Fear, Anger, Defiance

Fear, Anger, Defiance
TERENCE

I sat at the edge of the bed, my eyes locked on Shanella. She was awake now, her golden eyes blazing with fury, but there was fear there too. I could smell it. Fear, anger, defiance — it all rolled off her like the sweetest perfume.
I reached out and let my fingers trace along her cheek, slowly, deliberately, savoring the way she flinched away. “Tomorrow,” I said, my voice low and dangerous, “we marry. Whether you like it or not. No one can stop me.”
Her wolf must have been screaming inside her because she jerked against the ropes, trying to sit up, trying to get away from my touch. “You’re insane!” she spat. “Let me go, Terence! My father, Brad, the entire Moon Crest Pack — they’ll come for me!”
I laughed, a deep, satisfied laugh. “Let them try. By the time they find us, you’ll be mine in every way that matters. You think Brad can save you? You think Billy can save you?” I leaned closer, close enough for her to feel the heat of my breath. “No one is coming.”
“I won’t marry you!” she yelled, struggling again, her wrists bleeding slightly where the rope cut into her skin. “You can’t force me to be your mate!”
“Oh, but I can,” I said softly, my lips curling into a grin. “This is not about choice. This is about destiny. You were meant to be mine, Shanella. Brad doesn’t deserve you. He’s weak — tied to his pack, tied to duty. I am strong. I will make you my queen.”
She shook her head violently. “I will never love you. Even if you force me, even if you marry me, my heart will never belong to you.”
Her words stung, but they also excited me. I liked the fight in her — it made the game so much more satisfying. “Then I’ll break that heart of yours until it learns to beat for me,” I said, standing up and pacing around the room.
Joseph, my adopted son, stood near the doorway, arms crossed. “Dad,” he said, voice low, “maybe we should keep her quiet for now. The more noise she makes, the more risk someone could find this place.”
I shot him a glare. “No one is finding this place. This cabin is in the heart of the Furious Mad Pack’s territory. Not even the strongest Alpha would dare cross this land without permission. She can scream all she wants — her precious Brad won’t hear a thing.”
Shanella stared at me with hatred. “You won’t win. My pack will come. Brad will come. They’ll tear this place apart.”
I crouched down so that we were eye level. “You still don’t get it, do you?” I said, my tone dangerously soft. “Every hour that passes, you get weaker. No food. No water. No one to help you. Soon, you’ll beg me to untie you. And when you do, I will give you water, food, and comfort. And then, Shanella, you’ll thank me for saving you.”
Her breath quickened, but she stayed silent this time. Good. Silence meant she was thinking. Silence meant she was already beginning to understand.
Joseph shifted uncomfortably. “Dad, you really think she’ll give in?”
“She will,” I said, not taking my eyes off her. “They all do. She can resist all she wants, but in the end, she’ll have no choice.”
I reached forward again, brushing a strand of hair from her face. She tried to turn away, but I caught her chin and forced her to look at me. “Do not try to leave this bed again,” I said. “No one can help you, Shanella. Not Brad. Not your father. Not even the Goddess herself.”
She glared at me, but her breathing was uneven now. I could sense the battle raging inside her — her wolf telling her to fight, her human side growing desperate.
I straightened and turned to Joseph. “Make sure the guards double the watch tonight. I don’t want anyone coming near this room without my permission. If Brad tries something foolish, I want to know before he even crosses the border.”
Joseph nodded. “Understood. I’ll also have Lucas take Shanella’s car farther away and dump it. The last thing we need is anyone tracing her here.”
“Good,” I said. “We’ll keep her here until the ceremony. Tomorrow, she becomes mine. After that…” I allowed myself a dark smile. “After that, we make sure Brad and the Moon Crest Pack know exactly who she belongs to.”
Shanella’s eyes widened, fear flashing in them, but she clenched her jaw, refusing to speak.
“You should rest,” I said to her as I stood at the door. “Tomorrow will be a long day. You’ll need your strength.”
She hissed, “I will never be yours.”
I grinned at her defiance, enjoying every second. “We’ll see.” Then I stepped out of the room, locking the door behind me.
In the hallway, Joseph looked at me with a mixture of respect and unease. “You really think she’ll accept you after all this?”
I placed a hand on his shoulder. “It doesn’t matter if she accepts me. What matters is that she stays here, by my side, and never returns to Brad. Once she is marked, once the bond is complete, she will feel what I feel. That’s the beauty of the mate bond — it cannot be denied.”
Joseph nodded slowly, though I could see he was still hesitant. “And if Brad tries to take her back?”
“Then Brad dies,” I said coldly. “No one — not Brad, not her father, not the Moon Goddess — will take Shanella away from me.”
And as I walked down the hallway toward my own room, a satisfied smile played on my lips. Tomorrow, everything would change. Tomorrow, Shanella would no longer be the future queen of Moon Crest Pack — she would be mine.