Defying the Rogue Alpha
Chapter 67: Bond

Chapter 67: Bond

Lucas didn’t let her go. He couldn’t. His grip on her was firm but not forceful, as if he knew that the second he let go, she would vanish into thin air. She was trembling and he knew the bond was settling in, and Ava was feeling every ounce of it.

She was going to yell. Oh, he knew it. The moment she got her bearings, she would probably try to kill him, maybe even try to rip his heart out with her bare hands. And honestly? He wouldn’t even blame her. What he had done was his way of proving to her that he trusted her, that he wasn’t going to let anyone take her away from him. But he was an Alpha first, and in his world, love and leadership constantly collided, grinding against each other until someone broke.

Ava squirmed against him, her body tense with resistance, her hands pushing against his chest. But then, just as suddenly as she had fought him, her muscles slackened, her breath hitched, and a small, helpless sound escaped her lips.

"What did you do?" Her voice cracked. "Lucas, what did you do?"

He didn’t answer partly because he was still trying to form the words, but mostly because he was too caught up in the scent of her. She smelled wild, untamed and intoxicating. He had marked her. Sealed their bond. And now, her body was reacting in the only way it knew how.

Lucas gently tilted her head to the side, brushing his lips against the fresh mark on her neck. His tongue flicked over it instinctively, sealing the wound with his saliva, and Ava let out a sharp gasp. His own breath came raggedly now, his fingers flexing as he fought the pull of the bond until she was ready to totally give in to him.

He scooped her up in his arms and placed her on the bed.

"You..." she tried to snap at him, but her words broke off into a moan, her back arching slightly off the bed. She squeezed her eyes shut as if trying to will away the sensation, but it was no use.

She groaned in frustration, rolling her eyes. "You absolute son of a ..." But before she could finish her insult, another wave of desire rolled through her, stealing her breath. Her fingers clenched around his collar, her body betraying her yet again.

Lucas had to fix this. He had to make this right. He opened her towel, exposing her naked, delicious body.

Slowly, he traced his fingers down her chest down to her thighs. "Just breathe, Ava," he murmured.

"No..."

"Ava..."

His voice was low, pleading, but she was already moving. She shoved against his chest, her palms burning with defiance, her body wracked with the storm of emotions and heat coursing through her veins.

"I said no!"

She scrambled away, her movements frantic yet oddly graceful. The towel she had barely managed to grab was clutched around her.

Lucas didn’t move toward her. Hell, he barely breathed.

"Ava, I know you hate my guts right now, but what you’re feeling isn’t going to stop on its own," he said, his voice controlled but laced with frustration. His fists clenched at his sides as he fought against the instinct to reach for her. "Only I can help you."

Ava let out a strangled, bitter laugh. "No!" she rasped, but the protest turned into a moan halfway through, her knees buckling slightly. She caught herself against the wall, her nails dragging across the smooth surface as another wave of pleasure tore through her. "Uhhhhhn... You..." she gasped, squeezing her eyes shut before snapping them open, fury radiating from every inch of her. "You left me to be tortured while you were with another woman. And now you do this to me without my consent."

She pointed to the mark on her neck, her voice cracking with rage and pain. "You ruined it. You ruined what was supposed to be the most beautiful moment in a woman’s life. You tainted it for me, Lucas."

Idiot! You absolute, raging, thoughtless idiot!

He gave himself a mental smack in the face, then another for good measure. He hadn’t thought that far. Hell, he hadn’t been thinking at all.

Guilt gnawed at his insides. "Ava..." he tried again, his voice softer this time, but she wasn’t having it.

"I swear, Lucas, if you come near me..."

"I swear, I will leave this room and not bother you anymore until you want me," he said, and he meant it. "But please, please... let me help you first."

"No..." She shook her head fiercely. "Go, Lucas. You have done enough."

His jaw tightened. "Ava, I can’t. This isn’t just some regular heat you’re going through. This can attract every unmated wolf in your vicinity."

She shot him a look so fiery it could have burned through concrete. "I know the marking process, don’t mansplain it to me," she snapped. "I can take care of myself. Go!" Her voice cracked. "Lucas, please... just this once... do as I say."

Lucas took a slow step back. Then another.

He didn’t want to go. Every instinct in his body screamed at him to stay, to fix it, to make her see that he hadn’t meant to hurt her. But she had given him an order. A plea.

So he obeyed.

With a final glance at her trembling form, he turned and shuffled out of the room, his gut twisting with every step.

He found the guards on duty at the far end of the hallway and approached them. "Take a break. All of you. Find me Kade. Now."

Lucas didn’t wait. He stormed down the hall.

He stopped at Nelly’s door and knocked.

A moment later, the door creaked open, and a very surprised-looking Nelly peered out at him. "Alpha?" she blinked. "Uh... is everything okay?"

Lucas didn’t even attempt to mask his frustration. "Help Ava."

Nelly stared at him for a beat.

"Whats going on?"

"I marked her." realization dawned in her eyes.

"Oh... Ohhh.... Well... why don’t you..."

"She won’t let me near her. She needs someone."

Nelly huffed, grabbing a robe off a chair. "Fine," she muttered. "But for the record? The both of you are driving the entire fortress insane."

She stomped off toward Ava’s room, grumbling under her breath.

Lucas turned just as Kade arrived.

"Alpha, you called?"

Lucas exhaled sharply. "Find only mated Gammas and assign them to these quarters. No unmated wolves, not even close by." His voice dropped an octave. "And find someone to fix Ava’s damn door."

Kade nodded, already moving before Lucas had even finished his sentence.

With a low growl, Lucas ran a hand through his hair. He had fucked up. Not once. Not twice. Multiple times.

He’d give her space. There’s no way she can fight the pull for too long.

But first?

First, he had to kill someone.

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