ELARA
"Hardin, let me go," I warned, even though my voice betrayed me. My body clearly didn't understand the meaning of the word no. Every nerve felt alive, every inch of me aware of the man behind me. And the worst part, I can't even believe my brain was already imagining grinding on that hard rock.
Get it together, Elara. I scolded myself silently. I couldn't let this happen again. Not with him. Not after Jeremy and I are already getting a chance at a real thing. He must never find out I'd made out with any of the twins the second time.
But my thoughts were already spinning out of control.
Then, his lips brushed close to my ear, barely a touch, but enough to make my breath disappear. "Wanna know something shocking?" he whispered.
I didn't answer. I could barely breathe, talkless of even talking.
"Look at yourself," he murmured, his tone darkly amused. "I'm not even holding you down… yet you still can't move. Deep inside, you're desperately holding yourself from grinding on me."
My heart slammed against my chest as the realization hit me. He was damn right, he wasn't even restraining me and I actually wanted to grind on him. I just couldn't seem to pull away. My body refused to listen, caught somewhere between guilt and desire.
My chest rose and fell, heavy and unsteady. My pride kept my mouth shut, but the silence spoke louder than any words.
Hardin leaned in closer, his breath brushing my neck. "You can lie to yourself all you want," he whispered. "But your body already knows the truth."
Then finally, I snapped to my feet, my heart hammering so fast I thought it might burst. Without thinking, I swung my hand to slap him, but Hardin was fast enough to catch my wrist mid-air.
Before I could even blink, he stood up, swept me off my feet completely, throwing me over his shoulder as if I weighed nothing just like paper.
"Put me down, Hardin!" I yelled, hitting his back with my fists. "I swear, I'll kill you if you don't!"
He didn't answer. That wasn't even so annoying. It was the fact that he didn't flinch that made me so mad. His grip stayed firm, his stride steady, every step echoing through the hall until he finally stopped in front of a room.
The moment he opened the door, the darkness swallowed us whole. It was colder here, heavier. A space that seemed to carry his scent—raw, dominant, and dangerous.
But why the hell does everything have to be dark around him?
He set me down gently, but before I could even speak or prepare myself for what I was about to do to him, his hand brushed against my cheek, and the next thing I knew, his lips crashed against mine.
It wasn't the gentle type, it was desperate, fiery, and filled with the tension we'd both been trying to bury. And the worst part? I kissed him back. My treacherous lips moved faster than my brain.
My body trembled against his, torn between anger and the pull I couldn't explain. The darkness around us made everything more sharper, his breath, his touch, the unspoken war burning between us. His hand trailed down my backside, holding it firmly, pressing them so that his hard rock grind against him.
Then his voice came low, barely above a whisper against my lips. "You can keep fighting me all you want, freckles," he said, his tone darkly calm. "But you and I both know, your body listens to me, even when your head doesn't."
HARDIN
The moment my words sank in, she jerked away from me. I didn't stop her. The slap came fast, sharp and loud, and for a second, the sting burned across my cheek. I knew she'd do that but I didn't plan on stopping her either.
I didn't react. I only smirked faintly, then reached over and flicked the light switch. A dim glow spread through the room, brushing across her face.
That's when I really saw her. Her eyes blazing, chest heaving, anger spilling off her like wildfire. And somehow, all of that only pulled me in deeper. It only made me more crazy about her.
She was chaos and defiance wrapped in one. No fear, or hesitation. Just pure, unfiltered energy, and it was driving me out of my mind.
Who'd dare lay a hand on the future Alphas? There was no one until she came into the picture.
Yeah, I'd never been the kind of man to care about bonds or mates too. I'd always believed those things made wolves weak. But with her, it was different. Everything about her tore through the walls I'd built around myself.
"I told you to stay away from me!" she shouted, her voice cracking with emotion.
I didn't answer again. I couldn't. I just watched her, trying to fight the storm inside me, trying to calm Lyon who was howling in the back of my head. And damn… I love watching her yell with that pretty mouth.
Because no matter how many times she pushed me away, my instincts kept saying the same thing: she's mine.
When she was done yelling and threatening to cut off my legs until I was left crawling, I just stood there, watching her burn through her fury. Then I started walking toward her, slow and steady.
She tensed, every step I took making her inch backward until her voice trembled with warning. "Stay back, Hardin."
"How about you stop running," I said, keeping my tone low but heavy enough to fill the space between us. "You keep making me chase after you just to remind you who you really belong too."
Her eyes flared. "I'm not a property you own so I don't belong to anybody… and maybe you could control others, but not me. I'm not one of those girls who bows to you. You're not even my type, so just forget trying."
I paused, letting her words hang there. "Do I need to spell it out for you? We're bonded, Elara. Whether you like it or not, our fates are already tied."
She laughed bitterly. "That wasn't fate, Hardin. That was madness. That heat made me lose my senses, and you— you and your brother took advantage of it. But I don't care anymore. I'm not interested in mates either."
Finally, she reached the end of the room, her back hitting the wall, but she still looked at me like she could burn through stone. I stepped closer until my shadow swallowed hers.
"Is that the lie you keep telling yourself?" My voice dropped lower, quieter, but sharper. "That it didn't mean anything? That you didn't feel the pull tearing through you the same way we did? I was pretty sure you wanted to fuck as much I wanted it too that night."
"Stop saying it that way," she snapped, her voice cracking.
"How do you want me to say it then?" I leaned in closer, my breath steady even when hers wasn't. "That you were so horny you couldn't hold yourself back but now you're too proud to admit it?"
Her fingers trembled where they pressed against my chest, but her eyes… her eyes still fought me.
I stepped closer until the air between us thinned to almost nothing. My hand hovered, tracing the outline of her dress without touching her skin, testing how long she could stand still before her body betrayed her.
Her eyes flashed at me, defiant, but I could see the truth hiding there, subtle want tangled up with anger.
When I caught her wrist, she didn't resist. I turned her gently, pressing her against the wall. She let out a breath, sharp and soft at the same time.
"Elara," I whispered near her ear. My voice was low, darkly rough. "You keep pretending you don't feel this, but your body always tells the truth."
She shivered, and for a second, the fight drained from her shoulders. My hand rested at her waist, feeling the fast rhythm of her heartbeat beneath my palm trailing it down until I reached that firm of her backside caressing it until she moaned out loud.
ELARA
Goodness. What the hell was wrong with me? I didn't exactly want a moan to slip my mouth but it did.
"Don't fight it, freckles," he murmured again, his lips brushing past my shoulder. Before I knew it, I trembled under his touch trying to breathe evenly, but the warmth between us had already taken control.
"It's too much. The heat" I heard myself whisper.
He tilted my chin so he'd look at me. "Then stop pretending you don't want me."
My lips parted, breathless, and for one suspended heartbeat, the silence that followed next said everything words couldn't.
That was when his fingers found its way to my core, teasing, maddening forming small circles around that part.
I moaned loudly again, this time it was more desperate, my hips moving to the small rhythm of his fingers. Grinding a little, against his fingers until my eyes shut closed, feeling the overwhelming sensation of his touch.
"Do you want me now?" He asked.
And that was it. I said yes even before I realized what I'd just done.