Page 75 of Red's Beast

Silence. That is my only response to him.

"I love how you smell," he groans as he gets closer. Corbin seems pleased and leans in to smell me again.

"I smell like you."

He chuckles under his breath. "I know, and I like that. It's so much better than smelling like a beast."

I swallow hard as he finishes closing the gap between us. Once he's standing in front of me, he stands still and takes me from Samson's hold, pulling me into his arms. The hug is tight as he buries his face where he marked me.

His hand snakes up my side to cup my cheek. Once our eyes meet, I can sense the change in him. The predator comes out, and he is not happy. "Lillian, it's time you stepped up into your role as alpha female. That means you will listen to me from now on and not embarrass me by calling out to another man or lying to me. Do you understand?"

"I understand," I mumble.

My eyes wander off to the side, and his grip tightens on my face. "I don't think you do. You are mine and I will have no one, or anything, interfere. This full moon, you will become my Luna."

“I know.”

He takes me to the alpha house, and that is sadly where I stay until the next day. As time passes, it feels like a blur and then I realize that it’s only two days until the full moon. Two short days before Corbin will mark me before the pack.

Two more days until I’m stuck like this forever.

Swallowing hard, I look at the calendar and wish for more time, or maybe an answer.

The beast has been silent, even though I've called out to him every so often, hoping for an answer. Sadly, he never does, and I'm left all alone in my sorrow. Once we returned to the house yesterday, Corbin sent my Grandmother to her home, leaving me even lonelier.

He is keeping me cut off from everyone and I hate it.

A soft knock at the door startles me, and Alana enters. "May I come in? I figure you might need someone to talk to before the big day."

As she closes the door behind her, I see something in her arms that appears to be a garment bag.

"What do you need, Alana?"

She sighs, shaking her head because of my rudeness. "Well, my dear, I brought you a dress since you never got to go shopping for one."

I think back to when Corbin said we were going shopping and realize we never did. "Oh, we never got to go. That's right."

"Yes, it seems like father like son, and he threw you in the dungeon."

I turn around to look out the window, wishing she would just leave. "Yes, he did. At least until I agreed to be a good little mate."

My sarcastic tone doesn't go unnoticed. She comes to stand beside me, the garment bag clutched close to her chest. "I apologize for his brashness, but I promise you he will be gentler from now on. We had a talk about how one should treat a mate, and I should have sooner. The thing is with Corbin and hisfather, they expect the female to obey, even if they are close in rank. If you respect him and are compliant, then things will go much smoother for you."

"I'm sure he'll be fine." My gaze never moves from the window. The longing for freedom is driving me insane. My wolf is restless and wants to be out of this room. The woods have never looked so beautiful as freshly fallen snow dusts their leaves. "It's going to be a cold full moon."

"That is why I brought you this. Of course, you'll have to strip to shift after the binding vows, but at least this will give you some cover from the cold while you're in your human form." She walks over to the closet door and hangs the bag on the hanger. I watch as she grabs the zipper and pulls it down to reveal a beautiful long sleeved white dress.

"It is gorgeous." My mouth falls open as I move from my seat to go examine the material. Though it doesn't look like it's very thick, it will be perfect for me.

"I wore this when I mated with Corbin's father. You should wear your mother’s red cloak with it."

I'm surprised that she even mentioned it. "My cloak. Yes, I will need to get that from my house. We had a warm few days, and I had hung it up so it wouldn't get dirty."

She steps up behind me and leans in close to whisper in my ear. "It would be a fine addition to the dress. I will send for it immediately."

"Thank you."

Alana moves from behind me and heads toward the bedroom door. "I will come back and check on you. We're having steaks for dinner, and I'm sure you'd like some."

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