Chapter 165 165

Chapter 165 165
Arielle's POV

I wanted to puke at his face. Oh, heavens knew how badly I wanted to feel the satisfaction of watching him crumple. But I held myself together, forcing my voice to stay steady as I clenched my fist.

"Stay away from me."

"You know I can't, baby." He smirked, his face still coming closer, his breath hot against my skin. The audacity of it riled me, sending a surge of heat through my veins that burned hotter than fear.

I jerked my arm back, my palm connecting with his cheek. The crack of the slap echoed through the clearing, sharp and final. "I said stay away!”

He stumbled, more from surprise than force. His hand rose to his cheek, and he stared at me, his eyes flashing. The others took a step forward, but Logan shot them a look that froze them in place.

I stepped closer, my voice steady despite the tremor in my chest. "I thought for a second you'd be civilized. But to hell with that. You're a slime. It's useless trying to talk to you." I took another step and lifted my chin. "I'm done. This is the last time you'll ever get to tease me, attempt to make fun of me, or control me. Got it, asswipe?"

The clearing fell silent. Logan's hand dropped from his cheek, and he stared at me, his expression unreadable. The others watched, waiting. The air was thick with tension, crackling like static before a storm.

It was my biggest mistake to actually think that slap had reset the brain of someone like Logan. The moment I turned to leave, my steps quick, my heart pounding with a fragile sense of victory, he grabbed me back by the neck. His fingers dug into my skin like claws, yanking me roughly against him. My back slammed into his chest, and I could feel his breath, hot and mocking, against my ear.

"Where do you think you're going, baby?" His voice slithered through the air, low and venomous. "Did you really think you could slap me and just walk away? That's not how this works. You don't get to walk away until I say so."

I squirmed, my hands flying up to claw at his grip, but he was too strong. His arm locked around my throat, squeezing just enough to make my vision blur. The others laughed—hollow, mocking sounds that bounced off the trees and wrapped around me like a cage.

"Let go of me!" I gasped, my voice strained, barely a whisper.

"Let go?" He laughed, the sound cruel and sharp. "You think you're in any position to make demands? You're nothing, Arielle. You've always been nothing. A little puppet I pulled the strings of. A wolfless girl playing pretend, thinking she could be something more."

He yanked me forward, then shoved me back, releasing me just long enough for a flicker of hope to spark in my chest. But it died the next second, when he grabbed me again, his fingers digging into my shoulder.

"I've been patient with you," he continued, his voice dropping to a low, menacing murmur. "I've let you run around, pretending you have a say in anything. But you don't. You never did. You're just a toy I haven't broken yet."

Tears burned at the corners of my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. I refused to give him the satisfaction. "You're insane," I spat, my voice trembling but defiant. "You're a sick, twisted monster."

He chuckled, the sound grating against my nerves. "Maybe. But I'm the monster who owns you. And tonight, I'm going to remind you exactly what that means."

He grabbed my shoulder and ripped the fabric of my top, the cold air hitting my exposed skin. His voice dropped, thick with lust and cruelty. "You're going to break tonight, Arielle. I'm going to leave you with nothing—no pride, no dignity. Just a broken little girl who thought she could defy me."

His hand tightened, and something inside me snapped.

A surge of power—hot, unfamiliar, electric—shot through my veins. It was like a dam breaking inside me, releasing a flood of energy I didn't know I possessed. My hands shot out, and I shoved him. Hard.

He flew backward, his body slamming into a tree trunk with a sickening crack. The impact sent leaves raining down around him. He crumpled to the ground, gasping, his eyes wide with shock.

I stared at my hands, my chest heaving. I had done that. I had pushed him. With a strength I never knew I had.

The others froze, their laughter dying in their throats. They looked at me, then at Logan, then back at me.

The strange feeling inside me intensified, swelling like a tide, rising until it consumed me entirely. My knees buckled. I dropped to the ground, my hands pressing into the leafy earth. A wave of pain crashed through me, sharp and blinding, and another scream ripped from my throat.

It wasn't just pain; it was something else. Something shifting and familiar.

I felt my bones moving. Twisting. Reforming. The sensation was alien, terrifying, and exhilarating all at once. My body was changing, and I didn't understand why.

"What's happening to me?" I gasped, my voice cracking. "Ugh—I can't—"

My vision blurred. My senses sharpened, the sounds of the forest flooding my ears—the rustle of leaves, the rapid heartbeat of the others, the distant howl of a wolf. I pressed my hands into the ground, trying to steady myself.

Another wave of pain wracked my body, and I curled in on myself, my eyes squeezing shut. I felt something stirring deep within me, something I had never felt before. Something wild and untamed.

I didn't know what was happening. I didn't know if I was dying or being reborn. The pain engulfed me like the previous ones I had experienced when I tried to change into my wolf—always just out of reach, always slipping away. But this time was different. This time, it was stronger, more relentless, like something was clawing its way out of me, fighting to break free.

I looked up, my vision swimming. Sharp pains radiated through my hands, and I watched in horror as claws began to protrude from my fingertips—dark, gleaming, and real. I saw the reflection of my eyes in Logan's widening gaze, and I knew they had changed. They were no longer the same. They burned with something foreign, something wild.

Stefan's face twisted with fear as he stood Logan up, his hands trembling. "What the hell is going on?" he muttered, taking a step back. The others followed suit, their bravado crumbling.

The pain intensified, and I felt my head spinning, the world tilting around me. And then, just as suddenly as it had come, it began to fade. The fur receded, the claws retracted, and I collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily, my body drained of all strength.

Logan approached me, his laughter slicing through the air like broken glass. He crouched beside me, his fingers tangling in my hair, yanking my head back. "Wow. You're still pathetic. Your wolf can't even show up to save you at this delicate moment."

I growled in defiance, throwing a weak fist at him as I got on my knees, but he caught it easily, his grip bruising.

"Give up the fight," he murmured, his breath hot against my ear. "Even your wolf doesn't want to fight against me. She didn't appear. That means she wants me. Let her be. Stop trying to force her to show up. You'll just be tormenting yourself, darling."

My hand connected with his face, shoving him away. He laughed, nodding slowly. "You want it rough, huh? Tell me."