Page 119 of UNAwere

‘I said stop talking.’

‘See, the thing with me is, that’s a really hard ask—’

Warner’s mouth against mine is wrong. Disjointed. Hard and unmoving. He kisses me like it’s a test he has to pass. And when he feels like he might be failing it, he pries my mouth open and swipes his tongue against mine. I clench my eyes closed against the intrusion. The wrongness. My fists are balled against his chest, and he’s clutching my wrists in a vice grip.

He lets out a soft noise, nipping my lower lip, and I wince.

‘This might be easier than I first expected,’ he murmurs against my mouth.

‘Oh, goodie.’

‘You buy this dress for me?’ His mouth latches onto my jaw, and I grit my teeth.

‘What?’ I frown. ‘No.’

Warner pauses. When he draws back, I realise I’ve said the wrong thing, because there’s a stormy expression on his face that makes him look like a petulant child.

‘Has Hannah told you what I’m going to do to you during the bonding ceremony?’ he asks.

I tense my jaw. ‘Yes.’

He lifts his hand, brushing the back of his knuckles across my cheek as he gazes at my face. ‘Then you’ll understand that I’ll get what I want that night. You’ll be dressed for me. You’ll be prepared for me. You’ll bend and submit and open yourself for me.‘

Tears prick behind my eyes, but I will them away. Because the tone of his voice, the grip he still has on one of my wrists, is enough to tell me that I can’t piss him off. Not when everything to do with my pack rests on his whim.

‘Yes?’ Warner says.

‘Yes.’

‘You’re not anyone else’s, understand?’

‘Yes.’

His eyes tense. ‘See, I don’t know if you do understand that, Sybil.’

‘I do…’

‘Are you sure?’ He licks his lips. ‘Because when Briggs picked me up at the airport today, he smelt very unfamiliar.’

My heart lurches into my throat.

Warner’s head cocks to the side as he gazes at my face, watching as I fight to keep my expression neutral.

‘It took me a moment to realise what it was,’ he continues. His hand enters my hair, and I let out a small gasp when he grips it, turning my head to the side so my neck is exposed to him. ‘He’s lucky… If he’d marked you, I would have killed him.’

‘He didn’t. We didn’t—’

Warner sighs, lowering his head to my neck. ‘I could do it right now, you know? Just to teach you both a lesson.’

‘Warner, I—’

He opens his mouth against my skin and glides his tongue across my jugular. I close my eyes, biting back a whimper.

‘Briggs is my closest trusted. And he’s betrayed me. Do you know what this means?’

‘He didn’t do anything, I promise.’ My voice is tight, pleading. ‘Warner, I swear.’

‘Don’t fucking lie to me.’ He bites down, and I gasp as I feel his teeth nick my skin. It’s not a mark, but it is a warning of what’s to come. ‘You were promised to me. You’re my property. Not his.’