Eloise’s POV:
I jump, whipping around when the towel is snatched off my hand.
“Kaden!” I growl at him, but he smirks at me, his eyes trailing slowly down my naked body still dripping wet. “Get out!” I snarl, my eyes darting to the other towels before he stepped into my line of vision. “Let me get one thing clear, mate,” he growled the last part as if to intimidate me, but I glared at him head-on. His brow raise. Leaning in, he breathes in my scent and growls. “You will respect the mate bond, it is sacred.” I scoff at his words. “Did my father sent you in here to change my mind? Well, bold move mister, but it is so not working,” I roll my eyes at him and shove him away, meaning to move towards my bathroom closet to get a damn towel because I’m bloody cold when he drags me right back in the same position. What the hell is his problem? “I am your mate,” he snarls. “So? I rejected you.” I say a-matter-of-factly, loving the way his lip twitched in his anger with my defiance. “And I haven’t accepted it.” I roll my eyes and brush past him but he blocks my path with his large, towering frame. “Face it, mate. You can’t resist it, the bond will always,” he leans closer and smirks at me. “Always draw you closer to me.” My brows spiked and I cannot believe I am hearing this shit. “Take your bond and f*ck off, Alpha,” I emphasize his title knowing it’s what boosts his ego and pride. He looks at me as if I had amused him. He smirks and steps forward, forcing me to step back until I hit the cold wall. “You will regret rejecting me, and you will come begging,” he growled each and every word with venom, and I scoff. “Well good luck with that, Alpha.” He snarls before spinning me around facing the wall. Before I knew it, my hands are trapped in his large, confining hands as he pinned me against the wall. I have never been in a vulnerable position in my life before Alpha Kaden walked in and decided to humiliate me like this. My ass is completely bare, my pussy pointed right at him. And I knew, he had the power to take it right now if he wants. My lips quivered as I began taking in deep, slow breaths. I have not shifted yet, so that is not a possible route for escape if the asshole did try something. I’m trapped, powerless, and utterly exposed before my father’s most loathed enemy. “Do not taunt me, Eloise,” he snarls, body pressing forcefully against my backside, yet I remain calm. I refuse to appeal weak to the man because of the fact I could not shift to save my damn life. “I’m not interested in teasing, Alpha,” I reply calmly, wondering if he heard the slight tremble of my voice. He chuckles into my hair, breathes in my scent deeply, and starts to run his nose down along my neck to my shoulders. I shiver. My wolf purrs at his actions. She asks me to wiggle my ass against his crotch to see his reaction, but I slam down the thought before she even— It was too late for that as she snatched my control on my lower body and wiggled. My eyes widen a little when Kaden growls low into my ear. “Is this what you meant by not being interested in teasing?” I swallow, my breath hitched in my throat as I find the right words when he abruptly spins me around. My back is now forced against the wall as he pinned my hands above my head. This time, I try to snatch them away in an attempt to cover my naked breasts, only for his grip to grow tighter. I whimper. His gaze lowered to my breasts, circling around my hard nipples that stood erect from being plastered on the cold surface. “Hmm.” He licks his lips, his eyes lit up as if he’d just seen his eye candy and is ready to devour it. I glare at him. “What, can’t wait for me to blow out your tits?” he chuckles, making me look at him in utter disbelief. “That’s not what I’m—” Before I could finish, he cuts me off when his mouth closes around my nipple, licking and sucking until I found myself making sounds I never knew I was capable of. Even more when he started sucking and grazing his teeth against my wet, hard nipples, aching for more. He does both simultaneously, and my eyes roll to the back of my head with his little mouth games wondering if I could keep up with his rough handling my breasts. “Mmnn…” Still, it felt so good, I never wanted him to stop. The moment I let out a loud moan, he abruptly let go. He growls, looking at me dead in the eye. His gaze was dangerous, deep, yet I couldn’t break eye contact even if I wanted to. I gulp. “I can fuck you right here, right now, if I wanted to,” he growls. I hold my breath, breathing heavy breaths as I played this staring down contest I had with Alpha Kaden. “But I won’t.” he says then letting me go. I quickly grab another towel, wrapping my body around it and when I look up, his back was already turned to me as he walked away.“See you at the ceremony.”
My lips purse into a line, hearing him slam the door shut before I finally came to my senses.I glare daggers at the door. The audacity of him to barge into my room while I was showering and prod my boobs like he did. My wolf, on the other hand, loved every second of the prodding and manhandling, as she whined about him leaving with unfinished business.
Unfinished business my ass. Then I remembered his little comment before he popped in. I groan out and kick my bathroom door open, aiming for my walk-in closet. Jerk!178Eloise’s POV:He groans. The bulge in his pants growing faster and harder than I expected.I smile up at him, knowing he can see right through the desire and desperation flickering in my eyes.Thankfully, he obliges and pulls me into another breathtaking kiss, literally. Apparently, almost hypnotizing too as I didn’t even realize he’d been leading me backwards to the bed before my knees hit the edge. Surprise fills me when I feel my body fall in the air, and I expected a rough collision with the hard mattress only to feel nothing but his warm hands, his muscular arm supporting my back from the fall.I giggled, kissing him harder. I swept my hand down his shirt, tugging on his seatbelt. The bulge in his pants growing harder.He chuckles lightly at my impatience, a sound that only leveled up my arousal when he suddenly glided his hand under my shirt, gripping the hem of my waist band then getting rid of it before he swipes his rough finger over my soaking wet slit.“Fuck, baby,” he
177Eloise’s POV:“There’s darkness in your heart, Eloise. You must eliminate it, before you can step up and rise to your full power.”My grandmother’s words rang deep and true within my heart to the depths of my soul.I closed my eyes, listening to her words echo as I try to think of the meaning behind his lines.I lunged deeper into his senses, deeper even when I know it might hurt. Invading someone’s mind is no easy task, even for a witch, and it might destroy the person under it all.But at this point, what does he have to lose? The man has nothing, no one, and I don’t know if I should feel pity or sympathy for the man who ruined me once. The man who conspired my whole downfall, who almost took my pups away from me, but left a permanent scar that cut deep.‘Hatred.’ Her voice resonated through me, making me stop.Then I see his arms drop by his sides, and I step back, allowing me to see the bigger picture. My eyes widened when I see what I was doing to Dexter. I held my fingers up
176Eloise’s POV:Every nerve in my body tenses up the moment I laid eyes on him. Stepping into the filthy, foul scented room, I inhaled a sharp breath.The room is dark. No light coming from outside. No windows. Everything was pure darkness.If I hadn’t regained my night vision, then I wouldn’t have spotted the dark figure lying on the bloody floor.The man was curled up in a fetal position, sleeping on the floor amidst his own piss and shit, and bile rises in my throat.The stench of sweat, blood, and feces filled the air. But it doesn’t repulse me as my focus shifted to the one person who had filled my nights with nightmares, the one person who kept flashing in my mind every time I felt triggered, the one person I trusted, then broke that trust in the most humiliating and degrading way.“Dexter,” I breathed his name. I watched the figure slowly rise from the corner, before big, brown eyes looked back at me.He squints, and I move closer, before that look of recognition immediately
175Kaden’s POV:My eyes flashed dangerously, glaring daggers right at him.“And where is she?” I demanded. “Where is my mate?” I growled. He flinches, and goddess only knows what the fuck that meant.“Where is Eloise?” I growled, my voice dropping lower. His eyes glistened with something extremely familiar. How the fuck would I miss it? It’s what I have worn for the past five years of my life.Regret.I slammed Viktor against the wall, surprised at the strength he showed me, or the lack of it.“Kaden,”The sound of her sweet voice pulled me out of my rage. My head whips to the door, and there she is.Standing in the doorway, Eloise looked between us. The air about her is filled with quiet composure. She exudes power, not just her alpha aura but something else.She walked in and locked eyes with me. “I’m right here,” she smiles, a smile that always takes my breath away.The moment her scent wafted to my nose, relief flooded me instantly.I stepp
174Kaden’s POV:I looked out the window as a deep frown settles on my face.What the fuck is taking them so long?The moon hangs bright above the night sky. I don’t know how long I’ve been waiting for, but I do know I have been waiting for a long damn time. My stomach sinks at the thought that something may have happened to her. Although the old man proved to be harmless and even showed his affection towards our mate, I know Viktor. There was a glint of worry in his eyes and something dark. It was so fast yet I caught it, but I shrugged it off.Eloise trusts him, so I knew that I should set my pride aside and let Viktor lead her this time.I paced the hall, back and forth, when something from the corner of the room suddenly caught my eye. I stopped dead in my tracks, and turned my gaze towards it.It was a white folder with some papers tucked inside. It gives off a weird scent that I have been smelling for the past few hours, but couldn’t determine just what.I walk over and pick it
Eloise’s POV:What was that?Adeline suddenly came forward. ‘Go deeper.’ She whispered, and I have a feeling she knows something that I don’t.Nevertheless, I do what my wolf says and go deeper. But first, I took the blue, glowing orb that attached itself onto my hand like it’s been waiting forever to be found. A sense of relief washed over me, and I felt like I have taken a step further into claiming my destiny. Like this was always meant to happen. And I just did not know it. Taking the blue orb with me, I venture further into the darkness when I felt a warm breeze sweep over me from behind. I turned within my subconscious, and nearly gasp when I see another figure standing in the opposite direction, facing me.A woman. But not just any woman. She was tall, lean and curvy. Her long hair reached down her knees. She was in a white dress, and I could tell from the short distance between us that she was beautiful. Yet her way of clothing was odd.Her dark blonde hair hung around shoulde
172Eloise’s POV:Crack!I looked down, my jaw dropping to the ground when I see my ankle had dislocated and I was laying in an awkward position from the fall. My entire body throbbed in pain like never before, like every part of me writhed.Just how long was that fall?I struggled to sit up, moving my eyes about to get the slightest clue of where I was. As expected, I fell into a muddy pit. Looks like it was once a well, but the bricks surrounding me had grown moss and dirt over time.I tilt my head up. I could see the sky, and then a figure that resembled my father.“Dad?” I shouted, but he either doesn’t hear me or ignores me as he looked on before stepping back.He did this. But why?My blood ran cold the minute I realize this might have been a trap. That he lured me all this way and away from Kaden to push me into this old well. All the ache in my body from deep injuries I acquired from the fall vanishes as my heart breaks into two.I was a fool to trust him. To trust myself.I n
171Eloise’s POV:After a long, hard glare directed at Kaden, he hung his head and eventually agreed to leave us both alone to start immediately with the training.I don’t know what I’m getting into or what exactly am I capable of, but I want to know.Before Kaden left though, he pulled me outside.His brows furrowing, I looked up at his worried eyes, and he stares down at me with undeniable hesitation and protectiveness.“Are you sure about this, Eloise?” He asks, looking deep into my eyes. His eyes searched my face for a moment, but I met his gaze head-on.I have made my decision.“I am going through with it.” I tell him, confidence brimming with every word.He sighed, “El, look at him,”I looked over my shoulder to see my Dad watching us from the gap of the door at the front porch, muttering something to himself that only he can hear.“He doesn’t even look like he’s in his right mind.” He said, although there was zero malice behind his words, I could see he said it purely out of co
170Eloise’s POV:“Eloise, the truth is you’re a—” His gaze drifts somewhere behind me, and his eyes harden.I realize soon enough who he was looking at and grip his hand. “It’s fine, we can trust him. You have to tell me,” I plead, looking into my father’s dark eyes, softening the next second. Something I never expected from him. The last time I have seen him look at me with such tenderness, was before all this. Before Kaden walked into my life and altered it completely.He swallows and opens his mouth in his reluctance.“Please,” I whispered.Finally, he sighed, and leaned his head against the countertop where I found him.“Everything you are came from my mother,” he paused and look dead into my eyes. “She’s a dark witch, the last of her kind.” He explained.My eyes widened, and I gasp. I could feel Kaden’s gaze boring holes into my back, attentively listening to the conversation without interfering.“I never knew my father, but I know he would sneak in our camp to see her. He was a