21: confrontation
1550 Words
ARIANA
My body relaxed into the soft mattress, sore but it was much better than I would feel if Callen had not healed me so I guess it was not that bad. My eyes fluttered shut.
He’d told me to rest. And I wanted to. Gods knew I needed it.
But my mind wouldn’t stop racing.
The mark on my neck still pulsed faintly, a quiet thrum under my skin that I tried to ignore. I could feel him now. I could feel Troye. He was like smeared into my skin and it was causing me much more discomfort than my sore body..
I hated it.
I hated him.
I wanted peace.
I wanted to be alone.
So when the door creaked open again barely a few minutes later, my heart sank. Of course the universe will do everything but give me what I wanted. Very typical.
I thought maybe it was Callen again. Or a maid.
But it wasn’t.
The second I caught the scent of leather and smoke, I knew.
Vlad.
I sat up slowly, already dreading the sight of him.
He strolled in like he owned the place, smug as ever, arms crossed over his chest, eyes gleaming with that same twisted amusement he wore when he watched me almost get beaten.
“Look at you,” he said with a grin. “Still breathing. I have to admit, I didn’t think you’d survive all that.”
I didn’t respond. I was too tired. Too sore.
“You should’ve just agreed to my offer when you had the chance,” he continued, stepping closer to the bed. “Could’ve avoided all that pain. A kiss wasn’t much to ask, was it?”
“Please leave me alone,” I whispered. My voice was hoarse, barely above a breath and I really hoped he would listen because I had way bigger problems than him right now.
He tilted his head. “What’s wrong? Not feeling grateful for your punishment?”
I turned my face away from him. I didn’t want to cry again, not in front of him.
But the pain was rising all over again—not the physical kind this time.
The one that came from being treated like nothing. Like trash. Here I was fighting for my life and still having to deal with him.
He leaned closer, his voice dropping. “I hope you didn’t actually think you escaped me just because you took those strokes like a little soldier.”
I clenched my jaw. He couldn’t possibly be thinking about that now? Could he? How much of a horrible person could he possibly be?
He chuckled. “Reporting me to the king? What a joke. What did you think that would accomplish? That anyone would take your side? You’re an omega. A rogue. They’ll believe anyone before they ever believe you.”
His words cut deeper than he knew.
Because I had believed, for a brief moment, that someone might help me. That being the Alpha King’s mate—even in name—might offer me a sliver of safety.
But I was wrong.
And Vlad knew it.
“Leave,” I said again, firmer this time even though my hands trembled under the blanket.
He didn’t.
He crouched near the edge of the bed, his tone mockingly soft. “On what condition? You think just because you got through the flogging that means I’m going to back off?”
I said nothing.
He smiled, slow and cruel. “You’re in my building now. Under my roof. And you really think I’m going to let you live in peace?”
I turned my face away from him again, blinking back the heat in my eyes.
He stood and leaned in closer, his breath brushing my ear.
“You belong to the palace now, sure. But don’t forget—you belonged to me first.”
“I never did,” I whispered bitterly.
He pulled back and laughed like I’d told a joke. “Keep telling yourself that. You’ll see. One way or another, I’ll make sure you remember.” He said grinning like the devil and a chill ran down my spine just thinking about how much I had to worry about. All of this was too much trouble for one person to handle. I tried to breathe but even than seemed like a chore.
He’d decided I was his once, and now he was determined to make sure I suffered for slipping away.
The worst part?
I never knew he was this cruel.
When we were together, Vlad had been charming. Sweet. He used to hold my hand like I was the most delicate thing in the world, smile at me in public, whisper promises when no one was listening.
I thought I knew him. I thought I had found the most wonderful person in the world. I thought I found diamond but it turns out it was just a shiny rock and it hurt like hell because this shiny rock was about to cost me my life. My happiness. This shiny rock was slowly rolling away with my sanity.
How could I have trusted him? There must have been signs that he was a freaking psychopath, was I so blind that I missed all the red flags? Just how drunk in love was I that could not see what was right in front of me?
But now I realized—I only knew the version he wanted me to see.
The version he used to win a bet.
He’d never loved me. Never even liked me.
And yet… he wouldn’t leave me alone.
Why?
Why the hell would he not leave me alone? I screamed in my head, struggling to keep the tears away.
Why was he still haunting me like this? He had Rue now. He picked her. She was his mate, wasn’t she? She was the one he kissed in front of everyone. The one he wanted.
So why was he still obsessed with ruining me? What the hell did I do so wrong?
My heart pounded dully as I sat up straighter, pulling the blanket tighter around myself. I tried to calm my breathing, tried to forget the sharpness in his voice and the look in his eyes.
Then I felt it.
His gaze, still on me.
I looked up just in time to see his eyes narrowing… right at my throat.
He stepped forward suddenly and I flinched.
“What’s that?” he snapped.
Before I could react, he was beside the bed, grabbing my arm and yanking me sideways. The blanket fell off my shoulder, exposing the side of my neck.
His grip dug into my arm as he stared at the mark—the bite.
His face contorted with confusion, then something darker.
“Who marked you?” he shouted, face inches from mine. “Who the hell marked you?!”
I recoiled, heart thudding painfully, throat too dry to speak. He was invading all my personal space and almost taking all the air I could breathe away. I realized he was still glaring at me and waiting for an answer and I was about to say something.
But I didn’t have to.
A voice came from the doorway—deep, low, and laced with a little something that made you want to obey everything that came out of his mouth.
“I did.”
The air in the room shifted like a storm was passing through.
Vlad and I both turned at the same time.
There he was.
Troye.
Framed in the doorway like a shadow given form, eyes dark and unreadable, broad shoulders relaxed like he hadn’t just dropped a bomb into the room.
He looked so effortlessly in control… so powerful… so him.
And gods help me—my breath caught.
I stared at him, and everything in me suddenly reacted in ways I didn’t understand.
My hands trembled, my heart kicked faster, and a strange heat unfurled low in my belly.
His scent—how did it smell even stronger now? Richer. Like the woods after rain. Sharp. Warm. Addicting.
I could hardly breathe.
I wanted him to come closer.
I needed him closer.
And that terrified me.
What was happening to me? What the hell was going on? Was I finally losing my mind?
I looked away quickly, pressing my back to the pillows as far as I could, trying to calm the feverish thoughts racing through my mind.
Why was I reacting like this? Why was every inch of me suddenly aware of him? Why did his smell make me want to melt into a puddle of water that smelled just like him? Why?
Why?
Why!?
I didn’t want him. I hated him.
Didn’t I?
But even now, I was gripping the sheets just to stop myself from leaning forward.
Vlad looked back and forth between us, eyes wide with disbelief.
“You?” he growled, stepping forward. “You marked her?”
Troye didn’t answer him.
He didn’t need to.
The tension between them was thick and crackling, but I couldn’t look away from Troye.
Not when he was looking straight at me.
And not when I couldn’t tell whether I wanted to scream…
…or reach for him.
- Writer
