Chapter 2 002

SELENE’S POV

The word whispered in my mind in a voice that wasn't mine.

Alpha Iver’s face twisted like he was fighting the urge to vomit or rip someone apart with his bare hands, maybe both. The expression would have been almost satisfying if his hand hadn’t come out and gripped my jaw with a force that sent heat skidding down my spine like a wildfire.

My wolf stirred. I went rigid as something ancient and unfamiliar surged up from a place inside me I had always believed was missing. The shock of it hit harder than his grip ever could.

I had grown up hearing I was defective, the child of a woman who killed her Mate, and the Moon Goddess in turn cursed her offspring with a wolf that never answered, while my Pack branded me as a rogue.

But now my wolf stirred. She screamed and reached and clawed for this dominant, infuriating, sinfully gorgeous Alpha like she had known him all along, like she had been waiting for him across lifetimes. The betrayal of it nearly knocked the air out of my lungs.

“You’re mine now,” he said, his voice rough as the words burned straight through me, lighting the bond between us until it pulsed like a living thing.

“No,” I snarled, though my body betrayed me by leaning a fraction closer. “I’m not. I don’t belong to anyone.”

He didn’t argue. Instead, he ripped the zip ties off my wrists like they were nothing, then hauled me up and over his shoulder with a fierceness that made my stomach slam against his back. The act was degrading, causing rage to explode through me. I beat my fists against him, my nails scraping uselessly over his coat.

“Put me down, you bastard!”

He didn’t react.

The crowd parted in dead silence as he carried me out, their eyes following us with a mixture of fear. With every step the sudden mate bond throbbed harder in a way that made my chest ache.

This wasn’t how it was supposed to feel. Mates were myths told to comfort children, stories about safety and belonging and warmth. This felt like a noose sliding closed around my throat.

Iver kicked open a side door and I sucked in a sharp breath, snapping me fully back into my body just in time to see a black car idling in the alley.

I lost what little restraint I had left. I twisted, kicked, screamed and hurled every curse I’d ever learned at him, calling him names that would’ve earned me a beating in any other pack.

“Watch your mouth,” a man snarled from somewhere behind us.

The air shifted before I saw another presence surged closer, then, a hand lifted like it was going to strike me, but it never landed.

“No.” Alpha Iver turned his head just enough to pin his Beta with a look that made my wolf recoil. The dominance rolling off him was suffocating. “Do not lay a single finger on her.”

The Beta stiffened. “But Alpha, she’s—”

“Anyone who lays a finger on her will feel my wrath. She’s my mate.” Hearing him talk possessively about me hit me like a physical blow.

My breath left me in a broken gasp, my chest seizing as if my lungs had simply forgotten their job. For a moment, the world narrowed down to the pounding of my heart and the violent, exultant howl of my wolf as she finally, finally claimed a voice.

Mate. Mine. Iver.

Meanwhile, Iver didn’t look at me when he said it. He turned back to the car like he hadn’t just shattered any understanding I had of myself.

I was still reeling in his words when he shifted his grip. I twisted hard, drove my knee up with every ounce of spite and survival I had left and caught him square in the groin. He went down with a sound that was half snarl, half shout, his grip breaking just long enough for me to hit the ground and bolt.

I didn’t look back as I ran, though I could hear Iver’s men surge forward, instinctively chasing me.

“Stop,” he growled, the pain in his voice edged with something far more dangerous. “She’s mine to hunt.”

I felt the sudden shift in the air even as I ran, the bond flared and yanked at me like a restraint. Behind me, there was the unmistakable sound of bone cracking followed by a loud howl.

I couldn’t stop the thrill, the undeniable pull of someone chasing me with raw hunger. It was an alien feeling, the awareness that a man—no, an Alpha—wanted me, not for a night, but for me and paid an exorbitant amount to get me. Because of that, my pulse hammered and my wolf growled excitedly in my chest.

I looked back briefly and suddenly, Iver appeared in front of me in human form, blocking my escape. My breath hitch and my chest caught in an instant between fear and desire. His hands shot out, gripping my arms, jabbing me back against a tree with brutality.

My insides throbbed with excitement as I felt the shift in his pants. Despite my pulse singing in excitement, I shoved against him. “Let me go, you impossible bastard!” I spat.

Iver pressed me harder against the tree, his chest nearly smothering mine.

“Bastard?” His voice was low and dangerous, I could feel it vibrating straight into my bones. “This bastard just paid more than you are worth.”

“What do you even want with me? What could a rogue have that makes the Almighty Alpha Iver act out?” I ask, dragging my teeth along my lip. “Doesn’t matter. I’d poke my eye with a burning stick before I ever give myself to you.”

His jaw flexed and he leaned in so close I could feel his heartbeat hammering against my own. “And I’d willingly hand you the stick.” He clapped back. “You are my hunt. My Prize.” he finalised.

I blinked, the weight of that word pressing on me. Undiluted rage surged inside, screaming in defiance.

“I’ll kill you before I let you own me,” I hissed, voice trembling but unbroken.