ARTEMIS' POV
There's a sudden feeling of urgency welling up in my gut, taking over every reasonable thought I can muster at this moment.
Watching her going for the door, reaching out to grab the doorknob, does something to me, knowing this might be the last time I ever see her again. Pain like nothing I've ever felt squeezes at my gut, stabbing my chest.
My wolf cries in agony, and I know more than ever before that I can't live without her. If I don't die from my broken heart, I'd kill myself.
I can't let her leave.
I rush forward, grabbing her other arm before she can open the door, pulling her towards me in one swift move.
She's startled, letting out a short scream, before I have her pinned against the wall with both her hands held over her head. Green flustered eyes look at me and then up at her hands, and she frowns.
"What are you doing!" she asks.
I remain silent for a second, staring into her mesmerizing green eyes that pull me in like a trance, her soft features and delicate pink lips.
Goddess, I love this girl so much.
"I hope you can forgive me for this in the future," I say, and her face grimaces with more confusion.
She struggles to break free from me, but her strength is no match for mine, and I use that to my advantage, going for the nape of her neck.
I kiss the corner first, pressing my lips against her skin, sucking passionately, and she moans reluctantly, her fighting briefly seizing before she fights against the pleasure clouding her mind.
"Artemis, stop this." It's a soft sound between a moan and a stern tone, and my cock only hardens further.
I don't.
I lick her skin with my tongue, trailing it seductively down that region, prepping it for what I'm about to do.
Her scent is overwhelming, addictive and more potent than usual, drawing everything in me to her - intoxicating all my senses, and a sudden heat overcomes me.
Overwhelmed by primal instinct, I am entirely consumed by the need to claim her, to make her undeniably mine. The wild, selfish nature of my wolf drives me, its essence guiding my every move.
As I press my body hard against hers, my fangs, a physical manifestation of the urgency kindling in my bones, gently graze her skin. Her soft whimpers echo in my ears, stirring the beast within, urging me to deepen the contact - to deepen our bond.
Fire rages in my veins. A burning inferno.
With an intensity that blurs the line between man and beast, I sink my teeth into the tender skin of her neck. I'm hungry, and hot, and exploding with something very territorial-a strong desire to ravish her and take it a step further.
So, I suck on the spot, lost to the rush of adrenaline coursing through my veins.
Her body tenses under the intensity of the act, a gasp of pleasure escaping her lips. Her heart races, a rapid drumbeat against the quiet of the room.
I feel every curve, every contour of her body pressed against mine, each pulse a testament to the life that flows within her. Her breath is hitched. Her body is heating up. Her emotions are just as chaotic, and never before have I felt anything as intense.
But it's not enough.
My desire to possess her completely, to claim every part of her being, is insatiable. My wolf wants more. I want more-however selfish that sounds.
I want to be in her, fucking and nailing myself right there so that she never leaves.
More than ever, I know that she's a part of me now.
Her body stiffens instantly, trembling as the wave of pleasure washes over her all of a sudden, hitting hard before she can comprehend what's going on.
I pull away to watch her breathing hard, staring into her eyes.
"What did you do?" her voice comes out barely a whisper, and I look at her, unable to explain what I did just now, hoping to the goddess she doesn't hate me when she finds out.
All of a sudden, her face contorts in pain, wincing and grabbing at her neck. I watch her face squeeze up as the pain only grows even more, and the blood drips down from her neck non-stop.
"What did you do!" she yells now in panic.
"Sera," I try to reach for her, try to do something to make the bleeding stop, but she slaps my hands away from her.
Stumbling towards the door, she doesn't make it that far before she topples over, falling backward.
I reach for her quickly before she hits the ground, catching her in my arms. Her eyes are closed, and her breathing has mellowed.
She's unconscious, and I fall deeper into panic mode, applying pressure to the mark that bleeds over with trembling hands.
"Sera... wake up!" I beg, biting my lips and hoping for a miracle, that she'll open her eyes and laugh about getting me, but she remains still, growing pale underneath me.
"Please," I beg.
She doesn't respond.
The door suddenly pulls open, drawing my attention away from her for a second, and I watch my father walk in. The last person I need to be here right now, his face contorted with rage and anger.
"You... ungrateful brat," he starts off, seething violently once the doors are closed behind him. "You have no idea how much planning was put into making tonight perfect before your childish outburst. You have no idea what it took to calm the entire population of guests. Make them believe that everything is still perfectly fine, while you run off with someone else who isn't your mate," he yells uncontrollably, complaining of things that don't matter in the slightest to me right now.
"Where is she, that girl that doesn't know her place at all?"
I pick her up in my arms, looking at him with hate. It's his fault this happened. If he hadn't forced that engagement on me.
"Get out of my way."
His eyes fall on her finally, her unconscious form resting on my lap, and he becomes silent instantly. His eyes shift between her and me for a second.
Knowing eyes widen the moment he sees the obvious, smell my scent all over her. A natural wolf instinct kicks in to know what I've already done.
"What did you do?" A deep-set frown settles on his forehead now.
I smile bitterly at him. "I did what was necessary to stop you."
"You... You."
He pauses mid-sentence, biting his lip before saying anything else, seeing the urgency of the situation.
"Guards!"
The doors burst open, and three of his guards on standby walk in on his order like automated machines.
"Take the girl to a separate room, call a doctor for her," he signals to Sera, and they immediately go for her.
I growl the second they come close enough, refusing to let anyone else touch her, anyone else that isn't me get their hands on her.
The feelings of possessiveness I had before have become heightened to the point that...
"She's going to get worse if you don't give in, and you know what that'll mean for you now," he says, referring to the obvious fact that we are now completely intertwined now, mind, body, and soul.
Anything happening to her would affect me, the sole heir to the throne, the most important piece he needs in fighting against the prophecy. The only thing that matters to him right now is preserving that.
I give in finally, letting them take her from me, watching them leave with her while my heart aches terribly, feeling way too much.
The door closes, and we're finally left alone, just him and I.
I expect him to combust into a fit of rage again since I've ruined his plans completely in a way that can't be reversed. He didn't see it coming; I've won.
He can't push me away from Sera anymore.
"I suppose you think you've won this battle right now," he starts, his tone dripping with contempt. "Your idiot plan of potentially endangering your human girlfriend by forcing energy that has no business mixing with a lesser species into her, all just to spite me," he laughs wickedly. "I will commend you. I didn't think you'd have the guts to go that far. You're slowly starting to remind me of myself."
"I'm nothing like you," I growl furiously, denying his accusations. I could never resemble a man I've hated all my life.
"Is that what you think, or what you want to believe?" he counters. "Forcing your will on someone you claim to love. Taking what you need regardless of the consequences. It's ruthless, and what I expect from a son of mine," he says with a wicked grin, and I'm left speechless.
I didn't mean for her to pass out after the marking; I didn't know that it would be this serious.
Then again, I can't bring myself to regret it, despite the guilt eating away at me from the inside. Despite knowing she might hate me the second she wakes up, I know I'd do it over again.
I'd risk everything over again just to keep her with me, to have her by my side forever. But that doesn't make me anything like him.
"Maybe this girl's influence on you isn't as bad as I thought it would be," he muses.
I brush off the statement.
"Regardless, like you said, I've foiled your plans. There's no point in keeping up with everything that's going on anymore. Call the wedding off."
He scoffs.
"Do you think I will let your pathetic outburst get in the way of ruining my plans? I will not let you destroy everything I've sacrificed so much to build up until this point," he starts, facing me.
Walking up to me until we're standing face to face, he watches me intently.
"I wouldn't be the king if I'd let inconveniences like this come in my way, would I? It's all about making the best of situations like this to suit me."
"What are you talking about?" I ask, a bad feeling settling in my mind.
I should be happy at the outcome of things today, but I can't bring myself to be, knowing he wouldn't sit still and simply watch me have what I want.
"The wedding will hold," he states flatly.