Free Web NovelChapter 41: Chapter 41: Mates On Paper
Adrian Blackwood-- STIMULATION FAILED.
A stunned silence sweeps across the training ground, everyone freezes. No one even breathes.
The undefeated captain. Their future Alpha...has failed.
....for the first time in his life.
----
Adrian Blackwood — SIMULATION FAILED.
The words remain on the screen, no one speaks, no one blinks. Even the Coach looks stunned.
"...Captain failed?"
"No way..."
"That’s impossible."
"Does he mean he’ll be eliminated from the games?"
Before the chaos can erupt further, anothet second name turns red beneath Adrian’s.
Ethan Cole — SIMULATION FAILED.
Coach finally clears his throat.
"Since two members failed, only one player can be eliminated from the team this season. We’ll do a final evaluation and release the results."
Everyone on the team knows the final evaluation is just for formality sake. The coach can’t drop Adrian from the team-- he is the best fighter on the team.
But Adrian doesn’t care about any of it. He tears the sensor from his wrist and walks away without a word.
"Captain!" Coach calls after him, bit he just walk off to the training room, entered the Captain’s private room that he barely used, and slams the door behind him. freewebnσvel.cѳm
Inside, Adrian braces both hands against the wall. His breathing refuses to steady as he replays the stimulation in his head over and over again.
It had felt too real-- Nyra choosing Jason and rejecting him. Walking away like that..
His wolf growls angrily, urging him to go back out there, and claim her in front of everyone. In front of dumbass Jason.
He punches the wall in again and again and again, his hands are trembling with rage, knuckles torn and bleeding.
"Damn it! Why does it hurt so much? She is supposed to mean nothing to me!" He slides down the wall, burying his face in his hands, ignoring the stinging pain.
From behind the door, he can hear Nyra’s voice. "Adrian?" Her voice is soft in a way he hasn’t heard in weeks,
"...Adrian, are you in there?"
No. Absolute wrong timing--wolf is still raging, begging him to drag her inside and claim her again and again, until she knows who exactly she belongs to.
Another knock, "I’m coming in."
The door opens slowly. Nyra barely takes another step inside the room, before Adrian closes the distance between them in three long strides.
The grabs her and pulls her in, pressing her against the wall with his weight, hands wrapping around her waist so she can’t escape..
"What are you-" the words die in her throat when she sees his eyes. Adrian’s wolf has completely taken over, and his eyes are red.
"You are mine!" He hisses against her neck, "only mine!"
Then he pulls back, grabs the back of her neck, and slams their lips together before she can protest. It’s all teeth, tongue and spit, Adrian licking into her mouth like he’s trying to map her soul.
At first she tries to fight it, but the softness of his lips, the way her legs tremble...her fingers come up to clutch his shirt before she even realizes what she’s doing.
Their bond hums between them, craving it’s mate and melting into the contact.
Her legs are trembling under the weight of the intense kiss. His lips feel so good, it’s unfair.
She can feel the hard lines of his athletic body, the hardness of his cock press against her thighs desperately.
"Ah.." the sound slips past her lips before she can stop it, pressing her hips harder against his. But the moment the sound of her own moan reaches her ears, her eyes fly open.
What the fuck am I doing??
No!
She jerks herself back, her cheeks red as she shoves him away. Hard.
"What--" she licks her lips, "Why the fuck did you kiss me!?"
But Adrian doesn’t respond, his chest heaving. He grabs her waist, pulling her closer until he’s practically rutting against her left thigh, nose pressed into her scent gland.
Goddess help her.
"Adrian!"
His eyes finally snap back up, red and dark with lust. "I- you’re driving me crazy Nyra. I can’t... please let’s start over?"
She frowns. "I can’t, Adrian. I don’t trust-"
"Then what can I do to fucking make you trust me again!?!" He snaps, "Tell me because I would rather die, than let you go to someone else!"
"W-what the hell are you talking about-"
He leans in again, but this time his lips drop to her neck sucking the skin hard, leaving a trail of red marks.
Nyra hates how she leans into it. Again.
"You’re driving me crazy." He whispers into her skin. Then she feels it, the scrape of something shar. His fangs--on her scent gland.
Adrian is about to mark her.
"Adrian, no!" She shoves him back with all her strength, breathing hard, heart pounding between her ribs.
This time, he finally pulls away, chest rising and falling with uneven breaths. The air between them feels unbearably hot, and even the cold air pouring from the air conditioner can’t seem to cool the tension filling the room.
"What?!"
"You were about to mark me!"
"Is that so bad!?"
Nyra glares at him, incredulous. "Yes, Adrian yes! I’m just your mate on paper, stop acting like we really have something going on!"
The words feel like a bucket of ice water poured over him, hitting harder than anything before. His wolf whimpers, then slowly recedes, the red in his eyes finally fading away completely.
Mate on paper...
No. Never!
"What!?"
"I said no!" He grits out."I don’t want to be just your mate on paper, Nyra..don’t you understand!??"
She shakes her head. "You don’t get to decide that, not after everything."
"Why not!?" He snaps, looking frustrated. "Everyone deserves a second chance Nyra! You’re not even--" he runs a bruised hand through his hair, trying to calm himself own.
"You’re not even trying to give me a chance." He says quieter, looking down at his hands. "Is it so bad if you become mine?" He lifts her chin, silver eyes locking on her brown ones.
"I’ll take care of you. I’ll-- I swear I’ll treat you good. No more of this nonsense, there’ll be only you from now on."
Adrian opens on the bond, flooding Nyra with his emotions. His sincerity, the urge of protection he feels when she’s hurt--every damn thing.
"Please..."
Nyra drags her gaze away, feeling the hard thump of her heart against her ribs.
She wants to trust him so badly. To maybe see where things would lead.. but everytime she remembers the vile things he said about her in those texts, her heart aches.
"I--" she swallows hard. "I don’t think I can."
Adrian’s jaw tightens immediately.
"Then why did you even come here?" He shifts away from her. "Why are you here? Go back to the fuckas Jason then!"
What the--
"Because I felt you!" She looks like she’s fighting a battle with herself and loosing. "Because I felt your fear during the stimulation. It was so strong, I thought the bond would collapse."
His expression hardens, a deep scowl forming.
"So you came here just because you were worried about the bond?What? Scared your wolf will hide again if the bond is affected!?"
"That’s not what--" she glares at him, "what the fuck is wrong with you!?"
Adrian isn’t looking at her anymore. "Leave!"
Nyra stares in shock, chest heaving in quiet anger. So much for even worrying about such a monster.
"Fine!" She picks her bag that fell, "And stay the hell away from me!" The door slams shut behind her.
---
As she storms out of the private changing room, still shaking with anger, she runs straight into Jason standing alone in the training ring.
Everyone else has gone home for the day..
He straightens immediately he sees her, smiling brightly.
She forces a smile back. "You’re still here?"
"I was waiting fo--" His eyes drop to her neck and he pauses. "What the--" his handsome face turns completely cold. "Did that bastard try anything again!?"
His fists are clenched so tight, and it looks like he’s about to go back inside and fight Adrian.
Not again...
Nyra quickly covers her neck with her hand. "It’s nothing. I just--" She forces a breath and changes the topic. "You texted that you wanted to see me after practice, what’s up?"
Jason shoots her a pointed look, but drops it. "Yeah.." he looks kind of nervous, "I did. I wanted to ask you something important."
"Okay..what is it?"
Jason hesitates, then runs a hand through his hair. "The Moon Dance is next week. You know about it..right?"
Of course she does. It’s an event their academy hosts every three months, similar to what humans call ’prom’. She hardly ever attended because there was no one to go with. Instead she would end up being bullied.
"So..." his ears are completely red. Is he blushing? "So, I wanted to invite you to go with me."
Nyra blinks in shock. No one, not in all eighteen years of living in Moon-Crest, has anyone ever asked her to the moon dance.
She looks down, hiding the blush on her face. "Are you serious?"
"Of course!" Jason beams, feeling more confident when he sees how red her face is. "And I’m not asking as a friend this time...I’m asking as an Alpha."
"You don’t have to answer now," he adds quickly. "Just think about it...Please."
"Don’t waste your breath." A deep voice cuts in from behind them, before Nyra can even respond. "She’s not going anywhere with you."
