Veronica's Fallacy

34.

-HIM-

It felt like she had lodged a knife in my chest when she claimed that our bond was fake. There was nothing more painful than this. Fake bonds did exist, and I had heard of them and seen them in the past enough times, but I was sure ours was real.

I could feel my bond buzzing with the need for her in every cell of my body ever since I saw her. A real bond could be felt deep into the soul as if it had been there all along but awoken upon meeting the one with whom you were supposed to fulfil the bond.

I had felt that sense of awakening when I met Veronica for the first time... and she had run away then. It hurt me. I had to constrain myself from going after her and claiming her. She awakened the bond and my wolf by inciting him to pursue her like a predator with that stunt. As I watched her slowly take her steps back, I wondered if she would run tonight.

I wasn't going to allow that. No.

"You're afraid to find out it's fake, or else you'd have given it a chance before insulting the bond, Veronica," I challenged. At first, it seemed like she wanted to say more hurtful things about the bond, but instead, she glared at me and ran.

She ran from me.

Again.

This time, I couldn't control my wolf. He took over me and let out a thunderous growl that shook the walls and the glasses in the house. I heard Veronica shriek as she reached the ground floor and ran towards the backdoor.

I followed her, moving at a speed I hadn't used in a long time. Chasing my mate put my wolf on edge. He wanted to burst out of my skin and go after her and claim her and mark her and show her how real this bond was. I had been trying to suppress him so much for such a long time that he finally had enough of me.

Now, he was out, ready to claim his long-awaited mate. As soon as I was downstairs, I found Veronica opening the backdoor. Before she could slip out, I stepped behind her and slammed the door shut, trapping her against it. She let out a startled cry but didn't dare to turn around to face me.

"Where are you running, mate?" My wolf asked her. My voice came out deeper and guttural, with no hint of humane.

"Please let me go," She pleaded, her voice a meek whisper.

"You seem to love running away from me," I stated. "You want to go? I will let you go. You can run into the woods all night, but know this— I'll come after you, and once I catch you, you won't be running again," I promised her darkly. She shuddered as I pressed my front against her back. A whimper left her lips when I scraped my canines on her neck where I was planning to mark her. It made her shiver again, giving her an idea of what would follow.

"Now go," I said, pulling myself back from her. "Go and hide in the woods and pray that I don't find you before the sunrise,"

I watched her after taking a step back. My whole being screamed at me to claim her, but I wanted to give her a last chance. I wanted to see if she'd run away from me again. It'd hurt me if she did so, but I prepared myself for whatever she got for me. My wolf was ready to go after her and complete the mating.

However, Veronica didn't move. She stood at the gate with her back to me and breathing hard. Seconds turned into minutes, but none of us moved.

"What happened, mate?" I asked, my voice chilling, "Don't you want to run anymore?"

She didn't move for a long moment and slowly turned around to face me. Her eyes were wide with dread and something else. I could hear her heart ramming against her sternum. She regarded me for a few seconds before straightening up.

Determination flashed in her eyes.

"Alright then," She said. "Let's do it. I'll run into the woods, and if you fail to catch me, this ends," I wasn't expecting her to be bold enough to challenge me openly. It surprised me but, at the same time, made me more eager to have her. I scanned her from head to toe, reminding myself of the prize.

"Run," I growled at her, more than ready to go after her and claim her forever. She gave me a lingering look and was about to turn around when the doorbell startled us. Veronica froze and looked at me. I contemplated ignoring whoever it was, but the doorbell rang repeatedly.

I growled and went to see who had a death wish. As soon as I opened the door, I was met with Karrson's annoying grinning face. He looked slightly taken aback to see my pitch-black eyes, but he didn't pay any heed to it.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, my voice still deep and animalistic, but it didn't matter to him as he pushed me back and walked inside the house.

"I needed to see you," He answered, "I found— who is that?" He asked abruptly. I closed the door to find Karrson heading towards Veronica.

"Karrson," I growled. The warning was clear in my voice, but that ludicrous dhampir didn't seem to care. He was more interested in my mate and couldn't have chosen a worse time for that.

"Hello there, I'm Karrson. Grim's best friend," Karrson introduced himself formally while I stood behind him, grinding my jaw. I could snap him in half, and I knew he could sense my rage radiating off my body, but he didn't seem to give a fuck about it at all.

"My name is Veronica," My mate answered. The tremble in her voice made Karrson look between us. He whistled and commented, "I hope I didn't interrupt something,"

~

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