Page 22 of Owning His Mate

“You want me. You want this, Apryle, you’re just scared. So am I.”

Coming to her senses, she shakes herself and pulls away from me, leaving the knife in my hand. The determination in her expression is a fucking sight to see, and at any other time I would welcome it.

“I’m not sneaking off,” she snaps. “I’m trying to be useful. This fight is all of ours, and if you think I’m going to sit on the sidelines and watch my friends get hurt to change the world for me, then you’re wrong. I want my freedom too, Kye. Is that really difficult to understand?”

It’s not, and I want to give her the space to explore all of these things, but the thought of her being hurt and me not being there to protect her makes my insides feel like they are on fire. “Good thing Callum wants me to come along too, then.”

It’s not what she expects me to say. I can tell by the way her mouth moves. Fuck, she looks beautiful even when she’s building up to breathe fire at me. “I don’t… I don’t need you to come.”

“Where you go, I go.”

The scowl she gives me would melt the ice caps. Her fury doesn’t please me, and maybe I am overreacting, but every instinct in my body tells me I have to be at her side.

“That’s touching, but I don’t want you with me.”

“I wasn’t asking for permission.”

Her mouth flattens into a tight line. “You are soinfuriating. Is this what our life is going to be like together? I put boundaries in place and you trample over them? Because I’m not doing years of this.”

Hope flares in me that she is thinking of the years ahead of us. Does this mean she’s coming around to the idea of our bond?

“There are no boundaries between mates.”

This thing between us is not like a normal relationship and she needs to understand that. There is no give-and-take or compromise. There is only ownership. She owns me and I own her. We are two halves of the same soul. There is no need forspace, yet she insists on things like boundaries and time to think.

What is there to think about?

“Well, I’m putting some in place, Kye. Starting with this. I don’t need your permission to do anything and I’m sure as fuck not going to ask for it. Stay out of my business.”

I step into her space, and she recoils, even as she tries to hold her ground and show her strength. I admire that.

“When you willingly put yourself in danger, your business is mine and I’ll trample all over your boundaries to protect you. I would expect you to do the same if I were taking risks.”

She throws her hands into the air as my eyes gravitate to her dark hair and to her high ponytail. All I can think about is wrapping my fingers around it as I pound into her pussy.

The glare she gives me suggests my thoughts wandered over into our bond again, not that I care if she knows what a depraved asshole I am when it comes to her.

“Do you ever stop thinking about sex with me?”

I pull her against me, our bodies molded to each other as if we were made to fit. The breath she sucks through her teeth morphs into a moan as our bodies react to each other’s.

“I’ll never stop thinking about claiming your sweet little cunt.”

Despite her indignation, I smell her arousal, and my wolf howls his satisfaction.

“If you touch me, I’ll cut your dick off.” She delivers the threat with a believable amount of fire in her tone, but she can’t hide how flushed her skin is or the wild look in her eyes.

“I’ve told you this before—when I take you, and I will take you, Apryle—I’ll have you begging on your knees for my cock.”

Her mouth parts slightly, her eyes widening at the crassness of my words. I like that I’ve shocked her. I want to do it again. With my other hand, I run the pad of my thumb over her plump, sweet lips, watching her breaths quicken.

“You are unbelievable,” she whispers, but I don’t think her words are a compliment.

It doesn’t matter. She will come to me. I can already tell that her resolve to keep her distance is crumbling. But if she wants to keep playing this game, if keeping up this ruse that she is not a willing participant somehow helps her, I’ll go along with it. For now.

“When it comes to you, I am,” I agree.

“Let’s get one thing straight. We may be mates, but I am not yours to do whatever you want with. I have my own mind, Kye. You are not going to hold me back, and you’re not going to demand I behave the way you want me to. If you want a robot, then I’m not the mate for you. And if you keep bossing me around,” she stabs a finger into my chest, a difficult feat considering how closely pressed together we are, “I’m going to lose my mind. I’m not a?—”

---