15

Her memories of that night were like a dream—as if she’d watched events unfold from the edge of the clearing. It was as if she and Max had been caught up in a spell. Still gripping her arms, he finally looked over her head at Nathan’s unconscious body as two Hunters in human form crossed the clearing, gathered Nathan in their arms, and carried him away. The rest of the Hunters fell into step behind them, and the group disappeared into the trees.

Help. Heal. Whispered thoughts had built in her mind. Her chest had ached with the urge to do…something. She’d twisted against Max’s hold. “Let me go to him—”

“Not yet.”

The command overrode the instinct pushing her to follow the Hunters. Max’s voice—just two little words—seized her attention and forced it to his face. Her heart pounded.

Possession.

He looked at her like she belonged to him. No, that wasn’t right. He looked like she belonged to him and someone had tried to take her away. His attention dropped to her sex.

Her nipples tightened to hard points. The flesh between her legs throbbed. All thought of right and wrong, of Alpha and subordinate, fled. She took a shuddering breath. “I…” She gasped as a wave of need rolled through her belly, rocking her hips forward.

He slid his hands from her arms to her neck, then threaded his fingers through her hair, his big hands on either side of her head. “What do you want?” His fangs flashed white in the darkness as he spoke. His voice wasn’t soft or gentle—it grated in her ears, a powerful demand that punched into her brain and rattled every nerve ending.

“Please…” Her legs trembled. The ache between her legs swelled to a throb that pounded in sync with her heart.

A growl rumbled in his throat. The deep sound vibrated the hot folds between her legs. Without breaking eye contact, he tipped her head back. “Answer me.”

“I…ache.” As she said it, more heat built in her sex. The flesh there felt puffy and hot. Her breaths were harsh gasps.

The forest blurred around her. Before she realized what was happening, her shoulders touched a tree trunk. The bark scraped her back, and the scent of pine surrounded her. She blinked, dizzy from the whirlwind of movement.

Max braced a hand on the trunk above her head. With his free hand, he passed a warm palm down her belly and cupped her sex. “Ah…you ache, petite? Here?” He slipped a finger between her folds and circled her clit.

She bucked against his hand. “Yes.”

The finger pushed past her opening, filling her. “Here, too?”

A wave of pure lust rushed over her, and her hips undulated of their accord. Nathan never made her feel this way. “Because he’s not a wolf,” a voice in her head whispered.

“Answer me,” the Alpha demanded.

“Y-yes.”

He withdrew his finger, and her heart fell. She thrust her hips toward him, desperate to get it back.

“Turn around.”

The order sent another wave of heat rippling across her sex. She whimpered. The ache tightened to a spiral of need. The flesh between her legs burned. She bit her lower lip.

His glance flickered there. “Do it. Now.” Beneath the growl, his voice sounded different. Almost…plaintive.

Slowly, she faced the tree. Moonlight silvered the bark.

He pressed against her, his hard body pinning hers against the tree. Rough wood scraped her skin, and a bolt of fear shot down her spine.

All at once the reality of her situation flooded her. This was the Alpha. He could do whatever he wished to her. Werewolves didn’t hold sex sacred. If anything, they encouraged young wolves to experiment before entering into a lifelong bond. But Lizette was a nobody—an orphan raised by humans. The Alpha would never take her as a mate.

No, he’d just take her. She tensed.

“Relax,” he said, his voice rough, as though he was straining to lift a heavy weight. “Offer yourself to me.”

Offer? Trapped against the tree, she tried to turn.

“Stay.” He gripped her hips with hard fingers and buried his face in her neck. “Move against me.”

Her heart pounded. Something hard nudged her backside. Another bolt of fear shot through her. She tucked her arm against her side and thrust an elbow into his ribs.

He didn’t even grunt. Just dropped his head to her neck. Hot breaths ruffled her hair…then a fierce, pinching pain shot across her nape. The hot scent of blood stung her nostrils.

Her blood.

Fear. Confusion. Desire. Fear. Emotions had flickered through her mind like a movie played in fast forward. Without thinking, she turned her head and snapped at his hand.

Lizette sagged against the window. Her nape tingled. The window was smudged with her sweat.

In the clearing, the trail of blood down her neck had burned hot…

And then the spell broke.

In the clearing, Max flung her away from him.

She whirled, one hand clapped against her nape.

“Go,” he grated, blood dripping from his hand, the drops pattering against the ground.

“I don’t… What?”

He’d bared his teeth at her. “I said go. Get out of here.”

She ran the rest of the way to the Lodge without stopping.

The next morning he shipped her off to school without even looking at her. He hadn’t banished her from the Lodge—not officially. But the effect was the same. She went to Albany because he hadn’t given her a choice. Now he ordered her back. Once again, she had zero control over her own life.

She turned from the window and glanced around her bedroom. What now? If she stayed in her room, Max would find her eventually. Then he’d order her to move into his. Was he trying to humiliate her? Or just prove he could make her do whatever he wanted? Both. It was probably both.

“Because he’s an asshole,” she said out loud.

“Such language,” an amused voice commented from the hallway outside.

She went to the door and opened it.

Remy leaned against the jamb, a sucker stick between his lips.

“That’s rich, coming from your potty mouth,” she said.