Resistance

"Want to see a challenge emerge from me?" Derek asked, voice lowered despite the undercurrent pounding in his words.

Diva scoffed. "I'm a master at beating challenges."

"See if you make it here without taking orders from me," he said, smooth.

She knit her brow. "I'm sure that you're going to be beat."

Derek laughed loudly and menacingly. He pushed the door open and out, shaking the walls as he closed the door with such force.

"Do you want to knock down the door?”

"It's me—the maid," replied someone.

Diva sighed. "What do you want?"

"Alpha Derek has requested to meet with you at breakfast."

Her gut knotted. She had hardly had time to acclimate to her new existence and Derek was already summoning her?

But to decline was to miss out on food, and she was not going to let hunger win.

"I did not invite you to sit," Derek's deep voice growled.

Her jaw clenched. "I'm not your prisoner."

Derek slowly came around to her, his chilly gray eyes expressionless.

"You're a visitor in my home, a captive of circumstance. Until I choose what to do with you, you'll follow orders.

she spat. "And what rules?"

Derek smiled. "You'll learn in due course."

She shoved but drifted closer, angry that the mate bond had made her so attuned to him. The air between them vibrated like a pent-up surge of electricity.

Derek had planned an afternoon tour after breakfast with a warrior named Caleb.

"This is more than a house," Caleb indicated as he strolled beside her. "It's a fortress. A haven for our pack."

Diva wasn't even hearing him. She had only one thing on her mind: escape.

She strode into the gardens, hungry for space, starving for air. The chilled night breeze had no chance against the fires of fury burning within her.

Footsteps were behind her. She didn't need to turn to know whose.

"I didn't expect you'd so easily fall into place," Derek's voice was rough.

Her arms crossed. "I'm not standing in line. I'm surviving."

Derek snorted. "You'll require something more than instincts to survive here. The bond is not one you can avoid forever."

Diva took a step forward, annoyance rising. "And what if I don't? What if I don't care about it, or about you?"

Something glinted for the first time in his eyes—a shimmering thing that was near vulnerability.

"It doesn't matter what you want," he at last declared. "The bond has been created. And it will pull on you come what may."

She gulped hard.

Diva narrowed her eyes. "Like what?"

Derek hesitated before saying, "I don’t know yet. But when the time is right, everything will make sense."

She frowned. "You’re hiding something."

He held her gaze. "So are you."

The chemistry between them was stifling, something that neither of them could define but both of them could feel drawing them to one another.

Diva woke the next morning. wrong. Her emotions were in an uproar, her thoughts confused. The bond of a mate was greater than an agony—it was changing her.

She paced the room, agitated. She needed to know.

She had her mind fixed on it, she walked down the manor's corridors, determined to find Derek's study. Caleb had mentioned it in passing, and now she was putting that information to practical use.

She rested against herself against the big oak door, hearing for sounds inside. She had her ear against the door, caution overcome by curiosity.

"The rogues have been seen on the east front. They're becoming strong," one of the warriors replied.

Then Derek's voice was heard, calm and level. "Double the guard. I'll take care of them in due course."

Diva's brow furrowed. Rogues?aa

She hadn't time to think about the facts before the door opened.

A warrior stepped inside, glanced at her before proceeding down the corridor.

Derek stood in the doorway, his gaze on hers.

"What do you want?"

"I need to talk to you," she said, chin tucked in tight circle of annoyance.

Safety only guaranteed, he stepped back, making room for her.

His lair had been exactly as she'd imagined it—wood paneling in dark stains, bookcases wall-to-wall across every inch, and the unbreathable air of omnipotence.

He shut the door, standing wide-legged. "Talk.”

Diva spun to confront him, flame flashing.

"This connection—it's wrong," she exclaimed. "I do know. It's not working. I don't know you, and yet—" She caught herself, not wanting to admit the facts.

Derek stood up, his angry anger enraging.

"Why are you so placid about all of this?" she asked. "You're acting like all this is imaginary to you, like I'm imaginary to you."

Derek's face set. "You think that I wanted it?" He advanced. "You think I chose you?”

"Let me go!"

The look in Derek's eyes turned cold, and for a moment there was in them some languid glint.

"It can't be that simple," he panted. "The bond is not to be severed. The tie keeps us bound."

"Can it never be severed?" she went on. "Must it always be so?"

Derek hesitated. And in hesitating, Diva realized the truth.

He doesn't know either.

"The bond isn't natural," he admitted at last. "I've felt it too—something's wrong. But until I figure out what, you're not going anywhere."

Diva's resolve disintegrated. Was he right?

"I don't want to be here," she whispered.

Derek's face relaxed a little. But his voice wasn't budging.

"You may not have an option."

Diva swallowed hard, the severity of his words weighing down over her like darkness.

"You think so?" she sneered.

"No," he fought for air. "I know it."

Derek moved forward again, his huge body occupying the space. His grey eyes burst into hers, and she couldn't recall how to breathe for an instant.

"You hate me as much as you can," he whispered. "But the bond doesn't operate in feelings. It'll burn you. Whether you fight or not."

Diva's lips parted to protest,

But then he leaned forward and rubbed his fingers across her skin, her face screwed up to his. His fingers were hot and hard.

"You'll feel it," he whispered. "That flame. And when you do, you'll know something terrible."

Her heart was pounding. "What?"

His mouth curled into a slow smile.

"That no matter how you fight against it, no matter how you resist—" His voice was a low growl. "You'll need me."

Diva took a step back, her heart racing.

She spun around to exit, but before she could open the door, his statement brought her up short.

"This bond will transform you, Diva. Whether you like it or not."

She shut the door.

And yet, in the far recesses of her mind, she knew that he told the truth.