Chapter 3
The first thing I notice is the silence.
There was no panic, no screaming, nothing. Just calm. I look up at the ceiling. It's high, smooth, unfamiliar. Not the dirty rough wood of the rogue camp. Not the smoke-stained beams of the burning shed. No. It was a clean, pristine room.
I'm lying on a bed. An actual bed.
My limbs ache, my throat's dry, and every part of me feels foreign, like I've been pulled from one world and dropped into another. Slowly, I sit up. The sheets slide off me, cool against my skin. I look around; the room was large, incredibly so. The walls are dark, and there's an armchair by the window, drapes half-drawn.
Where am I? This had to be heaven because there was no way I would ever wake up to a place as graceful as this.
A faint scent lingered in the air that if I sniffed hard, I'd almost taste it on my tongue. I felt my wolf, Ella, stir inside of me and smiled. She must've felt the bed too. After all, it's the first time I will be using a bed.
The door breaks open, and I froze, my body going rigid with fear. I slowly look up, and my breath catches at the sight.
It was the same man from my dreams. The silver-eyed man.
He's taller than I remembered, broad shoulders, dark hair mussed like he's been running his hands through it. His gaze is sharp, with a jaw set so tight I'm surprised it hasn't cracked. His silver eyes scan the room—no, not the room. Me.
My heart stutters. My wolf whines in my chest, pawing and restless, her voice rising up in my mind. "Mate."
And just like that, my heart trips over itself.
I scramble off the bed too fast. My legs buckle under me, weak from everything that happened. The floor tilts, and I feel myself falling, but I don't hit the ground.
Strong arms catch me, effortlessly. I gasp, my palms pressing into his chest for balance. I'm close enough to see the flecks in his eyes, close enough to feel the raw heat radiating off him. To smell his scent. Dark chocolate and… The same one I had perceived when I woke up.
For a second… just a second, he stares at me. His jaw unclenches. His fingers twitch around my arms like he doesn't know whether to let go or pull me closer. His Adam's apple throttlings up, I watch as he gulped hard.
Then he jerks back, like I've burned him.
He steps away fast, so fast, his face hardening into something I couldn't understand. His hands curl into fists at his sides, and something flashes through his eyes—rage, confusion, maybe even fear.
"Can't you walk properly?" He says, and I flinched like I'd been reprimanded. His voice is low and rough.
I blink, heart pounding, throat too tight to speak.
Inside me, Ella whines, louder now. There's no mistaking it. She recognizes him. She wants him. "Mate," she breathes inside my head.
No. No, this can't be.
This man. He's the alpha of Obsidian. How can a man of his caliber be my mate?
He doesn't say anything at first.
Just stands there, watching me like I'm something that shouldn't exist… but does.
Then, he shifts slightly, his voice quieter now. "What's your name?"
I hesitate. My lips part, the sound barely rising. "I—"
"Iris."
I freeze.
He said it so surely. Like he's known it all his life. My brows furrow, heart lurching in my chest. "How—how do you know that?"
His eyes flicker, just for a second. Something restless seems to stir behind them. Ever since he stepped in here, he looked like he's been fighting a war inside of him.
He doesn't answer. Not really.
But inside me, Ella perks up, her voice soft in my head. "I told his wolf. I didn't mean to. I just… couldn't help it."
I couldn't help but stare at him. He was exactly like the rumors I've heard. The alpha of Obsidian is tall. His frame was powerful, built like a warrior born and raised for war. His dark hair was slightly tousled, like he'd just run his hands through it in frustration. And his face…
Goddess, his face.
It was all sharp edges, a strong jaw clenched tight, lips pressed into a thin line. But it was the scar that caught my eyes. A single line slicing down the right side of his face, just under the eye. It didn't mar his beauty. If anything, it made him more terrifying… more real.
I open my mouth, the words forming before I can stop them. "You're… my mate."
His eyes flash crimson, and in an instant, he's in front of me. I stagger back, heart leaping into my throat. "You don't say that," he growls, voice low. "You don't even think it."
I swallowed hard, my voice small. "But you are—"
"Don't," he snapped. "Don't say it again."
His eyes were wild for a moment. Like someone else was fighting behind them.
Ella whimpered in my chest. He's fighting his wolf, she whispered.
I took a shaky step back, but his arm shot out instinctively, not touching, just blocking me. Like he didn't know whether to push me away or pull me closer.
He hated this.
And yet… he was trembling.
His entire body is wound tight, like he's barely keeping himself from coming undone. His fists clench and unclench, His wolf is restless. He is restless.
And it's clear… so, so painfully clear that he doesn't want this.
Inside me, Ella lets out a low, painful whine. He doesn't want us, she murmurs.
The thought stings more than I expect.
My throat is dry when I speak, my voice barely above a whisper. "Are you going to reject me?"
Alec's entire body jerks, like I'd struck him.
His silver eyes snap to mine. His fists clench harder, so hard I swear I hear the faintest crack of knuckles.
Seconds stretch between us. I don't know what I expect. A simple "yes"? A flat-out rejection?
But instead, his lips part, his voice low and deep. "No."
I blink, caught off guard. "No?" I repeated.
His jaw clenches. "Not yet."
My stomach twists. Not yet. Like he's only delaying the inevitable. Like I'm just a problem he needs time to deal with.
I swallow the thick lump in my throat. "Why?"
Alec exhales, dragging a hand through his hair, clearly frustrated. Finally, his gaze locks onto mine again, hard and unreadable.
"I'm giving you the opportunity to stay in Obsidian until I figure out what to do with you," he says, voice cold. "No one. Not a single soul must know of our connection."
I should've expected this. I should've known. An Alpha like him, someone strong and powerful wouldn't want a mate like me. A rogue. A nobody.
"Yes, Alpha," I replied, my head lowered.
Alec doesn't move. His eyes linger on me, Just for a second, his gaze drops to my lips, my throat, the place where my pulse thumps against my skin.
Then, just as quickly, he steps back. "Stay here. Don't leave this room. Someone will be here to put you through."
He looks at me for a second longer before stepping out of the room.