Page 102 of Cursed Bonds: An Alpha's Destiny

It went on like that for a long time, until time itself sort of slipped away. Had I not been so terrified of what Eren was doing, I probably would have been scared out of my mind as I slid deeper into my meditative state. Was this something witches did? Maybe. Or, perhaps, my terror at being abducted and held hostage was making me go mad.

Regardless of whether I was going crazy or not, I noticed a tickle at the back of my mind. So small, it was almost imperceptible. Before I could understand it, the deadbolt unlocked, snapping me from my reverie.

When the door opened, I had no way of knowing if I’d been there for ten minutes or ten hours. Time had come to mean less than nothing while I sat trying to gain control of my powers. Eren stepped in, and since he was wearing the same clothes, I assumed it had only been a couple hours.

Seeing him, that goddamned cocky smile back on his lips, I quickly formulated a plan. It was now or never. Regardless of what he said, I couldn’t assume he wouldn’t eventually force the issue. Maybe he’d try to force me to mate with him. I had to play along, to gain his trust. Though, this time, I’d try to do it without the fake flirting and seduction.

“Have a good afternoon?” Eren asked. “Did I give you enough time to reconsider your position?”

I nodded slowly, doing my level best to look contrite. “I think so.”

He tilted his head and grabbed the chair, turning it around. He sat down, resting his arms on the back of the chair. I got the impression he must have thought this way of sitting made him look like a badass.

“We got off on the wrong foot earlier,” he said. “I’m not here to threaten you or scare you.”

Good luck with that, I thought, but kept my mouth shut.

“Jace is dangerous,” Eren said. “He is not a suitable alpha. He’s spent decades trying to push me and the local packs around. Just because he has the biggest pack around doesn’t mean he gets to tell us what we can and can’t do. I’m sure you’ve seen it, too. That is why I need an heir. A powerful heir, so I’d finally have the strength to take him down. You can understand that, can’t you?” Eren leaned closer, his eyes locking on mine. “Be honest. Can you really say that Jace is a good person?”

This guy was well and truly out of his mind if he thought Jace was the bad guy rather than himself. There was only so much lying I could do and still sound convincing. Instead of answering that question directly, I decided to say something that, while no longer explicitly true, had been the truth a few weeks ago.

“Jace does hate witches,” I said. “He’s made that very clear.”

Eren’s lisp curled into a smile. “See? Even his own mate is a witch, and he still can’t get over himself. He’s all tied up and pissed off all the time. Fuck, my parents are dead, too, but I’m not some sulky prick. Kirsten, with you by my side, bearing my heir and helping to guide my pack, we’ll be unstoppable. We’ll bring order to the area. Hell, maybe we can even bring more packs under our control. With that kind of power, the only outcome will be peace.”

I’m sure every psychotic dictator in history thought the same thing. I’m only hurting you so I can protect you. This guy was such a pompous, self-important asshole.

Despite my irritation, I gave him a weak smile and nodded. “Maybe you are right.” I swallowed and cast my eyes down, biting my lower lip. “What if… uh… what if we go slow? To break the ice, you know?”

When I looked back up at him, the look of dark hunger in his eyes made my skin crawl.

“Are you being serious this time? Really?” Eren asked slowly as he stood, pushing the chair aside.

Shrugging, I dug down deep, grasping at the power I’d only briefly managed to touch while I was alone. “Yeah. I don’t think I can go through fully, if you get my drift, but maybe something smaller? Easier?”

Eren grinned and unzipped his jeans. “Oh, I think I know what you mean. But I have to warn you, it isn’t small, and it won’t be that easy.”

Good God, this guy was so full of himself. A rising tingle of what felt like static electricity tickled up my spine, and I had to bite my cheek to keep from smiling. The power was there. I just had to wait for the right time to use it.

Eren stepped even closer as he unbuckled his belt. “If you can show me that mouth is good for something other than disrespecting me, we can start fresh. Once I’m done with you, you won’t even remember what Jace’s cock tastes like.”

He had his hand down his waistband, ready to pull out whatever silly thing he called a penis when I looked up at him. He must have seen something in my eyes that gave me away because he froze. For an instant, we were locked in time, our eyes on each other, him knowing he was in trouble but not truly understanding why.

Finally, I raised an eyebrow and flashed him a coquettish smile. “Fuck you, Eren.”

He opened his mouth to shout, but he never got the chance. I raised my palms toward him, and a blast of what looked like purple lighting burst from my fingers. At the back of my throat, I tasted something metallic, like I’d licked a battery. The bolts slammed into Eren, sending him flying backward into the wall. The wall burst from the impact, drywall dust billowing out. Eren bounced off the wall and fell forward, his face crashing into the floor. Blood erupted from his nose as it broke against the hardwood.

As a shifter, he was too strong for the blast to kill him, but I’d managed to knock him unconscious. His back rose and fell as he snored wetly, bubbles of blood swelling and popping from his ruined nose.

There was no time to think. Rushing forward, I yanked Eren’s cell phone from his pocket and shoved it into mine. After securing the phone, I leaped up and ran to the door. Before I could reach forward and grab the knob, it swung inward, a heavy-browed, broad-shouldered shadow rushing in.

Poli.

“Boss? Are you good? What was that—”

His eyes went wide with shock when he saw Eren lying motionless on the floor, and he turned his gaze to me.

My lip curled in disgust as I raised my hands again. “You know what? Fuck you, too,” I hissed.

---