Chapter 44
Chapter 44
JESSICA
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“What did you do to piss her off?”
Moon goddess! He’s massive. I don’t think I’ve ever saw this man before in our pack.
Earlier, when Aria went here in our training field to observe, she surprises us with a combat. Grayson is nowhere to be found. I think I heard him and Pierce is still stuck in the meeting.
I glance at her.” Who? Her?”
“Her.” There’s an amusement on the way he said it. ” You don’t address her as Luna yet?”
I wouldn’t. Not for a million fucking reasons.
Before I can blink, he’s on me–his hand grips my wrist, yanking me forward. I throw my fist at his jaw, but it’s a millisecond too slow. He bats
it away like I’m nothing. Fuck.
“You’re fast.”
The new guy smirks, circling me as I catch my breath.” What is your name again?”
“None of your business.” I shift my weight, ready for the next move, but he’s already there, throwing his elbow into my stomach, knocking the wind out of me. “Shit!” I choke, stumbling back. He doesn’t give me a second to recover. Bastard. I slam my knee up into his ribs.
It fucking hurts.
“Too much?” His voice drops an octave, low and rough, like he’s savoring the moment. The words are a mock, but his eyes–fuck, his eyes are dark, searching, like he wants to strip me bare. I try to throw a punch, but his hand catches my wrist effortlessly, twisting it behind me.
His chest is against my back now, and I feel his breath hot on my neck, his lips grazing my skin.
“Why did Aria tell me to ruin you?” His voice is a whisper against the shell of my ear, sending a shiver down my spine. There’s no room to breathe, no space to think. His hand is firm on my waist, pulling me tighter against him, the hard press of his body against mine undeniable.
I twist, trying to break free, but it’s no use. He’s too strong, too… everywhere. His fingers trail up my arm, gripping my neck with a force that makes my breath catch in my throat. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I mutter, but my voice wavers, betraying me.
He laughs, low and dark, and I feel his fingers curl at my neck, tightening, not painfully but enough to make me aware of every breath I take. “Really?” His gaze slides to where Aria is seated and she looks happy with how I am losing. “Are you Grayson’s ex?” He chokes on a laugh, but my stomach is twisting. “Bingo.”
My breath hitches, and I want to scream at him to back the hell off, but instead, the words catch in my throat. Fuck, why does he feel so familiar? “Let me go.”
“Make me,” he snap and that pissed me off.
Without hesitation, I twist again, pushing off the ground, planting my feet in the dirt, and throwing all my weight into trying to break free. My arm jerks against his hold, but his grip is unyielding. Fucking bastard.
He laughs, dark and low, the sound rumbling in my ear as I kick back, aiming for his shins. He shifts with ease, trapping my legs with his own, and then his hand on my wrist twists so violently, I can’t help but cry out, my arm screaming in protest,
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I’m fucking helpless. His body presses harder against mine, and the heat of him seeps into me, suffocating. It’s like I can feel him everywhere, even in places I don’t want to.
“Damn, you’re tough,” he mutters, voice thick with amusement, his breath hot against my neck as his hands slide down to my waist. “And hot.
too.”
What the hell is he doing? His words, his touch–everything about this is wrong, but… damn it, it feels so fucking familiar.
“Stop it,” I grit out, trying to twist out of his hold, but it only makes him laugh harder. That deep, rumbling sound that rattles my bones like he’s savoring every second of this.
“You’re cute when you’re pissed off,” he says, voice dropping into something just shy of a growl. His hand slides up my back, his fingers tracing the curve of my spine before they dig into my hair, yanking my head back, exposing the delicate line of my throat.
A gasp escapes me as the sudden movement takes me off guard. Before I can react, he spins me, throwing me to the ground with brutal force.
The world tilts, and my back slams into the dirt. I try to breathe, but the wind’s knocked out of me. I struggle, pushing myself up, but before I can even fully regain my balance, his boot is on my chest again, pressing me back into the earth. The pressure crushes me, and all I can feel is him. Everywhere.
Suddenly, I hear a clap, sharp and jarring, cutting through the chaos.
I look up. Aria’s standing there, smiling down at me like she’s enjoying the show.
“Very good!” she says, her voice dripping with satisfaction.
I can’t believe this.
The crowd goes silent, eyes flicking between me and her. What the hell is her problem?
I push against his boot, trying to shove him off, but he’s not budging, still keeping me pinned to the ground.
I hate her. I fucking hate her.
“Why the hell are you doing this in front of everyone?” I snap, my voice dripping with contempt.
Aria’s smile widens, almost smug, and she crosses her arms. “I didn’t know young wolves are disrespectful too,” Aria says, louder this time,
for the crowd. Her voice is sweet, poisonous. Coated in power.
I glare at her, heart pounding, hands clenched. “Then maybe you should’ve stayed in your golden cage instead of showing up here, thinking you run shit.”
A few gasps ripple through the circle.
Her expression doesn’t shift, but her eyes flash. Dangerous. Mocking. She walks toward me, slow, like she’s approaching something pathetic.
“What did you just say?”
I square my shoulders, not backing down, even as her nails curl into fists. “You heard me.”
Fuck. I am not getting away from this.
Aria looks embarrassed. “You little bitch, she hisses, claws flashing.
Fuck.
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Chapter 44
1 brace myself, heart hammering, every instinct screaming move, but I’m frozen–just for a beat. Long enough.
She lunges.
I close my eyes.
I feel the wind before the impact, the split–second of terror crawling up my spine. I wait for pain. For claws. For blood. However, before she can ever lay her hands on me, a hand catches her wrist mid–air.
“Are you out of your goddamn mind?”
G–Grayson?
My eyes fly open. He’s right there, gripping Aria’s wrist. His shoulders are tense, chest heaving, the vein in his neck pulsing like he’s barely keeping himself from snapping.
Then he turns, very slowly making my heartbeat for him once again. Grayson’s eyes find mine and I swear, I’ve never found him so furious like
this. I swallow hard.
This is bad.
This is very bad.
He muttered a curse, eyes flicking down to the smear of blood on my chin. “Who the fuck touched her?”
