Chapter 4

I thrash beneath him, which only makes him chuckle against my lips. Giving up on that, I bite his lip hard enough that it draws blood. He hisses, jerking back, and I sit up, shoving him off. I climb off the bed and start looking for my clothes, snatching them up, tugging the dress over my head, and stepping into my heels.

“Where are you going?” he snaps, and I glance at him to find him looking at his thumb—the same one he’s just brushed across his lips. His thumb is smeared in blood, and some dribbles down his chin.

“Home!” I tell him.

“You want to tell your father already?” he asks in a mocking voice that has me glancing over at him.

I think I must have imagined the tone as he sweeps his fingers through his hair, looking like some Greek god of perfection. I watch as he stands, his silver eyes watching me move around the room while I look for my clutch. Finding it, I snatch it off the nightstand.

“Elena!” Axton calls out just as I reach for the door handle in my rush to get out of there.

“You leave, and my wolf will hunt you down, Elena,” he says, passing me my phone that I forgot to grab.

I take it, turning to face him and pointing my finger at him. My wolf howls in my head, knowing what I intend to do, but I ignore her, knowing nothing good will come of being mated to this man.

“No, you won’t because I, Elena Hale, reject you, Alpha Axton Levin of the Nightfall pack,” I snap at him.

He growls furiously, snatching my wrist and yanking me toward him. “You just made a big mistake,” he snarls, and his eyes flicker as I feel the tether binding me to him dissolve.

“The only mistake I made was last night,” I snarl back.

He laughs and shakes his head. “You will come crawling back to me. I will make sure of it, Elena. Because I reject your rejection,” he snarls before shoving me back.

“You can’t reject my rejection! I felt the bond sever,” I snap while my wolf’s cries for her mate echo in my head.

“Severed for you, not me. You don’t want to accept it, but you will. You will accept me, Elena, if you know what’s good for you.” His eyes flicker black, and his wolf comes forward, his canines slipping out between his parted lips as he presses me against the door with his arms caging me in.

“You will come back to me, little mate,” his wolf growls, his voice harsher and colder than Axton’s. I wondered what his wolf’s name was, but refused to give him the satisfaction of asking. Instead, when he speaks over me, I glare at him, about to tell him to fuck off.

“Don’t make me hunt you down. Come back, and I may forgive you. You make me chase you, and I will make sure you never run from me again,” he growls before shoving off the door.

I swallow, reaching for the handle.

“You have two weeks. After that, I will come for you,” his wolf tells me.

“Ask for forgiveness, Elena. Please don’t do this,” my wolf begs, but I ignore her.

With a huff, I turn, opening the door and slamming it behind me. Fucking Alphas!

I catch a taxi home before trying to sneak into the house like a thief in the night. However, nothing escapes my father, and the moment I step through the door and into the foyer, I spot him sitting in an armchair in the living room, glaring at me.

“Where were you?” he demands, and I cringe at the rough sound of his voice grating through my head.

“Out!” I answer while rubbing my temples, about to walk off when he rises from his chair. I gasp, attempting to pick up my pace but am not quick enough. His huge hand seizes my arm, twirling me around to face him.

“I asked, where were you?” he growls before sniffing me. “Whose scent is that?” His grip tightens on my arm.

“Nobody’s. Alisha and I went out,” I tell him.

“Why can I smell a male scent on you? Who did you spend the night with?” he snaps, and I gulp, thinking of the first name that pops into my head.

“Jake’s. We went to a club,” I lie.

He sniffs me again, his nose almost in my hair, and I pray to the moon goddess that he doesn’t recognize the scent of Alpha Axton.

“That isn’t a human scent,” he snaps.

Jake is human—my father knows that—and gay. Despite his disgust for humans, Jake is the only man my father lets me be around because he is safe and not a threat. Every boyfriend or man that steps near me, Dad will scare off, eventually.

“You’re lying. I know Jake’s scent. Who were you with?” he growls, his claws slipping out and into my arm.

I hiss and try to jerk my arm out of his grasp.

“It’s probably someone from the club. I was wearing Alisha’s jumper earlier,” I tell him, knowing that, if put on the spot, she will lie for me as she has done in the past.

He lets go, eyeing me suspiciously. “You don’t miss pack meetings. You are an Alpha’s daughter.”

“Yet never to be an Alpha,” I retort. “Therefore, fuck your meetings. Take Luke with you. Apparently, being the eldest and rightful heir means nothing. He is the one you chose in my place. Make him attend and do your job for you!”

Not that I want that for Luke, but I am hungover, angry, and my wolf has not stopped howling since rejecting Axton.

Dad raises his hand as if to slap me, but I harden my glare when Mom walks out in her robe and slippers, her blonde hair a mess.

“Everything alright?” she asks.

Dad looks over at her. His eyes soften, and his shoulders drop slightly. “Everything is fine, love,” he tells her, walking over to her.

Mom looks at me with worry, and Dad shoots me a glare. I watch them leave before heading to my room.