Chapter Four
980 Words
I woke up staring at a ceiling I didn’t recognize. At first, I thought I was dreaming…because nothing about the room felt real. The ceiling stretched high above me, detailed with soft carvings and warm gold accents. Tall burgundy curtains framed massive windows, letting in pale morning light that painted the room in quiet elegance. The air smelled faintly of lavender and something clean, expensive.
This wasn’t a bedroom… it was heaven. My heart began to pound… something it has been doing of late.
I sat up too quickly, my head throbbing in protest as memories rushed back in broken fragments….rain pounding against my skin, voices blending into noise, the hall spinning, the sharp ache in my chest before everything went black.
I gasped, gripping the edge of the bed…. Where am I? How did I get here?
I looked down at myself and froze. I was wearing an oversized hoodie, the sleeves swallowing my hands, the fabric soft and unfamiliar. My stomach dropped when I realized there was nothing else underneath. I pulled the hoodie down instinctively, panic spreading through my chest like wildfire.
No. No, no, no.
Before I could spiral further, a door to my left opened.
I stiffened.
A man stepped into the room, and for a second, my mind couldn’t process the sight of him. A towel was wrapped securely around his torso, water still dripping from his hair as he wiped it with another smaller towel. He had the body of a god…and was so relaxed and unbothered, completely out of place in my rising fear.
He stopped when he saw me sitting up.
“Good, you're awake,” he said.
His voice was calm. Too calm.
I stared at him, my pulse thundering in my ears. “Where am I?”
“You fainted,” he replied, lowering the towel in his hands. “Outside the wedding hall. You were soaked though.”
Wedding hall….
The words hit me like a bruise being pressed too hard. My chest tightened, the familiar ache resurfacing, sharp and unwelcome.
“Who are you?” I asked quietly.
He hesitated for half a second before answering. “My name is Kilian. I’m the Alpha’s cousin.”
The Alpha’s cousin? Jacob never told me he had a cousin. But that wasn't too surprising, as he barely told me anything.
The thought slipped from my lips before I could stop it. “Jacob never mentioned you.” Something flickered across his face…amusement, maybe. Or something darker. It was gone before I could be sure.
My confusion quickly turned into anger, hot and defensive. “Why am I dressed like this? What happened to my dress?” I demanded, clutching the hoodie tighter. “Who changed my clothes?”
“All the maids were at the wedding,” he said evenly. “You were drenched. I needed to get you out of the wet clothes before you got sick.”
That didn’t make it better.
“Wait… please don't tell me ..you changed my clothes?!,” I snapped, swinging my legs off the bed to stand up and face him properly.
The movement was a mistake.
I felt the air against my legs and realized…too late…how exposed I was. I tugged the hoodie down quickly, my face burning with embarrassment and fury. When I looked up, I caught it.
A smirk… but it was just for a moment, then his expression hardened, his face going unreadable, like a door being slammed shut.
Of course, I thought bitterly. They’re all the same. Always watching. Always waiting.
“Where are my clothes?” I asked sharply, crossing my arms to shield myself.
Instead of answering right away… he stepped closer. Once. Then again.
My heart started racing for reasons I didn’t want to acknowledge. He stopped just close enough that I could smell the soap on his skin, clean and sharp, grounding and unsettling all at once.
He bent slightly, lowering himself so we were eye to eye.
“Why?” he asked softly. “Aren’t you comfortable in my clothes?”
I swallowed.
I hated that my body reacted before my mind did. Hated the way my breath caught, the way his voice was low, husky, controlled sent a strange shiver down my spine.
I told myself it was fear. It had to be..
“If this is some kind of joke,” I said, forcing my voice steady, “it’s not funny.”
His gaze searched my face for a long moment, something serious settling into his eyes. “You’re wrong about me.”
“I don’t even know you,” I shot back.
“Exactly.”
That answer unsettled me more than anything else.
He straightened slowly, stepping back just enough to give me space, but not enough to make me feel safe. “Your clothes are being cleaned,” he added. “You’ll get them back.”
I exhaled sharply, my fingers tightening around the hem of the hoodie. “Then I want to leave.”
His jaw clenched.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he said.
“And why is that?” I demanded.
Before he could answer, a deep knock echoed through the room.
Kilian’s eyes darkened as he turned toward the door.
“They’re asking for me,” he said quietly.
My stomach twisted. “Who are they?” He looked back at me, his gaze intense now, no trace of amusement left.
“M family,” he replied.
The word sent a chill through me. Family? That means Jacob.
My pulse quickened, dread curling in my chest as a thousand unanswered questions pressed against my ribs. I opened my mouth to speak…to demand explanations, to refuse, to run…
But the door began to open and whatever waited on the other side felt like the beginning of something I wasn’t ready for.
- Writer
