Page 40 of Brutal Alpha's Forced Mate

I don’t stop as I hit the front porch and leap down the stairs, heading toward the forest. The air is cold, biting at my skin, but it does nothing to cool the fire raging inside me.

“Gray!” Jaslyn calls after me, but I don’t turn around. I can hear her footsteps, quick and light, as she struggles to keep up with my longer strides. “You can’t just run off and—what? Kill them? You think that’ll fix anything?”

“It’ll fix the part where they’re still breathing.” The shadows of the trees stretch long in the fading light, and I push further into the woods, letting the primal pull of my wolf guide me.

“They’re not here!” she reminds me. “You’re charging off like some unhinged vigilante, and for what? Revenge?”

“For justice!” I whirl around to face her, throwing my hands in the air. “They hurt you, Jaslyn. They tried to take something from you, something they had no right to even touch. And they’ll pay for it.”

Her breath is coming fast, and her cheeks are flushed from the effort of keeping up with me. “Do you hear yourself right now? This isn’t about justice. This is about your guilt.”

“Maybe it is,” I admit, the confession tearing out of me like a growl. “Maybe I can’t stand the thought of them getting away with it. Of them walking around alive and untouched, after everything they did to you.”

“And you think this will make it better?” She steps closer, her voice softer but no less firm. “Killing them won’t undo the past, Gray. It won’t take away what they did to me. And it won’t take away your guilt.”

Her words cut deep, and I clench my fists at my sides, trying to fight back the storm of emotions swirling in my chest. “What am I supposed to do, then? Just let it go? Pretend it didn’t happen?”

“No. You’re supposed to stay here. With your pack. With me.”

My breathing is ragged, my wolf still thrashing against the walls of my control, but something in her tone pulls me back from the edge. She steps closer, reaching her hand out to brush against my arm. Her magic simmers under her fingertips, warm and soothing, and I feel the tension in my muscles start to ease despite myself.

“You’re here now,” she says. “I’m here now. Isn’t that enough?”

Her touch sends a jolt through me, and the fire in my chest shifts, no longer anger but something else entirely. Something that burns just as hot, but in a way that makes me want to pull her closer instead of push her away.

Her hand lingers on my arm, and I find myself leaning into her touch without thinking. Her magic ignites again, wrapping around us like a cocoon, and my wolf—once raging and restless—goes quiet, soothed by her presence.

“Jaslyn…” Her name escapes my lips, rough and unsteady. I don’t even know what I’m trying to say.

She tilts her head up to meet my gaze, and the look in her eyes is my undoing. There’s no anger there, no judgment. Just something soft and vulnerable, something that strips away every wall I’ve built.

“You don’t have to go anywhere,” she murmurs, tugging me closer to her. “Just stay.”

Before I can talk myself out of it, my hands are on her waist, pulling her flush against me. Her lips crash against mine. There’s nothing gentle about the way she kisses me. It’s desperate, hungry, like we’re both trying to drown out everything else—the past, the pain, the rage—with this one moment.

Her hands tangle in my hair, and her body presses against mine, soft and warm and perfect. I back her against a nearby tree, and my lips move against hers with a ferocity I can’t control. She gasps into the kiss, and the sound sends a thrill straight through me.

I know I’m walking a dangerous line, but I can’t bring myself to stop.

When we break apart, we’re both breathing hard, our foreheads pressed together. Her green eyes are wide and full of something that looks a lot like wonder. I don’t know if it’s her magic or something else entirely, but suddenly, the only thing I want in the world is to make her feel like this all the time.

Honor be damned, I need this woman.

“Come with me,” I rasp.

She doesn’t resist as I lead her deeper into the woods. There’s a small hunting hut nearby, and when we reach it, Idon’t waste a second. I push the door open, pull her inside, and capture her lips again, losing myself completely.

Every cell in my body is humming, and I feel drunk on the feeling of her against me. The heat from her touch, the scent of her hair, the softness of her skin. She’s everywhere, and it’s not enough.

My hands find the hem of her shirt, and she breaks the kiss just long enough to lift her arms and let me strip it off her. The moonlight pours in through the window, illuminating the curves of her body, and the sight nearly stops my heart.

She’s stunning.

She reaches behind her back and unclasps her bra, letting it fall to the floor. The cool night air brushes across her skin, and her nipples harden. I swallow hard, and I can feel myself straining against the confines of my pants, already desperate for her.

I’m not sure how I’m supposed to keep my hands off her.

When I lean down and close my mouth around one of her nipples, her head falls back and a small moan escapes her lips. My hand comes up to cup her other breast, kneading gently, and the sound she makes sends a fresh wave of heat rushing to my groin.

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