Chapter 20 Begging To Mate
When I opened my eyes, the world was a blur of motion and muted light. My head felt heavy, my body weighed down as if gravity itself had doubled. The car had stopped moving, and the first thing I realized was that I was still in Darius’s arms. My muscles protested instinctively, and I tried to push myself free, but my strength was gone, drained not only by the sedatives but also by the rising heat that churned through me like wildfire. My wolf side screamed, clawed at my insides, demanding release, and the hybrid part of me, the monster I had always tried to control, strained against my resolve.
“Hey,” he murmured, low and smooth, his voice like silk over steel. “Relax. You’re awake.”
I tried to glare, but my eyes were heavy, my vision slightly blurred. The heat made my skin tingle in a maddening way, almost burning from the inside out, and every nerve ending screamed for relief. I twisted in his arms, desperate to gain some distance, but Darius only adjusted his hold, keeping me firmly pressed against his chest. The scent of him, wood, smoke, musk, overwhelmed me, and I felt my pulse quicken even further.
He shifted slightly, one arm supporting my back, the other under my knees, and looked down at me with a faint, amused curl of his lips. “Your heat,” he said softly, his voice low enough that it almost felt like it was invading my mind, “it’s driving you mad, isn’t it?”
I flinched at the accuracy of his observation, my face heating further in shame and frustration. “I’ll never, ever, mate with you,” I spat, venom thick in my voice, though it sounded pitiful even to me.
Darius threw his head back and let out a low, throaty chuckle that vibrated through my bones. “You will,” he said, eyes glinting with cruel amusement, “I bet you begged that boy to mate with you. Don’t think I didn’t notice. That craving in your body, that pull… you’re going to do exactly as I say.”
I froze. Every word he said carved into me like a knife. The bond we shared, the strange, involuntary connection that had always hovered between us, was tugging at me in ways I couldn’t resist. I hated him, yes. I wanted to claw at his face, scream at him, tell him that no one would ever own me. But the bond, that infernal bond, whispered the opposite. My body betrayed me, the hybrid and wolf instincts merging with my human consciousness, leaving me simultaneously terrified and achingly aware of him.
I pressed my hands against his chest, trying to shove him away, but he only tightened his grip slightly, his arms encasing me like iron. I could feel the pulse of his strength, the heat of his body, the raw power that had always drawn my wolf in ways I had denied, and my own body reacted despite my mind screaming for restraint. My ears picked up the sound before my eyes confirmed it, the steady, hypnotic rhythm of waves crashing nearby.
“Where, are we?” I murmured, my voice hoarse, trembling under the weight of both fear and something I refused to name.
He didn’t answer immediately, only carried me forward with the same confident, predatory ease. The car doors opened, and the scent of salt and sea air hit me. My breath hitched involuntarily. We were near the coast. The air was crisp, tangy, and alive, and it mixed with the scent of him so thoroughly that it made my head spin. My wolf whimpered in my mind, desperate, unrestrained, aching, and I pressed my face against his chest instinctively, seeking some anchor against the heat and the storm inside me.
“You feel it,” he murmured, tone teasing, yet commanding. “Your body… your wolf. Your hybrid blood. It’s not just a nuisance, little wolf. It’s your nature. And it’s mine.”
I shook my head violently, panting, trying to disentangle my human mind from the insistent, overwhelming pull of my wolf. My hands clenched at his shirt as if I could bite, scratch, do something to assert control, but my strength betrayed me. Every cell in my body was buzzing, desperate, screaming for release. The air smelled of salt and the wild open sea, but beneath it, the scent of Darius was all-consuming, pressing against me in ways I didn’t want to admit.
“You’re mine,” he said again, the words rolling over me like a tide, steady, inevitable. “Your heat doesn’t lie. The bond doesn’t lie. You’re going to beg me to fuck you. And when you do…” He trailed off, letting the silence carry the weight of his promise, letting the gold of his eyes pierce into me like molten fire.
I felt a wave of sadness wash over me, tinged with something more intimate and terrifying, longing. My body was screaming for what I had fought to deny for years, and I realized, in the hollow ache between panic and desire, that I would obey him. Not because I wanted to, not because I liked it, but because the bond made it impossible to resist. My wolf screamed with longing; my human mind argued, and my hybrid instincts demanded a reckoning.
We walked into the Greek-style mansion, my legs trembling under me, sweat clinging to my clothes and plastering my hair to my forehead. My body ached, every nerve screaming, every instinct of my hybrid nature fraying at the edges. The heat had reached its peak, an all-consuming fire inside me, and I could feel the tension coiling in my core like a living thing, demanding attention.
We walked up the stairs, and into a grand bedroom. Darius’s hands were steady, unrelenting, yet careful enough to keep me upright as he guided me into the shower. I tried to resist, but my strength was sapped from days of running, sedatives, and the heat itself. Every step was a struggle, my muscles trembling, my pulse hammering in my ears. The scent of him surrounded me, wrapped around me like an invisible leash, and I hated him for the way my body betrayed me.
“What,” he murmured, his voice low and teasing, “were you planning to do while you’re in heat? Mate with that friend of yours?” His eyes pierced mine, molten and merciless, and I could feel his aura pressing in, trying to dominate every inch of me.
I glared at him, unwilling to give him the satisfaction of fear, though my breath came in shallow, desperate gasps. “Yes,” I spat, my voice shaking, “I can mate with anyone I want. Even a rogue in the streets. Just not you.”
His gaze darkened, molten gold deepening into something like molten steel, and I could feel the dangerous surge of his temper brush against my spine. The shift in him was subtle at first, muscles tightening, jaw clenching, but it sent shivers down my body. He didn’t say a word, only reached for me, guiding me under the steaming water.
The water poured over me, cold and soothing against my overheated skin, but it did nothing to quell the storm raging inside me. He moved with precise, deliberate motions, his hands firm on my shoulders, running over my skin, and I realized with a pang of helplessness that he was washing Fred’s scent from me. The faint traces of my friend, the one I had thought I could turn to, were being scrubbed from every inch of me, replaced by the undeniable dominance of Darius.
I shivered, a mixture of relief and humiliation, hating him for the effect it had on me. I wanted to scream, wanted to fight, wanted to leave, but my body was betraying me. Every nerve screamed in protest, yet every pulse of my blood seemed to pull me toward him, magnetic and unyielding.
“You hate me,” he murmured softly, brushing a wet strand of hair from my face, his fingers lingering just too long, just enough to make my body betray my mind. “You wanted to mate with another, but I’ll have none of it.”
I clenched my fists, trying to force my will against his, against my instincts, against the heat that had reduced me to a quivering, primal mess. “You can’t control me,” I spat, though the words felt hollow. I could feel my hybrid body responding despite the venom in my tone.
“I could, and I will,” he said, his voice low, almost a growl, as he pressed closer, the heat of him mingling with the water cascading over us. “If anyone mates with you while you’re mine, I’ll kill them. That includes that boy Fred. I won’t let them touch you.” His gaze never left mine, golden eyes searing into me like fire.
I felt the anger, the fear, the helplessness, and the strange, maddening pull of desire all at once. My hands pressed against his chest, trembling, but they didn’t push him away. My body screamed for release, for attention, for something, and yet my mind screamed for control, for resistance.
He leaned in, brushing his lips along my temple, his teeth grazing just enough to make me shiver violently. “You’ll not run,” he murmured, “not while I’m here. I’ll fill you up with my pups, little hybrid, and you’ll be mine, every part of you, every instinct, every thought.”
I couldn’t fight it. My heat, my hybrid blood, my wolf’s need, they all merged into one screaming command inside me. I hated him for it, despised him, yet I was trembling under his touch, my body aching in ways I could not name. The water ran down over us, steaming, blurring the edges of the room, and I could feel the power he wielded, the dominance that had always hovered between us now unmasked and raw.
Finally, he finished washing me, scrubbing every trace of Fred from my skin, and I felt a hollow emptiness in the absence of the scent I had clung to. But the dominance of Darius remained, and the pull of the bond between us flared to life again, demanding submission.
He lifted me from the shower, wrapping a towel around me, but I barely noticed. My body was still trembling, weak from the sedatives and the heat, every nerve buzzing with the hybrid storm inside me. He carried me to the bed, setting me down gently but firmly.
I tried to rise, trying to gather my strength, and instinctively reached for the towel, letting it slip to my feet. My arms wrapped around him, pressing my body against his chest, my breasts flush against him. “Mate with me,” I said through gritted teeth, my voice raw with desperation and command, my heat pushing me to demand what my hybrid instincts craved.
He tilted his head, smirking, gold eyes glinting with amusement and dark promise. “And what makes you think you can order me?” he asked, the low rumble in his throat making my skin tingle.
I pressed closer, refusing to let go, whispering through my teeth, “You have no choice… or I will pick the next male I see.”
The expression on his face shifted, hardening, molten gold eyes flashing with anger. He leaned close, capturing my chin with one hand, tilting my face upward. His voice dropped into a dangerous growl. “You think I’ll let that happen?”
“No,” I whispered, barely audible, my heat pressing every nerve and fiber of my body to the edge of madness.
His hand tightened on my neck, not enough to harm, just enough to assert dominance, and his lips crashed onto mine. The kiss was sharp, demanding, possessive, and my entire body shivered against him. My resistance melted against the fire of his dominance, against the bond, against the hybrid instincts that had betrayed me long ago.