Chapter 41: I Belong To You

Settled in the private lounge of the manor, Selene would pick up her cup of tea and take a sip every now and down.

"At this rate, there is no way he will send me back until the peace treaty comes to an end. And it doesn’t even matter what I do."

She’d thought of forcing Dante’s hand and making him send her back home for a different kind of negotiation with her father.

But now that he knows they were mates...

"...he will never agree."

She shook her head to herself.

She knew very well how supreme alphas acted when they had a mate. So long as they are unwilling to reject that mate, they would have the so-called mate at all costs.

"I can only wait for my father to arrive at the gala. And then, I will have to let him know. Something must be done. I won’t stay here with Dante Baris much longer."

The moment she was done speaking to herself, she heard the door of the private lounge push open.

She turned her head.

Dante.

They met eye to eye.

Her face hardened. "What are you doing here?"

"I can’t see you now?" Dante questioned.

She folded her arms. "Reject me and break the mating bond. Then we can talk."

Dante stood where he was.

He stared at her and all of a sudden, his lips curled into a grin. He took steps towards her and then lowered himself until he could trap her between the chair and his solid frame.

He gripped the arm rest of the chair and narrowed his eyes on her.

"Selene, I told you before and I’ll tell you again, you and I...are never going our separate ways. We are mates and we will remain mates because I will never reject you nor break our mating bond. And if you try it...you will see what happens when a Supreme alpha goes insane."

Selene glared daggers into his face. "Insane? Are you threatening me?"

"Threatening you?" Dante shook his head. "No. If I wanted to threaten you, I’d put a gun to your head, or a knife to your throat. I’m doing neither, Selene. However..."

He let out a deep breath.

"...Do you have any either what a broken mate bond does to a supreme alpha?"

"Why should I care?"

"You should care." His grip on the chair tightened. "Supreme alphas are different. We are powerful, born to be leaders of thousands and millions. But we’re not very favored. A regular alpha could find a mate, reject her and still potentially get a second chance at mate. A beta also has the same chances. But us Supreme Alphas?"

He leaned even closer until she could feel the hotness of his breath on the skin of her face.

"We are not lucky at all. Second chance...it doesn’t exist for us. There is only one mate compatible enough for us. And so, we never reject even if we do not like our so-called mate."

He said, "I didn’t love her, but I kept her because I believed for two years she was my mate. Well..."

Selene blinked her eyes at him.

She looked away, lowering her gaze. "I don’t care."

"You—"

"So what if supreme alphas aren’t so lucky?" She scoffed a laugh. "Wild omegas aren’t either. In fact, finding mates is even harder. Not just that, we’re treated like some abnormality, an outcast. So what exactly are you trying to prove here?"

She held his gaze, expression tight. "If I reject you, I will never find a mate ever again, because we are not favored as well. But here I am still ready to reject you. And you want to know why?"

"Why?" Dante questioned.

"Because I don’t want you. I don’t want a mate, Dante." She shook her head. "I have a responsibility at home. I am the only heir to my father’s park. My sister is a regular omega who already found her mate. So no, I am not willing to be someone’s mate and sit at your pretty little throne as your alpha, bearing you an heir. No."

Raising her hands, she shoved him and stood up from the chair.

"I’d advise you to keep Meris around as your mate and pretend like you never found out I am your mate."

She added, "She’s a regular omega with a relatively rich family. She has no pack to lead later. She wants you and she wants to have an heir for you. She wants to be your Luna. She’s everything you need and she is perfect for you."

"Selend!"

Dante stepped towards her and gripped her by the bicep.

"I don’t want her!"

"Why should I care what you want? You—"

He kissed her.

Her eyes broadened, body going still at what he’d done.

"You bastard!" Selene pushed him on his shoulders, attempting to get away from him.

But he grabbed her by the waist, took the grip of one of her hands and slammed her into the wall.

He kissed her even harder.

She fought him, wriggling under his hold. "Dante, you bas—!"

He lifted her off her feet against the wall and her legs came wrapped around his waist, preventing her fall.

"Why do you have to be so stubborn?" Pausing the kiss for just a moment, Dante asked, "If you were with me, would it kill you?!"

She glared daggers at him, gaze burning with fury.

"I will kill you for this?"

"Kill me?" Dante chuckled. "You and I will never reject each other nor will the mating bond ever be broken. You may not want to be with me now, but I will eventually make you understand that whether or not you want to be with me, you belong to me."

"Belong to you?"

She lifted her free hand and slapped him across the face. "Say that crap one more time."

"You belong to me, Selene."

PAH!

She slapped him again. "If you utter that nonsense again, I will slap you and I’ll keep slapping you until you swallow those words?"

"Never." He scoffed. "You belong to me, Selene."

This time, before that slap could manage to land on his face, he caught her hand midair and leaned in, kissing her jaw. "You belong to me, and in return..."

"...I belong to you. Solely to you, Selene Tobias."