Rejection
918 Words
The door closed behind Kaela with a loud click. The sound echoed through the corridor. She hated how much it sounded like a prison.
Darius walked beside her in silence while two guards followed several steps behind. The journey back to the holding cells felt longer than before, maybe because her mind refused to stop replaying what had happened. Mate.
The word echoed endlessly inside her head.
Mate.
She almost laughed.
Out of all the wolves in the world, fate had chosen the Alpha of Blackthorne?
Impossible. Ridiculous. Cruel.
Kaela clenched her jaw and kept walking.
"You look like you're planning murder."
Darius's voice broke the silence.
She glanced at him. "Maybe I am."
To her surprise, he looked amused.
"Good. Means you're still alive."
Kaela rolled her eyes.
The Beta studied her for a moment.
"You know," he said carefully, "you're the first person who's ever spoken to Ronan that way and survived."
"Congratulations to me."
"I'm serious."
"So am I."
Darius sighed.
Something told her he did that a lot around Ronan.
They reached the cell.
One guard stepped forward to unlock it. Kaela paused before entering.
"Does he always act like that?"
The question slipped out before she could stop it.
Darius raised an eyebrow.
"Like what?"
"Like the world personally offended him."
A laugh escaped him. A real laugh this time.
"Actually, yes."
Kaela hated that she felt slightly better hearing that. Only slightly.
The door closed behind her moments later.
The lock clicked. Silence returned.
She sat on the narrow bed and stared at the wall, then at the floor, then at the ceiling.
Anything to avoid thinking.
Unfortunately, her thoughts ignored her.
You smell like my mate.
Her stomach twisted. Then came the second part.
But I don't want one, and I certainly don't want you.
Those words should not have bothered her. They absolutely should not have bothered her. She didn't know him, didn't trust him, didn't even like him.
Yet somehow they still stung.
Kaela groaned and buried her face in her hands.
"This is stupid."
Very stupid.
Outside the cell, footsteps passed occasionally.
Guards changing shifts. Pack members moving around.
Normal life.
Meanwhile her entire world seemed determined to become more complicated every hour.
Hours passed slowly. Afternoon arrived. Then evening.
No visitors came. No one questioned her. No one brought her anywhere.
For the first time since her capture, she was left completely alone. And she hated it.
Because when she was alone, the memories came back. Fire. Smoke. Screaming. A woman's voice.
Run, Kaela.
Tears burned unexpectedly behind her eyes. She squeezed them shut immediately.
No. Not here. Not now. She refused to cry. Especially in Blackthorne.
A sharp pain suddenly shot through her head. Kaela gasped.
The memory flashed harder this time.
A large room. Blood on the floor. A silver crest carved into stone. A man kneeling.
Then.... Nothing. The vision disappeared as quickly as it came.
Kaela grabbed the edge of the bed breathing hard.
What was happening to her? The memories were becoming stronger. More frequent and somehow that frightened her more than the hunters ever had because deep down, she knew one thing.... The answers were hidden inside those memories.
Answers someone had worked very hard to bury. A loud knock against the bars made her jump. A young guard stood outside the cell.
"Nervous?"
Kaela glared at him.
"I'm considering ways to throw this bed at your head."
The guard smirked. Then his expression disappeared. Someone approached behind him.
A woman. Blonde hair, green eyes.
Selene. The woman from earlier.
The moment Selene saw Kaela, something cold entered her gaze. Not dislike. Not annoyance. Something worse.
Hatred.
Kaela frowned. What had she ever done to this woman?
The guard quickly stepped aside.
Selene approached the bars. Elegant, Perfect, dangerous.
For several seconds she simply stared. Then she spoke.
"You should leave."
Kaela blinked. "What?"
"You heard me."
Kaela laughed softly. "I don't think I have much control over that right now."
Selene's jaw tightened.
"You don't belong here."
"Neither do the bars, but here we are." That definitely wasn't the right thing to say.
Selene's eyes darkened.
"You don't understand what you're interfering with."
Now Kaela was confused. "Interfering with what?"
Silence. Then Selene leaned slightly closer.
"Some advice." Her voice lowered. "Dangerous things happen to people who stay where they aren't wanted."
A chill slid down Kaela's spine. Not because of the threat. Because she meant it.
Before Kaela could respond, Selene stepped back.
The cold mask returned to her face. Then she walked away, without another word.
The guard followed quickly leaving Kaela alone again.
This time with even more questions... What exactly was Selene afraid of?
And why did it feel like the answer had something to do with Ronan?
Night settled over Blackthorne. The settlement grew quieter. Eventually even the footsteps outside disappeared.
Kaela lay on the bed staring at the darkness unable to sleep.
A strange feeling lingered beneath her skin. Restlessness, unease like something was coming.
Then suddenly.... A howl shattered the silence.
Not one, several.
The sound echoed across the entire territory. Alarm howls.
Kaela sat upright instantly. Shouts erupted somewhere above. Doors slammed. Warriors started running.
Another howl followed. Closer this time.
Urgent. Dangerous. Something had happened. Something bad.
Then she heard a guard yell from somewhere upstairs.
"They breached the southern border!"
Kaela's blood turned cold.
Because she already knew who "they" were.
The hunters.
And somehow... They had found her again.
- Writer
