AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I hugged myself, distraught at the purr that rose in my chest.
Even the pillows… Dusk had exchanged each for a square and tilted them all at the head of the bed. The blankets were the same, each one a square, each turned so a corner pointed top and bottom, brushing the floor where they tumbled from the edges.
My mind crept back to the night we met. He’d been at my window for a while, watching me for how long?
Watching and... and remembering.
Not just that... I knew my neuroticism went far beyond normal omega instincts, I’d been told—they were fuelled by hormones that were vengeful and off balanced.
Even an alpha would think that was odd, Shatter...
My mates, I’d told myself. Mymateswouldn’t.
And now Dusk was taking that from them, too?
Fury simmered in my chest as I took it all in.
The bookshelves were the worst part in this stupid perfect nest. It wasn’t until I’d turned the lights on that I finally had to face how far Dusk had taken it. The shelves were broad, and filled with dozens of textbooks. But they weren’t conventional bookcases, they were angled, a stretching wall of honeycombs.
They were entrancing to look at, demanding attention no matter where I was in the room. Beside them was a study desk with a comfortable-looking chair; like the one in Uncle’s office at the Estate.
I finally dared to get out of bed to examine it, wincing with every smarting step from Dusk’s punishment. I ignored the flutter in my stomach as I remembered his praise as I’d taken it. I ignored the slick pooling in my thighs right now as I remembered how he’d knelt behind me while I was bent over for him and—Fuck. No. I wouldn’t give him that.
I found the desk equipped with everything I could ever need for studying.
Square notepads waited in the corner, angled perfectly just for me. There were sticky notes, pens, highlighters, rulers, even a set of pencils and a sketchbook, as if he’d stocked it just in case.
It was enraging.
He’dstolenfrom me.
He’d... my breaths were tight as the full weight of what he’d taken came crashing in.
The nest wasn’t enough.
The shelves, the books, every little gesture. I shook, staring around, then I grabbed a textbook, ripping it off the shelf and slamming it open on the floor. I would destroy it all like I’d destroyed my room in the Estate, and I would keep this moment for my mates, instead.
I tore out the first page with a scream, not expecting to feel as though I was ripping it from my soul.
My world went red.
Nothing Dusk gave me was worth that.
It couldn’t be.
Another page, and another, tearing apart my own stupid instincts as I ripped apart the book. When I was done, I was a sobbing mess and my chest was still tight.
“I hate you,”I choked out, the pages scattered across the floor blurring in my vision. “I hate you.”
He’d ruined everything.
But it wasn’t like last time, with fury turning the world red, stealing away my own sanity. His scent lingered, cool and soothing, fixing me even as I tried to hate it.
I couldn’t even properly conjure my mates in my mind right now. Last night was a behemoth, a memory that cast a shadow over everything. But the flashes from it weren’t from the belt, or his promise that I’d never reach my mates.
The flashes weren’t what they should be.
Instead, they were moments like when he’d knotted me, trapping me against him as we’d climaxed together. The flash of desperation in his expression as he had, as if he’d truly wanted it.
