Chapter 99: Down The Same Path
As soon as the words left his lips, his canines extended. His tongue ran past them, and Soren leaned forward. I could feel his teeth pressing against the skin of my inner thighs.
It felt as though a bucket of cold water had been splashed on my head, drenching me from head to toe. Instantly, I forgot about the rush I was chasing. Right before Soren could bite down and leave his mark on me, I used the knee of my standing leg to bump him away. I leaned forward, using as much force as I could at this angle.
Soren hadn’t expected I would react. He fully thought that I would be distracted by the chase of my climax and that I might not pay attention to his schemes. Frankly, I, too, had no clue what pulled me out of the abyss of lust at the last second.
As a result, the action came as a surprise, and Soren fell back, landing on his ass with a thump. He groaned in pain, and I quickly gathered as much of my clothing as I could.
Reality came crashing down on me like a tidal wave in a hurricane.
If I had been just a second slower, if I had indulged myself in my carnal sins, I would’ve been marked by yet another one of them. It was bad enough that I was tied for life to Rowan, and now, there was a threat of Soren’s mark looming over my head.
I shivered, but this time, it wasn’t from pleasure or the illusion of it. What overwhelmed me was fear when I realized how easily my fated mates could pull me under. In their hands, I was nothing but a doll for them to play with or a puppet for them to control. My thoughts and my wants no longer became my own, and once more, I was turned into nothing more than a part of the Moon Goddess’s grand scheme.
I needed to get out of here before he had another chance to try leaving his mark. Or worse, my body might betray me. I wasn’t about to fall under that hazy fever dream again so quickly.
"Where do you think you’re going?" he asked. Soren was on his feet in just a blink of an eye.
He grabbed my wrist before I could take more than a step away from him, yanking me back into his arms. Soren caught me securely, his hand resting at my hips as he spun me around to look at him. Then, his hands rose to my face, clutching me tenderly.
Even though his hands were gentle, his kiss was not. His lips smashed against mine, all while his tongue pried through. I could taste myself on his tongue, both our scents mingling together like a perfect perfume.
In fact, the scent was so strong that it was starting to get to my head. I could feel my desire slowly crawling back. My stomach churned and flipped, and my core began to burn again with desire.
One half of me was fighting back against him, while the other half was begging to give in and melt in his embrace. No one noticed it in the passion-filled haze, but my eyes flickered a bright blue, the light pulsing for a few seconds before eventually dimming once more.
I felt a surge of strength rush into me, and I used that burst of energy to flip us over. Soren’s back roughly banged against the cabinet shelves, and he groaned against my lips, not once breaking our kiss. Despite his grumble of pain, his hands remained firmly on me. One hand cupped my cheek, while the other held the back of my neck, holding me in place.
The lights flickered on.
"What the fuck is going on here?!"
I felt a force yanking me forcefully back and away from Soren. Our lips parted with a gasp, and I collapsed backwards a few steps before I was caught in a pair of strong arms. I looked up to see Rowan holding me, albeit his eyes were trained squarely ahead at his brothers.
On the other hand, Cassian had surged forward. He drew back his fist before punching forward, slamming harshly against Soren’s cheekbone. This caused Soren to stumble back before landing on the floor. Several decorative items on the cabinet shelves fell to the floor, including books and vases. The more fragile items shattered, while the books lay open around him.
Soren hissed in pain, a hand poised right over his mouth.
"Snap out of it!" Cassian barked.
Soren finally snapped out of his daze, his wolf fading back. I watched as the golden light in his eyes slowly faded away. It was as though he was previously controlled by his wolf, and right now, he had finally regained some semblance of humanity.
"What..." Soren muttered. He shook his head, exhaling deeply. His expression crumpled in pain. It took a few good seconds before he finally looked up again.
"Are you finally awake?" Cassian snapped. His eyes were burning with fury.
Soren’s wide eyes first glanced at Cassian, then went to Rowan and me. I watched as his gaze trailed down my figure until it eventually landed on my ripped pants. His lips slightly parted as his eyes widened, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed.
"Oh no," Soren muttered.
"Oh fucking no indeed," Cassian said, fuming. "Do you realize what you’ve just done? Are you trying to go down the same path as our eldest brother?"
Rowan glared harshly at Cassian for that comment, but Cassian didn’t even notice. His attention was solely fixed on Soren, fully intent on ripping him a new one for that audacious act.
"It was a mistake―" Soren started to say.
My chest was constricted by his words. Even though I didn’t want to bear his mark, to hear him admit once more that whatever had happened between us was not his intention made my heart ache. I hunched slightly, holding a hand tightly against my chest as though it would stifle the pain.
Both Soren and Rowan noticed my small action.
Soren’s eyes went wide.
"No, wait, Briar," he said. "No, I didn’t mean―"
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