Kamrynn’s POV
No.
No, no, no.
This couldn’t be happening.
The mate bond pulsed between us, a living, breathing force that clawed at my soul, demanding acknowledgment. My heart pounded furiously, my stomach twisting into knots.
I hated this.
I hated that my body reacted to him, that my instincts whispered for me to submit. That a part of me, buried deep, wanted to lean into him instead of push him away.
My hands clenched into fists as I staggered back, trying to put distance between us, trying to escape his intoxicating scent before it drowned me completely.
Calvin took a hesitant step forward. His emerald-green eyes were wide, filled with something between shock and wonder. “Kamrynn…” he breathed, his voice hoarse.
“Don’t say my name!” I snapped, backing away. “Don’t even look at me!”
His brows furrowed, his expression unreadable. “I don’t-I don’t understand. How is this possible?”
I let out a hollow, bitter laugh, my hands trembling. “You’re asking me that? Sherelle was your mate, Calvin. How the hell can I be your mate too?”
He flinched as if I had struck him. “I… I don’t know.”
I shook my head violently, trying to will this away, trying to undo what had just happened. “I can’t- I won’t accept this.”
I needed to get away.
Calvin’s scent was everywhere, thick and cloying, invading my lungs, my senses, my thoughts. I felt like I was drowning in it, suffocating under the weight of something I refused to acknowledge.
I turned sharply, my heart pounding as I tried to put distance between us, but I barely took two steps before he caught me.
His fingers wrapped around my wrist, firm but not painful, yanking me back.
“Calvin, don’t-”
I never got to finish my sentence.
Because suddenly, his lips were on mine.
I froze.
For a split second, my mind went completely blank.
Then everything exploded.
The kiss was not soft. It was not gentle. It was raw, consuming, desperate-as if he was trying to pour every unsaid word, every regret, every plea into it. His mouth devoured mine, stealing the breath right from my lungs.
A shiver ran down my spine as his fingers tangled into my hair, angling my head, deepening the kiss. His other hand gripped my waist, pulling me flush against him, until I could feel the pounding of his heartbeat against my own.
I gasped at the contact, and he took advantage, his tongue slipping past my parted lips, claiming me in a way that sent fire racing through my veins.
Heat coiled low in my stomach, an unbidden response to the mate bond crackling between us like wildfire.
No.
No, no, NO!
I hated him.
I loathed him.
And yet, my body betrayed me.
Every instinct screamed at me to give in. To submit. To yield to my Alpha.
A whimper nearly escaped me, but I bit it back, fighting the pull with everything I had left.
Before I even realized what was happening, my back hit the wall, and he was everywhere-his body pressing into mine, his hands sliding up to capture both of my wrists, pinning them above my head.
I was trapped.
And I felt it.
The dangerous edge of his dominance.
The sheer power radiating from him.
It made my wolf purr.
It made me want to surrender.
A strangled sound tore from my throat, half frustration, half something I refused to name. His lips moved against mine like he was starving for this, starving for me.
And the worst part?
For a second-just a single, fleeting second-I kissed him back.
Then-
Reality slammed into me.
I wrenched my hands free with all my strength and shoved him hard.
Calvin stumbled back, his breathing ragged, his lips red and swollen from the force of the kiss. His eyes were wild, dark with something primal, something dangerous.
But I didn’t give him a chance to speak.
I slapped him.
The sharp crack echoed through the hallway, and his head snapped to the side, his jaw clenching as a red mark bloomed across his cheek.
“Don’t you ever do that again,” I hissed, my chest heaving.
His gaze flicked back to mine, stunned, his lips parting like he wanted to say something.
But I wasn’t done.
“You have no right to kiss me. No right to touch me. No right to even come near me.” My voice shook with fury, my hands trembling at my sides. “You lost that privilege a long time ago, Calvin.”
His throat bobbed. “Kamrynn, I-”
“No,” I cut him off, my voice deadly cold. “You don’t get to speak.”
His lips pressed together, but he didn’t move, didn’t try to grab me again.
I inhaled sharply, straightened my spine, and forced the words past my lips.
“I, Kamrynn Delamorte, reject you, Calvin Kane, as-”
A hand clamped over my mouth before I could finish.
I thrashed instantly, trying to pry his fingers away, but Calvin held firm, shaking his head frantically.
“No,” he whispered. “No, please. Don’t do this.”
My nails dug into his skin, my entire body trembling with rage.
“Please, Kamrynn,” he continued, his voice raw, pleading. “I can’t let you reject me.”
I bit his hand, forcing him to release me, then shoved him away.
“Quit being so damn selfish!” I yelled, my chest heaving. “You think just because we have a bond, that changes anything? That it erases what you did?”
He shook his head. “No. I don’t-”
“I want nothing to do with you,” I snarled. “And I will reject you.”
Calvin’s jaw clenched, his entire body tense with something unreadable. “Kamrynn, if you reject me now, you will doom more people than just me.”
I scoffed. “This is about your pride, isn’t it? That’s why you won’t let me do it.”
“No,” he said sharply. “This has nothing to do with my pride.”
“Then why?” I demanded.
Calvin took a deep breath, his shoulders sagging slightly as if the weight of the world had just settled on them.
Then he spoke.
“Because our Pack is dying.”
I blinked, caught off guard. “What?”
His expression was grim. “The Obsidian Pack is dying, Kamrynn.” His voice was hollow, filled with a deep, unbearable weight. “We’ve been cursed. The land is barren. Our food supply has run out. There hasn’t been rain in months, the rivers have dried up. Wildlife has vanished. And the people-” His throat tightened. “They’re sick. A strange disease is spreading through them, one we don’t know how to cure. They’re starving.”
I stared at him, my mind struggling to process his words.
And then he said the worst part.
“And all of the firstborn children have died. They went to sleep one night and didn’t wake up the next morning, every single one from infants to preteens. Only teens and adults were spared.”
The floor beneath me felt like it had disappeared.
I staggered, my vision tunneling.
He had to be lying.
That couldn’t- That wasn’t possible.
“You’re lying,” I whispered, shaking my head. “You’re making this up to manipulate me.”
Calvin’s eyes shone with something dark, something broken. “I swear on my life, Kamrynn. On our children’s lives. This is the truth.”
My breaths came in short, sharp gasps.
“The reason I came to Blue Bell,” Calvin continued, “wasn’t to look for you, I had no idea you were here. It was to negotiate for resources. To save my people.”
I tried to force the words past my lips, tried to tell him I still didn’t believe him-
But I couldn’t.
Because deep down, I felt the truth in his words.
He wasn’t lying.
A slow, sickening dread coiled in my stomach.
And then he spoke the words that sent ice through my veins.
“The plagues that have befallen us,” he murmured, “are because of you.”
My entire body locked up.
Calvin took a step closer. “Kamrynn, the Moon goddess doesn’t forgive easily. She doesn’t take injustice lightly. You were wronged. We wronged you. And because of that, we are suffering.”
His eyes darkened. “If you refuse to forgive me-forgive us-we will all perish.”
A sharp ringing filled my ears.
My breath hitched.
The room spun.
And for the first time in a long time, I felt truly, utterly powerless.