Chapter 266
266
Carmen’s reply was ice-cold.
“Not interested.”
“Then where do you want to go?”
“Take me back to Mooncrest Academy.”
Jace Hale’s jaw tightened. “It’s still early. How about-”
He didn’t get to finish.
A sudden, blinding glare burst from behind them, followed by the deep, predatory growl of a powerful engine-low and guttural, like the snarl of a Beta on the hunt.
The vehicle was fast-too fast-closing the distance in mere heartbeats until it ran neck and neck with Jace’s bike.
Carmen turned her head, and her gaze locked with Duke’s.
The mate-bond snapped taut between them, a sharp, invisible tether that yanked at her chest. Her wolf stirred restlessly under her skin, heart pounding against her ribs. She could almost taste his scent on the wind-oak, smoke, and something darkly electric that made her want to lean in even as she cursed herself.
Damn it. Was he some kind of cursed shadow? Why couldn’t she shake him off?
“Faster,” she urged, voice sharp with urgency but laced with something she hated to admit-fear, and not entirely of him catching up. “Just don’t let him catch us. I don’t care where we go.”
Jace twisted the throttle, and the bike roared, surging forward toward the outer ring road.
But Duke’s black Maybach was relentless, its speed rivaling the bike’s with the same predatory precision she’d felt in their bond-a Beta bearing down on his
mate.
Even through the glare of his headlights, she felt his gaze like claws down her spine, the weight of his claim pressing into her soul. The tether between them
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burned hotter, pulling, demanding.
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In one fluid, aggressive motion, Duke swung the Maybach into a sweeping arc, tires screaming against asphalt, sparks spitting from the friction.
The car slid into their path, blocking them entirely, forcing Jace to a halt.
Jace yanked off his helmet and strode toward the car, fury in every step.
“What the hell is your problem?” he snarled.
Duke didn’t waste words. He stepped out, swung, and his fist connected with Jace’s jaw, sending the rider sprawling.
Before Jace could recover, Duke’s boot drove into his ribs with a thud that made Carmen flinch. The mate-bond flared in her chest at the violence, her wolf baring its teeth in a confused snarl—half anger, half primal satisfaction at seeing another male bested.
Without another glance, Duke stalked toward her.
She glared, amber eyes burning.
“What the hell do you want? I told you already-last night was an accident. We pretend it never happened, and I’m fine with that. You’re a grown man; stop being so damn petty!”
Her words came fast, defensive, but the bond didn’t care. The air between them was thick with his scent, with the low thrum of their connection.
He stopped in front of her, reached out, and caught the back of her head in a grip that was all Beta-unyielding, certain. The mate-bond surged like lightning down her spine.
His mouth crashed onto hers.
The taste of him hit her like a drug, her wolf pushing forward with a sharp, needy growl in her chest. She wrenched away, slapping him hard.
“Enough! What the hell is wrong with you?”
Duke’s head turned from the blow, but a slow smirk curved his mouth. His pupils were blown wide, the bond sparking like a wildfire between them.
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He bent, scooping her up over his shoulder with ease.
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“Put me down! You lunatic!” she shouted, pounding her fists against his back. Her wolf was a traitor, clawing to get closer even as she fought him.
The Maybach’s headlights cast them in harsh white light-Duke’s tailored suit catching the gleam, Carmen’s hair and skirt whipping wildly in the wind, her scent tangling with his until it was impossible to tell where one ended and the other began.
The rest of the world blurred into nothing. The bond had no room for anyone else.
Duke reached the car, yanked open the back door, and tossed her inside.
Before she could scramble away, he was there, bracing over her, the heat of his body caging her in. The locks clicked shut, final as a mate-mark.
Carmen’s breaths came quick, shallow, her pulse echoing in her ears.
“What… what do you want from me?”
His eyes burned into hers. “What I want? You can’t feel it?”
His voice was low and rough, the growl of a wolf barely holding himself back. The bond between them pulsed, alive, urging her to submit, to stop fighting what they
were.
She turned her head, refusing to meet his gaze.
A cold laugh rumbled from him.
“Still defiant? Then I’ll make you listen.”
His hand slid along her side, and her wolf shivered at the contact even as her mind screamed no.
“Stop! You’re insane-Jace is still outside.”
Duke’s gaze darkened, the Beta edge in his voice sharpening.
“Perfect,” he murmured, his scent wrapping around her like chains. “Let him watch. Let him see you’re mine.”
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