Chapter 40

Mud and dirt stuck to my boots as I continued to walk across the dark, ominous woods. Sounds of wolves howling under the full moon echoed throughout, even reaching to me. I jumped at every howl and turned around to see if someone had caught me.

Not yet.

I ran for a few minutes but then my legs gave up and I decided to walk. My dark hair fell over my shoulder as I looked behind again, assuring Nicholas hadn't found me, or he wasn't trailing me. For someone who could smell me, he was surely taking his time.

A smile stretched over my face and I continued walking. The woods extended for miles and miles. The smell of pine tress was strong in the air, mixed with the scent of wet leaves and damp earth. I took a deep breath, filling my lungs with the air before I stopped when I reached a clearing.

There was a body of water ahead, fairly large.

The howl of the alpha was a different one, and when I heard it again, I quickly realized he was nearing me. I couldn't run for long.

Not that I wanted to.

I unbuttoned the first few buttons of the coat as I heard Nicholas' howl again. It was a far more threatening one. He was following the trail of my scent. The coat fell off my shoulders and onto the ground near the lake before I began walking to my left where I saw a small cabin in the distance.

I hurried towards it, hoping that I could confuse Nicholas. As I got closer, I could see that the cabin was rundown and abandoned, with broken windows and a sagging roof. But it was better than being outside, in the woods, and making it easier for Nicholas to find me.

Anything but that.

I rushed inside, closing the creaky door behind me. The inside was musty and damp, with cobwebs covering the corners of the living. It assured me that no one lived here.

There were a few cabins I had seen earlier, there were spread out through the woods. I supposed they were old training grounds, or something along those lines.

Goosebumps spread over my skin as I looked outside from the small, blurred windows. I wore nothing but the red dress Sheryl had given me. It was sleeveless, short, barely reaching my thighs, but it was something I had to wear tonight.

The walls were thick enough to muffle most of the voices from the outside, but every time I moved inside the cabin, the wood beneath creaked. My breaths came out slowly as the seconds ticked by.

Suddenly, I heard a loud thud followed with steps approaching the main wooden door of the cabin. My heart jumped and I turned around, facing the door, knowing well what was behind it, knowing what I had to invite in.

I reached the door knob and twisted it before opening it. My eyes met with Nicholas' wolf, his big black wolf with crimson eyes. He stood near to the door, only a few inches away from me. My pulse raced and I swallowed hard while my gaze lowered to the ground where I found my coat that I had left behind.

Left behind to fool him and to stretch the night further.

He still found me, quicker than I expected him to. I was enjoying the chase, the adrenaline rush that sprinted through me after talking to him earlier.

He dropped the coat onto the ground from his mouth and rose his head. I inhaled deeply while still standing on the doorway of the abandoned cabin. His threatening demeanor no longer terrified me as it did before. It all changed when I learned about the mate bond that we shared, that he hid from me.

His large wolf stepped forward before I heard the sound of his bone snapping and cracking as he began shifting to his human form. It happened in snap of a few seconds.

Nicholas emerged from the wolf's body and need me. He was naked and his body covered in sweat. His eyes locked with me as he stepped over the doorway and ended the distance between us.

"I told you something, didn't I?" He asked, placing a large hand over the wall near me and then the other one over wall on my left which blocked my way out entirely.

I shifted my feet over the ground and took a careful step back. "I don't think so I heard anything. And even if I did, I don't have to listen to you. You're not my alpha nor I'm your subject." I replied, keeping my voice steady even thought my heart was pounding in my chest.

Nicholas scoffed before his cold fingers brushed over my chest and slipped underneath the top of my dress. He pulled me by it and forced me closer till there was no distance left between us.

"You're still in my land, devil." He reminded me.

A smile spread over my face and I looked up at him. "Is isn't like I ran away. I could've, but I didn't. I was here, waiting for you to come and find me," My hand rose and my finger trailed down his bare chest as I whispered, "That's all. It was just a little game."

"And if someone else had seen you?" He stepped in, across the door while his hand still remained tightened around the top of my dress, right between my chest.

"No one did."

"And if someone did?" He stepped forward, and I shuddered in fear. "Especially tonight. You knew what could happen, didn't you?"

The girls had told me—I know what would've happened if I had chased someone else, or someone else had found me. It was the night of sex, where female wolves claimed male wolves for the night.

I gasped as he tugged me closer to him.

"Yet you didn't stop when I warned you." He leaned in, his lips brushing over mine. My heart drummed quick in my chest as I felt a surge of dread and desire explode inside me at the same time.

"Mark me," I whispered, my eyes flickering back and forth, over his eyes and then over his lips. "Nicholas." My hands pressed against his chest as the distance between us entirely disappeared.

Fear flashed in his eyes, but I could feel his body react to my words. He hesitated for a moment, then his grip on my dress loosened and he moved back slightly.

"Is that going to make you feel better about all of this?" He asked, his voice rough and low, but in agreement.

My head turned a little and I nodded, "Yes."

Nicholas searched my face for a moment before he began walking toward me. I stepped back until I was against the wall, heaving heavily, terrified from what he was about to me.

He didn't want to mark me. He had stated that earlier, and it truly hurt me.

When his mother came to me telling about tonight, I couldn't think of a better way to pull his strings. But now, after pulling his strings and having him standing in front of me, I feared what he'd say and what his true intentions were.

His arm stretched as he placed his hand one the right side of my head. "Then you're going to have it, but on my terms, in my way, as I want you to have it. But I should warn you, little devil, you'll spend the rest of your life bound to me and that's not easy. You've seen what I do, you've seen how I live. Is that something you desire? Is that something you even want?"

I looked into his eyes, the fear and desire still fighting inside me. "Yes." I whimpered.

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