Ethan P. O. V
I heard someone knocking on the door repeatedly from outside. Before I could say anything, she swung the door open and walked in, looking confused, her hair a bit damp and her voice shaking.
“Did you want me to come here?” she asked.
“What happened to your hair?” I brushed off her question and went straight for what I wanted.
She was checking herself out. I realized I was mistaken; it wasn’t just her hair that was wet-some of her clothes were, too, and she casually claimed she was okay.
This was really frustrating. While I was defending her like a madman in front of Christopher Gale, she was just messing around with me, using words I didn’t appreciate and wearing that annoying look that only she seemed to understand.
I was getting really annoyed, so I stepped closer to her. I grabbed her damp hair, forcing her to look up and meet my gaze. Her face shifted, showing real pain, and I could hear a soft groan escape her lips.
“W-what are you doing?!”
“Why do you have to complicate my life?” I snapped.
Claire struggled to break free from my grip on her hair. I could feel her nails digging into my skin, and it hurt enough that I could sense blood starting to trickle down.
“What have I done?!” she yelled, still trying to pull away. “I don’t even get why you’re so mad! If it’s because those Rogue Wolves kidnapped me, then don’t take it out on me! Look at yourself! Have you really become an Alpha that others can respect or not?!”
“Are you really saying I’m not fit to be an Alpha?!”
“If you were fit, they wouldn’t have been launching constant attacks for years without you even knowing why!”
“I never gave you the right to judge how I lead this Pack, Claire Halle!” I yelled at her.
My emotions were running high. I felt like I was about to explode, and in a moment of rage, I pushed her down, yanking a few strands of her hair out in the process.
I noticed her flinching in pain, tears welling up in her eyes, ready to spill over. I should have felt bad, but instead, I found myself crouching down and grabbing her again, swatting her hands away as she tried to defend herself.
“Get off me, Ethan! You’re such a jerk!”
“Oh, am I? Then who exactly is standing in front of me right now?”
“What are you saying? You’re losing it! Just let me go!” She kept fighting back, even trying to kick me, but I quickly dodged it.
I grabbed her legs, pulled her onto me, and slowly squatted down right against her. No matter how much she struggled, cursed, or told me to drop dead, I just brushed it off.
I leaned in closer, our faces just a fingertip apart. There was barely any space left, and I could see the fear in her eyes as I acted this way. Even her body language was screaming it, but she was stuck with me, nowhere to escape.
I couldn’t wrap my head around that I had a destined mate like her. Everything about her-her personality, vibe, the way she talked-felt worlds apart from Lucy. She was headstrong, full of herself, unpredictable, clueless, and downright rude.
“Is this how a woman raised in such a dump acts?” I blurted out.
“What do you mean by dump?” he shot back, and suddenly, she stopped pushing back.
Her eyes were piercing this time. I noticed a flash of red in them as if I were facing a different person.
“Tell me, what do you mean by dump, Ethan Randall?!” Her voice was shifting. She was definitely furious now.
If I had the choice, I’d go for a Luna with a solid bloodline, not someone like you who’s clueless about her origins and just brings chaos wherever she goes after I brought you here.
“Let’s not forget you’re the one who brought me here! I never asked for this, not even a little bit, and I wouldn’t want it even if you were my destined mate, my Alpha! Ugh!”
I heard her scream at the top of her lungs as I yanked her hair, making her stand up right after I did. I pulled her over to the bed and tossed her onto it.
She tried to bolt when I released her hair, but I quickly grabbed her again. I held her shoulders, propping one leg on the bed while my other hand unbuttoned my shirt.
“Get off me, you jerk!” she shouted, kicking her legs and clawing at my hands to break free.
“Thanks to you, I lost my chance to enter that forest in the neighborhood. Because of you, I just lost five hundred million dollars on a deal I was supposed to finalize today. And because of you, I nearly made the worst mistake of my life. So, I need to teach you a lesson.”
“You’re crazy! If you messed up, why should I say sorry? I have no clue what you’re up to, and if you’re unhappy with the deal you struck with those Rogue Wolves, then go ahead and bail on it, because I’m done with you, Alpha Ethan! You’re not my-mmph!”
I cut her off, my hand covering his mouth tightly, making sure no words could slip out.
“Reject me, huh?” I said with a smirk. “Haven’t you learned that when a She-Wolf tries to turn down her mate, it stings like crazy? Way worse than swallowing a shard of glass.”
I watched her closely. Just as I mentioned the pain, her face went white. Her hands stopped their frantic movements, and the confidence she had shifted to fear. She looked like a wolf just stepping out of its cozy den, unaware of the big, wild world waiting outside.
“Look at you, you’re so adorable,” I murmured, leaning closer to her pale face.
I gently guided her to lie back on the bed. It wasn’t quite the same as before, but I could still feel her trying to resist as my hands slipped under her clothes, exploring her curves, and I caught the sound of her soft moan.