All Chapters of Running Wild : The Cruel Alpha Kings: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

Elise.There was a twist in my gut I couldn’t ignore as I lifted the fork to my mouth, shoving in a piece of ravioli. The buttery richness should have melted on my tongue, but it tasted like cardboard. My hand trembled, just slightly, but enough for only me to notice.And no. It had nothing to do with Hunter taunting the ever-loving fucks out of me.My eyes flicked toward Darius. He was actively engaged in an intense staring contest with the whiskey tumbler in his grip, his knuckles turning a shade paler by the second. If sheer force of will could shatter glass, he’d already be picking shards out of his lap.I knew I struck a nerve, possibly every single one in his body—and I should have been reveling in it. Should have been grinning, thriving off the way he looked one wrong move away from combusting right there at the dinner table.But… But what?I forced the food down my throat, swallowing hard.The mate bond. It had chosen tonight of all nights to mess with me.Wasn’t it supposed t

I swallowed hard, my chest heaving violently against his. “Let. Me. Go.”Darius chuckled darkly, a low, rumbling sound that brushed against my lips, his eyes dropping to my mouth with blatant, degrading hunger. “No. You don’t get to make demands here. You’re nothing but a liability, Elise, and right now, you are getting out of hand.”“Don’t I always?” I snarled, working hard to ignore the fact that my freaking body is reacting to him in ways I really didn’t approve of. “I’m always out of hand, even when I actually fucking try to do shit by the book.”Tears burned behind my eyes as I thought about how my dad treated me. I thought about the night Darius and I formally met, and how the shithead blamed me for merely existing. I could come up with a dozen more examples of how I was always to blame for simply breathing, but he didn’t give me a chance to delve into them any deeper.His grip on my arm tightened, painfully twisting it behind my back as he dragged me away from the door, hauling

When he finally pulled back, just an inch, our lips were slick, and his breathing was ragged. His eyes locked onto mine, smugness and carnal satisfaction warring with his rage.Fucking bastard. “Don’t push me, Elise,” he warned, his voice a low, possessive growl.I lifted my chin, my chest heaving violently against his, my lips tingling from the force of his mouth. “Or what?”His eyes darkened with pure, predatory intent. He shifted his weight, grinding his erection directly against my aching bud through our clothes, a deliberate, agonizing reminder of his control. “Or I’ll remind you exactly who you belong to, princess.”A wicked, humiliating thrill curled low in my stomach. I hated him. I hated how much space he took up in my head, and I hated that despite my fury, I wanted nothing more than to take that brutal control and shatter it.“I don’t belong to yo,” I snarled, flexing my fingers behind my head, testing the silk restraints again, but they held firm—tight enough to bite into

I bolted. The ground blurred beneath me, the mansion shrinking behind us as I tore into the woods, chasing after the flash of white fur in the distance. She was fast, but she wasn’t me. Speed was my edge. My advantage. Darius could throw a punch that could collapse a building, but I could outrun him any day of the week.I closed the distance, but so did Darius. I could hear him behind me, the raw, brutal force of his strides tearing up the earth. He was going to catch her.A low growl rumbled in my chest. Not if I had anything to do with it.I pushed harder, lunging past trees and dodging roots. Elise veered sharp and sudden, darting through a narrow path between two thick pines. Darius followed, relentless.I gritted my teeth and surged forward. I lunged, snapping my teeth at the air just inches from her tail, trying to redirect her, but she did something completely unexpected. She leaped over a fallen tree trunk, twisting midair.I skidded, barely dodging the obstruction. Elise hit

The couch was a joke. It was tiny, narrow, and barely big enough for a toddler, let alone a grown person. I wasn’t about to take my chances trying to sleep on that leather brick.Instead, I beelined straight for the bed, throwing myself onto the mattress before Jace could open his mouth to claim it. The plush layers practically swallowed me whole. I curled inward, pulling the fluffy cloud of a blanket tight around my body like a protective cocoon, burying my face into the pillows so that only my eyes peeked out.Jace shot me a dry look from where he knelt at the stone hearth. “Really?”“Really,” I muttered against the fabric, closing my eyes to seal the deal.He let out a low huff, muttering something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like, “Guess we can just share.”I was way too exhausted to unpack the potential dangers of that statement, let alone snap back a retort. A moment later, the sharp crackle of firewood filled the room, and the heavy chill in my bones began to mel