18 Chapter 18: Mating Bond
My heart pounded. “How much?”
I stumbled back, panting, holding my ribs where he’d crushed me.
“You think I haven’t suffered worse?” she shot back. “The world doesn’t care how smart you are, Jasmine. It cares what you’re willing to do to survive.”
I pulled the blanket over my face. I didn’t want to cry. I’d cried too much already.
I let him pull me, let him think he’d won. Then, the second his grip loosened, I slammed my knee up-hard-right into his groin.
“He’s a monster,” I whispered back.
“No-please,” I begged, but my voice was too soft, cracking in the middle.
I glanced at the screen.
I felt her guilt. Her pain. Her need.
He glanced at me one last time. “Think fast, Jasmine. Time’s ticking.”
My stomach dropped. It did sound too good to be true.
Elliot’s smile widened. “No, I’m practical. You’re the one being emotional. Think like a grown-up, Jasmine. Just sacrifice a little, and you get to save your father.”
His voice dropped to a darker tone. “Either way, you’re leaving university for good. If I were you, I’d pick the better option.”
I stood there, fists clenched so tightly my nails cut into my palms. My chest burned from
holding it all in.
At first, just a dull throb. Then it twisted into a sharp, fiery ache.
He cursed, then composed himself with a breath. The anger on his face vanished like a
switch. He smiled.
But the mark on my neck burned.
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I staggered back, shaking.
He must be having sex with Isabella right now.
“No! Get off me!”
“I’ll talk to the Lycans for you, pull strings, pay whoever I need to. I’ll even take my mom to negotiate a plea deal. You’ll get your dad back for good. Doesn’t that sound nice?”
“You’re a monster,” I whispered.
He ignored me, his lips crashing onto mine again. I turned my face away but he just kissed down my jaw, then my neck.
She nodded, barely looking at him.
My lips parted, all I could hear was one word.
Isabella.
Pain rippled through my chest, and down my spine. My fingers dug into the sheets.
“You’re disgusting,” I whispered.
I struggled hard, pushing at his chest, trying to kick him off me. He didn’t let go. He just laughed under his breath, like this was all some twisted game to him
“The exact amount you borrowed for school,” he finished with a mocking grin. “Poetic,
huh?”
He pulled back just enough to smirk at me. “Even if your mother hears, she supports me. As for Gareth, you’re delusional if you believe he’ll save you. You’re mine!”
Ring.
I sat up in bed, gasping.
He dropped instantly, curling over in pain. “You bitch-”
“Hey, baby,” he cooed, voice syrupy sweet. “Yeah, I was just finishing something up. You
wanna meet later? Of course. Anything for you.”
The scream he let out was everything.
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“I hate him,” I said aloud.
I could feel the burn of shame crawling up my throat.
I couldn’t speak. I just turned and walked to my room, slamming the door behind me.
He opened the door and walked out, pausing as he passed my mother, who was standing silently in the hallway.
“Make it stop,” I whispered. “Please… make it stop…”
TW: attempted sexual assault
My wolf howled.
“No.” I said firmly, “Absolutely not.”
I swallowed hard, my throat tight. The words refused to come. Like always, when I was
overwhelmed.
“Don’t you dare-” I choked as he tugged at the collar of my shirt and his mouth latched onto my shoulder, sucking hard.
He shrugged. “The Lycans are being generous. They’ve agreed to let you
visit
your
dad.”
“No! No! No!”
But still… my wolf whimpered, torn. She was wired to crave his touch, his voice, even
when it made me sick.
‘You’re leaving that university. Pick one.’
And I broke.
“But he still wants us.’
And my wolf-damn her-she wasn’t helping. She whimpered inside me in longing. Stupid, broken instincts. She wanted affection. She still remembered the way Elliot used
to touch us before everything went dark.
“Mrs. Lowett,” he greeted sweetly. “Thanks for the tea earlier.”
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My voice trembled. “He’s a manipulative, lying bastard! You saw what he did!”
“Grateful?” I spat.
The mark pulsed. I knew what was happening.
He stepped closer, gaze sharp. “You can still refuse me, but your father will be the one paying the price for your stubborn pride. We know the Lycans aren’t known for mercy. They starve their prisoners and beat them for fun. Even the most hardened criminal cries for mercy after a month,” He sighed, mock sadness dripping from his voice.
I screamed-loud and panicked-but Elliot was faster. His hand slammed over my mouth,
cutting the sound short.
He grabbed my waist again, trying to drag me toward the bed.
We both froze. His phone buzzed in his pocket.
I pushed him away, angered that he was using my mom against me. But he merely smiled
at me and continued to speak.
“Half a million.”
My wolf stirred inside me. “He’s our mate,” she whispered.
My jaw dropped. “That’s-”
He laughed against my skin. “That mark from your precious Alpha? Gone. This is mine now.” He kissed lower, biting just enough to sting. “You’re still mine, Jasmine. Doesn’t
matter whose bed you crawl into.”
He wanted me to feel it.
“Go ahead,” he muttered close to my ear, his breath hot and disgusting. “Scream all you
want. No one’s gonna help you.”
I kept hearing their voices. My mother’s bitterness. Elliot’s smugness.
Sleep didn’t come. I tossed and turned, and the sheets twisted around my legs.
My stomach turned.
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I tried pushing him again, nails digging into his arms, but Elliot barely flinched. He was too
strong.
He growled, pushing up slowly, face red and twisted in fury. “You think you’re smart, huh? Think that was funny?” He stepped toward me. “I’ll show you what happens when you-”
I shook my head. No. He didn’t want me. He wanted control. Ownership. I was a thing to him, a toy he didn’t want anyone else to play with.
“Stop fighting me,” he growled, pinning me against the dresser. “I’m not here to hurt I’m here to remind you who you belong to.”
His grip tightened around my wrists as he forced my arms above my head. I twisted, kicked, tried anything-but it was like fighting a wall.
you.
“Or you can agree to my request – and your father remains free for a lifetime. The choice is yours. I know which one your mother wants you to pick.”
Tears welled up as I curled in on myself, trying to block it out. But the connection was there-raw, cruel, and alive. I felt every motion. Every moan. It was like I was being torn open from the inside.
He ended the call and looked at me like nothing happened. “You should be grateful, you
know.”
“Yeah. Just a visit, though. One hour. But there’s a price.”
“Poor man. I wonder if your father will still have his teeth when you finally see him again. Will you and your mother even recognize him by the time he gets released?”
The door shut behind him.
I spun around. “You told me to be grateful for him!”
“You think Gareth will save you?” she continued. “That man is treating you like a novelty for now. But Elliot actually cares about what happens to your father.”
“Shame,” he muttered. “Would’ve been nice to have me between your legs. But don’t
worry. Isabella’s always eager for my touch.”
I gasped, trying to jerk away. “You’re sick.”
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“I’m not sleeping with you.”
Elliot smirked, as though he knew how impossible a task that would be.
I pressed my palm against the mark, trying to smother it, kill the sensation. But it wouldn’t
stop.
He stepped closer, voice low. “I had nothing to do with this. If you want to see your father, you could just quit university and pay for that one hour visit, and spend the rest of your life trying to earn more to get another hour with him.”
“No…”
“I don’t want you! Go away!”
But I remembered the lies. The threats. The betrayal.
Tears stung my eyes. My brain went fuzzy, like it always did when things moved too fast. I couldn’t think-couldn’t find the right words to scream at him to make him give up. All I
knew was I hated him.
I wasn’t just sick. I was shaking. My body responded to the mating bond even though my
soul screamed in protest.
“I told you this would happen,” my mother said quietly behind me. “I told you he’d come
back for you.”
I blinked, stunned. “What?”
