Chapter 17

SEVENTEEN

RUTH

A strangled cry clawed up my throat as the silver-haired man fucked me roughly against his fridge.

I tried not to look at the head on the counter.

They were identical twins, the same everything except Casey didn't have all the facial tattoos his brother did.

My heart was beating so fast it could explode from my chest any second. My mouth opened to gulp down the precious air he was stealing from my lungs. He took the opening, shoving his tongue inside me and invading yet another part of me.

He feasted on my mouth and swallowed every whimpering moan he knocked from me with each punishing thrust of his hips. His cock was much larger than Sawyer's, making me feel so full. How was I going to take him when he shifted?

Maybe I wouldn't survive it at all. But hey, getting taken out by a giant cock had to be the best way a sacrifice ever went out on Hunt night.

I could sense the monster inside him, waiting to pounce.

Closing my eyes, I imagined the face of the silver wolf I'd murdered in the woods, those storm-gray eyes staring into me in shock as I slammed the ax onto his neck.

A chill settled below my skin, which almost felt good compared to the inferno of heat building between my legs.

I opened my eyes to find those same storm-gray eyes staring at me from the counter. I looked back at the male fucking me. Those damn eyes.

I buried my face into his neck to escape their glare. Maybe it was too intimate of a gesture because his hand gripped the base of my bunny ears and gave me a rough shake, forcing my attention back on him. "Look your alpha in the eyes while he's fucking you."

"You're crushing my tail against the fridge. It hurts and not in a fun way," I blurted, the first thing coming to mind, bearing a tinge of truth. "Can we take this out of the kitchen?"

Away from that damn head.

He seemed surprised, his hips freezing mid-thrust. His fingers unfurled from my ears, and with his dick still lodged inside me, he carried me to the living room.

"Not in here! The bedroom... Please." I didn't want to have sex with all the dead animals staring at me, either. Better to be surrounded by his book collection.

He halted his path to the couch, considering my request again. Then, to my relief, he turned and carried me into the bedroom.

Stepping over the ax, which was still lodged into the floor, he carefully pulled me off his cock to place me on the edge of the bed. I chewed my lip as he placed himself in front of me and slowly pushed his sweats all the way down. They fell to the floor, leaving him completely naked.

He was so beautiful it almost hurt to look at him. His cock was thick, wrapped in a network of veins that gleamed in the light pouring in through the window—still wet with me.

A pleasing amount of muscle wrapped his otherwise lean frame, which flexed beneath his tatted skin with every movement.

Unable to resist, I reached for his cock. He snatched my wrist, pulling my hand away.

"Are we doing this or not?" I snapped at him, furious that he kept me at a distance.

"This is your last chance to turn back, Ruthless. If you want this to stop, we end this now. You can leave, and I swear on my parents' graves that I won't follow you."

I blinked up at him, waiting for the punchline to drop because he had to be joking. But by the stony look on his face, he was deadly serious.

My eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Why are you giving me an out? I thought the whole reason you agreed to this was because you wanted to punish me for axing your brother."

He cocked his head, a slow grin spreading his lips. There wasn't a trace of humor in that smile. I resisted the urge to flinch, refusing to give him the satisfaction.

"You said you were just protecting yourself. Yes, I want to hurt you for taking away the one person I cared about." He leaned forward, placing his hands on the bed to pin me with that cold glare that filled me with fire. "But if I fuck you, I will come inside you. And if I do that, there'll be consequences that I don't think even you deserve."

Of course, there'd be consequences. His mark on my flesh would be a permanent reminder of this night... And I'd never be welcomed back among my kind again. Okay, that last part didn't seem so bad. In fact, that was kind of a perk. "I'm not going back to my burrow if that's what you're talking about. Why would I go back to the people who literally tossed me to the wolves?"

"That's not what I mean."

"What then? It's not like you can impregnate me. Wolves can't breed with bunnies."

He opened his mouth, but no words came. He closed it again, and his head bowed, silver hair falling into a screen over his face so I couldn't read his expression. "Even if I leave you alone, you'll always feel me. And I'll feel you. Every time you get so much as a scrape, a bruise, I'll know. I'll know when you're sleeping, I'll know when you're awake."

I snorted. "What, are you fucking Santa Clause now?"

"I'll know when you're touching yourself," he continued, ignoring my snarky interjection. He gripped the base of his cock, giving it a slow pump. His hand slid easily over it, my arousal making for the perfect lube."And you'll know when I do the same. If you ever take another mate… You'll feel my jealousy, too. Just enough to be left with that seed of worry, wondering if I'll track you down and murder your lover. How I'll take away someone you care for. Then—" His grin spread, which looked so evil framed by his barbed wire tattoo. " Then , we'll be even, Ruthless."

My jaw fell open in shock. He meant his words as a warning, but they sunk straight to my apex, making me so wet that I knew when I got up, there'd be an obvious wet spot in his sheets. No part of me should have wanted this asshole in my life after tonight. A small part of me, maybe a bigger part than I'd like to admit, wanted him to haunt the life I'd find once I escaped these woods.

I'd probably think of him anyway when I touched myself. I'd think of his silver hair and how it was gleaming in the moonlight right at this moment. The wolfish way he looked at me. How his gaze centered on my mouth and how whatever he was imagining doing to it had his cock twitching with a thick bead of pre-cum gathering at its tip. I licked my lips as I watched it ooze to the ground.

Even if he was a dangerous monster, and we had no business actually being together, I wanted to remember him. I wanted him to star in my nightmares. When I came from my own hand or a toy, I wanted him to fantasize aboutstrangling the non-existent lover for touching his mate.

His mate.

I was done arguing with him. Done telling him that pretty much every fucked-up fiber of my being wanted this.

" I need your mark. That was the deal. Otherwise, my pheromones are too strong. I can't be in heat when I leave here. Your pack will find me..." My voice wavered and trailed off. They'd find me, and then I'd end up like Hope or Sarah. In pieces.

"I'll ruin you." A promise now, no longer a warning.

Every fucked-up fiber of my being wanted this. If we weren't in this situation, if I wasn't in heat... I'd still want him. I wanted the cocky, mean bastard because, underneath that steely demeanor, that dark smirk and that arctic glare was something more.

And whatever that was, I wanted to make it mine.

He wanted the same thing, too. At least some part of him did. I could practically taste it, making the air buzz. So why wasn't he shifting?

Something was holding him back.

I slipped off the mattress, ducked between his legs and grabbed for the ax—wrenching it from the floor. The handle was still slick with my juices and almost fell from my grip.

The silver wolf stood to his full height and turned, chuckling as he watched me fumble with the weapon. Then, something wild flickered in his eyes as I held the ax up between us. He knew exactly how dangerous I was with this thing.

I'd already ended his world with it.

"And what exactly are you planning on doing with that?"

"I don't have time for you and whatever is keeping you from fucking me. I'm not leaving here without your mark." I gestured to the mattress with a jab of the ax. "Get on the bed. Now."