Word Count: 1442

~Hunter

Begrudgingly, I stride through the bedroom door Kaan holds open for me.

We have spent the entire day together, appeasing his grandmother with every faux glance and smile we give each other. We went for a walk, helped her in her garden and cooked dinner with her.

Not once did she seem to notice that we aren't actually in love.

"I hate this," I snap as he closes the door behind him, my eyes lingering on the one bed in the centre of the room, covered with a homemade quilt.

"My grandmother thinks we are in love. Imagine her horror if she found out we slept in a different room." Kaan shrugs off his jacket, hanging it on the hook at the back of the door.

I wrap my arms around myself, shivering. It's not cold in here, since we left the door open so the warmth from the fireplace would heat the room. I'm just terrified of the idea of sharing a room with Kaan.

"You could have made something up about not wanting to share a bed until marriage," I grumble.

Kaan smiles a little, shaking his head. "She isn't that old fashioned."

"I still hate this," I mutter.

I sit on the edge of the bed, wincing. After all this activity, I'm exhausted. Everyone had to wait while I took multiple breaks on the walk, and my help in the garden mostly consisted of me lying in the grass, the world spinning around me.

Kaan has been especially doting, which I assume is because of our ruse. I swear, though, that I saw a flicker of concern in his eyes every time I faltered.

"Why do you think your parents had us married?" I ask softly, watching as he sifts through the old dresser painted yellow with purple flowers.

I've been wanting to know since his parents threatened me, but I'm scared he knows the truth about me.

Kaan's shoulders tense. "As another way to command me, to own me. And because they want me to suffer."

"Suffer?"

He turns around, tossing an oversized T-shirt in my direction. There's a strange dyed pattern on the front, and the hem is fraying away, but it will do for the night.

"They figured I hate you, so they arranged this marriage to make me miserable," he says flatly.

I watch his expression as he removes his shirt. His jaw is hardened, and his deep green eyes have darkened. Any mention of his parents causes this visceral reaction.

At least we have one thing in common: a dislike of his parents.

"And do you hate me?" I whisper.

He shakes his head. "Not as much as you hate me, apparently."

I motion for him to turn around so I can change. He obliges, so as quickly as I can manage with my aching back, I change into the shirt that hangs loosely over my body.

"You did shoot me in my spine," I remind him, turning around.

"And I can tell you with full certainty that it shall never happen again."

He's changed too, sitting under the covers. I almost smile. He looks so silly under the pink and white quilt, in this relatively small bed. If only his Pack members could see their Alpha in this state.

I slide under the covers, careful not to brush skin with him. He watches me quietly as I lean back into the plush pillow, pulling the sheets up to my chin.

"Will you tell me what they threatened you with?"

"They told me they wouldn't let me leave without being hunted down," I say quickly. That's the story I'm running with, because there is no way I'm telling him the truth.

I doubt he wants to hear that his mate was engaged to someone else, and that someone else is hunting her down right now.

Kaan studies me. "I don't believe you."

I look down at the quilt, smoothing my hands down over it. "It's the truth."

"They know something about you, and they want to use it against you," he says flatly, giving me room to admit what I'm hiding while applying enough pressure to suggest I don't have any other choice.

I keep my eyes pinned down. He's the most intense person I've ever met, and looking at him won't bode well for my resolve.

"It must be pretty incredible, for them to be willing to make you Luna," he continues to push.

"If you know something, just say it," I snap, finally looking at him.

This would all be a lot easier if he wasn't so devastatingly handsome. The light in here is dim, flickering along the hard lines of his face. The shadows hollow out his cheekbones, and turn his deep brown hair back.

"I don't, but as my mate, do I not deserve to know?" He insists softly.

My eyes shutter closed for a moment. This secret is a burden. Everyday it weighs me down more than my back injury, yet at the same time, I know that if I divulge it to Kaan, there is every chance he could use it to get out of this marriage.

He may be mates, but this isn't what he wants. He doesn't want to be forced into something by his parents...

I roll over so I'm facing away from him. "I'm going to sleep."

"Come on, Hunter."

I stuff my head deeper into the pillows. "If you want to talk about honesty, then maybe you can tell me what's going on with Azura, because you're hiding something."

"Sleep suddenly does sound great."

He leans over, blowing out the candle on his bedside table, drenching the room in almost darkness. We both forgot to draw the curtains, moonlight spilling across the bedspread. Neither of us are going to get up to close them now.

We lay in silence for a while.

No matter how hard I try, I can't fall asleep. The weight of his body in this ancient bed is pulling us together, and his warmth is a constant reminder he's there, inches away from me.

My mind flickers back to the night he got hideously drunk and tried to go down on me.

What would have happened had the moment not broken?

I swallow thickly, forcing the thought from my mind. It's just the mate bond talking. We have obviously been attracted to each other from the start, but that's just nature trying to force us together.

I'm not going to let it win...

"I really do hate you sometimes," I mumble. I'm not sure why I bother speaking, but it feels good to cut through the awkward silence.

"Just sometimes?"

Rolling over, I lay on my back. He does the same, our shoulders brushing together.

"Sometimes you're insufferable, other times you're bearable. How is that?" I whisper.

"A natural talent, I imagine." I can hear the smile in his voice.

I roll my eyes. If it weren't for him I wouldn't be in so much pain all the time, yet, my initial irritation is starting to fade with every day that passes. I physically have to remind myself why I can't stand him.

"This mate thing...Us, it's never going to work." I turn my head to look at him. With the moonlight, I can still see most of his face. He's looking right back at me.

"It has to work. Nature dictates it," he murmurs.

I let out a breath. "Nature is just making a mockery of me, I'm sure of it. I can't have this much bad luck."

I've had bad luck from birth. Most would assume being born as an Alpha's daughter would be a blessing. Well, it's not when you're born as the middle child. I'm not an heir to my father's power, so all I'm worth is who I can be married off to.

"And who would you want to be your mate instead? The Gardener?" Kaan's voice tightens at the mention of Edgar.

I shake my head. "No! He's my friend."

"Who then?"

"Who says I have someone in mind?" That someone is freedom. It's being able to live my life without pressing obligation, without being chased down at every moment.

Kaan turns on his side, facing me. "Was there someone from home?"

"No. There was no one," I lie.

A couple years ago I thought I loved a man. He was kind at first, and he understood me. He wasn't to be an Alpha, but he was a Nobleman, and I thought I would marry him.

Reality crashed down upon me when he sent me back home with more bruises than I can count. After that, I was sent from one horrible man to another.

"How can that be? You are beautiful, strong and fascinating. Were I just a man from your village, I would have been enamoured by you from the start," Kaan says.

My eyes widen. I don't think I've ever heard him be that vulnerable.

"Wow, a compliment," I breathe.

I expect Kaan to back off, to treat the moment as a joke to escape an uncomfortable moment. Instead, he continues to watch me with his sharp, observant gaze.

"Can I not admit how attractive you are?"

My breath catches in my throat. What is he saying?

"It's the mate bond talking," I force out.

"Then let it talk..."

He leans over me. One hand cups the side of my face, keeping my attention on him. The weight of his body presses into me, igniting something from deep within me.

"Kaan, what are you doing?" I whisper. I can feel his breath mingling with mine, his gaze flickering down to my lips.

"I just want to kiss you...Need to kiss you." His brows draw together like he's fighting himself. He's waiting for me to make the first move, to show him it's okay to go forth.

I hold my breath. This is wrong. So wrong....

Leaning up, I kiss him.

He immediately presses me back down into the pillow with the intensity of his kiss. My hands glide up his strong arms and around to his back, where I cling to the hard lines of muscle there.

He kisses like I always imagined he would, like he's claiming me. Like he's waited every moment for this.

His tongue sweeps through my mouth, stealing my breath. Something in my stomach tightens as anticipation races through me.

I arch up into him, wrapping one leg around his waist. One hand grips under my thigh, keeping me pressed against him while the other knots into my hair.

I'm breathless but I don't want him to stop. His grip on me is primal, like he can't dare let me go. Any thought of pain from my back is gone, replaced only by an intense pleasure I want to chase to the end.

Damn the consequences. Damn tomorrow. I want him now.

He pulls aways from my mouth, kissing down to my jaw. When he reaches my neck, he bites down a little, right under my ear. I let out a startled yelp, although the pain quickly melts away into pleasure.

"Shh," he whispers against my skin, continuing to kiss downward to my collarbone.

I don't know how he expects me to be quiet when he is doing this to me. My hand reaches down between us to his underwear, which is the only thing he planned on sleeping in.

My fingers don't even make it under the waistband before he grabs my wrist, yanking it back, pressing it down into the bed next to my head.

His other hand grabs my jaw, forcing me to look at him as he leans down, his lips almost brushing against mine, but not quite.

"Don't do that," he growls.

"Why not?" I pout.

His breathing is heavy as he shakes his head, his dark hair loose around his forehead and ears. "I can't fuck you here, so stop tempting me."

He kisses me again and I accept it eagerly. I don't protest as he grabs my hips and flips us around so he is underneath me, his back against the wall. I straddle him, resting my hands on his shoulders as we continue to kiss.

I can feel how hard he is underneath me, his size flaring up a little apprehension in me. I've only been with one other man, and he was nothing to write home about.

My hips seem to move on their own volition, rolling against him. The resulting pleasure has a breathy moan escaping.

I don't have time to be embarrassed. Kaan winds his fingers into my hair before tugging, forcing my head back. He kisses my neck, his teeth grazing tauntingly against the skin.

His other hand grips my hip almost painfully tight, guiding me along as I grind against him.

"You're all mine," Kaan breathes into my ear. "Don't stop."

I don't, even as the pleasure starts to build to a point of no return. My fingers dig into Kaan's shoulders, but he doesn't seem to mind, his breathing heavy as he urges me along.

I can feel the shimmery veil of my orgasm taunting me. It's so close. If I keep going at this pace, I know I'll reach it...

A tiny thread of anxiety appears before blooming out into full blown panic.

Leaping from his hold, I stumble away, nearly tripping over my own legs. My back cries out in pain but I ignore, putting as much distance between him and I as possible.

"We should stop," I blurt out.

Kaan steps out of bed, approaching me tentatively.

"Are you okay?" Concern and regret bleeds into his expression. He feels like he did something wrong, but it's me...I'm the problem.

I've never climaxed with another man before. My past lover never even got me close, and now I'm far too scared to be that vulnerable in front of Kaan now.

"I...I just think we should stop," I force out, clutching my stomach. Any remnants of pleasure have dissolved away into nothingness.

Kaan delves a hand into his hair. "You're right. I shouldn't have pushed you."

"Let's just get some sleep, okay?" My voice comes out all hoarse and broken sounding as I clamber back into bed.

He joins me, albeit apprehensively, watching my every move.

We don't speak about it for the rest of the night.

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