Page 17
“You didn’t know you needed saving.”
“I am not some helpless girl you can drag into a mansion and keep like a pet!”
That lit something in me. “Don’t reduce this,” I snapped, temper flaring too fast, too hot. “I didn’t bring you here because I wanted to play games. I brought you here because you are not safe.”
Her eyes flashed. “Then maybe I should decide what ‘safe’ means for me.”
“You don’t understand the danger.”
“Oh my God,” she hissed, throwing her head back like she was trying not to scream. “You’ve known me for five minutes and you’re already trying to run my life.”
“I’m trying to keep you alive.”
“I was alive before you!” The words hit harder than I expected. I went still.
Her breathing was ragged, chest rising and falling under the sheet. But she wasn’t afraid of me. No, Bryn Carter was furious. “You don’t get to take me,” she said, voice lowering into something deadly calm. “You don’t get to claim me. You don’t get to tell me I’m yours like you’ve bought me.”
“I didn’t buy you,” I growled. “I found you.”
She blinked. “Found me?”
“Yes.” My hands clenched at my sides. “Like I’ve been starving for a thousand years and someone finally put air in front of my mouth.”
Her throat bobbed. For a fraction of a second, I thought the words landed, that she felt it. Then she shook her head, anger returning full force.
“That is not romantic,” she snapped. “That is terrifying.”
My eyes darkened. “Good.”
Her lips parted.
“Because it means you’ll take me seriously,” I continued, stepping closer again, voice rough, possession slipping through. “You’re my mate. You’re not a stranger I’ll forget tomorrow. You’re not a pretty face in a club. You’re mine.”
“I am not…”
“You are.” I roar, my anger reaching its peak.
“I am not!” She thrust a finger toward my chest, shaking with fury. “You don’t get to rewrite my entire life in one night! I have a job, Viking. I have rent. Responsibilities. I have a life!”
I scoffed. “That life is over.”
Silence slammed into the room. Her eyes widened. “What did you just say?”
I didn’t soften it. Couldn’t. Not when the truth was iron. “That life ends,” I repeated, coldly. “Because now you’re tied to me.”
Her voice went hoarse. “Tied to you…?”
“Yes.”
“That’s…” she swallowed. “That’s not a relationship. That’s captivity.”
I didn’t think I could get angrier, but my temper surged. “You think I want to keep you trapped?” I snapped. “Do you think I wanted this to happen in a fucking club? Do you think I wanted to meet my mate surrounded by strangers and threats and men looking at you like prey?”
She flinched at that, but only for a second. Then her eyes hardened again, stubborn as hell. “I don’t care,” she said, voice trembling. “I don’t care what those men were doing. I don’t care what you are. I don’t care about vampire rules or mate bonds or Dragic drama or…” Her voice cracked. She steadied it. “I want to go home.” The words hit like a stake to the chest. I stared at her.
“You won’t,” I said quietly.
Her shoulders squared. “Make me stay, then.”
