Chapter 2
The man fixed his eyes intently on my face, his gaze gliding slowly from my eyes, down past my pert nose and pink lips, before finally landing on my knee–length evening
gown.
“Found a new backer and want to completely cut ties with the past?” Ryder sneered.
“I have nothing to do with you now. I’m Bran’s mate,”
“Oh, climbed up the social ladder, huh? Can he really satisfy you?”
“None of your business,”
“Now you’ve learned to be sharp–tongued.”
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“We’re broken up. Who I sleep with has nothing to do with you. Stay away from me!”
A wicked smile curled up on Ryder’s lips.
“Break up? Baby, you can’t get rid of me that easily.”
Ryder reached out and gently tilted my chin up, forcing me to meet his gaze. “I was gone for a while, and you were so eager to find a new lover. Hmm?”
I tried to bypass Ryder and leave.
Suddenly, Ryder grabbed my arm.
He pulled me towards the plush sofa in the corner of the room and pushed me down onto it.
I let out a startled yelp.
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I lifted my leg to kick him, but Ryder swiftly wedged himself between my legs.
In an instant, my hand cracked across his face.
“Nice one, baby. That fire of yours? It’s driving me wild. I could just devour you right here.”
I raised my hand again. “You’ll never have me! I’d rather die!”
Ryder snatched my wrist.
I tried to strike with my left, only to be caught firmly.
Meeting my fierce glare, Ryder threw his head back and laughed. “You’re magnificent when you’re angry. Give me another, if it
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makes you feel better.”
He released one wrist, his fingers tracing down my neck. “I sent a fortune to find you. Who else would be so generous when they’re done with you?”
I was suddenly transported back to five
years ago.
I was Ryder’s mate.
One day, I lost all contact with Ryder.
His phone went from being switched off to out–of–service, .
I was terrified that something dreadful had befallen Ryder. I pulled out all the stops to find him.
But everyone clammed up, feigning
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ignorance.
It was as if Ryder had evaporated into thin air.
A month later, a stranger approached me, handing me a check, one thousand dollars.
“Where is he?”
But the person insisted he had no idea.
In that gut–wrenching moment, the truth hit me like a ton of bricks.
Ryder wasn’t in trouble; he had simply grown tired of me and cast me aside.
I tore up the cheque.
I had once foolishly dreamed that one day, Ryder would reappear, laughing, and tell me
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it was all just a cruel test to see if I was after his wealth.
But he disappeared for five years.
“We’re done! Stay the hell away from me!”
Ryder’s face contorted with fury.
“You’re mine, and you’re not going anywhere!”
“You’re nothing to me now. Bran is a real man, not a coward like you.”
With a snarl, Ryder’s grip on my hands tightened.
“You’ll regret those words.”
In a flash, he had me pinned against the wall.
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I gasped for air, my nails raking down his
arm.
Blood trickled from the deep gashes, but he didn’t flinch.
“Submit to me,” he growled.
I spat in his face.
He crashed his lips onto mine, his teeth biting down hard.
I tasted blood, but I fought back, scratching and clawing at his chest.
Ryder was like a wild beast driven even more insane by the scent of blood.
The more I resisted, the more excited he seemed to become.
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As he frantically reached for my skirt, I trembled, screaming at the top of my lungs,
“Ryder, if you don’t stop this instant, I swear, I’ll hate you for the rest of my life!”
Ryder slowly lifted his head, bloodshot eyes locking with mine.
“Don’t you already hate me? I want you to loathe me, to be haunted by me forever!”
“Touch me again and I’ll spill every filthy secret you’ve got!” I shot back.
Ryder let out a mocking laugh. “Spill? You were in it too. We’re both in the muck.” With that, he yanked me off the sofa.
“You’re not going anywhere.”
“Let me go! We’re done. There’s nothing left
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to say!” I shouted, struggling in vain.
“Done? What am I to you? A plaything?”
I gritted my teeth. “You know what you did. Don’t play dumb.”
“Fine, since you’re being heartless, don’t blame me.” His hands tightened, and he started ripping at my clothes.
“Are you insane? Stop!”
His eyes landed on my neck, where the werewolf – mate bond mark once was. Now, there was only bare skin.
“The mate bond mark… where the hell did it go?”
Ryder’s fury boiled over.
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“Speak!”
“Let go! It’s killing me!”
Miraculously, my cry snapped him back. He released me, and I fled to the corner.
There were clear fingerprints on my wrist.
Ryder stepped closer. “Let me see.”
“Who do you think you are?”
“I was wrong. Punish me. Just calm down.”
“I’m done. Stay away!”
As I tried to leave, he blocked me. “You refused the check. You still love me.”
Ryder pounced, pinning me to the corner. I shoved him, but he caught my wrists.
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“Let go!” I screamed.
“Isabelle… I’m back. I swear, no matter what happens from now on, I’ll never leave you again.”
“I don’t like you. Stop deluding yourself!”
I was tired of his empty promises and the pain he had caused me in the past.
“I still love you,”
I quickly turned my face away. Just as I opened my mouth, a familiar male voice drifted in from outside the door. “Baby? Are you there?”
It was Bran!
