Chapter 5 - What was that?

V E R A

"What are you doing?! Get off me!" I shout against him, my hands instantly pushing against his chest as panic crashes through me the second I feel his teeth buried into my neck.

At first, all I feel is pain. Hot, sudden pain spreading across my skin while his arm tightens around my waist to stop me from pulling away from him properly. He is strong, and despite my strength, he makes me feel completely weak and helpless as he keeps me pressed against him while my heart pounds so hard I can barely hear my own thoughts anymore.

Then everything changes.

The pain slowly melts into warmth, spreading through my body so quickly it catches me completely off guard, and the breath leaves my lungs in a shaky gasp before I can stop it.

"A-ah..." I let out, and the sound that slips out is embarrassingly soft.

My fingers tighten against the front of his jacket while my entire body suddenly feels strange, warm tingles rushing beneath my skin from the mark on my neck all the way down my spine while my knees threaten to give out beneath me.

No.

No no no....

This can't be happening.

I try pushing him away again, but my strength weakens the longer he keeps his mouth against my neck, and the part I'm ashamed to admit is... I'm starting to enjoy it...

Cole holds me closer against him while his breathing grows slower near my skin, sending goosebumps along my skin as I pull him closer to me. My pulse speeds up instead of calming down as warmth spreads through me, the feeling growing stronger rather than fading away...

Then I feel him pull his teeth from my neck.

I inhale sharply, my chest rising quickly while I stand there trembling against him, completely overwhelmed by whatever the hell he just did to me...

But he doesn't let go.

Instead, his lips brush slowly against the mark he left behind, kissing the sensitive skin there while his hand slides up my back carefully, almost possessively, and another quiet sound catches in my throat before I can stop it...

A moan...

Whatever he's doing to me... feels euphoric...

What is wrong with me?

The tingling sensation around the mark intensifies instantly, spreading through my body again while my thoughts become harder to hold onto properly. Every nerve is on fire as my skin burns for him, the sensation continuing to spread through my body and even spreading between my legs... 

Then reality finally crashes back into me, and I quickly snap out of it.

I shove him away from me hard enough to create distance between us before stumbling back several steps, breathing unevenly while I stare at him in complete disbelief.

"What the hell was that?!" I ask breathlessly, the feeling still lingering along my skin as I stare back at him.

Cole looks entirely too pleased with himself as he watches me, eyeing me from head to toe as he runs a thumb over his bottom lip.

"Damn, sweetheart..." he mutters hoarsely before dragging a hand through his dark hair. "You're even more divine than I imagined."

"I said what was that?!" I snap at him, though the anger in my voice weakens halfway through the sentence when another pulse rushes through the mark on my neck.

I suck in a sharp breath immediately as the skin there tingles again.

He's marked me... but I can't be with him... there's no way he can be my mate, so in a matter of seconds, the mark should just disappear.

Cole slowly starts walking toward me again.

"I marked you..." he finally says out loud, even though I knew what he was doing the moment he suck his teeth into my neck. The only question is, why did I enjoy every minute of it...

"How..." My voice catches completely. "H-how dare you?" I question him, but he only seems amused by my reaction.

"From the sounds you were making, sweetheart, I'd say you enjoyed every second of it." He answers, and he instantly rushes into my face, because the truth is... he's right... I did enjoy it...

"I did not." I try to lie, but he only raises an eyebrow at me.

"Sure." He answers just as he tries to take a step closer, making me immediately hold my hand up to stop him from coming any closer.

"You stay away from me!" I warn him while stepping backwards again, though even I can hear how weak the threat sounds compared to earlier.

That stupid grin spreads across his face again while his pale eyes stay fixed on me.

"First..." he says calmly, "tell me what you feel..." He says and 

My expression softens for a second.

"What?" I mumble lightly, and this time, he walks forward without me stopping him.

"The mark." He tilts his head slightly. "Tell me what you feel." 

I open my mouth to argue again before suddenly freezing in place.

The tingling around my neck suddenly grows stronger with an intensity that clouds my senses. It spreads beneath my skin in waves while warmth rushes through my chest again, and then I hear my wolf for the first time since he bit me.

A loud howl bursts through my mind, and I inhale sharply as another pulse follows immediately after it, stronger this time, and my body reacts before I can stop it. Goosebumps rise along my arms while chills move down my spine and straight through my stomach.

The mark burns like it is alive, making me gasp as I lightly place my fingers over it, but that only intensifies the sensation, making me let out a small gasp and a soft moan from how sensitive it is.

My breathing becomes uneven again while I try to figure out what to do...

Then it hits me fully.

The pull.

Toward him.

Every instinct inside me suddenly begins screaming for me to move towards the man standing in front of me. My wolf responds to him instantly, pushing closer beneath my skin while the bond between us hums so strongly I can barely think straight anymore.

I want to move toward him.

I want him closer.

And no matter how hard I fight it, I can't ignore that feeling.

Panic immediately rises in my chest.

"No..." I whisper.

Cole watches me carefully the entire time, his expression changing the moment he sees realisation crossing my face.

"Just as I thought..." he says quietly, and I shake my head quickly.

"No. No, that's impossible..." I mumble out of confusion, and I watch as his eyes darken slightly while he steps closer again, though this time I don't move away from him.

I can't, even when every rational part of my brain screams at me to run.

"You feel it, don't you?" he asks, and though I can't say it out loud, I can already feel the bond pulsing beneath my skin...

My wolf already recognises him, and my body has reacted to his mark immediately instead of rejecting it...

That only means one thing.

"No..." I whisper again, though my voice sounds weaker now.

Cole stops directly in front of me before slowly lifting a hand toward my face again. His fingers brush lightly against my cheek while his gaze stays locked onto mine, and for the first time since meeting him, he doesn't look amused.

He looks certain.

"You are my mate," he says softly.

The world around me suddenly feels very, very quiet.

I stare at him while my chest rises unevenly, my thoughts completely spiralling as the bond between us pulses again beneath my skin like it is confirming his words for him.

No. No, this can't be happening. Not him.

Not the Rogue King.

Not the man every pack in this region fears. Not when Alaric was supposed to mark me tonight.

Not when my entire life is about to become a complete disaster the second anyone sees this mark.

Cole studies my face carefully before his thumb brushes once across my cheek.

And then he says the words that make my entire body go cold.

"Looks like Fate chose for us."