“Magnificent,” he growls, and the word slides over me like smoke—dark, hot, impossible to catch. “Worthy prey.”
My knees nearly give.
What thehellis wrong with me?
I should be screaming. Scratching. Bolting for the pod again. But instead, my body sings with the praise like he’s feeding it straight into my nervous system.
“Don’t you dare,” I whisper to myself, mouth dry. “Don’t?—”
He steps forward.
One step.
I take a shaky breath. I can smell him now—clean metal, scorched ozone, and something darker. Musk and adrenaline. I swear it rolls over my skin like he’s already touched me.
He hasn’t. Not yet.
But he doesn’t need to.
I feelownedand he hasn’t laid a finger on me.
He lifts something from his belt—slim, black, coiled. It clicks.
A collar.
“You’re out of your fucking mind,” I whisper, voice trembling.
He cocks his head. “You ran. You fought. You kicked me in the balls.”
Despite everything, his lips curl in admiration. “You earned this.”
He steps closer. I try to dart sideways—his arm is there first. Not touching me, but blocking my exit like a wall.
“You’re going to regret this,” I breathe.
“Unlikely.”
He brings the collar up.
I should resist. Should slap it away. Should scream or throw a punch.
I don’t.
I freeze, trembling in a way that has nothing to do with fear. When the leather touches my throat—soft, but firm—I gasp.
It’s too tight. Then it isn’t. Like it knows me. Likeheknows me.
The clasp clicks.
The sound echoes like a gunshot inside my head.
My breath catches. My skin tingles. My legs feel weak.
I can’t decide if I want to run or melt.
“This—this is insane,” I whisper, fingers curling around the leash hanging from the collar. I pull—feebly. “You can’t just?—”
“I can.” His voice is a snarl dipped in honey. “And I did.”
