Chapter 3

• What the hell did he just say?
• He was the Alpha of the freaking rogues living in my kingdom? In MY pack?
• No wonder they were so persistent on staying in Consok, no matter how many of them I killed. Their ruler had been here all along.
• It killed me that I didn’t know they even had a leader. That’s why I felt the power from him so strongly. And I knew he wasn’t any ordinary wolf either. I was still confused about what the hell he did to Nathan to let him simply leave like that.
• Drew, as he just stated, grabbed the butter knife from me, and I snarled at him, summoning my wolf forward, but she wouldn’t budge. She didn’t want to hurt him.
• “You can’t kill me, Princess.” He smirked. “You can’t because I won’t let you, and deep down, you don’t want to.”
• I wanted more than anything to wipe that stupid smirk from his stupidly gorgeous face.
• Of course I wanted to kill him! I wanted to so badly because, in some twisted way, he was right, and I hated it. I hated that after so many years, he managed to do something that no rogue ever did.
• He made me hesitate.
• So yes, I wanted to kill him. Maybe not for the same reasons as usual, but because he dared challenge my emotions.
• Not to mention he was the leader of them all! If I killed him, maybe they would all go away and leave my kingdom once and for all.
• “Oh, I can, and I will. Don’t test me, Rogue.” I grabbed back the knife and poked the knife harder to his chest and stared him dead in the eyes. “Now, I asked you a question. How do you know who I am?”
• He grabbed my knife again and threw it over the balcony as if it was nothing. Rage grew in me, seeing that I was now defenceless, and he was looking as cocky as ever.
• But then, his cool and collected demeanour disappeared, and his smirk fell as if it was never there. He gripped my waist and yanked me forward so that my body was flushed against his.
• My breathing grew heavy, and as much as I wanted to pull away, I couldn’t. At first, I thought it was the same trick he did with Nathan, whatever it was, but then I realised it was all me.
• I couldn’t move because I didn’t want to.
• What. The. Actual. Hell?
• “You want to know the truth, Amber?” he hissed as if I did something, and it was my fault. His breath was hot against my face, and his fingers dug wickedly hard into my waist.
• But instead of pushing free, I only nodded, feeling utterly and entirely at his mercy.
• “Yes.”
• “I’ve known you all your life, Amber.” He spat as if it was a freaking burden. “I’ve known you because you’re my mate.”
• Mate?
• That’s the best he could’ve come up with?
• I actually felt relieved when he said that stupidity, because all the ‘emotion’ I thought I had been feeling flew right out the window when I realized that he was crazy.
• I’ve never seen a crazy rogue before, but this surely gave me a shocker.
• My face was in a stunned state for a while, but then I found myself busting out in a fit of laughter. I had to cover my mouth with my hand, so that I didn’t disturb the ball that was still in full swing just a few meters away.
• Drew stared at me in annoyance. What did he expect? That I’d fall all over him and accept what he just said?
• I was a werewolf princess! He was a rogue. I didn’t care that he was the ‘Rogue Alpha.’ He was still a rogue, and that meant it was impossible.
• Yet, I tried to avoid the tug in my chest that my wolf kept nudging at me. She was telling me something, but I refused to believe it. I REFUSED to.
• “You’re crazy,” I said as my laughter died down. “I actually won’t kill you tonight, because you made me laugh for the first time in days.” My words made him look pleased for a second, as if he liked that he made me laugh. But then it fell back into mere annoyance.
• “I’m not too thrilled about the union either, Amber. But the fact still remains that you are my mate and--”
• “I’ll go back to my ball now. And since you scared off my groom, I’ll probably go straight to bed,” I retorted as I turned on my heels and made for the door.
• I almost yelped in shock when a sudden whoosh of wind blew past me, and Drew was in front of me again, glaring this time.
• “Listen to me, Amber--”
• “No, you listen to me, Drew.” I cut him off, hating that he was blocking my way. “I’m not going to play along with whatever sick game you’re hosting. Let me go before I have to reconsider your liberty of living.”
• Like before, his lips tilted in a wicked smile as he reached out to touch my face. Again, I didn’t flinch away. “You are so confident that you can kill me. I already told you, I won’t let you and you couldn’t if you tried.”
• “And what makes you so sure?” I asked simply because I hated that he was challenging me. “What’s to say I can’t kill you right now?”
• He laughed humourlessly with a wicked glint in his eyes. “You haven’t accepted it yet, but the mate bond is still affecting you. You couldn’t hurt me if you tried.”
• “I--”
• “And.” He jabbed a finger over my lips, stopping my speech. I bit down on it hard, but he didn’t even wince. “I’ve been watching you for years, Amber. I know your stance when you’re about to attack.” His voice fell an octave as he slowly circled me. “I know the look on your face when you’re annoyed.” He lowered his lips to my ear as he continued to dictate my habits that I didn’t even notice. “I know that you grit your teeth before you plunge that little dagger of yours in a rogue’s heart.” He dropped his voice to a whisper as if he was telling me a secret before continuing. “One of MY rogues’ hearts.”
• It was then that I realised that he was pissed, too. Probably just as I was.
• He was pissed that I went around town every night killing off his precious rogue pack. But why step up now if he had known for years? Why didn’t he try to stop me sooner?
• “So, if you’ve been watching me, how have I never seen you before?” I asked, voicing my concerns.
• “I know how to get around, Amber. And once you kill a rogue, I leave so that our mate bond doesn’t click into place.” He grabbed my chin and forced my eyes to meet his. “But it ends now. The rogue hunting—leave them alone. They don’t hurt the local wolves.”
• “You’re a fucking stalker,” I spat, grabbing his jacket and halting his maddening circling. “Why would you watch me? And why show up now if you knew you were my mate all along?”
• I wanted to debunk his mate theory. And this was the way how.
• Drew laughed humourlessly. “I never had any intention of accepting you as my mate.” I met his eyes again, and saw the raw hatred in them.
• He really hated me, though the feeling was mutual. But there was also something else in his eyes. Raw desire and… possessiveness, as if he couldn’t help but claim me when I was this close.
• Was that what he meant when he said he stayed away so the bond didn’t click? Even if it meant I kept killing his rogues?
• “So why come tonight and suddenly claim me?” I asked, demanding an answer. If he never wanted me before, and if he hated me, why suddenly want me now?
• He stepped away, turning his back to me as he clenched his fists.
• “I just told you,” he gritted out, sounding annoying. “You’re mine. You were going to take a chosen mate tonight. My wolf wouldn’t allow it.”
• He met my eyes again, and I saw the turmoil in his. He didn’t want this. He never wanted to claim me as his mate, because I hunted and killed his people for a living.
• But fate forced him here. Fate forced us together.
• “He’s our mate,” my wolf said softly, and I instantly felt the bond click as he said.
• His eyes widened, and so did mine. It was like a million stars blasting into my body at once—like a river flooding my senses with tingles of our connection. I felt him—I wanted him.
• And I hated it.
• “Why now?” I asked with gritted teeth. “Why did you know and I didn’t?”
• He chuckled, and I started to find it annoying. “I’ve been around longer than you think, Amber. My senses are much stronger than yours.”
• “You’re a sick rogue,” I spat, fighting my instincts with everything in me. “I’ll give you a few days to get out of Consok. But if you’re still here by the end of the week, you’re done.” I ended, turning on my heels to leave again.
• “If I could’ve left this wretched place, I would’ve a long time ago, Princess,” I heard him say in a strained voice. “You’re my prison.”
• But when I spun around to ask what he meant, the spot that he once occupied was empty.
• He was gone.