Chapter 4

(Tanya)

Hunter closed the door, trapping me in the room with him. He spun me around; my front was pressed against the door while his body was pressed against my back. Without warning, he buried his face in my throat, inhaling more of me. A deep, rough groan rumbled from his chest.

“Let me go!”

“Tell that to my wolf,” he whispered in my ear. “He doesn’t want to let go. You are the only thing he’s ever craved like this. What have you done to me, Selina? I want you. I can’t believe how much I do.”

The spot between my thighs tingled at his words, releasing a thick, sweet scent. They called it pheromones. I was soaked. And he was hard.

“I said let me go!” I said, my chest heaving. My entire body was warm. And I didn’t like this. I didn’t like how I was losing control of this body. I lifted the dagger that I was able to steal from Garrison’s waist when he passed by me earlier. I was going to be alone with their alpha. I could not risk coming here empty-handed. “Or I swear I’ll cut your family jewels, and you can forget about having heirs.”

To my surprise, Hunter laughed. He released me, his eyes still dancing with heat and dark amusement when I faced him.

“Twenty minutes. That’s all I can give you right now, mate. Go and change your dress while I can still control myself.”

I walked towards the connecting door between his room and mine. But before I could open the door, his voice stopped me.

“You’ve changed, Selina. I don’t know what triggered it, what secrets you have been keeping from me, why your scent changed, what you did to make my wolf suddenly act like this for you, or why the heck you are suddenly bearing the same mating mark as mine that binds us together like this after all this time but I will find out.” Hunter playfully tugged the stray strands of my hair before tucking them behind my ears. “I will discover what you are hiding from me one by one this time, wife. So, brace yourself.”

Underneath the heat in his eyes, in his body, was a warning.

I pressed the tip of my dagger against his rib. “Are you threatening me, Hunter?”

He smiled and fearlessly pushed his body closer to mine even if it meant the dagger pierced his skin a little. “I don’t do threats, wife. That’s beyond me. I, however, don’t like to be played around.”

I swallowed hard. “I’m not playing around.”

“Then why do I feel like you’re already playing right now, Selina? What if you get burned? Can you even handle it?”

When I didn’t respond, Hunter removed his jacket and took his shirt off, revealing his muscular body, including the little wound my dagger created. My throat went dry. I was unable to look away. Slowly, he unzipped his pants and then he chuckled when he caught me watching. My whole face flushed. What was I doing?

I’d seen dozens of shirtless men before. I worked with men who loved to flex their muscles and abs. Most of them were my friends but I’d never been this enthralled.

“As much as I love the attention, you only have about eighteen minutes left to prepare, wife. Don’t worry, I’ll give you a private show later.”

My hands clenched. Despite my flaming cheeks, I walked backwards and raised my chin. “I didn’t enjoy it. I’ve seen too many of it before, Hunter. Your body… doesn’t even excite me anymore.”

His wolf seemed to have been offended. It roared so loudly my ears hurt. His voice was rough when he spoke again. “Is that so? Why don’t we test that theory right now?”

Just when Hunter was about to grab me again, I ran to Selina’s room and shut the door. My lips parted upon seeing the room for the first time. It was nothing like Hunter’s room. All it had was a single bed, a dresser that looked older than me, and a cabinet. Hunter had never stepped foot in this room since he married Selina. He had never even tried to take a peek. He was that uninterested in her and now, he wanted to claim me as his?

And for heaven’s sake, why were we mates? I looked out the window and gazed at the full moon like what Selina used to do every single night in the past.

“What the hell are you up to this time, Goddess?” I asked after taking a quick shower in the ensuite bathroom. I stared at the mark on my throat through the mirror. It was a crescent moon with three stars on its right side. If Selina did not have this before and this only appeared now, did this mean I was Hunter’s mate? But how? And why?

“Fifteen minutes, Selina!” Hunter said outside the door.

That bastard! I was only going along because I could not afford to offend their king. I ran towards the cabinet, opened it, and laughed at the sight that greeted me. There were a few worn-out dresses that would have certainly looked beautiful twenty years ago. That was all Selina had. No one even bothered to check on her these past few years.

“Ten minutes left,” Hunter reminded me.

“Keep counting! I’m not going. I have nothing to wear,” I replied as I laid on the bed while wearing a thin robe. I was always tired in my first life. I just wanted to relax in this one although all thoughts of that disappeared when Hunter opened the door and walked in, freshly showered, wearing his midnight-blue tuxedo, and no matter how much I disliked him for how coldly he treated Selina, for a moment, I still forgot how to breathe at the sight of him.

Like me, Hunter had the same reaction about the room. “What the hell happened here? Where are your things?”

“You didn’t believe me then. Why should I bother explaining anything to you now? Just ask your best friend.”

Agatha who trespassed Hunter’s room whenever he was away, managed the household, including all the money that Hunter kept sending over, it was a role that Selina should have taken on as the Luna but she was forced to give it up when Agatha, her friends, and the servants didn’t stop harassing her over it. Selina tried begging Garrison to relay it on Hunter, but none of the pack members believed Selina whose father worked for Hunter’s half-brother slash Alpha King Lorenzo Blackwell, the legitimate son of the former king.

Lorenzo was the tyrant who ruled this realm. He was the man I could not afford to piss off. Hunter had won over the people for the past years by winning wars against rogues. His widespread fame and connection threatened the king’s position. Lorenzo wanted to mock his brother and his efforts by marrying a bastard with another bastard.

Now that Hunter was married to someone who they deemed worthless, people started viewing him unfavorably. Another reason why his pack hated Selina. They thought having her as their Luna dragged down their Alpha.

“I’ll look into this matter when we get back,” Hunter said and texted something on his phone. Less than ten minutes later, Andy, Garrison’s wife, came knocking. She was sweating as if she ran here and was holding two huge paper bags. When she left, Hunter handed them to me. “Wear this for now.”

I raised a brow. “Aren’t you going to leave?”

“Why should I? We are married. Might as well enjoy the show like you did earlier with me,” he answered as he casually laid on my bed, his eyes never leaving mine. “Go on, wife. I’ll be watching.”

It was useless to argue with someone who was stronger than me. I turned around, my back was on him, as I untied my robe and let it fall on the floor. I heard Hunter sucked in a breath as I put on the red silk panties from the bag and wore it as he watched before I slipped on the crimson bareback gown that hugged the curves that Selina kept hidden for so long.

I quickly combed my hair, grabbed the makeup kit in the bag, and put on powder and a red lipstick. Luckily, after the necklace was destroyed, Selina looked healthier. Her cheeks were now glowing that’s why I didn’t have to put on anything more. I tied my hair using a gold clamp and only left a few strands of my hair to frame my face before putting on the red heels.

Since I was used to doing things fast back in the military camp, in about eight minutes, I was able to get ready. I turned around and caught Hunter’s heated gaze; his Adam’s apple rising and falling as he stared.

“There. All done. Let’s get this over with.”

After the party, I would plan my next move.

Hunter rose from the bed. With every step he took closer, I stepped backwards, until my back hit the cold wall. A smirk curled his naturally rosy lips. “You forgot one very important accessory, wife.”

“What is it?”

“My claiming mark.”

Before I knew it, Hunter’s hand was on my waist while the other was on the back of my neck. He pulled me close to him, leaned down, and sank his fangs in my skin.

I screamed.