Chapter 109
KASMINE
The drive was cold. Tense. Nerve wracking Not because of the silence but because of hier
Kester sat beside me, a storm barely contained beneath his kin. His grip on the steering wheel was right, knuckles pale against the leather, and though his gaze stayed fixed on the road, the tension in his jew and the rigid line of his shoulders told me exactly how pissed he wil
My fingers twitched all the way home.
Kester, in his usual character, didn’t say a word to me throughout. He was just seething beside me, driving a speed that almost made me say my last prayer.
We drove into the parking lot, and he jammed the car door shut, but before he’d walk over to my own car, I was already out and walking toward the house.
I didn’t wait for him.
A part of me was happy he’d saved me from that jerk. But the other part of me was angry with him for so many
reasons.
He didn’t speak to me for two days. And now, suddenly, he thought he had the right to storm in, play hero, and act like he owned me?
“Kasmine!” He called from behind, but I was already inside the house, making my way up the stairs. I ignored my parents who were sitting in the living room, no doubt hoping for some fairytale recap of my date.
I was upset with everyone..
“Kester… What…” I heard Mum asking from downstairs.
“No interruptions,” Kester threw the reply at them, and they knew better than to follow him.
I barely made it to my room before Kester caught up.
The door was halfway shut when-
Thud.
His hand slammed against it, stopping it mid–swing
I pushed against the wood, jaw clenched, trying to shove it closed, but he didn’t budge. Of course, he didn’t. He was stronger. Larger. And unlike me, he wasn’t shaking from the inside out.
The next second, he shoved the door wide open, making me stumble back. My heel caught on the edge of the rug. but I was quick enough to steady myself.
I didn’t look at him.
I couldn’t.
I was furious–furious that he had ignored me for two days, furious that he had acted like I didn’t exist, and now, suddenly, he had the audacity to storm into my space like I owed him something?
Fine. If he wanted to play this game, I’d play too.
I yanked off my heels and tossed them to the floor with more force than necessary, my breaths coming ragged and uneven. “Leave,” I muttered, turning my back to him.
Chapter 109
Kester didn’t listen.
He never did.
The space between us disappeared in a blink, and then his hand was on my throat.
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Before I could react, my back hit the wall with a dull thud. My heart lurched, but I didn’t flinch or let him see how the suddenness knocked the air from my lungs.
His fir
His fingers curled slightly against my neck, his thumb resting right where my pulse thundered against my skin.
I swallowed hard.
“Kester,” I warned, my voice shaking with anger, but he ignored it.
“What the hell is your problem?” His voice was rough as if he were holding back something much darker beneath the surface.
I glared up at him, meeting the fire in his eyes with my own “You are my problem,” I spat, shoving at his chest, but he didn’t move,
“Is that so?” His lips curled slightly, but there was no humor in it. “Because from where I’m standing, it Jooks like you’re the one making bad decisions.”
What the hell?
“Let me go!” I bit out, shoving at his chest again, but he only pressed further into me, eliminating what little space there was between us.
I could feel his ragged breaths, his body heat, and the fire burning in his gaze.
“You went out with another man,” he said in a deceptively calm voice. “Without telling me.”
I froze.
Something hot twisted in my stomach.
I let out a humorless laugh, “What did you expect when you and our parents sold me off to that arrogant jerk? You didn’t think he’d come demanding what is his?” I spat.
“You don’t belong to him, Kasmine!” He stated firmly, “You are mine! Never forget that!”
I exhaled, fury crackling through my veins.
“The hell I am, Kester.” My hand shot out, gripping his wrist–the one still wrapped around my throat, holding me in place, “You knew about this all these years, and you never said a word about it to me, huh?”
Stupid, stubborn tears burned their way down my cheeks, and I hated myself for it. I couldn’t help but tremble at the turn my life was taking.
His grip on my neck loosened as if my words had hit a spot. Something in his gaze softened, “I was never in support of it, Kasmine. That doesn’t explain why you went on a date without informing me,” the fire in his eyes hadn’t dimmed. He was still seething.
1 exhaled, shoving harder, and this time, he let me. He stepped back, his hands dropping to his sides, but the space between us still felt too small.
“What do you want from me, Kester?” My voice cracked. My throat was tight with frustration, with exhaustion, with every damn emotion he had put me through. “You went to see June’s family. You’re preparing for your wedding. And you still think it’s okay to keep me tied to your fingertips like some twisted game while you live
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Chapter 109
your life however you please?”
I didn’t even realize I was sobbing at this point. My face was wet with tears. Until now, I hadn’t realized how his visit to June’s pack affected me.
“You can’t be that selfish,” I whispered, the words breaking apart as they left me. “This was supposed to be a thrill, wasn’t it? But you… you want to be selfish about it. And it’s not fair, Kester.”
He was quiet for a while, observing me before speaking, “That’s it? You like that bastard? Wasn’t he arrogant enough for you tonight? Or was he just good at pretending
“It doesn’t matter now, does it? I am betrothed to him. My opinion about him doesn’t count. Does it?” I shut back.
He heaved a sigh, “Look, Kasmine… About June…
“I don’t want to hear it. Live your life while I live mine. Stop being selfish, Kes. Otherwise, this…” I gestured between us, “Whatever you think we have will be over quicker than you tie the knot with your childhood sweetheart!”
It was instant. The way he closed the small distance between us and captured my trembling lips in his was too quick to comprehend.
I tried to push away, but he deepened the kiss, both his hands cupping my face to hold me in place.
He kissed me like he was trying to pass so many messages… Messages mere words couldn’t pass.
Despite myself, I kissed him back. My body seemed to have mind of its own. His mere presence had an overwhelming pull on me, one that I couldn’t resist, and it all began the day I unintentionally activated the Blood Claim.
“No matter what, Mine,” he pulled away briefly, whispering against my mouth, “You are the one I want. Not June.
I parted my lips to protest, but I was met with his hot tongue, invading every corner of my mouth again.
I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed this… Missed him. I kissed him back. Everything else could wait for a moment while I savored this moment.
I was drowning in him.
Kester’s lips were moving over mine like he was trying to imprint himself into my very soul. His grip op my face was firm, fingers curled into my jaw, tilting my head to deepen the kiss, to take more. And I let him. Gods, I let him.
I melted into him, my body pressing flush against his, my hands threading through his thick, dark hair and tugging just hard enough to make him growl against my mouth. The sound sent a violent shudder through me, a raw, aching need coiling tight in my stomach.
I wanted him.
Desperately.
My fingers left his hair and slid down his chest, feeling the aut muscles beneath his shirt, tracing the rigid lines I kriewy by heart. My hands found the buckle of his belt, and I fumbled with it, my fingers trembling in my need to feel him down there.
But before I could undo it, his hands closed around mine, halting my movements.
I whimpered against his mouth in frustration, trying again, but he only tightened his grip, forcing my hands away.
Chapter 100
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My lips parted, breaking from his. I couldn’t even keep up with my own heavy, uneven breaths as my pulse drummed wild and erratic against my ribs.
“What?” I swallowed, my voice hoarse. “What’s wrong?
“I can’t fuck you, baby,” he rasped, his thumb tracing slow, dangerous circles on my skin. “Not like this.”
I blinked, confusion slicing through the haze of heat clouding my mind. “Not like what?”
His jaw clenched, the muscle feathering, his eyes–Gods, his eyes–burning into mine, dark with something violent, something I should have feared.
“I’m too angry,” he bit out in a low, guttural voice, “I’d break you. I don’t want to hurt you.”
A shiver ran down my spine, making my thighs press together. I knew exactly what he meant and that he wasn’t exaggerating.
Kester didn’t say things he didn’t mean.
He was still seething, still holding onto the wreckage of his rage, and I knew that if he touched me now, if he lost control the way I wanted him to, I wouldn’t come out of it unscathed.
But I didn’t care.
I wanted it… I wanted him.
I wanted to push him until that last fragile string inside him snapped, until he lost every ounce of restraint, and until he didn’t hold back anymore.
I licked my lips, my heart pounding. “You wouldn’t.”
He let out a harsh breath, his fingers tightening around my wrists. “You don’t know that.”
I did, though.
He had always been careful with me, even when he was at his most reckless. He had never, not once, let his anger translate into anything that would wound me physically.
But I understood. I saw the way his body trembled, the way he fought against whatever violent emotion threatened to consume him. He was barely holding on.
“Then don’t hold back,” I whispered, pressing my lips to his jaw and dragging my nails up his chest, “I can take it.
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