[Trigger Warning: Dubious Consent]

As though my words were the last straw that broke the camel’s back, Rowan chuckled lowly.

"Is that so?" he said, as though testing an idea on his tongue.

He slightly tilted his head to one side, and all of a sudden, I felt hyper-aware of his presence in this room. His scent could be found everywhere, and it was infiltrating my very being. It took me a moment to realize that he was releasing his pheromones. I couldn’t even tell if he was consciously doing so or if he wasn’t aware.

His eyes were starting to turn a slightly brighter shade of gold, and I held my breath. Maybe if I didn’t breathe as rapidly, he wouldn’t be able to affect me as much.

"What are you doing?" I asked. A part of me was afraid of what sort of answer he would give me.

I could already feel parts of my body slowly heating up. Warmth was coiling in my lower stomach, and I had to purse my lips tightly together to control my thoughts. Slowly, my eyes raked down Rowan. He towered over me easily, his hair identical to the dark of the night.

If Lucien was the light, then Rowan was like the shadow in my life.

I hated how much control he had over me. He could easily turn my blood into frost with just one chilling sentence. And at the same time, just one look from him sent fire dancing through my veins. It was unfair how skilled he was at doing both sides of the coin.

"You think that my word is just a formality..." Rowan said, his voice thick and coated with desire.

He took one step closer, and our breaths mingled. He ran his thumb down my arm in a teasingly slow manner, causing me to instinctively shiver. My mind went blank at this soft and gentle contact. The part of my soul that was tied to him refused to move. I was rooted to the spot, patiently awaiting his next move as though I had been spellbound.

"I-It is," I said, forcing the words out. However, even I thought myself unconvincing, with how my voice quaked. "I am not staying with you. Maybe you’re right to doubt me." I raised my gaze to meet his, forcing myself not to tremble and gasp. "The moment you give me the chance, I’ll run. And I’ll never return."

Even though the gold of his eyes was brilliant, everything about Rowan’s expression was dark. He looked down on me like an executioner would, or a deity about to judge the crimes of mortals.

Before I could react, Rowan’s hand wrapped around my neck. He didn’t squeeze too hard to choke me, but it was enough to elicit a gasp from my lips. Then, in one swift motion, he pulled me close, smashing his lips against mine the moment the distance was reduced to nothing.

Rowan took the opportunity of my parted lips, his tongue quickly prying through, entangling with mine. At first, I struggled against his grip, but it was all but futile. Even when I bit down on his lip, he merely drew apart for a second.

I could taste his blood on my tongue. Otherwise, I would’ve wondered if I hadn’t bitten hard enough by the way he licked the blood off his lips and scoffed.

"A kiss isn’t going to immediately change my mind―"

Before I could finish the sentence, Rowan had closed the distance between us once more. He backed me until I collided against the wall. The impact was so rough that the singular painting hanging there rocked before crashing onto the floor.

Regardless, Rowan paid it no mind. One of his hands cupped my head, while his other toyed with the hem of my shirt.

"S-Stop..." I said with a gasp. However, what was an attempt at resistance could easily be interpreted as a cry for more. My voice was trembling with desire, and the heat that had been slowly simmering in my lower belly quickly became a raging boil.

"Are you sure you want me to stop?" he asked against my lips before sealing them with a kiss, preventing me from answering. It was as though he knew I would deny it to the end of my life, and his only way to counter it was to prevent me from speaking at all.

Rowan smartly kept my mouth busy, and I slowly began to lose all sense. I was purely guided by the carnal lust that consistently grew in me.

"You are never leaving," Rowan said with a growl.

His fingers reached further up my shirt and into my bra, shifting under the band before finding my nipples. With a hard pinch, I arched my back, pain and pleasure ricocheting through my body. As if delighted by my response, he kneaded the sensitive bud over and over again, altering between intensities.

Rowan was careful enough not to hurt me; whenever he noticed I was right at the edge of my tolerance, he would reel back into a lighter touch to slowly build pleasure once more. The process kept repeating itself, and between that and his endless kisses, I could feel moisture pooling between my legs.

I wasn’t the only one. With the way my body was pressed against his, I could feel his excitement growing. His member was already roaring with life and ready to go, pressing against the fabric of his pants to create a visible tent. It pressed against my lower stomach, further adding to my already out-of-control lust.

At this moment, I was too intoxicated to make a rational decision.

"You’re mine," Rowan murmured against my skin. He moved slowly, pressing kisses on the corners of my lips, then my cheek, and then my jaw. Just like that, he moved down further to my neck, nibbling and sucking as I gasped.

At the same time, his hand finally left my breasts and reached for the band of my pants. He undid the button and zipper quickly. I could feel him smiling against my skin when his finger grazed my panties, undoubtedly noticing how wet I had quickly gotten.

"You may deny all you want," he said, "but your body is rather honest."

"No..." I struggled to say. "That’s not... That’s not true― Ah!"

His fingers expertly pried my panties to one side, even within the deep constraints of my jeans. I could feel one finger pry my lower lips apart before entering. The sudden intrusion immediately sent me spiraling, my body convulsing with a mini orgasm.

However, Rowan didn’t see this as a reason to stop. If anything, it encouraged him. Before I fully recovered, he inserted another finger, and I grimaced at the feeling of something new inside. It took me about a second to adjust, and he moved almost immediately after, kneading against my sensitive spots while pumping in and out.

"You cannot leave, Briar," Rowan said, though at this point, my head was so far gone in the clouds that I could barely register what he had to say. His voice was a low hum against the base of my neck, sending vibrations dancing through my collarbones. "I will never allow it."

"Leave..." I muttered, dazed.

A second climax was quickly building, and I couldn’t think of anything else beyond that. My body was entirely entranced, and it was no longer mine. Even after experiencing this before, I still hadn’t fully understood how frightful a force of nature the fated bond was. This pull was so strong that the human mind no longer existed. What was left behind was the animal instinct to breed and be bred.

Rowan’s lips found a spot at the base of my neck where it led into my shoulder. In my haze, I hadn’t even noticed how his canines had extended. His sharp teeth grazed my skin, and that was all the warning I had.

As if I had been doused by a bucket of cold water, I snapped awake.

This had happened before. However, Cassian had stopped it just in time before we could make such a mistake.

"No, wait―!"

However, I was still too late.

Both of Rowan’s hands moved to grab me by my hips, securing me firmly in place right as his canines punctured my skin. Instantly, I felt a sharp and powerful jolt of electricity flare through me. Every nerve in my body was on fire in an almost euphoric manner. The blossoming start of an orgasm that Rowan had previously built was instantly tipped over the edge, and I came instantly, even without other forms of stimulation.

The initial pain of his canines puncturing my flesh quickly developed into ecstasy. I had never felt such a sensation before. It was so powerful that it rivaled any form of pleasure I had ever felt before. My entire body was convulsing, and it lasted for a good half a minute before I slowly came down from the high.

Likewise, Rowan groaned as well. I could smell his arousal in the air, mixing with my own. The marking process wasn’t just one-sided, but had also bound him to me.

But as soon as the wave of mesmerizing haze was gone, it was as though I had been plunged into the freezing waters of the Arctic. My eyes snapped open, and I roughly pushed Rowan away. My fingers reached for my neck, where I could feel two small holes already starting to heal.

"What have you done?!"