Chapter 52 52
ARIELLE'S POV
Logan
His voice, that sickeningly familiar, smooth tone, hit me like a physical blow. I didn’t freeze. I didn’t gasp. I acted like I hadn’t seen him at all, like he was just a ghost, a figment of my stressed imagination. I faced forward and kept walking, my pace steady, my heart slamming against my ribs.
“Really, Arielle?!” His voice rose, tinged with that petulant frustration he got when he didn’t get his way. “Are you just going to keep ignoring me until eternity?”
Fuck you. I wanted to scream it. I bit the inside of my cheek so hard I tasted blood, letting the pain ground me. I kept walking.
Then I felt it—a rush of displaced air. He used his wolf’s speed. One second he was steps behind me, the next, he’s blurred around and was standing a few feet in front of me on the path, blocking my way. He crossed his arms, a smug, challenging look on his face.
“Well, I’m not letting you ignore me forever, Arielle.”
“Suck a big one,” I scoffed right at his face, restraining myself from actually spitting on him.
His lips curled into that boyish, charming smile that had once made my heart race and my anger melt. Now, it just made my stomach churn.
I walked straight at him, not veering. I brushed past his shoulder, hoping to knock him off balance. He barely moved.
I heard him groan, a sound of pure exasperation. Then his hand shot out and grabbed my wrist, his grip like iron. “Okay, enough!”
“Let me go!” I yelled, trying to jerk my hand free, but his fingers tightened, digging in. “You’re hurting me!”
“Then stop being so goddamn childish!” he snapped, his cool facade cracking. He pulled me closer, his voice dropping to a heated, angry whisper. “Look, I only slept with Angel because you weren’t ready to give up! You were holding out like your virginity was some precious trophy, and a guy has needs! You can’t hold me responsible for that!”
The sheer, breathtaking audacity of it stole my breath for a second. Then cold, clean fury took over. “I don’t give a single fuck about how or where you insert your tiny, pathetic dick, Logan!” I snarled, my voice low and venomous. “Why don’t you go do the only thing you’re good at, other than being a stupid, cheating coward, and leave me the hell alone? I’m done with you!”
With a final, desperate surge of strength, I wrenched my arm around and sideways, breaking his grip. I stumbled forward, my wrist throbbing.
I hadn’t even made it a full meter when he moved again. A blur, and he was in front of me once more.
“I’m not done with you!” he growled. This time, the sound was deeper, edged with a snarl. His eyes, usually a bright green, flickered, the irises bleeding into a dangerous, violent glow. The skin around his temples seemed to ripple. He was fighting his shift, his control slipping with his anger.
Just as quickly, he sucked in a sharp breath, and his eyes snapped back to normal green. The wolf retreated, but the human fury remained. He put on that remorseful expression he’d mastered, reaching up to cup my face. His thumbs stroked my cheeks. “I’m sorry, my love. I didn’t mean to snap. I just... I miss you. I can’t stand this.”
“Get off me!” I shoved his hands away, glaring at him with pure, undiluted hatred.
The remorse vanished from his face, replaced by something darker, more possessive. He smirked. “You know what? I think I have to claim you back. Forcefully.”
Before I could react, he lunged. His lips crashed into mine, a hard, punishing kiss that was nothing like the ones we’d shared. It was an invasion. I pushed against his chest with all my strength, twisting my face away.
SMACK.
My open palm connected with his cheek with a crack that echoed in the quiet lane. His head snapped to the side. When he turned back, I could see the red imprint of my fingers on his pale skin. His jaw tightened, a muscle ticking furiously. His eyes, which had been playful, then angry, then fake-sorry, now just darkened into something flat and dangerous.
Oh, shit.
I knew what was coming next. I couldn’t fight a wolf, not even one holding back.
I shoved past him, breaking into a run. But he was faster. His hand closed around my arm again, yanking me back so violently I lost my footing. He spun me around and slammed me against the road, knocking the air from my lungs.
Before I could even suck in a breath to scream, he was on me, my body pinning me to the tree. One hand fisted in the front of my hoodie and shirt.
“Get off! You pig, let me go!”
“No!” he grunted, his breath hot and sour against my neck. “I’ll show you what you’ve been missing. I’ll claim you. Then you’ll remember who you belong to.”