17. Prove her wrong!

SETH.

“Damn this red moon,” I cursed under my breath, my voice rough with frustration.

The heat beneath my skin had become unbearable. Every nerve in my body felt restless, tense, painfully alive.

It was driving me insane.

I stepped outside immediately, needing air, needing space, needing something to calm the violent desire curling uncontrollably inside of me.

The night air hit my face, but it did nothing to help.

The red moon hung high above, glowing ominously across the dark sky like a curse sent specifically to torment wolves.

I could already feel its influence spreading through the entire pack.

Most wolves had either locked themselves away or completely surrendered to their instincts.

And honestly, I was dangerously close to doing the same.

My wolf was already pacing violently inside me, demanding release.

Demanding satisfaction.

I clenched my fists tightly and forced myself to keep walking through the nearly empty hallway, searching for anything that could suppress the maddening hunger growing stronger by the second.

Then suddenly…a scent caught my attention.

I froze instantly.

It was sweet, soft yet strangely unfamiliar at the same time. The scent wrapped around me so quickly it almost stole the air from my lungs.

My wolf reacted immediately and violently. Every instinct inside me sharpened at once.

And somehow, in that exact moment, I knew…whoever carried that scent had instantly become the center of my obsession.

The only thing I wanted.

The only thing my wolf wanted.

And without fully thinking, my body moved on its own.

I closed the distance between us quickly and wrapped my arms around her from behind.

The contact alone sent another dangerous wave of heat through me.

But only a few seconds later, disappointment slammed into me harshly.

Why was it her?

Out of everyone…

Why her?

Everything after that happened too fast and too confusingly.

One second I was trying to maintain control, and the next, I felt myself being drawn toward her in ways I couldn’t explain.

Every part of me desired her closeness, her scent and her touch.

It was becoming impossible to resist.

Then suddenly, my wolf stirred violently inside me, not with desire this time but realization.

My face darkened instantly as the truth hit me all at once.

She was my mate.

That single realization explained everything.

No wonder I had completely lost control earlier.

No wonder my wolf had gone nearly feral under the influence of the red moon.

No wonder her scent alone affected me this much.

But despite the chaos raging inside me, I forced myself to mask it beneath authority.

Because this…this wasn’t supposed to happen.

“What’s happening?” I muttered harshly under my breath.

Confusion quickly turned into frustration.

This was forbidden.

Why would the Moon Goddess possibly give me a human mate?

Out of every possible fate she could have chosen for me.

“Answer me!” I suddenly yelled, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her harder than intended.

Thankfully, the hallway remained mostly empty.

Most wolves had already gone into heat because of the red moon, leaving the area unusually silent.

Otherwise, someone would have definitely noticed how dangerously close I was to losing control.

“I don’t know what you are talking about!” she snapped immediately, glaring at me with pure disgust. “Now get your hands off me!”

Damn it.

Her resistance only made things worse—the stubbornness in her voice and the defiance in her eyes—It all pushed my wolf even closer to the edge.

At that moment, the only thing my darkening mind could think about was punishing her stubborn mouth somehow.

Those lips of hers had become a dangerous distraction.

And my wolf was rapidly losing control.

Ignoring her protests completely, I grabbed her wrists firmly and dragged her toward my room.

She struggled against me immediately, trying to pull herself free, but my grip only tightened.

The red moon was destroying whatever control I had left.

The moment we stepped inside the room, I pushed the door shut behind us with force.

The sound echoed heavily through the space.

Before she could react properly, I pinned her against the door instantly.

Her body pressed tightly against the hard surface as I trapped both of her hands above her head with one hand.

Her breathing became uneven almost immediately.

“What are you doing?” she asked, her voice no longer as steady as before.

I noticed the way her face paled slightly, and strangely enough, I enjoyed every second of it.

The fear, the tension and the way her body trembled beneath my hold—It fed something dark inside me.

Then another thought crossed my mind.

A dangerous one.

With her as my mate…I could easily make her life even more miserable than it already was.

The realization almost amused me.

All I needed to do was mark her and solidify the bond completely.

Then she would truly belong to me.

How nice that would be.

The thought alone made my wolf stir possessively inside me.

Slowly and deliberately, I lowered my head closer to hers until my lips brushed lightly against her skin.

I felt her breath hitch immediately.

A faint reaction she probably wished she could hide.

That only made me smirk.

“You are just like every other girl,” I said with a low laugh. “You act tough, but deep down, you crave my touch.”

I chuckled softly, watching her expression carefully.

“You wouldn’t have imagined in your wildest dreams that this day would come.”

“Get off me!” she snapped instantly, struggling harder against my grip. “Your touch only disgusts me!”

Her words should have angered me but instead, they challenged me.

“Really?” I asked slowly, raising a brow as I stared directly into her eyes.

At that moment, I became determined to prove her wrong.

Before she could say another word, I captured her lips with mine. The kiss was intense from the very beginning, as it was demanding and possessive.

I deepened it immediately, exploring every inch of her mouth as though trying to force her into admitting the truth she kept denying.

I wanted her resistance to break.

Wanted her to take back every single word she had just said.

But the longer the kiss lasted, the more something inside me began to shift.

Because suddenly…It no longer felt like I was the one in control.

The heat inside me kept growing stronger.

My thoughts became more disorganized and more reckless.

And instead of feeling satisfied, I found myself wanting more of her with every passing second.

Her scent, her warmth and the feel of her beneath my hands.

It was becoming impossible to think clearly anymore.

What was happening to me?

Why did it suddenly feel like my wolf was overpowering every ounce of reason I had left?