Mateo's POV
Violet's words felt like a blade. Has she always been this way? She'd changed, and that change was driving me insane. Her words echoed once again in my head, and I felt myself snap.
"Either take the next step, or run away like a little bitch."
My wolf answered before my brain could catch up. A low, dangerous growl rumbled out of my chest. She didn't flinch. She just held my gaze, chin lifted, eyes blazing with something that looked dangerously close to triumph.
I'd already marked her. The bond was sealed, there was no undoing it now. And she knew it. She was daring me to finish what I'd started, to prove I wasn't just another brother who took without giving anything back.
I lunged.
