Chapter 53
When his grip loosened slightly, I seized the opportunity. I ducked the door behind me. My heart pounded like a trapped rabbit’s, tears
“Rachel, open the door!” Nathan’s voice thundered through the wood
“No, I won’t!” My voice broke with emotion.
der his arm and fled into the bedroom, slamming and locking.
ringing to my eyes.
“Please… just stay away from me!” I called out, trying to steady my voice even as fears streamed down my face.
A moment of silence followed, then the door exploded inward, wood splinters flying as Nathan’s Alpha strength shattered the lock. I scrambled backward onto the bed, terrified yet oddly exhilarated by y defiance.
“Don’t… don’t come near me!” I pleaded, though my wolf yearned for his touch, contradicting my words.
But instead of the rage I expected, Nathan approached slowly, his scent gradually warming. He sat beside me on the four–poster bed and, to my shock, gently wiped away my tears.
“I didn’t mean to raise my voice,” he said softly, his eyes returning to their normal gray.
“Rachel… why did you leave without guards?” His tone held more confusion than anger now.
1 lowered my head, copper hair hiding my face. “I just… wanted a little freedom.”
“Rachel,” he said, his fingers lightly touching my cheek, “this is for your protection and our child’s.”
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
“But if you need to move around, mind–link me so I won’t worry.”
I blinked in surprise at this concession. “I, um, okay. Th–thank you.”
Nathan’s POV
I traced Rachel’s cheek with my thumb, taking in her features, the copper hair that shimmered like sunlight on autumn leaves,
My wolf snarled inside me, still furious at her declaration that I wasn’t her Alpha. The challenge in those words had nearly pushed me over the edge.
When I’d kicked down the door, rage burning through me, I’d expected to find a defiant she–wolf ready to challenge me further. Instead, I found her frightened, tears streaming down her face.
Something in me had shifted the….
Why was she affecting me like this? She was just a breeder, a means to an heir. Not a Luna, not a mate.
Yet here I was, thumb stroking her cheekbone, breathing in her scent that had somehow become as familiar as my own.
Her lips parted slightly, and before I could stop myself, I leaned forward and captured them with mine.
She stiffened in surprise before melting against me, her response igniting something primal within my wolf. My scent intensified, wrapping around us both.
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Chapter 53
The memory of her words he’s not my Alpha–flashed through ne mind again, rekindling my anger.
My eyes flashed gold as I broke the kiss and gripped her wrists, pinging her beneath me.
“Now, I dare you to say it again…” I commanded.
Her eyes met mine without flinching. “You’re not my Alpha.”
My wolf howled in outrage, but before I could respond, she added softly, “You’re my everything.”
12
Something warm and unfamiliar spread through my chest, my pine scent changing completely.
For a moment, I felt the pull of the mate bond my father had warned me about–the warmth, the softness, the completion of it.
Dangerous.
My instincts screamed at me to pull away. This feeling would make me weak, vulnerable.
I released her wrists and moved away from her, forcing myself to harden my resolve.
“You need to rest, and I have to attend the meeting with Raymond. My pine scent cooled as I reestablished control.
I left quickly, not daring to look back at her reaction. If I stayed any longer, I might never want to leave.
I needed to create more distance between us. But how could I do that when every instinct was drawing me back to her?
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