“Shift,” he snaps, and I jump out of my skin.
His green eyes start to darken, and I’m frozen still. I’m not going to shift in front of him.No way.After finding the courage to move, I whine and shuffle away.
“I said shift.” The sound of his voice is heavy and demanding.
My hands tremble, and I fear that if I don’t, he’ll end up hurting me—or worse.
Caleb’s nostrils flare. “I’m not going to ask you again.”
Heat crawls up my neck as I stand on my legs hesitantly before shifting back to my human form. I wrap my arms around my exposed body and twist away from him in embarrassment.
Caleb stands over half a foot taller than me, and I gulp when he backs me into a tree. The sharp bark stabs into the graze thatcovers my back. I almost hiss at the contact, but I hold it in. I don’t want him to see.
His dark stare is so intense that it makes my stomach convulse, and not in a good way. His scent is a thousand times stronger up close, and it’s clogging every one of my arteries until it leaves an imprint I’ll never be able to shake.
“What’s your name?” he asks gruffly.
I open my mouth, but nothing comes out. I’m about to go into cardiac arrest.
His eyes grow heavier. “I asked for your name.”
I flinch at his tone, but that doesn’t seem to bother him. “E-Evan,” I murmur eventually.
He scowls at me, moving closer so I can almost feel his breath on my face. I squirm because we’re both naked as the day we were born, and it’s killing me—my absolute worst nightmare. I despise anyone seeing my skin, and I definitely don’t want him to see my scars.
“Evan, what?”
I shudder as he says my name, uninvited tears of pleasure swell in my eyes, and it sends waves of disgust through me. How dare my body betray me like that.
“Evan Wolfe.”
His expression twists as if what I said is amusing, then he releases a cold laugh.
I frown. Why is he laughing?
“Wolfe?” he repeats, his chuckle continuing. “Puppy more like.”
My eyes narrow. He’s taunting me.
“Don’t call me that,” I snap, but it sounds as pathetic as I expected.
There is a devilish glint in his eye, and I don’t find it welcoming.
“You don’t like that, pups?”
My eyes flash at his patronising tone. “I amnota puppy,” I say through gritted teeth.
“Barely a wolf, though, are you?”
“Is that how you’re meant to speak to your mate?” The words are out of my mouth faster than I can think.
Standing up for myself is something I rarely do because I’ve seen the consequences of doing so, but I’m not going to let it slide this time. I refuse to allow my mate of all people to shove me into a box like I have been my entire life—I don’t want to be a pushover anymore.
Caleb’s eyes blaze, and I tense. He pushes me back into the tree, his hand loosely wrapping around my throat as he holds me in place. A small shriek falls from my lips in sudden fear as I watch his eyes turn near black.
“Say that again, and I’ll—” he cuts himself off.
My body aches as I stare at him under hooded lids. “You’ll what?” I rasp.
