Chapter 3 The Mating Contract

"Are you serious?" She whispered, and her voice was barely heard. The words on the page seemed strange, like they belonged to someone else and not her. A contract for mating. The words appeared to bounce around in her thoughts, hitting her temples.

Darius stayed still. He didn't even move. He only stared at her, his face unreadable, like stone carved perfectly. Elara's hand was above the paper. She wanted to push it away and pretend it wasn't there, but it was too real.

"What is this?" She enquired again, her voice breaking and incredulity heavy in the air. "You can't be serious." She stopped breathing. Nobody owns me.

He looked at her for a split second before going back to the papers in front of him. It was awful how quiet it was after that. She wanted him to explain and make everything clear, but Darius just let the moment sink in.

His steady, calculating gaze never wavered, as if he had already made up his mind about her fate. He opened his mouth and remarked in a calm, quiet voice, "It's exactly what it looks like."

She felt like the room was closing in on her and suffocating her, but she couldn't move. Now her hands were shaking. She didn't get it. This isn't going to happen. She looked at the contract and the lines of text she had already read, but the words seemed strange, like if they belonged to someone else.

Elara yelled, "You can't just claim me like this!" as panic rose in her throat.

Darius didn't say anything; he only watched her with a wicked smirk on his lips.

Elara's fingers gripped the edges of the paper, which crumpled under the pressure. Her heart pounded, sending adrenaline through her body. She said softly to herself, "This isn't me." "This can't be real."

Darius leaned back in his chair and kept his steely eyes on hers. He didn't say anything. He stood up straight, as if this was a normal chat for him. A long way from the tempest of feelings in Elara's chest.

Her defiance grew in waves, as if it could protect her from the circumstances she was in. She responded, "I won't sign it," her voice strong but scared. "I won't be anyone's property."

Something flashed in Darius's eyes, but he didn't say anything and his lips got thin. The room was really quiet. It was like the quiet before the storm.

He said her name, "Elara," like a warning, and his voice didn't change. "You don't have a choice."

She felt her chest constrict at what he said, but she pushed the feeling away and tried to stand erect. "I have every choice," she said back, her wrath finally bursting through the numbness. "You can't make me do this."

She looked down at the document again, and the words started to blur as her wrath grew. It seemed like a trap, like a rope was tightening around her neck. She wouldn't let him win.

Darius got up suddenly, and the chair he was sitting in made a loud noise as it scraped across the floor. Elara stopped moving, and her breath caught in her throat as they got closer. She felt every muscle in her body tighten as she got ready for what he might do next.

He was too close now; he was taller than her. His presence was like a shadow that filled the room and everything around them. "You have no choice," he said again, his voice low and almost a snarl.

Elara felt worse after hearing Darius's comments than any blow. The weight of them sank in her chest, taking away her will to fight. Her throat was dry and her hands were sweaty as she stared up at him. She wanted to fight with him and yell at him, but the strength in his stare stopped her.

The contract, that stupid document, was in the way of their worlds. The words danced in front of her, making fun of her.

Her eyes slowly rose to meet his. There was a coldness in his eyes that she had never seen before, yet there was something else there as well. A flash of something darker. He wasn't just doing this because he had to. No, this was more than that.

The air was full of tension between them. Elara could almost feel the pull of his presence, as if the force of gravity had changed. She hated that it had an effect on her. She hated that a part of her reacted to him.

Finally, she was able to enquire, "What is this?" in a hushed voice. "What do you want from me?"

Darius moved closer, and the room appeared to get even smaller. The air become thick and heavy, pushing in on her from all sides. She could feel the heat coming off of him. It felt like he was the most important thing in her life.

He whispered softly, "You're mine, Elara," as if it were a reality. "This contract is just the beginning, whether you like it or not."

Her heart raced and every nerve was on edge. "I don't want this," she said, squeezing her fists at her sides. But the trembling in her voice gave her away-there was a part of her that wanted to trust him.

Darius merely said, "You will." His eyes softened just a little, and that's when she knew she was already in too deep.

Elara's breathing was shallow as she stood her ground and faced Darius across the icy room. She couldn't stop thinking about what the contract said, yet she still stood her ground. "I won't do this," she murmured, her voice quivering as she tried to maintain calm. "You can't make me."

Darius didn't say anything and didn't move, but his eyes were set on hers with a look that made her feel like they could see right through her. He was like a hurricane, coming in from all sides.

She felt small because of how heavy it was. Her heart raced, and even though she had said what she had said, a part of her couldn't get away from how powerful he was. Every instinct told her to fight, yet something inside her kept her from moving.

"You think you have a choice?" It was hard to hear his voice, but it wrapped around her like a chain. "You don't." Not anymore."

Elara's fists were clinched at her sides, and her nails were pressing into her palms. The air was thick with tension, and it felt like the world had shrunk to just the two of them. Every beat of her heart seemed to echo in the silence.

"What if I say no?" She fought back, even though her body was telling her to give up.

He didn't answer right away. Darius stood up instead, making his presence even more imposing. He moved slowly and on purpose, taking one step towards her and then another.

The tension between them was like a live wire. "You'll learn soon enough," he continued softly, his voice nearly a whisper now. "Resistance is useless."

He stopped, only a few inches away from her. Her heart raced, and her chest felt tight because of how hard he was looking at her. She saw something more in his eyes, something she didn't know. There was a flash of something beneath the frigid surface, something raw and menacing. Something that made her want to flee away but also become closer.

Elara's knees were about to give way. Her body was begging for room and air. She tried to get away, but Darius was too fast. He moved, closing the gap between them with alarming speed, his presence absorbing the distance.

Her chest rose and fell in an irregular way, and her breath caught. She was at a loss for what to do. Her instincts screamed her to run away from the tremendous force he emanated, but her feet stuck in place, as if they were tied to the floor.

"Let go of me," she said, her voice scratchy.

He didn't have to answer. Darius grabbed her chin with one hand and made her gaze up at him. His touch was icy and forceful, like a force of nature. Her heart raced in her chest, and her body reacted to his touch in a way she couldn't stop.

"What do you want from me?" Elara muttered, her voice shaking. "Why are you doing this?"

He didn't answer right away. The world seemed to stop around them as his black eyes searched hers with a passion that took her breath away. There was something there that flickered, like a flash of heat or something that wasn't completely cold. For a short while, it seemed like she was the only thing that mattered in the world.

Then, without warning, he dragged her to him in one quick action. His lips caught hers in a kiss that was as icy and commanding as he was.

Elara stopped moving, her mind racing. She didn't think this would happen. She wanted to struggle and get away, but her body wouldn't let her. Her breath caught as his lips pressed harder against hers, and the taste was intense and too much. She attempted to get away, but he held on tighter.

She had never had a kiss like that before. It wasn't love; it was possession. It wasn't kind; it was raw and strong, and it made her feel dizzy with feelings she didn't comprehend.

Her heart beat, and for the first time since she got there, she didn't feel scared. She despised the strange, disturbing warmth that surged through her chest. She hated how it felt like he was pulling her down and she couldn't stop it.

Elara was left breathless and her heart raced in her ears as he finally broke the kiss. She stood there with her eyes wide open, her mind racing, not sure what had just transpired.

Darius stepped back, never taking his eyes off of hers. His chest rose and fell as if he, too, had felt the heat. "Now you know," he replied in a low, steady voice. "You are mine."