Chapter 8 “Bond And Bodies”

• Yuri’s Point of View
• Morning came. I hadn’t closed my eyes, not once. But even if the world outside had embraced the new day, my mind remained shackled to the night before.
• ‘My decision is final.’
• There was no reason for me to live. All I wanted was to get my revenge against Regis by offering my body to another man. And then, I would die.
• Well, my wolf-mate seemed kinder than I had first assumed. He had frightened me before, but he had gone out of his way to hunt food for me, meaning he wasn’t as ruthless as I thought.
• ‘If I asked him nicely, maybe he would grant my request to die without pain,’ I believed.
• However, when he returned to the cabin and I told him my wish, I realized how wrong I was for thinking that he would grant my wish easily.
• “I want your body. I want to eat, devour, and mark you. Unfortunately, I am not a wolf who can be satisfied with just one night. So, until I get bored of your body… YOU CAN’T DIE.”
• After he dropped that remark, I stared at him, who didn’t look as if he was joking. I could see it—no, I could feel it in the way his gaze devoured me, in the way his presence loomed over me like an unmovable force. There was no kindness in his expression now, no hesitation. Only sheer, unrelenting possession.
• A shiver ran down my spine, and I curled my fingers into the blanket as if it could somehow protect me from the monster before me.
• “W-What…?” My voice came out weak.
• He tilted his head and his crimson eyes flashed with amusement. “What? No smart remarks now?”
• I swallowed hard. His presence was suffocating. This man… this beast was worse than Regis. Regis had betrayed me and had treated me like an afterthought, but at least he had given me the illusion of choice. This man? He was stripping away even that.
• Regis had asked me to be his mistress. This man was telling me I had no right to leave. No right to die.
• I had escaped one hell only to fall into another.
• “You have no trouble speaking your mind before,” he mocked, his fingers tightened around my chin. “I guess you lose your tongue now.”
• My breath hitched, and I squeezed my hands shut, trying to control the terror rising in my chest.
• I was scared. Truly terrified.
• I had already shattered in the hands of Regis and his Alpha family. But I was about to be this man’s plaything. I would be a doll that belonged to a beast!
• But then, a voice echoed in my mind.
• “Look at him,” White, my wolf, whispered in my ears. Her voice was so velvety, so coaxing when she asked me, “Isn’t he handsome?”
• I stiffened, my breath catching in my throat.
• “Imagine his arms around us, the pleasure he could bring…” White continued in my head.
• A warm flush crept up my neck. No. No, I didn’t want this. I refused to be swayed, to be reduced to nothing but a tool for someone else’s desires. My wolf was drunk on the mate bond, but I wasn’t.
• I wouldn’t be.
• If he wouldn’t end me after one night, then I would do it now. Before the bond took full control of my body, I opened my mouth and bit down my tongue hard.
• Pain exploded through me, metallic and sharp, but I didn’t hesitate. But before I could finish what I started, a hand clamped around my jaw, forcing it open.
• Then, in an instant, his lips crashed against mine.
• Ecstasy.
• Sweet.
• What is this?
• A gasp left my throat and for a long moment, my mind went blank.
• All I knew was he was kissing me, forcing his tongue between my teeth so I wouldn’t bite myself to death. I tasted my blood, but it wasn’t only that. His tongue, which had passed my lips, swirled around my mouth.
• His saliva is sweet like honey.
• This isn’t normal. Why did he taste so sweet?
• As my body and mind betrayed me in the worst possible way, I just found myself lying down on the mattress. My hands, as if they had their minds, moved and gripped around his broad shoulder. They pulled him closer instead of pushing him away.
• His lips moved, nibbling mine. My head was spinning as I also moved my lips and closed my eyes as I kissed him back.
• I felt so alive right now. Is this the bond’s power?
• Now, I understood.
• Perhaps this was what Regis had felt for his wolf-mate—the irresistible force that had drawn him away from me. Perhaps this was the reason he had cast me aside so easily, so thoughtlessly. Had his body craved another as mine did now? Had his heart wavered, helpless against the pull of the bond?
• The realization struck deep, an open wound exposed to salt.
• I clenched my fists against the fabric of his shirt, my nails pressing into his flesh, desperate to anchor myself. But the more I struggled, the more I felt it—my wolf’s contentment, her pure and unfiltered desire for him.
• “Stop thinking,” White murmured, her voice curling around my thoughts like smoke. “Just feel.”
• Feel it, she said.
• I tried to relax as I followed my wolf’s advice. And then, I felt him gripping my face with both of his hands. His kisses were demanded, and I couldn’t pull away even if I wanted to.
• His lips were rough against mine, his teeth grazing, sharp and hungry. Each stroke of his tongue sent a jolt through my body, sweet and overwhelming, like fire spreading beneath my skin.
• The mix of pleasure and pain twisted through me, so sharp that I couldn’t tell where one ended and the other began. A low moan escaped my throat, my neck arching.
• ‘I need air. I can’t breathe anymore!’
• I pushed against his chest, my fingers digging into his chest as I pushed him away.
• Finally, he pulled away and I opened my eyes. The first thing I saw was our saliva mingling together as if there were mozzarella cheese from a pizza.
• It was… sexy.
• With my mind whirling, I then looked at the pair of his red eyes. His crimson eyes gleamed with amusement, but underneath the mockery, something darker lurked. A warning. A silent declaration that I was his to control, to tame, to claim.
• "Nice try, miss," he murmured. His tongue darted out, licking the corner of his mouth—no, licking my blood from his lips.
• A slow, deliberate movement.
• And I watched.
• I watched the way his tongue swept over the red smear, the way his expression darkened as if savoring the taste of me. My pulse pounded against my ribs, my entire body locking in place as he swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing with the motion.
• I should have been repulsed.
• Instead, I was frozen.
• “I meant it when I said that I wouldn’t let you die that easily,” he whispered before his eyes flicking down, raking over my form, lingering on the rapid rise and fall of my chest before meeting my gaze once more. “Not when I haven’t tasted you enough,” he added.
• A crazy beat thumped in my chest, all wild and out of control. I should’ve been furious at what he said—his cocky assertion about me. But instead, a rush of excitement raced down my spine, making my whole body buzz with anticipation.
• Am I going crazy?
• If a simple kiss had unraveled me like this, what would happen if we…?
• The thought alone sent a deep heat coiling in my stomach.
• Before I could stop myself, his hands captured both my wrists, pinning them above my head. His grip was firm, but not painful, as if he knew just how much pressure to apply to keep me right where he wanted me.
• Then, his lips brushed against my neck.
• My breath hitched.
• A warm, featherlight breath danced over my skin before his tongue flicked out, tracing a slow, torturous path. The sensation sent an electric shiver cascading down my spine, sharp and unrelenting.
• My eyes widened as my body reacted on its own. My thighs pressed together, seeking relief from the aching pulse that had begun between them.
• His scent wrapped around me, thick and intoxicating, making the heat in my core grow unbearable. I squeezed my lips shut, desperate to keep any sound from escaping.
• But I failed.
• A breathless moan slipped out—soft, broken, helpless.
• “Ahh, ahh…”
• His kisses deepened, his mouth moving along my neck, tasting me, savoring me. His tongue teased the sensitive skin just below my ear, sending a fresh wave of tingles down to my legs.
• I was getting wet.
• The shame of it burned inside me, but my body refused to listen to my mind. It wanted more.
• It was then, that I felt something beneath me. It was hard, long and pulsating. I didn’t need to see it because I already knew what was brushing against my legs.