Page 119 of When Ashes Fall

“Your mother wasn’t the only one who told me about your betrayal; so many other casters did too. And somewhere along the way, in that insufferable place, the insidious whispers of your betrayal became the truth. It was easier to let it all go and let the hate consume me because I liked the way it made me feel. That hate and my determination to make you pay gave me a purpose again.”

She closed her eyes before opening them again. When she did, sadness radiated from their beautiful depths. “That hate still consumes you.”

I couldn’t deny it. “Yes.”

CHAPTER SEVENTY

Knox

“That hate will destroy you one day,” she whispered.

“No, it will destroy my enemies.”

“Knox…”

I tugged on her hair to draw her closer, but she turned her head to the side as she tried to break free.

“You’re my mate, Briar.”

“No, I’m not. I won’t let you mark me again. I loved the man who marked me; I have no idea who you are.”

“I may not be that man anymore, and I never will be again, but you are my mate,” I snarled. “I will claim you again, and you will remain in Wildwood.”

“What if that’s not what I want? Don’t I get a say in this?”

“What would you say, Briar?”

“I won’t be claimed by someone who won’t apologize for everything you’ve said and done since taking me from the harem! You don’t get to treat me like shit and expect me to be fine with it because you’ve decided that, hey, I am your mate after all! Are you insane?”

The beast’s roar tore from me before I could stop it. Briar recoiled even as I drew her closer, pinning her against my chest. When I lifted her off the ground, her feet battered my shins, and she slapped at my arms as my bellow rebounded down the hallway.

Before anyone could come running, I kicked the door shut. The echoing bang did nothing to drown out the beast’s fury as it battered my skull while my jaw cracked and the beast started to emerge.

I released the tendril of hair and pinned her arms to her chest when she started punching me. She swung her head back, seeking to break my nose, but I dodged it in time.

The blow skimmed my elongating jaw, but I felt it as much as I did her kicks… which was not at all. Her words had enraged the beast too much, and I couldn’t deny they’d infuriated me too.

She plans to leave us! the beast thundered. She plans to keep us shut out!

And while a very small, rational part of the man remained to understand her reaction was exactly as it should be, given everything she’d been through, it wasn’t enough to calm the beast or me.

Briar kicked and squirmed enough to free her arms. When she planted her hands on my chest, a spell flared to life at her fingertips.

My distorted paw landed over top of her hand, pressing it firmly into my chest as her spell crackled against my flesh; it didn’t hurt. I didn’t know if that was because she wasn’t unleashing it… yet… or if I couldn’t feel anything other than the blood rushing through my ears and the pulsing need to mark what was mine.

I refused to let her deny me this. Wildwood remained cursed, the shifters had all nearly died because of her mother and the casters, and while I should bear the denial of my mate as a punishment for my mistakes, I wouldn’t do so any longer.

If, once we broke the curse, the shifters barred her from Wildwood, then so be it. I’d leave here with her. But until that day came, I would have my mate.

I wasn’t a good man; I hadn’t been a good man in years, and I didn’t intend to become one again… not even for her.

I wouldn’t relinquish the small bit of happiness she’d brought to my bleak existence. She may not want me to brand her again, but she did desire me.

As she kicked and her power crackled against me, the scent of her arousal filled the air. My dick was so hard it ached.

“Knox!” Dromon shouted as he banged on the door. “Is everything okay?”

“Fuck off!”