MATEO’S P. O. V.
She is making this so fucking difficult. I slam my office door shut. The wall rattles a little with the force. Callum’s pictures flutter. I want to hit something. I don’t have anything in here to hit. Except the wall. Pulling down some of Callum’s pictures. Mainly the ones that involve Lila. I stack them on my desk with way more care than I feel like using. Then I punch a hole right where every picture once sat. Once I run out of spots I hold the wall panting. I want to hit more things. I should probably train or something. I could blow off some steam.
I hear Ash’s voice behind me. “Feel better now?”
I shake my head. “Not even one bit.”
He laughs. “I didn’t think so. You want to talk about it?”
I shake my head again. “What is there to talk about? She is leaving tomorrow.”
“You know if it was my mate. I would appeal to the mate bond as much as possible. Especially tomorrow morning when it is strongest. You know, make sure I am as nice as possible. Dressed to impress. Don’t look half dead with my fist in a wall. That might be a good first step.”
“What makes you think that is going to change her mind?”
“I don’t, but it is worth a shot. It’s better than giving up before she is even gone. I mean you do love her right?”
“You fucking know I do.” I growl.
“Then don’t give up.” Yeah, like I want to. I want to just tie her to the fucking bed and never let her leave anywhere. Let alone a fucking three hour drive away. So yeah, maybe Ash is right and I need to try a little harder. First thing in the morning I am going to be the first thing she sees.
LILA’S P. O. V.
I am barely conscious. I don’t really remember where I am, everything is a little lost. I smell chocolate and roses. My two favorite things. My daddy always gives them to me on my birthday. That’s right, today is my birthday. I smile. I still don’t have my eyes open.
“Daddy, you didn’t have to.” I wiggle in my bed.
I hear a chuckle that doesn’t belong to my daddy. Then it all flushes back to me. I am not home. I am in his house. My eyes shoot open. I pull up to the head board. He is snickering at me. There are no roses, no chocolate. Just him. “No, no, no.” I start screaming. It’s there I feel it. Mate radiates in my brain.
He starts crawling up the bed. “Oh, that’s right my Luna. My mate.” The humor is gone, now it is just seduction. As his scent gets closer I am having a hard time focusing. This is the man that kidnapped me. Now he is my mate. The son of a bitch is my mate. This can’t be happening.
“Get away from me.” I jump off the bed. “Don’t call me your Luna. I am an Alpha.” I am keeping my distance. “I am not your mate.” I scream it at him.
He merely rolls on his side on my bed. Propping his head on his hand. He isn’t even phased one bit. Damn he looks good, laying there completely confident. His jeans cling to all the right places. The black t-shirt that he is wearing hugs his abs and chest. “Fight it all you want, but I am your mate. Soon you will be begging for me. Lucky for you I am a patient man.”
“You are not a patient man. You kidnapped me. I will never be your mate.” Wrapping my arms around myself, trying to comfort myself. It isn’t working. This damn asshole is my mate. The man who for the last week had me imprisoned in his house. “I want to go home now.” I look away from him. I can’t look. His eyes are going to suck me in.
He clicks his tongue. “Well, we did have a deal. You are able to go home this morning. I already told your parents that I would be dropping you off this morning. They don’t suspect a thing, I want you to keep it that way, do you understand me?” Duh, I understand, if I tell the truth, then there will be a war. I just nod my head. I have never felt so helpless in my life.
“That’s my good girl.” He climbs off my bed. He stalks towards me. “We do have one thing that we need to deal with first.” I don’t miss the hunger in his voice.
Shaking my head. “No, no, no. I can’t, I can’t do that.” I manage to stammer it all out. I try to move away but somehow have gotten myself in a corner. He cages me in with his arms on the wall. He glides his nose along my jaw. I whimper.
“I am not going to demand you. I only ask that you don’t reject me. I know you will be begging me to mark you soon enough. Whether you like it or not, you are my mate.” I want to reject him. I don’t want to be with him. Then I remember talking to my dad about the rejection. He had to go through it twice. The pain he experienced. I wouldn’t want that on anyone.
“I won’t reject you. But I will be damned if I will come crawling back to you.” I growl out. “I will fight this with everything I have.” He presses his lips to my neck and I feel my knees go weak. Shit, shit, shit. He felt it, I know he did because I feel his lips stretch into a smile.
“You may fight, but your body seems to want to give in.” Again his lips skim over my skin. I let out a small moan. I am frozen, my body craving the contact I am getting from him. Somehow I manage to put my hands on his chest and push him back.
“I don’t want you.” I breathe out. “The mate bond might, but not me. You are cold and cruel. I can’t be with a person like that.”
He cocks his head to the side. “Did you ever think that I might need my mate to even me out. Ask Daddy how that works.” He winked at me and left the room.
As soon as the door shuts I slide to the floor and start crying. This monster is my mate. Mateo Perez is my mate. The most cold hearted Alpha there is in the United states. How am I going to get through this? I try to pull myself together. My brother and Eli are waiting for me. I am sure they are ready to go home.
I didn’t come here with anything but somehow I accumulated a bunch of crap. I am leaving the clothes. I don’t want them. They will just remind me of him anyway. Then it comes to the stuff I got at the festival, do I take that home. Mateo didn’t pick it out, I did. The pack made them. Fuck it I am taking them. They are really good pieces and I don’t care if they do remind me of Mateo. It’s not like I am going to see him again.