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CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

RIVER

R iver was woken up by her wolf freaking out.

No. Away. No. Away.

She tried to tune her thoughts to those of her wolf.

Yeah. I know. We will get away.

No. No touch!

River thought for a moment and realized how warm she felt. She tried to push the covers off but found her body pinned down by a substantial weight.

Panic stirred as she found a bulky arm draped over her. A light snore sounded behind her, and she threw the arm off and jumped from the bed. Her heart thundered as she took in Titan's naked form lying in her bed, dirty and caked in blood.

"What the hell are you doing?" she yelled.

Titan's eyes shot open, and he glanced around.

"I asked what the hell you are doing? Naked. In my bed."

He seemed conflicted, but then his eyes frosted over, and he sat up.

"I believe I was sleeping," he replied.

"Get out. This isn't your room. It's mine."

"Actually, it's my room. Every inch of this house is mine. Therefore, I can sleep wherever I want."

She clenched her jaw to keep it from falling open. "And I am the High Luna and deserve the respect not to be accosted while I'm sleeping."

"Trust me, Princess, if I were to accost you, you'd remember."

"Oh, believe me, I do."

He huffed. "That again?"

"Yes, that, again."

He grumbled and lay back on the bed, stretching out every inch of his large, naked frame.

"When are you going to stop complaining about that and just move on?"

His cold tone shot right through her. He could not be serious.

River stared at Titan in disbelief, her mind reeling from his abrupt shift in demeanor.

Gone was the man who had carefully prepared an elaborate dinner, who had tried to win her over with art supplies and promises of a better world.

In his place lay a cold, demanding Alpha, his muscular body sprawled across her bed as if he owned it- and her.

"Move on?" River sputtered, her voice rising. "You bit me without consent, kidnapped me, and now you expect me to forget all that and what... fall into your arms?"

Titan's eyes flashed dangerously. "I expect you to honor the bond between us. To take your rightful place as my Luna and help me build a new future for our kind."

River shook her head, backing away until she hit the wall. "There is no bond. I rejected you. And even if there was, that's not how this works. You can't force someone to love you."

A muscle twitched in Titan's neck as he stood, seemingly unconcerned with his nudity. River averted her eyes, her cheeks burning despite her anger.

"I'm done playing nice, River." Titan stalked towards her. "I've given you time. I've tried to show you the benefits of what joining me can offer you. But my patience has limits."

River's heart raced as he approached, her wolf snarling. She wanted to lash out, but the suppressants still dulled her strength and reflexes.

"What happened to you?" she demanded. "Last night, you practically begged me to accept you. Now you're acting like... like..."

"Like the Alpha I am," Titan finished, his voice low and dangerous.

He braced his hands on either side of her head, caging her in.

"I realized something at dinner, River. I've been weak.

Trying to win you over like some lovesick pup.

That's not who I am. It's not who we are.

We aren't weak, and we don't beg; we take. You and I both."

His scent enveloped her- earth and pine and something wild, tinged with the metallic tang of blood. River stiffened as memories of their first encounter flooded back. The primal hunger in his eyes. The feel of his fangs ripping into her flesh.

"I'm a Lycan," Titan said, his breath hot against her ear. "The rightful oldest son of the former king and I will not be denied my right to take the High Luna as my mate."

River shoved him, but it was like pushing against a brick wall. "I am not yours," she hissed.

Titan's hand shot out, gripping her chin and forcing her to meet his gaze. "You are. Whether you want to admit it or not. I feel it, River. The pull between us. Stop fighting it."

River's mind raced, staring into Titan's cold, demanding eyes. The abrupt shift in his demeanor left her feeling like she was finally seeing the real him. The man underneath the mask of civility. The monster that she'd met that night in the pantry closet of her old pack.

"I won't stop fighting. Not now, not ever. Whatever you think you're going to accomplish by acting like this, it won't work."

Titan's grip on her chin tightened, his fingers digging into her skin. "I'm not acting. Not anymore. This is who I am. Who we are meant to be together."

She searched his face, looking for any sign of the man who had earnestly tried to win her over just hours before. But his expression stayed hard, unyielding.

"What happened last night?" she asked. "After you left the dining room?"

A dark smile curved Titan's lip. "I remembered who I am. What I'm capable of."

A chill ran down River's spine. "What does that mean?"

Titan’s hot breath fell against her ear. "It means I'm done holding back. Done pretending to be something I'm not just to make you comfortable."

River's heart raced. "You're lying," she said, more to convince herself than him. "This isn't you. The real you wouldn't-"

"The real me?" Titan interrupted with a harsh laugh. "You don't know the first thing about the real me, Princess. But you're going to learn. Just like all the rogues that live under my roof, you will learn to respect me, and if you don't respect me, then I'm fine with you fearing me."

He stepped back suddenly, releasing her. River sagged against the wall, her legs weak with relief.

Titan strode across the room, his muscular form silhouetted against the early morning light streaming through the fake window. He paused at the dresser but didn't look at her.

"I've given you everything," he said, his voice low and dangerous. "A home. Safety. The opportunity to be part of something greater than yourself. And still you resist."

River watched him, her mind working furiously to understand his motivations. Was this all some elaborate manipulation? Push her away to make her want him? Or had he given up on winning her over gently?

"I never asked for any of that," she said. "I had a home. I had safety. I had a purpose with Ares and Apollo."

Titan whirled to face her, his eyes flashing. "They can't give you what I can. Power. The freedom to reshape our world."

"Is that what this is really about?" River asked, a spark of understanding blooming inside her. "Power?"

Titan's eyes darkened. "It's about creating a better future for our kind. One where we don't have to hide or bow even to human laws. Where we can live freely, as we were meant to."

Whoa. What? Not bow to human laws? What the hell did that mean?

River shook her head, her silver hair catching the morning light. "You're talking about tearing down everything our people have built, everything we've worked for."

"Sometimes you have to tear things down to build them back stronger," Titan growled. He stalked towards her again, his powerful form radiating aggression. "I'm offering you the opportunity to be part of that. To stand by my side as we create a new world order."

World order? What the hell was he talking about? River held her ground, even as her heart raced. She searched Titan's face, but his eyes stayed cold, his jaw set in a hard line.

"I don't know what you are doing right now, but trying to scare me is a hell of a lot worse idea to get me to your side."

For a moment, something flickered in Titan's eyes- a flash of uncertainty, quickly masked.

"Being nice didn't work, did it? Didn't make you like me one ounce more.

And if I'm being frank, it was exhausting being that guy.

I didn't realize it until I let loose. I ran.

Ran and hunted and killed last night. I haven't let myself go like that since I found you.

And it felt so fucking good. Freeing. It reminded me who I am and what I wanted in the beginning.

Before you. When it was just me, my mom, and Kane.

I'm fully awake for the first time in years.

This hold that you've had over me these last years is gone.

And now it's time to get back to who I was before. "

"And who is that? A tyrant? A conqueror? Because the Titan I've seen glimpses of, the one who cares about the rogues, who wants to make things better, he wouldn't act like this."

Titan's nostrils flared, his hands clenching into fists at his sides. "You don't know anything about me, River. You've seen what I've allowed you to see. Nothing more."

"Then show me," River challenged, taking a step towards him. "If this is who you are, prove it. Because right now, all I see is a man lashing out because he's scared."

Titan's eyes flashed. "I'm not scared of anything."

"You're scared I'll never choose you willingly. Scared that no matter what you do, no matter how much power you gain, it won't be enough to make me love you. This is you protecting yourself from being hurt."

The words hung in the air between them, charged with tension. Titan's chest heaved, his breathing ragged. For a long moment, neither of them moved.

Then, with a low growl, Titan's hand shot out, tangling in River's hair as he pulled her roughly against him. His lips crashed down on hers in a bruising kiss, demanding and possessive.

River's body reacted instinctively, a jolt of heat racing through her despite her best efforts to resist. The red ribbon attached to her wolf's leg tightened momentarily.

She shoved him away, and then her hand connected with his cheek in a resounding slap.

Titan staggered, his eyes wide with shock. But it was gone in an instant, replaced by a snarl.

"You dare strike me?" he roared.

River's heart pounded, but she stood her ground. "I told you not to touch me without permission."

Titan's eyes flashed gold, his muscles tensing as if preparing to pounce, and then he did. His lips on hers again, demanding, claiming.

River struggled in his grasp and brought her knee up to the balls.

Titan grunted and doubled over, letting go of her.

"Do you want to know how I know you aren't my mate?

" she spat. "When I first saw Ares and Apollo, my wolf went crazy trying to get to them.

Even when I ran from Ares and wanted to reject Apollo's claim on me, she was the one who wouldn't let me.

She claimed them the first time she smelled them.

Mine. My Alpha. My mate. But do you know what she said when she first saw you?

No. Not him. It doesn't matter how much you push me, or what you try to do to make me yours, I'm not your fated mate.

Just like your mother wasn't your father's fated mate, and that will never change. "

Titan straightened. "Fated or not, you are mine. I am the rightful Alpha King. And I will never, ever, let you go. Ever."

She prepared herself for him to kiss her again, but he didn't.

Instead, he moved in close, his hot breath tickling her neck. "You will have to kill me if you want me ever to let you go."

Ice trickled through River's veins. She looked up into his black eyes. "And I'll die before I give in to you."

Titan chuckled. "Then let the game begin."