His golden eyes drag down my body, assessing me for himself. I try not to flinch under his stare, but my body can’t help but twitch. My breath comes hard and fast as my heartbeat leaps out of my chest.
I swear I see his lips curl up at my reaction to his perusal of my body. It just pisses me off more.
“You’re right; you’re not my mate,” he says. His words are a dagger in my back—hard, cruel, menacing. He says it so casually, like he’s deciding on his next meal, and I don’t make the cut. I shouldn’t be angry at him for repeating my own words back to me, but I am.
“My mate wouldn’t have silver, snowy white hair. She’d have golden yellow hair.” His fingers run through my long silver locks, and I tense at his touch.
“She wouldn’t have bones more pronounced than muscles.” He runs his hand down my neck, over my clavicle, and then over my ribcage.
“She’d have wide hips for bearing my future heir and the rest of my offspring.” He slides his hand around my ass and tugs me tightly against him.
My hatred of him burns and burns inside me at every insult. Unfortunately, it’s not the only thing burning.
I grind my teeth together and grip my hands into fists, trying to keep from letting my body heat with desire for this man.
“Then let me go. You’re wasting your time with me,” I whisper.
His nose nuzzles against my neck as silent shivers race down my spine. I refuse to move. I refuse to give in to this desire.
“My mate would also react to every single word I speak. She’d shiver at my breath on her skin. Her heartbeat would race at my touch. And a kiss…a kiss would have her soaked, ready for me to fuck her.”
I lick my lips, and he smirks at me in a knowing way.“Should we test it out? See if you are truly my mate or not?”
I shake my head quickly, refusing to let him win no matter how much I want the bastard to kiss me.
“I’m sure my body would react to any number of men kissing me. My reaction to you would prove nothing.”
He shakes his head. “Your body would only truly react to your mate. Only your mate would be able to satisfy the urges you feel. Only your mate would make you think of them and only them. Only your mate would be enough for you.”
“I know about what the curse does. I know it tries to survive by making me desirable to every male and every male desirable to me. How do I know that’s not what’s happening between the two of us?”
“Have you kissed a man before?”
I nod slowly.
“And what did you feel?”
I think of my kiss with Kael. “Nothing.”
“I’ll parade every man in the pack in here to kiss you until you realize the truth.”
“I’m not your mate.”
He chuckles. “You really don’t get it, do you? It took me a while, too, to realize how perfect we are for each other.”
“I hate you. We aren’t mates.”
He runs his thumb up and down my hip, driving me slightly mad.
“Being mates isn’t about being in love. It’s not about liking or not liking each other. It’s about being each other’s match. Their equal.”
“I’m not a savage beast like you,” I say.
“No, you’re not. But that’s only a tiny part of who I am. I’m strong, ruthless, determined, and a leader, and I will do anything to stop this curse. You’re the same.”
“You said I was weak! You don’t think I’m any of those things.”
“You are weak—physically. You don’t have the muscles or endurance you need to match me or any other supernatural creature. You’re weak because you haven’t gotten your wolf yet. Which, of course, wouldn’t appear when you are packless and don’t have an alpha to guide you.”
