Page 25 of A Mate for the King
“I can still be swayed to take you on when he’s done with you.”
“Don’t touch me,” Cora bit out, jerking away from Rork. She glared at him and moved to step around him but his hand shot out and wrapped around her bicep.
“Think you're better than us now that you have a royal knot in your cunt? Bitch.” Rork jerked her roughly toward him until she was only inches from his face and he bent low over her.
“I’ll remind you where you belong, you half-breed magic trash.”
“Stop!” Maggie yelled as her friend fought to free herself.
Rork laughed at Cora’s clumsy struggles and leaned closer to her still, nosing at her bond mark. Cora thought she might throw up from it, and she almost did when she felt his tongue snake out to touch her skin.
“No!” she screamed, no longer able to hide her tears as she lashed out, raking her nails across Rork’s face with a shriek. The alpha let out a howl of pain as her nails found purchase, ripping at his skin, causing blood to well up in the cuts across his face. Rork reared back, eyes wild, blood dripping down the side of his face.
Only then did Cora realize what she had done, but it was far too late to escape the enraged alpha in front of her.
She had just lifted her chin in defiance when Rork struck, his big hand swinging toward her in a blur, promising a blow that she couldn’t hope to block.
The next few seconds passed in a blur and an explosion of pain as she ended up sprawled on the ground, duffle bag smashed beneath her as Rork stood over her radiating a rage so dark Cora could smell it.
“Bitch. Time to teach you manners.”
Rork cracked his knuckles in a gesture long familiar to Cora. There was no mistaking what would happen next, what always happened when a mean alpha like him was angry. Cora lowered her head, preferring not to see the blow coming, her thoughts on Zehr.
He would find her and all of this would be a bad dream.
Her magic stirred in her chest. Even it knew she was right.
Zehr would come, he would, would, he would—
A roar, loud, angry, powerful, and most of allnearbystopped Cora’s focused chant. Her magic surged and finally bloomed in her chest, giving her strength to push herself shakily up.
It was her alpha.
It didn’t matter if the bond took or not, if her magic made her wrong, or if he hadn’t wanted her in the first place. What mattered was that she belonged to the Fireheart alpha and no one touched his mate.
No one smart, anyway.
But no one had ever accused Rork of being smart.
Cora raised her eyes to the now motionless alpha and gave him a smile stained with blood.
“You’re in trouble.”
