Chapter 65 65
Dim sunlight slipped into the darkened room through a narrow slit between the velvet curtains, thin and hesitant, as though afraid to intrude.
Her eyelids felt impossibly heavy, as if weighted down by stone, refusing to open no matter how hard she tried. Her body was drained utterly spent every limb aching as though she’d been shattered and stitched back together wrong. The heaviness pressed down on her chest, stealing her breath, until a silent gasp tore from her lips.
Then
Sparks.
They raced across her skin without warning, followed by a sharp, tingling sensation that flared at one specific spot on her neck.
Her hand flew up instinctively, fingers brushing against swollen, tender flesh.
Pain.
And with it, memory.
Everything from the night before came crashing back all at once.
Her eyes flew open.
The ceiling above her was unfamiliar.
Panic surged as she tried to sit up only to freeze when the horrifying truth registered.
A large, heavy body was sprawled over her, pinning her into the mattress.
It took only a second for that scent to reach her senses.
Her heart lurched not with excitement, not with warmth but with pure, suffocating dread.
Run.
The instinct screamed through her.
Sofía shoved at his body with all the strength she could muster, desperation lending her trembling limbs power but it was useless. He didn’t move an inch. Instead, an irritated growl rumbled from his chest, and his arm tightened around her waist, impossibly heavy.
Her breath hitched.
She couldn’t breathe.
Tears welled instantly, blurring her vision.
He’s going to kill me.
The thought clawed into her mind.
After everything after what he’d done he would kill her. She was certain of it.
Fernando felt the movement beneath him immediately.
Ana was awake.
She was struggling wildly, panic radiating off her in waves.
He didn’t blame her.
Any sane person would react this way upon discovering werewolves existed. Hell he wondered how she would have handled vampires or witches. Creatures she’d only ever read about in novels.
Poor girl.
A crushing wave of fear and despair slammed into him so suddenly it stole his breath.
They weren’t his emotions.
They were hers.
Carefully, he shifted his weight back. He hadn’t been fully resting on her to begin with if he had, she wouldn’t be breathing now.
He propped himself on his elbows, still hovering over her.
The moment his gaze landed on her face, Sofía squeezed her eyes shut, as if refusing to see him would make him disappear.
Her hands lifted shakily, pressing against his chest only to jerk back instantly when sparks shot through her fingers and she realized he was shirtless.
“Open your eyes,” he said quietly.
She didn’t move.
Curled in on herself, she clutched her hands to her chest like a frightened child.
“Open your eyes, Ana.”
This time his voice was sharp. Cold. Leaving her no room to refuse.
Fear flickered wildly in her eyes as she finally opened them.
Green met green.
Forest green.
Not gold.
“Good,” he murmured.
Yet something tight and painful twisted in his chest at the sight of tears clinging to her lashes.
“You don’t need to be afraid,” he said evenly, trying to steady the heart he could feel racing inside her.
“Y-you p-promised… y-you wouldn’t h-hurt me,” she whispered, her voice breaking apart.
His gaze dropped to her neck.
To the mark.
His jaw clenched.
He had marked her.
If he hadn’t, she would have died from the agony of heat. There had been another option but she would never have agreed to it, and he would never force her.
Marking her had been the only choice.
And he’d taken it.
He knew it hurt.
And now, in her eyes, he was the one who had betrayed her.
“Marking you was necessary,” he said through clenched teeth.
Her eyes widened, and a sob tore free.
“What did y-you d-do to m-me?” she asked, horror flooding her face.
He exhaled slowly and shifted away from her.
Her heart was beating too fast dangerously fast. If he stayed any closer, her fear alone might stop it.
The instant he moved, Sofía scrambled backward toward the headboard, then slipped off the bed entirely, retreating three shaky steps until she hit the corner of the room.
She stood there trembling, hyperventilating, tears streaming endlessly down her face.
The sight ignited fury in his chest.
Normally, mates melted into each other after marking passion, bonding, instinct.
And his mate looked at him like he was a monster.
Like the worst killer to ever exist.
Rage coiled tight inside him.
He wanted to destroy something.
Someone.
With a snarl, he turned and stalked out of the room. Once in the corridor, he slammed the door shut with such force the walls rattled violently.
The door held.
He locked it.
Silence followed.
No screams.
No fists pounding against the wood.
Nothing.
That somehow hurt worse.
He could feel her emotions and that was the cruelest part.
She felt betrayed.
She believed he’d broken her trust.
And the fear she felt toward him burned his soul alive.
He had brought her to the Ancient Blood Pack the night before.
The moment the rain had stopped, he’d called Ricardo. Sofía had been unconscious the entire time.
He remembered the way the pack had stared at him wide smiles, gleaming eyes.
Their Alpha had returned.
And he hadn’t come alone.
He’d brought their Luna.
Excitement had rippled through the pack until they saw her condition.
Then fear had replaced joy.
The pack doctor examined her and assured them she would wake by morning. The marking had been brutal on her she was human, and she’d been in heat.
Fernando hadn’t allowed Ricardo inside the cottage until her heat had passed.
The duration had been mercifully short.
Still, it had taken every ounce of restraint he possessed not to fully claim her.
He had held her the entire time.
Grinding his teeth, he turned and found Corinne standing at the end of the corridor.
She was a formidable warrior.
And one of the few people he trusted.
“I need to call an urgent meeting,” he said calmly, though the fury in his Alpha aura was unmistakable. “Can you watch her?”
“Yes,” Corinne replied immediately, offering him a steady, reassuring smile.
He nodded once.
Then he turned and walked away.