying we’re paired by the universe. But this isn’t who I want. I always thought the man my wolf would