Rejected by Her Mate Claimed by Four Alphas novel Chapter 19

CHAPTER 18

Clara’s POV

A slow, dangerous smile curved his lips. “Perhaps I do.” His thumb dragged across my lower lip, feather–light but burning all the same. “Would that be so terrible?”

I should have been horrified. This man was an Alpha. Not just any Alpha, but a warlord feared across entire territories. The very one who had threatened to cut out my tongue not even two days ago. But right now, all I could think about was how his mouth would feel on mine. How warm. How deep. How consuming.

The bow slipped from my hands and hit the forest floor, forgotten. My body turned into his on instinct. “Yes,” I said, the word barely a whisper, even as I leaned closer. “It would be terrible.”

“Liar.” His fingers slid into my hair, cradling the back of my head with surprising tenderness.” Your heart is racing. Your pupils are wide. And your scent…” He inhaled deeply, eyes fluttering shut like he was drinking it in. “Your scent is fucking intoxicating.”

Before I could think of something clever to say, his mouth crashed into mine.

The kiss wasn’t what I expected. It wasn’t violent or overpowering, not at first. It was deliberate. Searching. His lips moved over mine with a kind of restrained hunger, as if he was tasting, memorizing, claiming every inch of me without needing to conquer me all at once.

The heat surged between us anyway.

When he finally pulled back, his eyes had gone completely gold. His wolf was so close I could almost feel it in the air.

“Tell me to stop,” he rasped, voice thick with need. “Say the word, and I’ll walk away.”

He was giving me an out. A breath of air. A chance to be the smart one.

But I didn’t want an out. I didn’t want breath. I wanted him. All of him.

I reached up and tangled my fingers in his hair. “Don’t stop,” I said, and pulled him down into

another kiss.

That was all it took.

The leash broke.

The gentleness vanished in a blink. He growled against my lips as his arms clamped around me, lifting me like I weighed nothing. My legs locked around his waist, bodies pressed flush.

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He backed me toward a tree until my spine met bark and heat and his body pressed harder

into mine.

His mouth claimed me with raw hunger now. Tongue deep, dominant, tasting everything I had to give and demanding more. I gave it. Nails scraped lightly through his thick hair. His growl turned feral.

His lips trailed down to my neck, and I gasped, head tipping back to give him access. “Darius, “I moaned, not even trying to stop it.

He didn’t punish me for the lack of title. He rewarded me with a bite just above my shoulder. Not a mark. Not yet. But a warning.

A promise.

“Say it again,” he ordered, his voice more beast than man.

“Darius,” I whispered, and his whole body shuddered against mine.

His hand slid under my shirt, the heat of his palm spreading across my bare skin as he moved upward, tracing my ribs. Every touch left a trail of fire. I arched into it, shameless. My body had already made the choice.

He growled at my throat, his teeth grazing my pulse. “Good.”

That smug tone snapped something in me.

I pressed both palms against his chest, pushing just enough to make him pause. “Wait. This is wrong.”

His eyes glowed gold, his wolf nearly breaking free. “Wrong?” His voice was a low snarl.” There’s nothing wrong about this. Not when your body begs for it.”

“You don’t know what I want,” I said, trying to sound firm despite the ache between my thighs and the trembling in my legs.

He laughed darkly. “Don’t I?” He grabbed my wrist and guided it to his chest, pressing it flat over his heart. The beat was wild. Fast. Matching mine. “Your pulse jumps every time I touch you. Your pupils blow wide every time I get close.”

His free hand cupped my jaw. “And your scent?” He leaned in and inhaled, groaning low and deep. “Your scent tells me everything your mouth’s too afraid to admit.”

“I barely know you,” I said, and it sounded weak even to me. “You threatened to cut my tongue out yesterday.”

< CHAPTER 18

+25 Points

“And today I’ve decided I want it wrapped around my c**k instead.” His thumb swept across my lower lip, possessive now. “I take what I want, Clara. Always have.”

There was no pretense left in him now. Just raw, dominant Alpha male. The warlord I’d heard whispered about in fear. A man who built his empire with teeth and fire.

“And you want me.” It wasn’t a question. It was a fucking verdict. His fingers slid down my throat, then back up to tilt my chin. “Deny it all you want. Your body already surrendered.”

I should have been afraid of that intensity, the violence humming through every muscle in him. But instead of fear, I was drowning in it. Drawn to it. Addicted to that edge.

“This doesn’t mean anything,” I said. The lie tasted bitter. “Lust isn’t surrender.”

His grin curved, dangerous and slow. “A warrior’s answer.”

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