#4. Possessive

Eryx POV

Her gaze snapped to mine, sharp and full of fear. Fear and something else I couldn’t name. Something that hit me deeper than it should have.

“Let me go,” she rasped.

That voice. Soft, cracked, shaking and she dared to demand anything from me. No one demanded from me. Not the pack. Not the council. Not even my enemies when they were bleeding at my feet.

But she did.

Before I even processed the thought, my hand shot forward and wrapped around her wrist. Her skin burned against my palm, warm, too warm and soft in a way that didn’t fit anything in this dungeon. She jerked hard, panic flashing bright in her eyes.

“Don’t touch me!” she cried.

The scream tore down my spine and set everything inside me on edge, rage, hunger and something close to desperation. I clamped my hand over her mouth, pushing her back against the wall, a low growl vibrating out of me.

“Shhh,” I warned. “Don’t scream. Don’t you dare.”

Her breath hit my palm, uneven and hot. It shook against my skin with every trembling inhale. Her pulse raced under my fingers, wild and frantic and I felt every beat. It messed with my head. It stirred things in me I didn’t want stirred.

Slowly, I moved my hand from her mouth to her jaw. Her skin felt like fire against mine. She turned her face away, her long red hair spilling over my arm. My fingers brushed the strands before I could stop myself.

Silky. Too silky.

Her voice broke softly. “Don’t…”

The way she said it didn’t soften anything in me. It only made the heat inside me worse. My body moved closer without thought, trapping her against the wall. She looked small under me, small, stubborn and mine to cage.

She didn’t understand. She didn’t know what she was to me.

“You’re mine,” I growled, voice deep and rough. “From this moment on.”

Her eyes widened. She shook her head, fighting, refusing. That spark in her eyes burned me in a way I couldn’t swallow down.

I snapped.

My hands closed around her waist and I flipped her onto the floor in one hard motion. Her gasp cut through the darkness. Her hair fanned around her as I came down over her, pinning her wrists above her head. Her legs kicked under me, but she couldn’t move me.

“Stop fighting,” I snarled into her ear. “You can’t win. You don’t get to fight me.”

I lowered my face to her neck, dragging my nose along her skin. Her scent slammed into me, sweet beneath dirt and exhaustion. It made something inside me break loose.

I tasted her skin, slow and rough, marking her with my mouth. She cried out, twisting harder, but her struggle only poured fuel on the fire tearing through me. Her taste made my mind go blank.

“You belong to me,” I whispered against her throat. “Me and me alone.”

Her whole body went rigid. Her eyes locked onto mine, burning with something like hatred.

“No… Never.”

The single word sliced through me. It ripped something raw inside my chest.

For the first time in years, I felt my control crack.

Everything, the anger, the emptiness, the beast clawing at the edges surged forward. My body pressed harder into hers, trapping her fully beneath me. My claws dug into the stone beside her head as I dragged my mouth up her throat again.

She kept fighting. She kept spitting out defiance. And every moment made the beast inside me roar louder.

She didn’t know. She didn’t understand what she was to me. The last female. The one thing I never thought I would find.

Mine.

The dungeon door creaked open.

The sound cut through my haze like a blade. I froze over her, breath harsh, her chest rising fast beneath mine. Her eyes were wide, terrified.

A guard stepped in, torch in hand, confusion written across his face.

He heard her. He saw her. He smelled her.

Rage hit me like a punch.

Before the guard even blinked, I crossed the space and slammed a hand around his throat. The torch dropped, flames scattering across the floor.

“You heard nothing,” I growled. It wasn’t just a warning. It was a threat that could end him.

His face turned red, then purple. He clawed at my wrist, choking, eyes filled with panic.

“Alpha—please—”

“Shut up.” I squeezed harder. “If you ever look at her again or tell anyone about her, I’ll rip your eyes out and feed them to you.”

He nodded violently. I threw him to the ground. He coughed, gasped, tried to get air into his lungs.

“Out,” I commanded.

He bolted, slamming the door behind him.

I turned back to her.

She was pressed against the wall, staring at me as if I was the nightmare she’d been running from all her life. Fear rolled off her, thick and sharp, sinking deep into my chest where it had no business being.

I grabbed her and lifted her into my arms.

She stiffened instantly. Her mouth opened, ready to scream again.

Then I said the truth. The one thing she needed to hear.

“If my wolves find out there’s a female here, you won’t survive what a pack of hungry male wolves will do. Keep quiet.”

The words hit her harder than anything else. She went still.

I marched out of the dungeon. Every guard’s eyes widened when they saw her in my arms. I growled, a harsh, dominant sound that cut through the hallway. Their heads snapped down. No one dared to look up again.

I didn’t stop. I took the stairs fast, heading straight for my room.

Inside, I set her down.

She jumped away from me instantly.

“You monster,” she spat. “Let me go and no one will ever see me again.”

I stepped toward her. She backed up until her spine hit the wall.

“That will never happen, female,” I said. “You’re mine. My mate. And MINE ALONE.”

She froze, but her eyes still burned with that same fire.

In the next second, she lunged for the window.

She wasn’t fast enough.

I caught her easily and yanked her back, dropping her onto the floor and coming down over her.

“Since you want to make everything difficult, why don’t I show you who you really belong to, little mate,” I growled.