NADINE.
“Damn, Nadine… I can smell your arousal…” He groaned as he pressed his bulging erection against my front. “Can you feel how much I want you?”
“Yes.. please…” I moaned.
His hand moved and trailed along my thigh as our mouths fought for dominance. His fingers brushed on the tiny fabric covering my core before he slipped it to the side and began touching my folds. I could feel my pussy leaking.
He pulled away from my throat and pushed his body up, making me whimper in disappointment because I wanted his lips on my skin.
“Aren’t you wet for me, mate?” He asked as he licked his lips. His eyes dilated while his finger continued to slide in between my folds.
Instead of responding, I closed my eyes, wrapped my legs around his waist, and arched my body, wanting to make more contact with him. This caused my dress to slip, revealing the skin of my thighs to him.
I was still lost in the sensation, gently rubbing my core against his finger, when I realized he had stopped moving and that his body had become rigid.
My eyes snapped open. I saw Xander as his expression turned into a scowl. I followed his line of sight, and his eyes were directed on my right thigh, where my big tattoo was — a rose with a snake coiled around it.
I could tell from his expression that he didn’t like it. Was a tattoo a deal-breaker for him?
“Who are you?” He growled as he pulled his hand under my skirt.
“What?” I asked, confused. I propped my elbows on the mattress and pushed my body up.
His gaze met mine. His eyes dilated as he let go of my body completely and rose from the bed.
“Who are you?” He repeated.
“Nadine…” I answered, but my heart was thudding too loudly as if it would jump out of my chest.
“Why are you here?”
“I’m your mate.”
“Really? Are you here for me or for Tristan?” He was growling again.
My eyes widened at his words. How did he know about Tristan? I was sure Tristan had never told anyone about us.
Tristan was my ex-boyfriend. The former Beta of this pack. He went missing, and the next thing I knew, news spread out that he had died of a rogue attack. Others might have believed that, but I didn’t. But I had no way to prove that my theory was right — that he was killed by Alpha Maddox and not by rogues.
But Tristan didn’t matter at all. I had never had this connection with him like I had with Xander, and it had not even been an hour since I’d been with him.
“Fuck! Fuck!” He brushed his hands over his long hair as he kept growling.
“You’re scaring me!”
“"Don't lie to me! You’re here for Tristan! Too bad for you, you will never hear or find answers about him!" He said in a cold voice.
I opened my mouth to speak. I wanted to defend myself, but he beat me to it.
“Do you love him?”
“He’s dead already!”
“Do you love him? Answer me!”
“What is the sense of that question when he’s already dead?”
“Just fucking answer me!” I felt jealousy rise in his aura, and for some reason, I wanted to clear up any doubts he had.
I shook my head as I tried to reach for his hand. “I’m here for you.”
“Stop with your lies. You’re not here for me.” He moved before I could touch him. He went to my luggage, harshly opening the zipper.
I rushed to him and tried to get him off my bags. “What are you doing?”
“Stay back there.”
“Those are my personal things. You have no right to inspect them as if I'm hiding illegal items."
“Don’t you?” He asked, his eyes dilating, before he pulled a pair of black leggings from the stack of my folded clothes. “Put this on.”
“No…” I shook my head as I inched backward from him. Was he throwing me away from this territory, and he wanted me to have more suitable clothes than this dress?
I didn’t want to cry. I already knew many things could go wrong today, but I didn’t expect my heart to get broken by how he treated me. I thought I could take everything, but the pain coming from his rejection was something I wasn’t prepared for.
“Please… I have nowhere to go.” I kept moving backward. I didn’t notice the bed until I bumped into it, and my knees bent, making me fall back on it.
Xander moved fast and, without warning, slipped the leggings onto my feet and into my legs.
“Stop!” I tried to kick him off, but aside from his strong grip, the pain in my heart made me weak.
“Don’t let anyone see this tattoo!” He said, his teeth gritting. He was holding my hands together while his other hand pulled the tights up on me.
“Why?” I finally gave up fighting.
“Just fucking trust me!” He successfully did it, and once he was done, he coiled an arm around my waist and pulled me off the bed, taking me along with him. The band holding my hair snapped, and my hair ended up almost covering my face, but I didn’t have the energy to fix it, even if it was blocking my sight.
“How can I trust you when you never gave me a reason to trust you?” I asked in a painful voice.
Xander didn’t answer and proceeded to open the door. He looked along the corridor, and when he saw no one, he took me out of the room and locked the door.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“Stay quiet.” He said in a hushed tone, and it was taking all of me not to freak out. He was holding me by my waist, almost half carrying and dragging me. It was painful, but I knew complaining would just lead me nowhere.
So I tried to numb myself. I had no idea what happened. One moment, we were into each other, and the next thing, he was throwing me out.
We walked down the corridor and down the stairs, but instead of going to the ground floor, we proceeded to another staircase going down, which I believed was the basement of this packhouse.
“Where are you taking me?”
“I said don’t make a noise.” He said coldly.
I wanted to scream and defy him, but I was too tired. It had not even been an hour since I came here, and I was already losing my focus and ability to stand up for myself.
“What is this?” I asked when he opened a metal door after he punched in the code.
“Get inside.”
“No. No.” I pushed him off me, but he was faster. He grabbed my waist again and placed me in the secluded room. He dropped me on a single bed before walking away with a fast stride, closing the metal door without even looking at me.
“No!” I screamed as anger surged through my whole body. He had put me in a bunker, and without a code, I knew I would never be able to get out.
I pushed my body off the bed and went to the door, trying to punch all the possible codes I could think of, but it kept beeping. I kept trying until I got a warning.
One more wrong code and it would notify the Alpha directly.
My body shook as I screamed. But I kept fighting to keep my tears from falling. As much as I wanted to get away from this bunker, I didn’t want to deal with Alpha Maddox, as I knew my heat would come soon.
Females who met their mates and were not marked would go into a wild heat every full moon, releasing a scent that would attract every unmated male. The unmated males would go into a haze with only one goal: to fuck the source of the heat.
And the last person I wanted to be around when I went into heat was Alpha Maddox. Given his reputation, I was sure he would take advantage of me.
I kept slamming my palms on the metal door before I rested my forehead against it as I murmured while my tears rolled down my cheeks. “I was wrong to even think you might be different from your brother. You are just as wicked as Maddox. I will make you pay, Xander Trevino! Mark my words!”
NADINE.As soon as he left, my heat came. And it was the worst feeling that I ever had in my whole life. I was burning and miserable.This bunker had cameras everywhere that I knew, and if he wanted, he could see me.In the beginning, I kept myself composed and did my best not to even flinch at the first sign of pain when my heat came. But as time went on, I couldn’t stop myself anymore.I was burning. I thought I was about to die. I couldn’t stop my tears and my cries anymore. So I just let the pain consume me and added my mate’s name to the list of people who had wronged me. My name is Nadine Benjamin Montrell. My father was supposed to be the next Alpha of a pack until it was taken over. My grandfather, the then Alpha, was killed, and along with his death, the whole pack was taken from our family. I was not born yet when it happened, but all my life, I have heard my father talk about it. I heard the pain in his voice. I saw the regrets in his eyes. And I felt the hope dwindling i
NADINE. “Nadine!” Xander’s voice rang in the air before another one came.“In my office, Beta,” Maddox ordered him. “Give me ten minutes, Maddox,” Xander answered, and soon I heard footsteps following me. It still baffled me how easy it was for Xander to deflect words from Alpha Maddox, but I guess because they were brothers. I hurried my steps, and the moment I reached the second floor, I ran to my room. “Fuck!” I heard him mumble before he ran as well. I was able to reach my room, but it was locked, and I had no idea where the key was. I was still holding my doorknob when I turned around, my eyes glaring at him as I spoke. “Don’t come near…”He stopped right away and raised his hands. “I have the keys in my pocket.”“Give it to me.”With one hand still up, he reached for his pocket and pulled the key from it. I grabbed it from him and inserted it into the keyhole. With my body facing him, I pushed the door open. “Don’t you dare attempt to come inside my room, or I will scream.”
NADINE.“I was wondering if I could be inducted into your pack.” I asked, my eyes meeting Alpha Maddox’s gaze. His brows hiked up, and it felt like forever as I waited for his reply. I held my breath, but the moment a wicked smile tugged on his mouth, I felt I stood a chance that he would take me into his pack. “Does Xander know about this?”I shook my head. “I decided for myself, Alpha. I don’t think Xander will claim me anyway. But I have nowhere to go, and I don’t have money to look for a new place. But if you give me a room here, I can work in the packhouse or anywhere I might be needed.”“Sounds interesting. Maybe you can work for me, and I can keep you under my wing.” “For you? What work will that be?” I asked, my eyes rounding. Let the games begin. “Will it matter? I’m sure I can find a good place for you.” He leaned forward and rested his arms on the table. “How old are you?”“Twenty-one, Alpha.”“Interesting. You look younger.”I swallowed before I smiled at him. “Will you
XANDER.Before Nadine came to the territory, I had asked Maddox to give me a day or two off to find my mate. I told him I had no plans of claiming her — that I didn’t want her — but needed to find her for the rejection. That was a lie. I wanted Nadine. My whole being craved the female I smelled two weeks ago at the Claiming Ball, but I knew I had nothing to offer her, not with Maddox around. In the two months I was here, I had seen females that my brother fancied, and I was terrified his attention would fall on her. My mate’s beauty was exquisite. She might be innocent-looking, but there was a fire in her eyes — something that my brother would surely take notice of, and the last thing I wanted was for him to add her to his conquest.Some of Maddox’s conquests were willing females who would open their legs and let him have his way with them, but others were victims of his games. Mindy belonged to the latter. I had to let my brother think I liked Mindy so he would leave her alone. I
XANDER.After that, everything went into a blur. I tried to talk to her again, but Maddox came up with a plan to spoil my time with her. He used Mindy again, and it only added to Nadine’s anger toward me. If this was the game Maddox was playing to lure my mate away from me, I wouldn’t be backing down. I think my brother forgot that I was also a Trevino. Deception and lies also ran through my veins.I already hated his ways from the very beginning, but with the way he was acting toward Nadine, there was no stopping me from hating the man. If I just wanted to take him down before, I wanted to crush him now. And I wouldn’t stop until it happened. ‘Can you hear me?’ I asked Nadine after she sipped Maddox’s blood.‘Yes.’ She replied, but it didn’t slip my notice the animosity in her voice. “Alpha, we will go now.” My arm coiled around her waist as I pulled her closer to me after taking the glass from her hand. ‘Bow down in respect.’ I told her through our mindlink.I saw Maddox’s brows
NADINE.I got what I wanted. I was already a member of Maddox’s pack. The moment we stepped out of his office, and the door closed, I pushed Xander’s arm off me and walked away. But he was indeed fast.The next thing I knew, we were inside a room I had never been in, and I was pinned against the wall, his front pressing against mine. “Who are you, Nadine?”“I think it’s too late for us to get to know each other. Reject me, mate.” I said, my tone laced with angst, but my heart was breaking at my words. Deep inside, I wanted Xander. But he would only make me weak. I didn’t need him, especially when I saw the lust in Maddox’s eyes. That was my initial plan—to make Maddox desire me so I could be his downfall. And having Xander would only block the path I wanted to take. “Not a chance…” He grunted before his lips brushed against my cheek.The sparks between us and the tingles spreading between my thighs at the need in his voice were making it harder for me to think straight. “I will ne
XANDER.I had never had to explain my actions to anyone, and I was at a loss for every question Nadine would throw my way. I had no idea how to make her believe my intentions were real — that I wanted her and not anyone else.Seeing the desire in Maddox’s eyes for my mate woke up all my senses. I didn’t care anymore if Nadine was still in love with Tristan or if she was an accomplice to him. All I knew was that I wanted to protect her, and I wanted to claim her. But earning her trust was like shooting for the stars. I would always miss, and it seemed impossible to achieve. “What are we doing here?” She asked as we stopped in front of the door where SECURITY was written. I didn’t answer. Instead, I opened the door wide and let her in. There were four men inside, including Gamma Kenzo. “Good morning, Beta Xander.” The rest of the men greeted me, while Kenzo just nodded his head toward me. “Good morning. This is Nadine. My mate.” I stated in one breath, but I made sure my arm was arou
NADINE. I wasn’t sure if I should trust him about Mindy. If I just based it on how he looked at the moment, he appeared to be telling the truth. But trusting someone who belonged to the clan I hated the most was not easy, especially when lying was also the game I was playing. So, I guess I will still have to watch them and let time reveal everything. “Why are you here, Nadine? Maybe it’s time for you to tell me your story.” Xander spoke in a soft way, and with his hands on my skin, I was losing my defenses and my senses. I almost blurted out that I was here to take my pack back, but I was able to get hold of myself in time. Instead of telling him about how I wanted him, like I had practiced multiple times before coming here, I began telling him about Tristan. I had no idea why, but maybe, despite my deception, I wanted Tristan out of the way between us, like I wanted Mindy out of his life. I wanted him not to think Tristan was someone important to me. “I met Tristan three months