Total pages in book: 38
Estimated words: 36039 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 180(@200wpm)___ 144(@250wpm)___ 120(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 36039 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 180(@200wpm)___ 144(@250wpm)___ 120(@300wpm)
“What is the fucking meaning of this?” he asked.
She went to the hands around her neck and lifted her head in time to see that it was none other than the alpha, Phoenix Marshall. He was there, at the bar, with his fingers wrapped around her neck. There was no pressure to his hold. She wasn’t uncomfortable. There was power to his grip, and she couldn’t look away, even if she wanted to.
“Alpha,” she said.
His blue eyes turned to a dark amber, and then back again as he glared at her. “You’re a fucking newbie.”
Ashley had never been with a man. She’d never shared a kiss with any of the pack. Even when some of them were fucking tonight after their transition, she had been more interested in exploring this new body. The feelings of her wolf, which were foreign to her—she wanted to understand that side of her life.
“What’s happening?” Ashley said.
She wanted to touch him, to run her hands all over his body, to breathe him in. The scent of him was intoxicating. Her mouth watered. Her nipples tightened. Her pussy grew slick with need.
She couldn’t control the feelings that swept over her. Part of her wanted to get on her knees and beg him to fuck her, and another part wanted him to get on his knees and press that face between her thighs.
Phoenix wrapped his fingers around her neck, pulled her close, and then she shared her first kiss. The moment their lips touched, all of it became clear to her. This man, her alpha, was her mate.
“One day, when you meet your mate, you will just know, sweetheart. We can’t tell you exactly how we know this, but you have to trust us. It’s this feeling, it is more powerful than anything you’ve ever felt. It is more exciting than Christmas, more enjoyable than chocolate ice cream, and so much more intense than any exam you’ve ever studied for.”
Holy shit! Ashley couldn’t believe it. This was impossible. Phoenix Marshall, the pack alpha, the wandering nomad biker, was her … mate. This couldn’t be happening.
She had never felt this way. It was shockingly overwhelming, almost terrifying, and she didn’t know what to do. This man—it wasn’t possible. He couldn’t be her mate and yet, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his body close to hers. She loved the feeling of him against her. The wolf inside her seemed to come to life at the scent of him, and Ashley felt that need to mate.
She’d never wanted to have sex. Living with her parents, she had to get over the constant sounds of them … doing it, all the freaking time. They’d been mated young and still loved each other. That was the power of the mating.
All too soon, the kiss stopped.
Staring into Phoenix’s eyes, it was like her wolf instantly withdrew. She saw the threat, the anger, the hatred. Ashley didn’t know how it was possible for this man to hate her when they had never even met, but it was there, clear to see by anyone willing to take notice. He despised her.
Phoenix leaned in close, his lips brushing against her ear. “You better have enjoyed that because that’s all you’re getting. I don’t want a fucking mate, and especially not someone like you. You keep this to yourself. You tell anyone and I’ll fucking kill you and your whole family, do you hear me?”
The threat was real.
Ashley couldn’t believe what she was hearing, but at the same time, she … knew. For the longest time, she had always been bigger than the rest of the pack. She’d tried dieting and even starving herself so that she would meet the goal weight she had set herself. Nothing she did ever worked. Her parents hated her extreme dieting.
“Especially not someone like you.” That could only mean one thing—he found her unattractive. He didn’t want to fuck the fat girl. That was it, wasn’t it?
Ashley stared at her mate and watched as he stepped back into the bar. Tears filled her eyes, and pain slashed right through her chest. She couldn’t think. This had to be the most mortifying feeling in the world.
“What happens if mates don’t ever want to be together? If they can’t stand each other?” It was a question she had asked her parents over dinner a few years ago.
Both of them had laughed. “Oh, honey, that kind of thing doesn’t happen. Once you find your mate, you don’t ever want to leave them. All you want is to be with them. There is no denying the pull of your mate. It just isn’t possible.”
Her mate had rejected her. He hated her. He was disgusted by her.
No one could ever find out.
From the high of the transition, Ashley hit the low of this intense secret. She could never tell anyone she had found her mate, or that her mate didn’t want her.