Jessica's POV
"Try to run, and your own body will betray you."
Jude's calm voice cut through me like a knife, sharp and precise. I swallowed hard, trying to steel myself. I wasn't running. Not yet. Not when my body already screamed at me, hotter than fire, tighter than chains, thrumming with the pull of something older than me, something wild.
"Your body's already betraying you," he added, almost like an observation, not a warning.
I laughed—harsh, raw, bitter. "Then it's useless to even try."
The stone floor was cold beneath my bare feet. My clothes clung to me, wet with sweat and rain, hot and heavy, suffocating in all the right ways. Heat pooled low, pressing into me, making my legs shake. My wolf screamed inside me, pressing, clawing, needy and raw.
Charles stood across the hall. Silent. Watching. The weight of him was unbearable. His gaze traced every movement, every slight tremor in my body, and I hated that I shivered under it.
"You're leaking heat," he said, low, measured, deadly.
I shook my head, trying to deny it. "Don't say it."
"Why? Because it's true?" His mouth tilted into a smirk that made my stomach twist.
Jude circled me like a predator, hands clasped behind his back. "Fighting it will only hurt more."
"I'm not fighting," I snapped. "I'm surviving."
Charles moved. One step. Another. Too close. Too heavy. His presence pressed into me like iron, impossible to ignore. My wolf surged, wanting, needing, snarling in frustration. I could feel the heat of him without touching, and it made my body betray me—hips tipping forward, chest heaving.
"Surviving won't be enough," he murmured near my ear.
I took a step back, pressing against the wall. "Don't."
He didn't. That was worse.
"Hands up," Jude commanded.
I didn't want to. My hands were trembling, and I hated the way my body was already trembling with anticipation. But they rose. My wrists pressed against the cold stone above my head, my body stretched, tight, exposed. My wolf roared in excitement, pressing against me from the inside.
"You feel that?" Charles whispered, stepping even closer. His thigh brushed mine. My breath hitched. "That pull? That need?"
"I—I hate you," I whispered, even as my body betrayed me, leaning forward instinctively, leaning into him.
"Lie," he said. "And I will show you how wrong you are."
His hand hovered over my hip, not touching—but my skin burned where it passed. My wolf howled, clawing at me to move closer, to let him mark, to let him take. My pulse raced, heat pooling deep and thick, dragging my mind down with it.
Jude's voice cut in, calm but firm. "This is training. Awareness. Control. Not indulgence."
Charles tilted his head. "Control?" His hand ghosted along my waist. "You have none."
I shook my head, trying to force my mind to stay clear. "I can still think—"
"Not for long," he said, pressing a hand lightly, possessively against my spine. I flinched. My wolf roared in agreement and fear. My heat spiked, hot and molten, soaking everything I felt.
"You're mine," he murmured, almost to himself.
I stiffened, heart slamming. "I am not yours!"
"You're marking already," he said, thumb brushing the small of my back. A surge of heat flared where he touched. "Do you feel that? You want it."
"No!" I gasped. But the denial was weak, a whisper compared to the roar inside me. My body leaned forward. My wolf pressed against me, betraying my mind.
Jude stepped closer, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Control. Remember the threat. Remember your mind."
Charles ignored him. He pressed closer, moving to kneel behind me, brushing his lips along my ear, teeth grazing lightly. "I will take what is mine. You can fight… but your body won't let you."
My legs shook. My hands tried to steady themselves on the stone, but I felt like I was melting, pressed between desire and fear, rage and surrender.
"Stop," I whispered.
"No," he growled, low and hungry, voice vibrating against my skin. "Not yet. Not until you feel it fully."
And then—there was a noise. A whistle. A door slammed. A shadow moved.
Charles's head snapped up. I stumbled slightly, my body still shaking from what I had just felt, heat still pulsing in waves.
"Assassin," Jude hissed.
Two guards crashed into the hall. Blades gleamed. Charles moved like death incarnate, twisting my body with him as he deflected the first strike. My wolf roared in victory, trembling with excitement and fear. The second blade was gone before I could even process it. Blood spattered the floor. My heart raced faster than ever.
And still… Charles didn't leave me. His hands gripped my waist, holding me tight, possessive. I could feel the mark forming in the heat of it, burning hot into my skin, claiming me in ways I couldn't yet understand. My breath came in jagged pants.
"You're stronger than you realize," Charles said, voice rough, low. "And this scares them more than it scares you."
"I'm still afraid," I admitted.
"You shouldn't be," he whispered. His forehead pressed to mine. My heat roared at the nearness. My body leaned in instinctively, leaning toward him as my mind screamed no. "But you are. Good."
I pressed my palms against his chest, weakly trying to push away. "I don't want this!"
"You do," he said, thumb brushing against my jaw, tilting my face up. "Your wolf chose. Your body chose. I just… remind you."
My pulse was hammered. My legs threatened to give out. My wolf howled in frustration and want. I pressed closer despite myself. My lips brushed his briefly, a stolen, desperate kiss, messy and hot. Charles growled, lips pressing to mine, teeth grazing, mouth claiming, asserting dominance without shame. I gasped, pressed harder, instinct and rage and needed clashing violently inside me.
Jude moved a fraction away, vigilant, keeping the hall safe but letting me fall into it.
And just as the tension reached its peak—before anything could go further—the alarm bell rang. A loud, insistent shriek through the palace.
Jude stiffened. "Inner gate. Again."
Charles pulled back, lips near my ear. His voice was rough and low. "We aren't finished. Not now. Not ever."
My body was still on fire, shaking, every nerve screaming. My wolf whimpered in hunger, desperate for more.
"You're not leaving me," I whispered, breathless.
"I won't," he murmured, pressing his forehead to mine once more. Thumb brushing possessively along my cheek. "And now, you understand. You're marked. Mine. Our heat, our bond, is real. You can fight it all you want… but your body will never lie to you again."
I shivered, panting, helpless. Rage, desire, and fear coiled together in me. I was trapped. Controlled. Owned—and yet stronger than I had ever been.
My wolf purred deep and low.
And in that moment, I realized: this was only the beginning.