You Wouldn't Dare (Khaos Trilogy Book 1), стр. 42

“You didn’t seem to mind earlier,” he said with a devilish grin, nuzzling into my neck. I bit down on my lip to stop the moan from escaping my throat.

Not that it mattered. He knew well the effect he had on me.

“Okay, so maybe you can call me those names sometimes.” I said shyly, grateful that he was still sucking on the pulse in my neck so he couldn’t see the way my cheeks flamed.

“You’re such a naughty girl,” he whispered. I felt my stomach tighten and knew that I had to stop this before it went too far.

“You--” he cut me off with a kiss.

“I know what you’re going to say, and I’m working on it, Violet. I just need you to help me out now and then. There will be times when my temper gets the better of me. I don’t know how else to behave. But with your help, I can get there.”

“And if you won’t listen? If you’re too far gone in your temper to be reasoned with?”

“I won’t--”

“Humour me,” I insisted.

Khaos paused for a moment, a look of fear crossing his face before he broke out into a wide grin, “I’ll make you a room all of your own, your special escape room. If I’m becoming overbearing and a brute, walk away from me and enter your room. I make a solum swear to the Moon Goddess to never enter your little sanctuary.” He laid his palm across his chest as he made his pledge.

“That won’t be necessary, you idiot!” I laughed, slapping him on the arm. “I trust you.” I said, surprising myself with how much I meant this.

He placed his fingers under my chin and raised my face up to his, “you won’t regret this, I promise. Stay with me?” He breathed, kissing along my jawline and up to my lips.

“Okay,” I whispered back against his lips, deepening the kiss.

“Now, where were we?” Khaos chuckled, bringing his hands up to my chest as we sank back against the carpet together.

Okay. Breathe. Just breathe. It’s simple: in-out, in-out. Slow and steady, with deep breaths. You can do this. It’s just a pack meeting.

I was fighting myself, determined not to go to this meeting, yet determined not to miss it. The entire pack already hated me; I was sure of it. Well, despite Jasmine, who had in fact been an angel when we met. Khaos assured me that no opinion of me had been formed as yet, that they all understood I was under a lot of pressure - I had been ripped away from my home and loved ones and dumped in the middle of a fully formed pack without a single connection with anybody other than my mate. Some even took my side, saying it was disrespectful that Khaos hadn’t even given me a chance to say goodbye, that his actions had been unforgivable.

It’s funny how quickly I forgot that.

I had judged him so quickly based on the image he projected on the surface. A few days in his company had taught me I was more like my mother than I thought, making snap judgements based on gossip and hearsay.

More and more wolves crowded into the large hall, most of them taking their seats on the many chairs provided, a few standing guard at the doors. I glanced around looking for Khaos and instead met the eyes of the last wolf I wanted to see.

“Well, well, well. I thought Khaos would be done with you by now.” He snarled at me with a nasty smirk on his face.

“Hello again, Beta Morgan.”

He pressed up close to me, brushing the hair off my shoulder and tutted.

“Mm-hmm, just as I thought, all bark, no bite.” He ran his finger up and down my neck, his eyes widening. “What’s this? No mark, I see. Not as special as you thought - are you, princess?”

“Get that finger off my neck, grandpa, before I ram it up your arsehole.” He laughed at my bravado, pressing even closer to me, and I swallowed down the lump of fear that turned up in my throat.

“Isn’t that the most delicious smell? There’s nothing quite like a woman’s fear to whet a man’s appetite. Tell me--”

“Morgan!” A loud man’s voice boomed out, pulling Morgan away from me. My knees went weak with relief when I noticed Jasmine, who immediately came to my side as the two males barked at each other.

“Thank you,” I whispered as she slipped her arm through mine.

“Don’t mention it. Morgan is a dick. He always has been. Goddess knows why Khaos chose him as a Beta. That’s my brother, Arthur,’’ she inclined her head towards my rescuer as he marched Morgan away from me and towards the other warriors. “The sooner you join our pack, the better. It’s arseholes like Morgan that make the mind-link come in handy.”

She offered me to join her with the other ladies, but I declined, more decided than ever to remain on the side-lines. My anxiety was playing with me, letting me know that many other wolves would feel the same way towards me as Morgan did, and no amount of persuasion could convince me otherwise.

Jasmine gave me one last concerned glance as she made her way down the walkway and headed for her seat.

The crowd quietened as Khaos entered. Almost immediately his eyes found mine, calming my nerves in a way I hadn’t thought possible. He shot me a small wink and my knees went weak, a stupid smile splitting across my face.

Everything was going to be okay.

The meeting went on for a while. I didn’t take much notice of the points that were made, but what impressed me was the fact that every wolf