Chapter 3

“Can’t I?” his deep voice echoed through her bones as his face inched closer to hers, making her knees want to cave in.

“Brendan,” Suki swallowed thickly, “H-How? There are guards everywhere along the pack’s borders.”

With a soft and almost gentle expression – something Suki and anyone who crossed paths with him were not accustomed to – Brendan stared at her lips as he held the silence like a great power to possess. He licked his lips slowly, “I have my ways, love. Besides, I’m pretty good at migrating between packs.”

Suki’s breathing became unstable. “If my father catches you here, he’ll go ballistic.”

Arching a brow, “That’s why I came when he wasn’t here. He is such a workaholic,” a soft smirk peeked from the corner of his mouth. “Look at you, the poor little daughter of the Beta being left all alone once again, and this time in a dangerous, cursed pack,” he brought his nose to her neck and exhaled a pleased groan after ingesting her scent.

“I can take care of myself,” she snarled, shoving the heels of her hand into his chest, but not hard enough to push him away.

“Oh, I’m sure you can,” Brendan grabbed her wrist before she could retreat it and pinned it beside her head, dragging his other hand down her body and gripping her waist, “but surely taking care of yourself in certain ways isn’t fun alone.” He mused as his hand moved lower and lower, grazing over the silk of her short nightgown before meeting the smooth skin of her thigh. “Surely… you’d prefer to have some company?”

Her eyes widened, “N-No…”

Brendan hummed, “That doesn’t sound very convincing.” He traced his finger softly on her inner thigh, lifting her nightgown slowly as he inched towards her centre.

“Brendan,” she tried to squirm, but he had her locked in place, “we can’t… I’m set to marry the future Alpha of–”

“The hell you are,” he interrupted in a growl. “You are mine.”

Suki shook her head slowly, “Please, we can’t.”

“I can’t get you out of my head,” he purred in her ear, “you take over every thought I have. All I want is you. The Moon Goddess wants it, so why fight it, love? Why push me away?”

Her voice stuttered as her breathing became heavier, “We just… can’t. Trust me.” She looked down at his lips as she gripped his shirt, fighting all the urges bubbling within her.

“I know the feeling is mutual, I know you think about me, too; you crave me just as much as I crave you. The pull we have is too strong for you not to.” Brendan brushed his lips across Suki’s neck and then planted a soft kiss on her most sensitive part. She felt like she was melting as she whimpered softly. “See,” he met his eyes with hers once more, gazing deep into her soul, “you lean into my touch, embrace my scent, you want me.”

“Please…”

‘Tell me to leave,’ he began through the faintness of their mental bond, only accessible when they’re close enough to each other and will only become more powerful and fully accessible once the mate bond is sealed. Brendan brought his fingers even higher up her leg and continued aloud, “Tell me to stop, that you don’t want me to touch you where I can smell you craving me most. Tell me, and I’ll leave you alone forever.”

No, that was not what she wanted, but she had to resist and push him away. It went against all that felt natural to her, so much so that the words would not come out, no matter how hard she tried.

Leaning her head back against the wall, her body relaxed in defeat of her urges, “I… I can’t,” she whispered so faintly that even with their wolf hearing, it would be difficult for someone to hear.

“Thank fuck for that,” he groaned in relief, releasing her wrist to cup her face in his hand and then leaned in to kiss her.

A brute force pushed Brendan away from Suki before their lips could meet, almost taking her down with him. A rapid breath escaped her mouth as her head felt clouded.

The man who had tackled him to the ground had also pinned him in place. “Don’t you touch her, you filthy Rogue!” he yelled before throwing a hard punch at him.

Blinking repeatedly, Suki felt all the air had escaped her lungs as she cooed, “Rey?” but once she realised she wasn’t hallucinating the person in front of her, she yelped, “Reynard, get off of him!” She gripped his shoulder and pulled him away from Brendan and towards her.

The anger on his face softened immediately as their eyes met, like Suki was giving her warmth to Reynard and soothing him before he did something he’d regret.

“What are you doing here? How did you get here?” Suki asked, confused, stepping closer to him.

“I had to see you. When my uncle told me you were being offered as a potential bride and would have a forced bond with the future Alpha of Silver Moon, I lost it. I didn’t care what rules I’ve broken to get here. A trainee guard here owed me a favour, and here I am.” He stepped closer and stroked her cheek, “Why haven’t you told your father about–”

“You son of a bitch,” Brendan groaned, wiping a dribble of blood from the corner of his mouth; the presence of the wound inflicted by Reynard had already healed. He stood speedily and stepped forward.

“Don’t you dare take another step towards her,” Reynard fumed, blocking his path to Suki. A wave of wrath was begging to escape him to protect Suki, but he pushed it aside as he looked at her once more. “Did he hurt you?” he asked, worried.

“No,” she said softly, immediately leaning into him, resting her palms on his chest as he held her close. His ocean-blue eyes almost glowed in the faintly moonlit night. “I’m fine, Rey.”

‘Promise me.’ He cupped his hands on her face.

“I promise.”

“I would never hurt her,” Brendan hissed.

Rey snarled, “I’m not asking you, Rogue. As if I would believe a word you say.” He gripped Suki’s shoulders, ignoring Brendan, and scanned her entirely with a face full of concern. He stilled the moment he realised what she was wearing, swallowing a lump in his throat as his eyes widened but also darkened with hunger. Clearing his throat, he tried to compose himself before asking in a partial growl, “Are you sure you’re all right? Did he… Did he touch you?”

She swallowed, unable to truthfully answer that question. He almost touched her, and she almost let him.

He looked over to Brendan and clenched his fists, “I should kill you for laying a finger on her.”

Brendan faked a chuckle, “I can touch her all I want. She’s mine.”

Reynard’s nostrils flared as he stepped towards him, “Say that again, I dare you.”

A lethal smirk grew on Brendan’s face as he also stepped towards Reynard, “I said: she is m–”

“Stop!” Suki shrieked, speeding herself between the two men who were ready to rip each other’s throats out. “You both need to stop misbehaving like this. Everett said that he was sending guards to check on me. If they catch you both, you’ll be in big trouble.”

“Let them come, then they can take away the trash,” Reynard shot a daggering glare at Brendan.

“Oh, that’s rich coming from you,” Brendan scoffed. “Mr Perfect, son of the Gamma wolf, star warrior-in-training of the pack who’s better than most fully trained warriors, worst of all, you pretend you’re humble about it all when it just feeds your ego, I see it in your eyes. Except I know you aren’t perfect, are you? How can you be when Mr Perfect doesn’t get his perfect girl?”

Suki’s vision felt blurred at the sight before her as she pressed a palm against each of the men’s chests in an attempt to keep them apart, “Stop it, please.”

Reynard chuckled, “You sit on your high horse because the Alpha of the Moonstone pack took you in? You think you’re untouchable, but you’re not; we’ve all heard the stories about you, and we all see you for who you truly are: a traitor. You are a Rogue before anything else, and you will never be one of us.”

Brendan pushed himself forward toward Reynard, but Suki used all her strength to keep him at bay. “You don’t know shit about me.”

“Enough, please, both of you, stop right now!” Suki pleaded.

Rage consumed Brendan. He wanted to cause pain, and he knew exactly how to go about it. “Tell me, how much does it hurt knowing your childhood best friend, who you’ve cared for your entire life, has bonded with a Rogue?”

Suki’s heart sank as her body stilled at his statement.

“You’re truly pathetic to come up with such a lie,” Reynard sneered, “Suki is my mate.”

Taken aback, Brendan took a step back, “Either you’re more hopeless and delusional than I initially thought, or you’re just plain stupid. Suki is my mate.”

“Enough of the lies!”

Brendan rolled his eyes, “I don’t lie, especially with something so sacred as this.”

“That’s not possible…” Rey stepped back. “I don’t believe you!”

“Then ask someone you do believe,” he jerked his chin towards Suki.

The dark cloud that fogged Suki’s mind consumed her entirely, and a horrid chill prickled her skin at the realisation that everything was falling apart in front of her. All the suffering she was putting herself through was to protect not just one of them, but both of them – they all didn’t deserve to be shunned for something out of their control.

“Ki?” Reynard cooed the nickname he gave her as children growing up. She had never liked having nicknames, but for him, she always allowed any nickname he wanted to give her. It was because he meant everything to her; he was the only thing in her life that wasn’t forced upon her. Their friendship was genuine, just as much as their feelings for each other.

Suki hugged herself, gripping her arms tightly, but that couldn’t shield her trembling.

Rey’s eyebrows drew together as he kept strong eye contact with her, “Ki, it’s okay. You can tell me anything, you know that, right?”

A tear rolled down her cheek as she nodded, smiling weakly.

“Then, please, tell me… who is your mate?”

Her heart thudded hard in her chest as she stuttered over her words before even beginning to speak. She tried to settle herself, but all she could hear was the thunderous booms of her heartbeat in her ears.

“Which one of us is your mate, Suki?” Brendan added.

She looked at Brendan, then back to Reynard, before looking down at the ground. She squeezed her eyes shut and stuttered a sigh, “You both are.”