The Three Who Chose Me
Chapter 25: A Threat of Sorts

Chapter 25: A Threat of Sorts

Josie

The guards led me all the way to where Thorne sat, stopping only miles away from the group.

One of them walked over to him and whispered something in his ears.

Something flickered in his eyes as he swept them over my lanky frame. Then he turned them away from me.

I watched the movement of his lips as he said something to the people he stood with, a bit lost in the way his eyes crinkled at the corners.

Then he rose to his feet and stepped away from the small group, closing the three-step distance between us.

My heart picked up an unsteady rhythm as he crowded me in, his dark, primal scent wrapping around me and filling my nostrils.

It reeked of control, danger.

"Why are you out of your room?"

I swallowed my breath, holding his gaze fiercely.

"I needed to talk to you, so—"

His groan, low and deep, cut the words from my mouth.

His eyes were narrowed on me in that displeased manner that grated on my nerves.

Looking at me like I did something wrong.

Then, without a word, he turned around and walked back to the group.

"Training sessions will be held in the afternoon, henceforth," he instructed, "and make sure that none of you relapses. Not even a single one." He paused, sweeping his gaze over their faces. "The meeting ends here."

He turned and walked back to me, a scowl on his face. Then he grabbed me up by the arm, dragging me out of the courtyard.

I stumbled behind him in my boots, rage coursing through my veins. "Let me go!"

He stormed up to a sculptural tree, pinning me against it and breathing down my face.

"What are you doing?" I demanded, my voice coming out in a half-yelp, breathless.

His rough hand pressed into my waist, pinching and scalding.

"Why are you dressed so slutty just to talk to me?" he growled in my ear, sending a burst of chills across my skin.

My heart was suddenly racing a marathon, my mouth dry as I trailed my eyes down to his lips.

He made it so that there was nowhere else I could look, because he was staring directly at my lips.

His choice of words were vulgar, yet they did something to me. Between my legs..

It felt like my chest would explode from the heat of his gaze, his touch igniting something primal in me.

A slow burn curled low in the pit of my stomach, my breathing ragged.

"I asked you a question, Josie," his cold voice snapped me back to reality, and I swallowed hard.

"W-what’s wrong with m-my...dress?" I stuttered, trying to slither from his grasp.

But his hands...they were not just rough against my arms, they were tingly, bristling the hairs on my skin as they moved around it slowly.

What was..why was he doing this..to me?

Was it intentional? The way he was touching me right now. Distracting. Very much distracting.

And didn’t he say he didn’t want a mate?

Why was he touching me like he wanted me, now?

Was he confusing me, or himself?

Get a grip, Josie. This man’s getting you under his spell. Whatever it is.

Stop being delusional.

I wriggled a wrist up and slapped his hand away, tackling that first. I needed to think clearly.

"Listen, how can you even talk to me like that? You really don’t know how to talk to women, do you?" I spat, trying to shrink back from his touch.

But there was nowhere to run.

He scoffed, his green eyes dark with something unsettling. "What? Did you expect me to act like my brothers? Be all soft and lovey-dovey with you?"

I didn’t get a chance to respond, because he reached up and dragged his thumb across my bottom lip. A little too roughly, but it didn’t stop the fresh wave of goosebumps that scattered across my skin.

"You know it’s below me to act that way."

"Oh well," I snickered, annoyance bristling in my chest, "to think I was just about to say I’d go to the party with you." I paused, locking my gaze with his in a death-stare.

And as if my skin suddenly scalded him, he released me, drawing back.

He glared at me, his eyes flashing dangerously. "I said it was an—"

"Order, yeah. I heard you the first time. But you know what?" I folded my arms across my chest, "I won’t let myself be ordered around like some puppet. I’ve got freedom of choice, in case you aren’t aware of that."

Thorne stared at me like I was speaking some foreign language, his eyes narrowed into slits.

"Listen," I continued hastily, a sorry attempt of a grasp on my control, "you may be the Alpha, but you’re also my mate. Approved or not. So you’ve got to treat me with some respect."

A slow smile tugged at his lips, something flickering in his eyes.

Was that amusement?

"You talk too much, Josie," he said, shaking his head. "Just so different from these other Alpha girls around."

"And is that bad?" I snapped.

He cocked his head to the side. "We’ll see." "But don’t think your seducing skills will soften me," he added in a lazy drawl, his gaze falling to my nipples.

What?

I stepped closer to him, my eyes shooting lasers of malice. "What did you just say? Seduce you? Ha! You must be freaking delusional to even think I’d do that! You think I’d stoop so low to do a thing like that? For you?"

My feet were immediately swept off the ground as he grabbed me, slamming me back against the tree.

He followed me in one fluid movement, pressing so close his lips were only inches away from mine, his hot breath fanning my face.

"Say one more word, Josie, and I swear, I’ll devour you whole. You won’t have any words afterwards."

I gasped, the threat echoing loud and clear in my ears.

His green eyes sparked fiercely, but they dimmed seconds later, as he returned them to my fucking nipples??

But why did this threat send an alarming blast of heat between my legs? Why did it steal my breath away?

Wasn’t I supposed to crawl in fear at such a threat?

To my surprise, he took a few steps back from me, his hands falling away. A glint of amusement in his eyes.

"I’ll surely enjoy messing with you, but in the meantime, you should go get ready. Because I’ll be coming to get you soon."

Without another word, and like he hadn’t just threatened to violate my lips, he turned on his heels and walked away from me.

I sagged against the tree, breathless and foggy-minded.

I felt a friction against my skin, painful and arousing, and I glanced down to see my nipples were shooting through the fabric of my dress shirt like hard stones.

I gasped, slapping my arms over my chest.

I didn’t mean for it to be like this.