Dropping my chin, I lift my head and bite his neck while I jam my claws into his ribs. They press between his ribs, yet he doesn’t move until I rake them down his sides. His flesh tears as a warm liquid spreads across my fingers, and my claws slip into his abdomen. I bite him again, this time on his shoulder where it meets his neck and where it is softer.
He jolts, trying to rip away, but I shake my head, and he suddenly jumps off, shifting back, and I hear Andrei’s laughter. My chest heaves, and I glare at him.
“I couldn’t breathe, asshole,” I snarl, sitting up.
“You were fine. You were just panicking. Donnie would have got off if he thought you were in any real danger of suffocating,” Andrei snickers as I pick fur off my tongue and from between my teeth.
Pissed off beyond belief, I roll to my feet and jog back toward the packhouse when I am tackled from behind. I lurch forward as arms wrap around my shoulders when Andrei twists, and I land on top of him instead of on the hard ground.
“Andrei, stop it, you are pissing me off,” I object, squirming, trying to get off him.
He holds me in place, a devious smile on his lips, which just pisses me off more. Finally, I scratch my claws down his sides, and he hisses before laughing and pressing his face into my neck.
“Andrei fucking stop!” I scream at him, enraged that he is doing this. Tears burn my eyes, and I am shoved back into my head.
How many other times had I been pinned down? Hands ghosting over my arms, ripping my clothes off of me, the maniacal laughter as their grip got tighter. The pain and scent of lust wafting from my personal monsters as they prepared to use me.
I snarl and fight with all my power, screaming, thrashing, and biting him. Anything to break free. Their putrid breath rolled over me, and their hands were on my thighs, spreading them apart. I shake as I bite into him over and over and claw at him.
His grip loosens and he groans before rolling to the side. “Shit, shh, I didn’t mean it, I was just playing,” Andrei apologized, cupping my chin as tears spill nonstop down my face.
My heart is pounding, it is hard to see him when all I can remember is them.
“Shh, just breathe, Sage, I got you. No one will hurt you like that again,” Andrei whispers, and he presses his face into my neck. His scent overwhelms me, but is also soothing as I inhale deeply, letting it calm me.
I blink back my tears, looking up at the clear sky. Warm liquid runs across my cheek, and a drop hits my eyelid. I must have hurt him. I shake, wondering if he is going to be mad.
“That’s it, calm down. I’m sorry I didn’t mean to freak you out. I won’t ever hurt you, Sage,” he whispers before pushing up on his elbows. Regret smashes into me again, and my brows furrow, the emotions foreign to me. Andrei brushes my hair from my face, and my eyes snap to his.
He feels guilty over all this. More of the warm liquid drips onto me, blood. I swipe at my face, and Andrei suddenly clutches his neck to cover it. It draws my eyes there and he pulls his hand away before his eyes dart to me. A gasp escapes him, but my eyes are stuck on his neck, horrified at my actions.
“Sage?” He says, his voice panicked.
“Is that why you did it?” I ask, my heart thumping rapidly in my chest.
“No, that wasn’t my intention. I was just messing around,” he insists. “Sage, please listen. I never intended for you to mark me,” he reasons, while I try shoving him off me again, pushing my elbows against his chest.
He rolls, letting me up.
I stare around to find the field clear and everyone was gone. He ordered them away.
“Sage, I swear, I didn’t. I wouldn’t force you to mark me.”
I ignore him, loping off across the field and heading toward the packhouse. Tears burn my eyes. In the middle of all those memories and freaking out, I’d marked him, sealed myself to him.
“Sage, please, I didn’t mean for that to happen,” Andrei calls, chasing after me. His emotions pour into me. He is telling the truth, but it doesn’t change things.
And if he hadn’t tackled me, I wouldn’t have freaked out, and I wouldn’t have marked him.
Andrei
“Sage, please wait!” I call out as she takes off.
Honestly, I am surprised that she is actually heading in the direction of home. Instead of taking this chance and running off for the forest, she’s racing back to the packhouse.
When I first brought her outside, I was worried she would run. And to be fair, she looked like she really fought the temptation, when I brought her closer to the forest.
I catch up to her, easily falling in line. “Look, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to freak you out,” I apologize and reach for her hand.
One thing about Sage is that she doesn’t stop surprising me. No matter when or where Sage always does or says something that leaves me speechless. Like now, she doesn’t try to pull away when I take her hand in mine.
“Why are you apologizing? I marked you, not the other way around,” she mutters under her breath. There it is again, her ability to surprise me with the smallest things. I side glance at her and try to act as if I don’t notice her cheeks tinting deep red.
Is she embarrassed? Angry? Or is it both?
It is hard to tell what she feels. As mates, we should understand each other, but I find myself guessing and trying to understand more often than I would like to admit. Mainly because she is hot one minute and then so cold the next. The issue is that those changes, in Sage’s case, are so drastic. I can’t tell if she’s still the same person.
I know it isn’t her fault, and if roles were reversed, I wouldn’t trust me either. Her vibes suggest she is ticked off, but the blush on her cheeks makes me think otherwise. Especially since she refuses to meet my gaze. Her eyes stare straight ahead, and she actually leads me back to the house and stops right in front of the door.