*Rush*
In a matter of seconds, the room grew colder. It wasn't because of her, he knew. It was because his wrath had dimmed the fire. Rush didn't like using whatever amount of shriveling magic he'd inherited from his father, because it was dark and it made him dark, cruel, heartless.
"What I do with myself is none of your concern," she replied sharply.
"Of course it's my fucking concern," he countered, eyes narrowing. Did she even consider just once what taking her life would do to him? He suspected she didn't, because he meant nothing to her. "My mate's concern is my concern."
"You don't own me," she snarled.
"I don't," he agreed, closing the space between them. He could smell her sweet scent, and it made his blood rush out of control. Damn, he wanted to taste her. Her thick blood against his tongue...he wanted her. "But you are my mate. Our souls are tied, love. There's no denying that."
She took a step back from him. "Don't come near me!"
But he wasn't the one to listen, not when his senses were driven wild with desire for her. And especially not when she was trying to back out of the situation. He took in a harsh breath, and it sounded almost animalistic. "You need to let him go, Aletha. He is not yours. You're not his either. You and Lucien were never meant to be." He took her hand and sparks exploded at their touch. He heard her gasp, and the sound was enough to make him shiver. Damn it. He'd been very careful not to touch her, because it would trigger more of his senses, and he didn't like losing control, especially not around her. He caressed her knuckles with his thumb. It felt like he was touching silk. "We are meant to be. You and I...we are something more than what you will ever be with him. He never gave all of himself to you, but love, I can give all of me to you. I'm willing to do that because I'm not heartless."
"No," she whispered shakily. "You are heartless. You don't know love!"
"I don't?" he asked, his grip on her hand tightening. Her breath hitched as he pulled her closer toward him. Her chest rubbed hard against his abdomen, and he almost growled. "Sweetheart, don't say things that you don't know. I know what it feels like to love. I've loved before. But she belongs to someone else." He felt Aletha's body tense up at the mention of another female. "She already has a mate. She could never be mine—it was never meant to be. So you know what I did? I let her go. She's not meant for me, just as Lucien's not meant for you."
"If you loved before then why are you asking me to forget about Lucien?" she asked.
"I'm not asking you to forget about him. I can't control your mind. You can't help who you fall in love with, but you can help who you choose to be with. I am asking you to let him go, because that's the honorable thing to do."
"You know no honor because you have none," she gritted out, but she was shaking. She was losing control of herself. She wanted to hurt him. "You have none! You're not honorable at all!"
Rush smiled. "I'm not honorable? Maybe you should ask my pack and you'll receive your true answer, mate."
"I can't stand you."
He pressed her head against his chest, forcing her to smell him. "Love, I can't stand you either," he replied, his fingers moving against her blood-red hair. He felt her body give in to his touch, his smell, his essence. All her rigidity collapsed, and she exhaled, taking him in, letting his scent fill her up.
"Why are you like this?" she finally asked.
"Because you're full of unpleasant surprises. I don't like surprises, Aletha. Especially not the shit that you almost pulled off." He pulled away from her slightly, but not enough to separate her body from his. He was watching her face, taking in her graceful cheekbones and dark eyes. "Do I have to worry about more unpleasant surprises or can you behave?"
"You never know, Alpha, you're full of unpleasant surprises too," she spat. Her brows were twisting down with anger as something sparked in her gaze. "Like keeping me locked up against my will, marking me against my will, feeding me against my will."
The corners of his mouth perked up, but he knew he looked malicious. "Everything I do is for you, love. I was only looking out for you. Lucien isn't as he seems. Your Shadow Alpha you had years of fun with? He's my sister's mate. You both didn't just fuck with me. You fucked with my sister's life. That's unforgivable, because he intentionally sabotaged the bond. I don't think you realize how faulty Lucien really is. I won't blame you, because considering how naïve you are, you perhaps didn't know. But I won't spare him."
Now those fiery dark eyes lost some of their vigor as they widened with slight betrayal. "Lucien knew?"
Rush gave her a nod. "Yes, he knows. He rejected her five years ago. Kyla always assumed it was because he wasn't interested in a mate, but now she believes she was never good enough because he had you. And let me tell you this: my sister will always be better than that motherfucker. He will never be good enough for her. You know why?" His hand found her face, the tips of his fingers brushing against her lips. "Because he chose you."
He felt it then, the twisting in their bond. It was like knives were being thrown, trying to sever the strings of their bond to no avail. It burned, scorched, and agonized. It fucking hurt. She was hurting. Tears welled in her eyes and her mouth trembled.
"Shh," he whispered. "It's not your fault, love. It was never your fault. There are many reasons why choosing you is his biggest mistake yet. It's because he chose you to harm you. He chose to break you in ways that are depraved. He chose to manipulate your affections and your trust for his own benefit. That day when you met him, he'd chosen to seal your fate with darkness."
"No!" she shouted in denial. Her heart was breaking as the pain and the betrayal began to flood in. "No! Lucien would never do that! Lucien loves me!" She was pounding against his chest, tears trickling down her eyes. "You are wrong! I don't believe you, you're a liar!"
He grabbed her wrists and gripped them hard, giving her a jerk. "They call me many names," Rush told her dangerously, his mouth curled down. "Do you know why I have so many of them? It's because they're all true. I'm the Alpha of seduction as well as destruction. My ways are far too savage than what is suitable for your proper tastes. You'll hate everything I do, but I love what I do. I love it because I always win. Lucien deserves the worst, because he's betrayed my brethren. Kyla is my blood, insulting her means insulting me. Aletha, there are things you don't know about him. Dark things. I know he's kept you in his castle, and he did it for reasons. No one has seen you out in his pack, because he never desired to bring you out and show you off—he had other intentions with you. He's not a good person."
Hot tears slid down her cheeks and into his palms, but he didn't let go of her. She was petrified in place. Everything he'd told her frightened her.
Slowly, he glided the pads of his thumbs over her face, wiping her tears away. "I don't want to be rough with you, love, but you leave me with no choice. Someone has to show you reality. You can't always live in a dream. I am your reality. He was your dream. You need to wake up. You need to let him go. You shouldn't fight this. You should never fight us. Why can't you accept this?"
She shook her head, shutting her eyes tightly. "I will never accept you, vampire," she whispered. "Never."
"Never?" he repeated. "Never? Is it because I'm a vampire? Or is it because I'm not him?"
"Both!" she exclaimed. She was angry, exhausted, and in denial. The regard for her life, it seemed, was no longer a concern to her. "It was always because you could never be Lucien, but now how do you expect us to be together when you're one of those filthy creatures? How can you even think to be with me? Find a corpse to mate with, not me."
His fingers slipped behind her head, latching onto her hair. He felt her body freeze against him, and she expected him to hurt her in some way, but he wouldn't hurt her. But he was riled up. "Do I have to remind you that you were going to die?" he almost growled, his muscles tightening. He was holding himself back, but he was also losing control. He never tolerated any form of denigration against his kind, but he couldn't punish her. Well, he could, but he had no desire to hurt her even more.
In a sense, he pitied her. He pitied her entire life. She hadn't lived for very long and she had been exploited, tormented, raided from. She was a beautiful prey that had once bloomed brighter than the flames that flickered against his wall. No...she had been an innocent girl with no corruption breathing against her skin. But it took her one glance of the night to shatter until what remained were ashes and dust of the flower she'd once been.
But as depraved as he was, he preferred her this way. She was still beautiful to him. She was still a burning flame, a spitfire, and she wasn't willing to back down. He admired her courage, her will. But with admiration came distaste. He didn't like her impudence, her insensitivity, her ignorance.
"You were going to die if I let you lie there on that bed for another moment," he repeated. "You were going to die, Aletha. You would have perished, both body and soul."
"I didn't want to be saved!" she shrieked. "There's no life for me to live if there's no Lucien!"
He went absolutely still when he heard that. Again with the Lucien and the dehumanization. Again with her immaturity. Something cool settled in his heart, and it twisted with scorn. "How pathetic," he said. "How fucking pathetic. And selfish. You don't get to choose when to take away your life when life fucks you over. You think taking you from him is the end of the world? Grow up. I didn't save anyone's ass from the apocalypse just for it to be blatantly disrespected. You're not in some fantasy. You're in the Darklands. All of us here go through shit on a daily basis. Females get raped, males get dismembered. There's torture. There's infanticide. There are Alphas that can slaughter you if you even dare to look him in the eye." He paused, letting that sink in. "I've done nothing but given you space. But what do you do? You try to kill yourself because of heartbreak. Well, here's the harsh truth: get over it."
He thought he could reason with her, but she wouldn't have it. So she wanted it rough? He gave her rough. He couldn't be gentle forever. He wasn't made that way. He was born like any other born in the Darklands—raised to conquer with cruelty. He didn't like using his heart. And if his own mate wouldn't listen to him or cooperate by any means, he wouldn't hesitate to be cruel with her as well.
"I can't get over him," she said. She was shaking now—with fear or anger, he did not know. "He saved me from everything. He gave me a home! He gave me a new life!"
"And that's great, but your new life's here with me. From now on, that's what it will ever be, Aletha. I'm telling you again: let him go. And don't you fucking dare let him dictate your life, because that will weaken you. You will fall prey to the evil in these lands. The evil have eyes. That's how they hunt you down so efficiently." He pulled away from her, taking a step back. Coolness took hold of his body where she no longer occupied. "Lucien is like that. For all these years, he was using you. I contacted the Alpha of the Winter Pack—you know, the one who knows blood magic—and Alpha Anya said she'd been trying to save all the red wolves before they grew extinct from the wolf trafficking. She knew who you were, because the recent rogue trafficking site she'd annihilated--well, let's just say your precious little Lucien was going to ship you to them."
She staggered back, her dark eyes unable to process what he'd just told her. "No," she whispered. "No, you're lying...you're lying!"
"I'm lying now? Your so-called mate had been lying right from day one when he said you two were married. I don't lie when I find no point in it. And with you, I find it useless to lie. What do I get out of it?"
She shook her head. "I don't believe it!"
He shrugged. "Suit yourself then. Anyway, I should also let you know this in advance: my mother, the vampire queen, is coming in a few weeks. She's delighted that I have a mate." He paused, watching her pointedly. "One especially from the Ironlands."
"You told her?" she asked with terror. She was going pale now.
"I wouldn't dream of it, love," he told her. "But her men aren't loyal to me. They found out and passed on the delightful news to her. She's so eager to see you. I hope you won't disappoint my mother. Who knows what she can do when she's displeased? I'll tell you this, it won't be a swift end for either of us."
"She's going to kill me!" Aletha screamed, fresh tears pouring down her face. Her breathing came out in panicked pants, and she was losing her grip on reality. "She's going to kill me now, she's going to kill me!"
"Kyla," Rush called. His heart clenched tightly at witnessing her distress, but he had to remain firm with her, because he wanted the best for her. If she didn't harden up, if she didn't accept reality for what it was, she would never learn of the ways of the Darklands. She would be easy prey to his mother. An easy prey with beautiful blood-red hair and dark, dark eyes. He didn't want her dead. He wanted her to live. He must do what he had to do to protect her, and pampering her was not an option.
Kyla came into the study in the next moment. Her eyes went from Rush to the weeping girl on the floor and her dark brows raised questioningly.
"Take her back to her chamber. Your Luna has had enough for one night." He watched as Kyla helped her get back on her feet and steady her before taking her toward the door. "And make sure you give her a meal. I want her to finish every last bite on her tray before she is spared for the night."
He heard her cries growing louder, and all he wanted to do was wrap his arms tightly around her and kiss her mouth over and over again, but he wouldn't do that. She didn't accept him yet. He had no desire to impose himself on her again, especially not when she very boldly proclaimed how her existence depended solely on Lucien. It left a bad taste in his mouth, and it made his spine hot with rage.
So he watched his mate leave his study, heartbroken and afraid. She would learn soon that he had been harsh with her to discipline her line of thinking. He had been harsh with her to help her. He had been harsh with her because he cared deeply for her. After all, she was his last Luna. He would not let her down.