?Chapter 102:

“Get out, Jasmine! Run!” Kade yelled, his voice strained.

My heart was caught in my throat. I couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe.

Ryder’s wolf form loomed over Kade, teeth bared.

“Mine,” he repeated, his eyes zing with possessiveness.

Kade’s pleading gaze met mine. “Jasmine, get the fuck away from here!”

He sounded pissed.

That jolted me into action. With a swift turn of my heels, I turned away and sprinted out of the room, not daring to look back. Kade? Was he going to survive this? I felt so powerless knowing I couldn’t help him. If anything happened to Kade, I knew I’d forever me myself. Damn it! I should have listened to Ryder when he told me to stop. What the hell had I been thinking?

No, he was—what? In his wolf form, blinded by rage and filled with violence. My feet pped on the cool marble floor as I dashed down the hallway, the only audible sound apanying me: the sound of my feet pounding the cold floor.

Thankfully, no one was present to witness me running half-naked in my underwear. With heavy pants, I reached my room and mmed the door shut, leaning against it to catch my breath. What have I done? What’s happening to Ryder?

Tears streamed down my face as I heard distant growls and snarls.

Ryder’s wolf form had taken over.

Ryder’s POV

I stared in horror at the injury I had inflicted on Kade, my mind reeling with shock and anger. How could I have lost control like that? Ace had taken over, and I was powerless to stop him. Thick red liquid stained his pale skin… the colorful artwork of my rage in front of me.

“Damn it,” I muttered, fists clenched. It wasn’t Kade’s injury that upset me that much. It was the fact that I’d lost control—something I’d never done until now.

Kade’s left hand wrapped around his injured arm as he winced in pain, struggling to stand.

“Ryder, what the hell happened?” He groaned.

The best stories are at g?lnσν????s???????

With arms outstretched, I pulled his heavy frame up, guilt eating away at me.

“Sorry, man,” I muttered. My wolf had never been obsessed with a woman, lycan or not.

Kade’s eyes narrowed, snow-white brows arched questioningly. He didn’t need to speak for me to know the question on his mind. “Your nearly killing me is new. What’s different about Jasmine?” A deep frown etched into his face.

I hesitated, the words stuck in my throat. “I’m as pissed as you are. Ace… he’s always calm around her. I don’t know what happened, but today was different. He wants to mark her, protect her.”

Kade’s expression turned knowing as he bit his lip, his eyes staring down, blinking hard.

“She’s your mate, Ryder,” he whispered.

Mate? Right.

I stood still, the quietness in the room making my mind echo in my head as memories of Jasmine raced through my thoughts. Her smell, like a siren’s call, drew me in. Ace’s obsession with her was undeniable, and I’d tried to rationalize it as mere attraction. But what if it was more?

No. There had to be another exnation.

“Her presence calms Ace,” I whispered to myself, recalling the times Jasmine’s nearness soothed my wolf’s savage nature… until tonight. I thought back to our encounters, the way Ace demanded attention, the way I felt towards her: protective. Possessive. Domineering.

Never had I experienced this with anyone.

I shook my head, my hands sweeping through my hair.

.

.

.