Chapter 4 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧

Danika Morren

He dropped me, and I scrambled back, heart hammering.

Whatever I was feeling was getting the better of me, because how in the gods' name could he be this gorgeous? Black short hair. Those hazy eyes when he shifted, stunning, unreal. He was perfection itself, and for a second, I felt something I should not have. I felt like I could trust him.

Would I? Would I really trust a werewolf?

But he saved you, Danika.

My conscience screamed at me.

And over that, what is this feeling? Why do I feel so drawn to him? Why does my heart feel like it has been waiting for him my whole life?

Question after question spun in my head. I almost forgot I should be running.

Then his voice cut through everything. "Go."

I stood up instantly and turned to leave until his next words froze me in place.

"I reject you."

A sharp ache ripped through my chest. My knees trembled, my breath shattered. I did not even understand what was happening, only that it hurt so much I could barely breathe.

"As my mate."

My mouth fell open.

My mate? I had a mate, and he was this man. And he was rejecting me. Just like that.

He did not even glance back before shifting and running off, leaving me standing in the cold, broken forest.

My world had grown so cruel that even my fated mate could not bear to keep me.

A single tear slid down my cheek as I turned away.

My head swam with memories, rejections, one after another.

I was nine when I found out I was adopted. That I would never be a wolf. That the people I called family were not mine.

Fyina, my adoptive mother, used to say my father found me in the forest and took pity on me. But pity fades. Once she had her precious twins, I was nothing. Just the unwanted girl in their home.

When I was seven, I stopped being a daughter. I became a servant. And now my own mate had rejected me too.

It was all too much.

A low groan pulled me back to the present.

I looked around: darkness, ruin. I did not even know where I was. The walls were cracked, the stone blackened as if from fire. It looked like a war had torn through this place.

Another groan. Closer this time.

Fear crawled up my spine. How had I walked into this?

Then I felt it, a cold hand sliding around my waist, firm, unyielding.

Before I could scream, a deep voice brushed my ear, low and commanding.

"Do not move."

It was not a request. It was an order.

---

Sebastian Hayes

Derek handed me a stack of scrolls to sign while I slouched on my throne in the wrecked palace.

This broken-down place felt better than the shiny halls of Valtherion ever had. Here, I could just sit and breathe. There, they bowed and called me divine to my face, yet schemed treacherously the instant I turned away.

"How is the festival planning going?" I asked, not really caring.

Derek had already told me how talk was spreading about crowning Baron as the new king. Baron was pure vampire blood, with an old family claim to the throne. He came from the real old line, straight back to the Primordial King. His ancestor was born from the king's fling with a turned vampire, which gave Baron that perfect look and an ego to match.

Being one of the oldest around, he figured the crown was his by right.

"Baron has handled most of the events for the day, Your Majesty," Derek said, picking his words carefully. "All done in your name."

I snorted at that. Just hearing the guy's name left a sour taste. I scratched my name on the scrolls without looking and tossed them away like trash.

"Get out," I told him, waving him off.

Finally, quiet.

When he was gone, I jumped up on a mossy chunk of fallen stone and sat there, staring at the stars. The silence cleared my head until I picked up the soft crunch of footsteps coming closer.

That was odd. Nobody came into my territory, especially not here. Even my own court had never seen what I really looked like.

Curiosity got me. I followed the sound, and then the smell hit me.

Damn, that smell. It was not normal blood. It was blood host blood, the kind that drives vampires crazy, the kind made to hook us and break us.

I had never smelled one this strong. It was sweet and thick, pulling at everything hungry inside me. My fangs slid out on their own, and a growl rolled low in my throat.

The footsteps stopped. She knew I was there. I felt her freeze, caught between running and locking up. I moved fast, vampire fast, and ended up right behind her.

"Do not move," I said, voice rough and low. "And do not turn around."

I breathed her in deep. No doubt about it, pure blood host. Rare as hell and dangerous as hell. I ran my tongue along the vein in her neck while my hand clamped tighter on her arm.

She shook under my grip, small helpless shakes. Her heart hammered, scared as anything, but there was something else mixed in, something hot and willing. That little spark lit me up bad.

"Mine," I said against her ear, the word coming out raw. "Mine to keep safe. Mine to break. Mine."

The scent flooded me, set my blood on fire. I wrapped one arm around her waist and traced her throat with my other hand. She trembled, fear and want all tangled together, driving me wild.

"Hold still," I muttered, lips brushing her ear. "Do not fight it. Give in."

Then I bit.

My fangs went into her neck clean and deep. Her blood hit my tongue, hot and rich, better than anything I had ever tasted. It slammed through me like a drug, pure pleasure.

She gasped, went stiff for a second, then melted against me. Her pulse raced against my chest, her breathing short and ragged while I drank. Every pull I took sent a jolt through her too. I could feel her getting turned on, feel the heat building.

My hands moved over her, feeling every curve while I fed. She let out soft moans, her head dropping back on my shoulder. I played with her breasts through her dress, teasing until she was squirming.

She started getting weak, her legs giving out. I held her up easy and kept drinking. Her blood was too good to stop, addictive in a way that scared even me.

Finally, when her heartbeat slowed down soft and lazy, I pulled back. I licked my lips clean while she went limp in my arms, out cold and beautiful, completely mine.