Jamie
He's pissed.
Of course, he is, but he can't keep me here against my will. He can't make me his fucking prisoner. He's still watching me. His friend, or whatever the hell he is, is tapping his foot impatiently. I don't know what any of this is, and I am terrified.
"Alpha, you should get him back upstairs." Elliot, his friend or whatever, says grimly. I roll my eyes because this controlling bullshit needs to stop. I am not one to be pushed around like this. I don't care about any of the things they're saying.
Bonds?
Marks?
Claims?
It's all bullshit.
"Let's finish this conversation in my room," Adrian tells me coldly. Something tugs inside me, and I want to let out a scream of frustration.
I am allowed to leave if I want to.
"I want to go back to school."
He frowns, running his fingers through his hair. The frustration is evident in his eyes. "We had this conversation before. It's safer here for you."
I roll my eyes. "I don't give a fuck, Adrian. I want to go home." My tone is stern. I am trying to put my foot down, but I don't think it's working. He has a commanding presence, one that makes everyone listen to him.
Alpha.
That's what they call him.
He's the leader.
"Please listen to me when I say this, I need you to go upstairs right now." I want to be stubborn, and fuck, I should be, but there's something in his eyes. Fear, worry. Something that tells me that doing
I let out a sigh of frustration as I walk in the direction of the stairs. I hear his footsteps, but I don't look back. I'm so angry, and I don't know how to handle it all. Right now, I have contradicting feelings. I want to leave, but at the same time, something is tugging at me and telling me to stay.
The feeling is like a voice inside me.
Once inside the room, I finally look at him. His eyes are dark, and there's a pull that I can't get away from.
"I'm sorry," he breathes out, taking a step closer to me.
I shake my head. "Please don't keep me locked here."
He sighs. "I don't want to. I want to talk to you. Tell you the truth. You're so important to me, and you have no clue."
"She said you're a wolf. The alpha. That you marked me, why didn't you tell me all this?"
He runs his fingers through his hair. "I didn't want to scare you off. I didn't want to put it all on you at once."
"So you lied, and still chose to fucking mark me, or whatever?"
"I'm sorry, Jamie. I'll tell you everything."
"Now."
He shakes his head. "I have to go downstairs. I need to sort this out before it goes south, but we'll talk when I get back."
I don't say anything because I'm exhausted. The bite on my neck stings, and all I want is to just leave this place.
He watches me for a couple of seconds before he walks out of the room. The silence after he leaves is deafening. The slam of the door echoes down the hall, and then, there's nothing. No footsteps, no voices, just my heart pounding like I ran here instead of getting dragged. I press my hands to my face, trying to breathe, trying to think. The walls feel too close, the air feels too fucking thick.
I am fucking losing my mind.
He's a wolf. He marked me. And the people coming here, the "council", they're not just people.
I can still hear the sound in his voice when he said her name. Marissa. It wasn't just anger; it was fear. That's what rattles me the most. Adrian doesn't scare easily, but the thought of her and the council in the same sentence had his pulse ticking hard enough that I could feel it in the air.
I should stay put. I should listen to him for once. But my chest is so tight I can barely breathe.
So I move.
Quietly.
The house is too big, all stone and echoing hallways, and every step feels like I'm walking into something I'm not supposed to see. I follow the sound of voices, low and tense, toward the front of the house.
When I reach the end of the hall, I see shadows moving through the frosted glass of the entryway, tall figures, sharp postures, all of them radiating the kind of power that makes my stomach twist.
"—You can't be serious," someone says. A woman's voice, calm and sharp. "You think the council won't notice the bond?"
Adrian's voice answers, low but unmistakable. "They already do. What they don't know is who carries it."
I press myself against the wall, barely breathing.
Another voice, rougher, older. "You've put us all in danger, Adrian. The Moon doesn't make mistakes. If this bond was hidden, there must be a reason. It shouldn't exist."
"Maybe the Moon's tired of letting you decide what's allowed to exist," Adrian snaps back.
There's a scuffle, movement, a low growl that makes the hairs on my arms rise, and then silence.
My throat feels dry. I edge closer, just enough to catch a glimpse through the crack in the door.
Three people stand inside: a woman with silver hair and eyes like frost; a tall man in a suit whose presence screams authority; and Adrian, standing between them and the staircase, between them and me.
His shoulders are tense, his voice low and dangerous. "You'll get nothing from me tonight. You want answers? Wait."
The silver-haired woman's tone doesn't change, but the threat in it is cold and precise. "If we find out you're lying to us, Alpha, it won't be just your position at stake. You know that."
Adrian doesn't move. Doesn't even blink. "I'm not lying."
"You're protecting someone," she says.
He exhales slowly, gaze cutting toward the hallway, toward me, though he doesn't know I'm there. "That's my job."
They stare at each other for a long moment before the older man steps forward, adjusting his cufflinks. "You have until the next full moon," he says. "If you haven't come forward by then, we'll assume the worst."
And then they're gone, the front door opening, closing, silence falling in their wake.
I realise I've been holding my breath.
I back away, careful not to make a sound, heart hammering so hard it hurts. My body's still trembling from the argument, from hearing them talk about me like I'm some secret that shouldn't exist.
When I finally make it back to my room, I sink onto the bed, staring at my hands.
The mark at my throat throbs in time with my pulse.
And for the first time since this started, I'm not just scared of what's happening to me.
I'm scared of what's going to happen to him.