Chapter 171
“No,” I whisper, my voice cracking. I tighten my grip on the shard of glass in my hand, holding it up between us. I can feel the edges slicing into my skin, but the pain is grounding, a reminder of who I am. “I’ll never be yours.”
He laughs, a low, mocking sound that sends a shiver down my spine. “Oh, you will. It’s in your blood now, in every part of you.” He takes a step closer, his presence overpowering, a weight pressing down on me. “And soon, you’ll see there’s no point in fighting.”
I clutch the glass tighter, raising it in a final act of defiance, but my hand is shaking, the bond’s pull making my muscles weak, making my heart betray me with a longing to submit that isn’t my own. I feel the connection like a poison in my veins, corrupting my thoughts, whispering that giving in would be so much easier.
“You’re tired, aren’t you?” Rhett murmurs, his voice dropping to a cold, almost soothing tone. “All that fighting… and for what?” He reaches forward, his hand brushing my wrist, and a shudder runs through me. The bond hums between us, intensifying, sinking deeper, binding tighter, and I feel my resistance starting to crack.
“No,” I gasp, trying to pull back, but he’s too close. His hand clamps down on my arm, and the shard slips from my fingers, clattering uselessly to the ground. The weight of the bond is suffocating now, pressing down on me, hollowing me out, filling me with a need to please him, to belong to him. My mind screams in protest, but my body betrays me, drawn to
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Chapter 171
his touch despite every cell of my being revolting.
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“See?” he whispers, his tone laced with dark triumph. “It’s already starting. Soon, you won’t have the strength to fight at all.”
With a final surge of defiance, I twist in his grip, but his other hand catches my shoulder, slamming me back against the wall. My vision swims, spots dancing before my eyes as pain explodes at the back of my skull. I gasp, my legs weakening, but I force myself to stand, forcing my body to resist him even as the bond tugs me closer, a strange, sick ache urging me to let him take control.
Rhett’s face is inches from mine, his eyes blazing with
possession, with the thrill of knowing he’s breaking me. “You’ll learn to obey, Aubrey,” he growls, his voice a dark promise. “Whether you want to or not.”
I try to push him away, to claw at him one last time, but my
limbs feel heavy and sluggish, the bond dulling my
movements as it tries to knock me out. How I managed to remain awake when he marked me is beyond me. Everyone I know passes out as the bond forges, but the bond is winning now, it’s stealing my strength. I can feel his fingers tighten around my throat, cutting off my air as he presses me harder against the wall. My vision darkens at the edges, the world slipping into shadow as I struggle for breath, panic rising as I realize I’m losing, that the bond has its claws too deep, pulling me down.
“Goodnight, Aubrey,” Rhett murmurs, his voice a mocking caress as his hand jerks my head to the side. The last thing I see is his cruel, triumphant smile before he slams his fist into my temple.
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The impact sends a blinding pain through my skull, and then,
mercifully, everything goes dark.
