Chapter 73

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CHAPTER SEVENTY THREE

+25 Bonus

CHAPTER SEVENTY THREE

Nolan’s POV

My hands slid down the curve of her body. I cupped her breasts, earning a gasp. I nipped at her neck, and she arched into me.

‘This is what we were supposed to be doing. Do not deny it,’ my wolf growled.

Talia clutched at me. She deepened the kiss. One of her legs was already wrapped around my waist. I sucked on her neck as I grinded into her. “Mark me. Please, mark me,” she begged me.

For a brief second, I almost listened to her. All it would take was one bite, but clarity snapped me out of my lustful haze.

If I marked her now, she’d wake up tomorrow with regret. She was in heat, half-lost to the bond, If I was to mark her, I wanted her to truly want me not to be driven by instinct because of the mate bond.

“No!” I roared as I took control again. My Alpha aura flaring as I used the Alpha command against my wolf. He snarled as I shoved him back down. My body shook from the efforts.

Talia flinched as my Alpha aura slammed into her, but then her eyes burned with anger. “I wouldn’t regret it,” she snapped. “I can smell you. I know your scent. You’re my mate!”

The pendant had been off for only a minute, and the bond had snapped into place almost immediately. “No! The heat has you confused,” I said.

“Why won’t you admit it?” she demanded as tears welled up in her eyes. “What are you waiting for? Are you going to reject me, too?”

“It’s not that simple, Talia,” I told her. She didn’t know how close I was to losing everything right now, how close I was to breaking every promise I’d made to myself. Talia had no idea how bad I wanted to mark her.

“How is it not? We are mates. We should claim each other,” Talia retorted.

“You don’t understand,” I said as I looked past her for anything that could help with the situation. My eyes caught on a coil of rope tied to a stack of books along the wall.

“Then, make me understand, Nolan,” Talia said as she cupped my face. I stepped away from her and in a few quick strides, I grabbed the rope, dragged a chair into place, and tied her down. Talia thrashed, snarling, “Let me go!” The heat had stolen her strength, so she couldn’t free herself.

“You bastard!” she shouted, yanking at the ropes. “First Jason rejected me, and now you? You think I can’t handle being your mate? You think I don’t deserve it? You think I’m beneath you, too?”

I picked the pendant back up and tied the chain as best as I could around my neck. The runes on it activated and reduced the need to claim her significantly. My wolf snarled within me but could do nothing about it. My body still ached with need, but I had enough control to think.

Talia’s tears finally spilled. Her voice trembled as she said, “Do you know what it feels like to not be wanted? Jason rejected me. He told me I wasn’t good enough and I was barren. And now you sit here, knowing you’re my mate, knowing I’m in pain, and you do the same thing. Do you have any idea what that feels like?”

I stood still, unable to answer. My wolf whimpered inside me, ‘You’re hurting her. Please stop hurting our mate.’

“I’m not Jason,” I said at last, my voice rougher than I intended. “But if I give in now, you’ll regret it tomorrow.”

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CHAPTER SEVENTY THREE

+25 Bonus

Talia shook her head. “You’re wrong,” she sobbed. “You’re so wrong. Why is the Moon Goddess so cruel? I get a second chance, and you don’t want me either.”

I walked over to the window and shoved it fully open. Dark clouds now covered the moon as it had started raining. The cool mist from the wind entered the room. Talia gasped at the chill. Her heat slowly easing as her face didn’t look as flushed.

I dragged a chair over and sat beside Talia. For a while, I said nothing. I just listened to her as she continued to sob and complain.

Finally, I spoke. “There is someone out there for you, Talia. Someone that will love you the way you deserve.’

“That’s easy for you to say! You’re not the one who was rejected twice,” Talia snapped, her voice cracking under the weight of her pain.

I stayed silent. Anything I said now would only make her feel worse.

Talia struggled for a few more minutes until exhaustion consumed her. Her body sagged against the chair. Her breaths evened out. She had fallen into a deep, restless sleep as she muttered incoherently.

I stared at her for a long time, torn between relief and guilt. She looked so fragile like this. Without meaning to, I reached out to hug her carefully, and wiped away the last tear on her cheek.

“Damn it,” I muttered softly, my chest tight. “Why did it have to be you?”

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