Chapter 18: EIGHTEEN

Visit from the captor Ava had been in the room for a few moments now, unable to believe what had just happened to her. Why? Why did the moon goddess mate her to such a monster? What plans did her have for her that he kidnapped her against her will like this? Why had he brought her here? What would he do to her? She wondered as she paced about the room, before settling down on the floor. She had tried to open the room door before, but found out it was locked, she was locked up here like a prisoner in this lavishly furnished bedroom. What plans did he have for her? Was he going to kill her? She feared the answer to that question like a plague.

Suddenly, the door knob turned and the door opened slowly, letting in the very man she dreaded to see, her abductor, Lucas De’ Clan, the Alpha of the Dawn pack.

He took slow steps towards her as she watched him, only the sound of his boots was heard as he approached her where she sat on the ground in the corner of the room.

“Welcome precious, I see you’re getting accustomed to your new environment?” He bent and gave her a smile as he extended his hand out to her when he reached where she sat. Ava just stared at it like he was handing her a piece of shit.

Seeing her reluctance to touch him, he pulled his hand back with a small grunt.

“Why did you bring me here Lucas? Why did you kidnap me?” She snarled.

“Kidnap is a strong word Ava, let’s not use that word. Instead, you can say I brought you home, here lies the Dawn pack, and you are most welcome.”

“The moonlight pack is my home,” she stated.

“Not anymore precious, from the moment you were mated to me, the moonlight pack stopped being your home. You belong to my pack now, and you will live here as my mate.”

“How many times do I have to tell you that my duty doesn’t correlate with the mate bond? I have a duty to fulfill, and by keeping me here, you’re getting in the way Lucas De’ Clan.”

“So, you would rather I let you go now to be joined to your betrothed, then return to fight him to the death afterwards. Is that what you want Ava?”

“You wouldn’t have to fight him to the death if you’d just let me go, can’t you respect the fact that I’m betrothed to someone else and just leave me alone?”

“No Ava, I cannot respect that. I cannot leave you alone neither can I respect the fact that something that rightfully belongs to me is in the arms of another man, about to be joined to him. I cannot respect that at all.”

“I don’t belong to you Lucas!” She cried.

“But you do precious, you submitted yourself to me that night, and I claimed you, and now you are mine, your betrothed would have trespassed my territory by getting joined to you tonight, and in order to claim back what is mine, I would’ve had to challenge him to a duo, would you rather he died because of you?”

Silence, a moment of hesitation from her and then, “What if he kills you instead?”

Lucas replied with an empty laugh and continued his statement, ignoring her words, she must be must be making an expensive joke if she wants to gamble away her betrothed’s life just like that.

“I am saving his life by bringing you here since you don’t have the guts to do it yourself, Ava. You should have thought of the fact that you were betrothed when you accepted my claim.” Now, there’s no going back.

She should have thought about it, but she didn’t. She let foolish Ava take over that night, but now where was foolish Ava? Nowhere to be found, she’d abandoned her now.

“What are you going to do with me now that I’m here? Are you going to force me to sleep with you? Do you think you can force me to stay with you forever???”

“That’s not a bad idea.”

Ava froze, Lucas’s voice sending chills down her spine.

“But I’m not going to do that,” he continued, much to her relief. “Because by the end of your stay here, you’ll be the one begging to sleep with me, you’ll be the one begging to stay with me forever, I promise you that.”

The words made her shiver, the thought of being the one begging to be with him after all that has happened did not sit well with her.

“I will never do that; I will never let you touch my body ever again. That night was a mistake, and it will never happen again. I promise YOU that.”

“Yes, it will, you will satisfy me with your body, you will let me have you, and you will please me while you’re in this house.”

“The only way you’ll achieve that is if you force me Lucas, because I will never let you have me.”

“Forcing you isn’t a bad idea. But I don’t force women,” he ended saying.

“Then why am I here?”

“Because you’re supposed to be here; this is your home, where the moon goddess placed you.”

Ava rolled her eyes, did this man have a hearing problem? What part of ‘I don’t go with the mate bond’ did he not understand?

“I don’t follow the mate bond,” she finally said her thoughts out loud.

“Well, I do. And as much as I would love to do it, I cannot keep you here against your will forever like you mentioned.”

She looked at him. With the tone of his voice, it sounded like he was finally willing to make an agreement. It surprised her, maybe he wasn’t a self-centered asshole like she thought.

He leaned closer to her, as he did, she could literally feel his breath, she was having eye-contact with him now, taking in his gaze and inhaling his fragrance. When she thought all fear in her had ceased, the words that jetted out of his mouth next after his observation made her tremble even more than she did before. Only three words she heard him say that terrified the life of her as she faced him.

“Who. Touched. You?”