CHAPTER 7: The Deal  

DAPHNE’S POV

"You bite me too much," I muttered, "That's a form of marking, but it hurts."

The bite marks on my body burned, as if they were eating away at every one of my cells.

"I never said I would make this easy for you." Theron’s breath caressed my ear.

His hand rested on my buttocks, squeezing hard. I growled in my throat, exhausted, and closed my eyes. It had been a long day.

"Daphne," Theron called.

"Hm?"

"You are mine." There was something in his voice that made me shudder. As if it were laden with potential dangers that I couldn't possibly change.

The next morning, I woke up but didn't bother opening my eyes. I lay on my stomach, and Theron had been sleeping on my back all night. Now, my body felt numb and harder to move than ever.

The frantic moments last night were incredibly satisfying. In three years, even during the moments with my husband, I had never reached such a threshold of pleasure. Please don't misunderstand; we aren't the type to stick to traditional positions. Lyssander and I had tried many different ways, various positions, and rhythms. I was always the one who needed lubricant just so he could enter.

Theron always made it feel so easy. I wondered how many women he had been with to acquire that skill. A bitter taste rose in my mouth. No, I was dealing with the devil; I couldn't let emotions interfere with any of this.

Theron announced he was awake when his "middle leg" jabbed straight into my leg. He let out a long yawn. "Good morning."

"I need to sit up."

"Not yet." His nose nuzzled into my hair, inhaling deeply with satisfaction. "It's been a long time..."

He stopped and stroked my buttocks. His hand moved closer and closer to where he had tormented me yesterday. My breathing became hurried and frantic. I could feel his heart beating faster as he touched my wetness.

Yes, wet. I didn't know why my body responded so intensely to his touch. His fingers quickly grazed the folds, sliding against them before slipping two fingers inside to widen me.

"Good god, Theron. It's morning." I gritted my teeth, trying to pretend I didn't feel the pleasure he was bringing me.

"So what? You agreed to my terms." He tormented me. Damn it, I opened my mouth to moan, and he chuckled.

His fingers withdrew.

"We still haven't agreed on what you need me to 'belong to you' to mean."

A familiar, warm, hard object thrust deep inside me, taking the place of his fingers. Theron inhaled sharply and squeezed my buttocks. "Simple. You belong to me. And I will give you whatever you want."

"You're going to torture me, aren't you?"

"You’re going to love it." With that, he began to thrust at a steady rhythm.

Those steady movements gave me pleasure, but also a greediness to have more.

"That's just in bed, right?" I hissed.

"Move in with me, stay by my side so I can torment you." He pinned my body down. He bit my shoulder again. His breath was ragged and powerful.

"Theron..." I screamed. My cry was jagged, filled, and interrupted by pleasure.

"Yes, that's it; you will be tormented like this, Daphne." With one final effort, Theron released inside me.

My whole body trembled shamelessly. My throat groaned, raw and sore.

I tilted my head back, gasping for air as my body went rigid. Before my eyes, faint flashes of light burst and crackled.

He sat up and lay on his back beside me. "No refusing; you promised."

"Yes," I panted, trying to flip onto my back. His hand rested on my breast and squeezed. "You bastard, Theron."

"There will be more of that." He pinched my nipple. I gasped and slapped his bicep.

"Too weak for a Beta," he pouted, eyes still fixed on the ceiling. "You were the same when we were kids."

"I am a woodworker, not a warrior," I sighed. "I hurt you back then. I shouldn't have slept with my friend and then rejected him."

"You did much more than that," Theron confessed.

"I'm sorry."

"Not enough."

"I..." A pause, my breath hitched. "...never liked you."

"I want you to suffer," the Alpha hissed. "I won't let anyone else make you suffer, because I will do it myself."

"I'll let you do it," I replied. "But with a limit. I don't want to be yours forever. Clearly, my rejection hasn't affected you to that extent."

"Ninety days." Theron offered his first number.

"Ten," I corrected.

"No one can do anything within ten days." Theron laughed. He turned to face me, his hand still on my breast. "Thirty days."

One month. Just enough for me to settle everything with my parents. And enough time to find a new place to live. I didn't want Theron to know where I or my family lived.

"Fine," I nodded, but there was one more thing. "I will stay by your side, and you can do whatever you want with me. But that cannot include my parents and my younger brother. They will stay in their own home. And you will help me ruin Callistos."

Theron flashed a smile. "Deal."

"Can we start once I file for divorce from him? I need time to prepare."

"That's your call." Theron moved his hand from my chest to my cheek. He pinched it again. "I’m busy thinking about what I’ll do during those thirty days."

"Do you hate me just because I rejected you?" I pushed his hand away and sat up.

"Yes."

"And because our family withdrew from the pack?"

"Yes."

"You should have beaten me up and forgotten about me. Not like this."

"Why did you leave, Daphne?" Theron asked suddenly.

I startled before regaining my composure. "I didn't want to see you."

"Then thirty days by my side will be absolute torture for you." Theron wore a wicked smile.

After all these years, even though I had known him since we were children, that smile still made my blood run cold. I hated it.