ENTANGLED FATE

chapter 3 Ella

The door slammed open.

For a second, the torchlight flared against steel armor, and every instinct in me screamed to run. Chains clinked as I tried to stand, but the silver cuffs bit into my wrists. My body was still weak from the blood loss. My pride, less so.

On your feet.

The voice was low, edged with command. The kind that vibrated in the bones. Two guards yanked me up before I could decide if it was worth obeying.

Then he walked in.

Alpha Morgan.

The air shifted before he spoke heavier, sharper. He wasn’t what I expected. Younger, but his presence filled the cell Power coiled off him in waves that made Storm go silent in my head.

He stopped a few feet away, gaze sweeping over me. Cold. Assessing.

So, he said, voice steady as steel. You’re the rogue who crossed my border.

I didn’t cross anything. My throat scraped with each word. I was attacked. I ran.

His eyes narrowed. You ran into Atlas territory. Convenient.

I lifted my chin. I didn’t know where I was. Or maybe you think rogues come here for the hospitality?

One of the guards shifted, like he expected me to be struck. Morgan didn’t move. That was worse. His control felt like a blade sharp, careful, ready.

Storm stirred, cautious. He’s too calm. Dangerous calm.

Morgan circled once, slow. You smell of rogues. Their blood. Their scent.

They attacked me.

His voice dropped lower. You killed them.

I met his eyes. Would you rather I died instead?

For a second, something shifted behind his gaze, something not cold, but wounded. Then it was gone.

He stepped closer. For some weird reason, my body vibrated and caught his scent before he spoke again. Clean steel. Pine. Smoke.

And then

He caught mine.

Everything stopped.

He froze mid-breath, head tilting slightly as if listening to something only he could hear. The air between us cracked like a spark catching dry wood. His pupils flared, dark swallowing gold.

Storm gasped inside me. Ella..

A pulse shot through my chest, hard enough to steal air. My knees buckled, and the world shifted. The sound of the dungeon faded until all that existed was the space between us.

It wasn’t recognition. It was a collision.

Heat surged from my core, racing up my spine. My heartbeat matched his, echoing, wild. Every instinct screamed that I knew him, that he was mine

No. Not mine.

I stumbled back, chains clattering. What did you just…

Morgan’s breathing had changed, ragged, forced. His wolf was clawing beneath the surface; I could feel it, like an echo of my own.

Then he called my name…

Ella…what..this is not happening I have never in my homeless life met this man before

Just one word, but it hit like a strike of thunder. My name in his mouth felt too intimate, too knowing.

How do you..I stopped, because he was already backing away, face pale under the torchlight. His control cracked for the first time.

No, he muttered. No, this—this isn’t—

Storm growled, fierce and trembling. He’s our mate…Mate from which planet

The truth slammed into me with the same merciless force. The scent, the heat, the pull wasn't random. It was carefully carried out

But fate had a sick sense of humor.

Because this Alpha, this cold, ruthless man, was the one I’d heard stories about. The most possessive, hot-tempered, and grieving one…that's who fate wants for me..being an orphan isn't enough punishment fate tops it up with a grieving man cold and rude..this is definitely the end of me

Morgan turned sharply toward the guards. Out. All of you.

They hesitated, glancing between us. One opened his mouth to protest, but a single look from him sent them running. The door slammed shut, and silence pressed close again.

I forced my voice to work. What just happened?

His jaw flexed. Nothing.

Don’t lie to me.

He moved so fast I didn’t see him one moment across the room, the next inches from me. The bond pulsed between us, visible in his eyes, felt in my skin.

You think this means something? He hissed. It doesn’t.

Then why can’t you breathe either?

His lips thinned. Because it’s a curse. That’s what it is. A cruel one.

Storm growled. He’s denying the bond.

I swallowed hard. You can’t just—

Oh, I can. He turned away, pacing, running a hand through his hair like he could tear the feeling out. The Moon Goddess made a mistake.

I answered him immediately..she definitely did

He stopped. His eyes found mine again haunted now, but hard. You have no idea what you’ve walked into, rogue.

I didn’t walk into anything. You caught me bleeding in your forest.

His expression twisted grief, fury, something deeper. My mate is dead.

The words hit like a stone to the chest.

For a heartbeat, I almost pitied him.

Storm whispered, He’s broken.

Morgan turned back to me, and when he spoke again, his voice was low, dangerous. You want to live? Then you’ll help yourself.

I blinked. Help myself?

He stepped closer again, close enough that the heat of the bond throbbed in the air. My pack is tearing itself apart. They need their Luna. They need hope. You’ll pretend to be her.

My breath caught. You want me to lie. You stand before me, rejecting me like a low life, and you tell me to my face to fake a life with you because your pack is dying. I will not

He didn’t flinch..

And if I refuse?

His eyes hardened to stone. Then you die.

Storm roared in protest, her fury lighting my veins. He can’t—..what type of a mate is this

But I could see it in his face. He could.

I forced my chin up, swallowing the fear. Had you killed your mate?

Something broke in his gaze then pain, regret, everything he was fighting against. You’re not my mate, he said softly, almost like convincing himself. You’re a mistake from the moon goddess

The words cut deep. Deeper than they should have.

Silence settled again. The air between us still pulsed with that unwanted heat, the bond alive and refusing to fade.

Finally, I nodded once. Fine. I’ll play your Luna…and for how long I asked in hesitation

Morgan’s expression didn’t change, but the muscle in his jaw eased, just slightly. Until my pack is settled, until the elders of council get off my case, until then, you will be free to walk out of Atlas alive.WHAT

For your sake, he said, turning toward the door, like everything is perfectly okay.

As he left, the scent of pine and smoke lingered behind him. Storm was quiet for a long time before she spoke.

You felt it too, she said softly. He’s lying to himself…I don't care about him; he rejected me and still wants to use me. Like I have no choice

I pressed my head against the stone in front of me, breath trembling. I know

The bond still burned beneath my skin, bright and unwanted.

And for the first time, I wasn’t sure if surviving was the same as winning.