Chapter 29
“Finish what we started earlier?” I repeat, my voice strained as I try to sound nonchalant–like my stomach isn’t doing wild flips, like my thighs aren’t clenching involuntarily at the memory.
Jack’s eyes gleam as he steps closer, his heat already invading my space.
“Yeah,” he murmurs, his voice rough and smoky–like silk dragging slowly across bare skin. “You remember… how your legs trembled when I touched you. The way you moaned my name like it was the only word you knew.”
I swallow hard.
The memories come rushing in, uninvited. The way he’d held me like I was something precious and wild at the same time. My skin flushes, and I silently curse myself for feeling anything.
Control, Kali. Get it back.
“I’m not sure what you’re talking about,” I lie, lifting my chin defiantly. “I don’t remember anything.”
Jack lets out a low chuckle. It sends a ripple of electricity across my skin. “Don’t play coy with me, Kali,” he murmurs, another step forward. “I can see the way you look at me. I felt the way you clung to me. You’re not fooling anyone–least of all me.”
I force a tight laugh, ignoring the heat pooling between my legs.
“All I remember is falling asleep in the bathtub,” I say with a shrug. “Then waking up in bed. Alone.” I blink up at him with feigned confusion.
Jack’s brows knit together. He doesn’t like that. Good.
“Oh wait,” I add with mock realization, raising a finger as if something just occurred to me. “Did something happen between us? Did you kiss me or something?” I tilt my head and smile sweetly. “Huh. Must not have been that special. Or memorable.”
The lie tastes bitter on my tongue, but I spit it out anyway, hoping it smothers the fire building between us.
His jaw tightens. A low growl rumbles from his chest. “Kali…”
I cut him off before he can finish.
“Don’t get me wrong–I get it. Women probably throw themselves at you all the time because you’re the big, bad Alpha. But let me make one thing clear -if something did happen, it clearly wasn’t enough to leave an impression.”
His eyes flash–wounded pride and something far darker swirling in them. He steps closer, and the air between us tightens.
“Then let me help you remember,” he growls, his voice low, dangerous, and full of promise.
Before I can react, he pins me back onto the bed in one swift movement, his body caging mine. I try not to panic. Try not to let him see how much his closeness is messing with me.
I hold my breath.
His nose brushes against my neck as he inhales deeply, almost like he’s trying to memorise me.
“How long are you going to keep fighting this?” he whispers. “Your body wants this. You want this.”
I grit my teeth, refusing to move, refusing to let him see the truth in my eyes.
His lips graze my ear as he speaks again, seething with heat and frustration.
“Stop fighting the bond. Stop lying to yourself. You crave me–even when you claim you don’t.”
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Chapter 29
I snap.
“Fine!” I hiss, eyes locking with his. “You want the truth? You want me to admit it?”
Jack stills above me, clearly not expecting that.
“Yes,” I spat. “I’m attracted to you. I crave your touch. No–screw your touch–I want you to fuck me senseless. I want your hands all over me. I want your mouth on every inch of my body.”
His pupils dilate. His breath stutters.
“But so what?” I continue, my tone now laced with venom. “That doesn’t mean I want your mark. That doesn’t mean I want to be your perfect little Luna -playing house and popping out heirs like some obedient mate.”
Something shifts in his expression-as if I’ve just pierced him straight through the chest.
I don’t know if it’s the confession or the rejection that stings more, but he stares at me, stunned and silent.
Then slowly, he lifts himself off me.
I exhale for the first time in what feels like forever, sucking in air like I’ve been drowning.
Jack stands there for a long moment, looking down at me, his chest rising and falling like the weight of the world is pressing against it. I can’t read his face completely, but his eyes… they’re no longer just burning anymore. They’re bleeding and empty in a way that makes my chest tighten. Then, wordlessly, he turns and walks to the door. His hand touches the knob and twists it.
No. No, wait-
I sit up on the bed, the sheets wrinkled beneath me, heart pounding in my chest like a warning drum. I should let him go. I should.
“That’s it?” The words fall from my lips before I can stop them.
He pauses. His hand rests on the doorknob, unmoving. For a second, I think he won’t answer. But then he exhales, slow and shaky, before turning just enough to glance back at me.
“What do you want me to say or do, Kali?” His voice is quiet–strained. “Were you expecting me to tie you down and forcefully mark you? You think I don’t want to? You think I don’t hear my wolf screaming at me to take what’s mine?”
His eyes meet mine, raw and unfiltered.
“I’m not going to be that man,” he says, quieter now, like the weight of his own restraint is crushing him. “I’ve already done something I regret. I won’t do it again.”
His voice cracks slightly on the last word.
Again.
That single word lodges in my chest like a blade. There’s a flicker in his eyes–guilt, pain, regret.
And even though I try to stay cold, to keep the wall up, I feel the sting behind my eyes and the lump rising in my throat.
He’s talking about her. His first mate.
I want to ask. I want to know. But I bite my tongue. I won’t let him see the jealousy crawling under my skin like fire ants.
Still, the bitterness slips into my voice. “So… I just confessed I’m attracted to you,” I say, folding my arms tightly across my chest. “Aren’t you going to use that to your advantage? Pin me down and fuck me or something? That’s what you want, isn’t it?”
Jack actually laughs–but there’s no humor in it. It’s dry. Hollow.
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21:20 151, 20 Jun
Chapter 20
He turns fully, stalling a few step back toward me again–net class enough to touch, that enough to eat his presence pressing down on me
“You think i see you se same ass fuck he crops. You’re my math, Kali Men & damn white
inch at the bluntness
“And since you’re clearly not ready to accept the bond or submit to me as you Alpha–your mate then not see no reason to take what you’re not offering willingly and fully”
His words hit harder than expect. I feel like I’ve just been slapped. My eyes sting–but I keep my chin up, even if my chest is starting to ache in places! didn’t know could feel pain.
Maybe he doesn’t want me like that. Maybe it was just the bond. Maybe I was nothing more than a consequence of fate to him.
He shakes his head slowly, voice dropping. “If all I wanted was your body, I would’ve taken it already. But I want more than that. I want you. Your heart. Your loyalty. Your submission–not out of fear, but because you choose me.”
His words twist something sharp in my gut. Because I don’t know if I can ever give him that. I want him. God, I want him. But being someone’s Luna? Giving up control? Submitting?
It terrifies me more than anything.
Jack exhales, his voice rough. “You can keep the house. You’re free to leave whenever you want. You don’t owe me anything… and you don’t have to tell me if you go.”
He walks to the door and opens it, pausing just long enough to glance back over his shoulder. His eyes are im now, his voice softer than I’ve ever heard
i
“And don’t worry,” he murmurs, “I won’t be coming back.”
Something inside me drops. A sharp sting in my ribs, like I’ve just been hit by the very thing I was trying to run from.
“The next time we see each other…” He swallows hard. “If nothing’s changed… if you still don’t want me…”
His hand clenches at his side. “Then I’ll accept your rejection.”
And with that he walks out.
The door shuts softly behind him.
I sit there on the bed, staring at the empty space he left behind, heart thundering in my chest, lips parted in disbelief.
I don’t know if I want to scream, cry, or run after him.
don’t know what hurts more–his absence or the crushing realisation that I might’ve just lost something I didn’t even know I needed.
All I know is…
it hu
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