Bella’s POV

I shiver at his words, but I can’t move. My body refuses to listen to me. It’s as if some unseen force is holding me here, locking me inside this moment. His eyes burn into mine… golden, wild, commanding… and my chest tightens until I can barely breathe.

“What… what’s happening to me?” My voice shakes, small and broken.

Rowan tilts his head, a slow predatory gesture that makes my pulse stumble. His lips curl into something between a smile and a snarl. “You already know,” he says, voice low and rough. “The bond.”

The word shatters me. A surge of heat spreads through my veins, hot and intoxicating, like fire disguised as wine. My knees weaken. My head feels light, dizzy, like I’ve had too much to drink. Before I realize what’s happening, I’m swaying forward… and his hand is there, gripping my waist with unshakable strength.

I should fight him. I should scream. But I can’t. My body leans into him like it recognizes him, like it wants him, even while my mind screams no.

“You feel it,” Rowan murmurs, his mouth close enough that his breath warms my skin. “That pull. That ache. “The bond. You can’t fight it. You’re mine, Bella. Mine.”

“No…” I whisper, though even I hear the weakness in it.

His nose brushes my throat. I tremble violently, heat curling low in my belly, stealing my breath. A broken sound escapes me, something raw and helpless.

“Stop?” he asks, his laugh dark and sharp. “You don’t want me to stop, little mate.”

My hands betray me, clutching at his shoulders for balance. His body feels like stone and fire under my touch… too strong, too alive. His grip on my waist tightens, dragging me closer.

“You’re trembling,” he growls, voice vibrating against my skin. “From fear? Or from need?”

I bite down on a sob. “I’m not yours.”

That’s when he growls, deep and guttural, the sound of a wolf barely leashed. It rumbles through me, sinking into my bones. His hand slides up my back, firm, possessive, until I’m pressed flush against him.

“Liar,” he snarls. “From the second your scent reached me, you were mine. Body. Soul. Every inch of you belongs to me.”

His words are chains, heavy and binding. My heart beats too fast, hammering against my ribs. My skin burns under his touch, and my body arches helplessly into him.

“Say it,” he commands, his voice harsh and irresistible. “Say you’re mine. Say you belong to me”

“I… I can’t.” The words come out broken, my chest rising and falling too fast.

“You can.” His hand fists in my hair, pulling my head back until my throat is bare before him. His teeth graze my skin, sharp enough to make me gasp. My knees buckle, but he holds me up like I weigh nothing.

Tears blur my vision, but so does heat. The bond is alive, pulsing, pulling me deeper and deeper into him. My heart screams for escape, but my body aches for more.

“You’ll destroy me, like you do to those women?” I whisper.

His lips brush over my pulse, where my blood races just for him. “Then I’ll destroy you as mine.”

A shudder rips through me. The sound of my own voice startles me when I moan, weak and unguarded. Rowan answers with a satisfied growl, the sound of victory, of possession.

And then his mouth claims mine.

The kiss is brutal, hungry, nothing gentle. He devours me, forcing me open, stealing every breath. I whimper against him, and he swallows it whole, kissing me deeper until I’m shaking in his hold.

“Rowan…” His name falls from my lips like a plea, but I don’t even know what I’m begging for.

His hands roam, hot and demanding, searing every inch of me they touch. Sparks dance under my skin. Every nerve feels alive, too alive. My thoughts scatter, my will crumbles, and all I know is him… his strength, his heat, his scent, his dominance.

I shake my head weakly, but it’s useless. My body wanted more, pressing closer, craving him like air. The more I resist in my mind, the more my body surrenders.

He pulls back just enough to meet my eyes. His gaze is fierce, molten gold blazing with possession. “From this night on, no one else will touch you. No one else will breathe you. I’ll mark you, claim you, bind you until there’s nothing left of you but me.”

My lips tremble, my chest heaves, and tears streak my face… but my body is burning, trembling, needing. The bond doesn’t care about my fear. It only cares about him.

“Say it,” he growls again, relentless.

A sob bursts from me, but the words follow, torn from somewhere deep inside. “I… I’m yours.”

The sound he makes is raw, primal, victorious. His teeth scrape my throat, and when he bites down… not to wound, but to mark… a violent shiver tears through me. My whole body convulses with heat and surrender.

The bond has claimed me. Rowan has claimed me.

And no matter how hard I fight, I will never be free again.