Chapter 21
Now his touch burned.
I felt nauseated and filled with fury.
I struggled against him, but he only held me tighter. It was no secret that he was much stronger than me, despite all the training I had in my defense classes. It didn’t help that his actions hurt my body and made me feel weaker, not to mention that my wolf was blocking me, preventing me from channeling any of her strength.
He bit my lower lip, causing me to gasp in pain. The moment I opened my mouth in shock, he shoved his tongue inside. Panic seized me, and I pushed at his chest, trying to break free as he started to push me toward the bed. My mind was racing, but I couldn’t think clearly. In a desperate attempt, I bit down on his tongue as hard as I could, making him stop and howl in pain.
I shoved at him again, but he refused to let go. Instead, his lips found the nape of my neck, right above his mark, which refused to fade after his rejection. He bit just above the mark and sucked on it hard.
“Ethan, get off me!” I demanded, my voice trembling with fear and disgust.
I felt his smile against my skin as he released me.
“Gladly,” he muttered as he let me go, and I stumbled, falling to the ground with a thud.
My neck throbbed from his harsh kissing, biting, and sucking. I reached my shaky fingers up to touch the spot, wincing when I felt the hickey forming on my skin. I let out a distressed whimper, but he quickly shushed me. When I looked up at him, I saw that he had pulled out his phone. I noticed Irene’s name flashing across the screen.
She was calling him. Of course, she was, I thought bitterly.
He answered the call and turned his back to me.
“Hey, babe,” he said sweetly, his tone shifting from bitter to loving in an instant. I pulled myself up to my feet, using my bed for support, and wrapped my arms around myself, trying to hold it together. “Yeah, I just stepped out for a few. I’ll be home soon. Want me to pick you up anything to eat?”
He paused for a moment. I sat on my bed, my legs giving out beneath me. Tears burned in my eyes, but I refused to let them fall while he stood in my room. I wouldn’t let him see me weak.
“Sure, I’ll surprise you,” he replied kindly. “I’ll see you soon. I love you.”
A sharp pang of pain hit my chest, and I winced as though he had slapped me.
He hung up the phone and turned back to me.
“Look, I came here to tell you that you need about $500,000 if you want to visit your father in prison,” he told me, shoving his phone back into his pocket. “If I remember correctly, that’s about the same amount as your school loan payment.”
I couldn’t speak; I stared numbly at the ground. He stepped closer, lowering himself to my eye level, forcing me to look into his eyes.
“If you want to see your father, give up school and use the loan to pay. You’ll be able to watch him get tortured to the brink of death behind bars,” Ethan sneered. “Or, you can become my mistress, and I’ll pay off his debt entirely. You’ll still have to give up school, but it’ll save him from being tortured. The choice is yours, Judy.”
I swallowed hard, the lump in my throat almost choking me. My entire body shuddered with pent-up fury. He smiled as he straightened up.
“No matter the choice, Judy, you’ll always be mine. Remember that,” he said coldly. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a fiancé to tend to.”
Without another word, he turned and left my room, leaving me alone with my thoughts.
The rest of the night passed in a blur. I lay in bed, tears spilling out of my eyes. I had a terrible feeling about what was coming, and it made me sick to my stomach. My wolf, sensing my distress, unblocked me, offering comfort after the torment Ethan had put me through.
How could he do this to me? How could he do this to my family?
My poor father was still in prison because of Ethan, and I had no way to help him.
Hours passed, and I finally started to fall asleep, but then the pain hit. It coursed through my veins like fire, starting from the mark on my neck. I screamed out in agony, clutching the spot where the pain was centered. Every bone in my body ached.
My wolf whimpered and cried along with me, feeling the same torment.
“Mate,” I heard her cry, “Another… woman!”
It was then that I realized what she meant.
Ethan was with another woman.
