CHAPTER 19
1480 Words
ADINNA’S POV
Jace’s words still echo in my mind long after he storms out.
“You think he’s saving you, Adinna? He’s not.”
The sound of the door slamming behind him after he left still lingers like an aftertaste I can’t swallow. My body aches and my head is still throbbing from the wolfsbane, and all I can do is stare at the spot he’d stood.
I drag in a shaky breath, trying to remind myself that I hate him but the way he looked at me like I was something dangerous he couldn’t stay away from unsettles every cell in my body.
Riley slips back into the room quietly and carefully like she’s afraid Jace might still be lurking around. “He’s gone,” she murmurs and gives a sigh of relief, setting down a bowl of water and a clean cloth beside me. “You should rest.”
I nod weakly. My wolf stirs faintly beneath my skin, sluggish and hazy, still poisoned. I can’t shift. I can barely move without pain shooting up my spine.
“I hate them,” I whisper.
Riley gives me a sad look. “I know.”
When I finally drift off, the pain in my veins turns into something else. Something darker.
The forest is alive around me with the moonlight filtering through the branches, and the ground is slick with dew and fear. My bare feet slap against the earth as I run, with my heart pounding in my throat. I don’t know what I’m running from or where I’m running to. All I know is that something is hunting me.
And then I smell him.
Jace.
I hear the low, predatory growl behind me. My wolf should’ve taken over by now, but she’s silent.
I crash through the trees, gasping, until a shadow bursts out from the darkness and slams me against the trunk of an oak. Bark digs into my skin as a strong hand presses against my throat.
Jace’s eyes glow like molten gold in the darkness. “Run all you want, little wolf,” he murmurs, his voice low and dangerous. “You’ll always end up right where I want you.”
I shove at his chest, but he doesn’t move. His breath fans against my ear, hot and rough.
“Why do you keep fighting me?” he whispers. “You think anyone else would dare touch you after what I’ve done?”
My heart stutters. “You don’t own me.”
He gives a deep and cruel sounding chuckle. The sound is so scary, it feels like it’s sliding down my spine like smoke. “Don’t I?”
He leans closer, his lips brushing my neck. My knees go weak. The forest spins and before I can reply, the world shatters and I wake up suddenly, drenched in sweat. My heart is beating so hard like it’s trying to escape my chest.
And then my eyes land on Jace sitting beside my bed like he belongs there.
I jolt upright, a startled sound leaving my throat, but before I can move farther, his hand shoots out, pinning me gently but firmly down by the shoulder.
“Easy,” he murmurs, his eyes scanning my face. “You were dreaming.”
I can’t breathe. I can’t think. “What the hell are you doing here?”
He tilts his head slightly, his expression unreadable. “Making sure you don’t die too soon.”
My lips part, but the words don’t come. He’s too close. I can see a faint scar near his jaw, and a shadow of exhaustion under his eyes. He looks dangerous, but also human. And somehow that feels way worse.
“Wow,” I manage to choke out. “How really really thoughtful of you. Should I be honored that my tormentor doubles as my nurse now?”
His lips twitch in amusement. “You make it sound like I enjoy watching you suffer.”
I scoff. “Don’t you?”
“Sometimes,” he admits, his tone almost teasing but his eyes look softer than I’ve ever seen them. “But that’s not why I’m here.”
I turn my face away, refusing to meet his gaze. “Then why are you here, Jace? To gloat? To make sure your poison’s still doing its job?”
He doesn’t answer right away. Instead, he takes the damp cloth from the table and presses it gently to my forehead. I flinch, but he doesn’t pull away. The touch is steady and careful.
The silence stretches and it’s unbearable.
“You have no idea what you do to me,” he says finally, voice low.
My breath catches.
His words hang in the air. I can’t tell if it’s a confession or a threat. I’m five hundred percent sure it’s a threat.
I blink up at him, trying to steady my heartbeat. “What is that supposed to mean?”
Jace leans closer, his gaze dipping to my lips, then back to my eyes. “It means,” he whispers, “you make me forget why I started this in the first place.”
The world stops spinning.
This isn’t happening. This isn’t real.
He’s the one who’s made my life a nightmare. He’s the reason I can’t walk down the hallway without flinching. He’s the reason my wolf hides inside me like a caged prisoner.
So why is he sitting here, looking at me like I’m the only thing in the room worth seeing?
“Get away from me,” I whisper, but my voice betrays me. It’s softer than I mean it to be.
He doesn’t move immediately. His fingers graze my temple, brushing away a loose strand of hair. The contact sends an electric jolt through me. I hate that my body reacts. I hate that he knows it.
“Stop looking at me like that,” I snap.
“Like what?” he asks, amused.
“Like…” I stop myself. No. I won’t give him the satisfaction.
Jace smirks, leaning back just enough to let me breathe. “You’re trembling,” he says quietly. “Afraid?”
I meet his gaze. “Disgusted.”
That earns a dark laugh. “You sure about that?”
My hand twitches, wanting to slap him, but my body is still weak from the wolfsbane. I can’t move fast enough. He catches my wrist mid-air.
For a heartbeat, everything freezes. His hand is warm around mine. His pulse matches mine.
He lowers his voice, the mockery fading. “You keep saying you hate me, Adinna, but I think you hate how you feel when I’m near.”
My throat tightens. “You’re delusional.”
“Maybe.” His thumb brushes my palm before letting go. “Or maybe you just don’t want to admit it.”
I turn away from him, heart pounding. “You should go. Before I remember that I can still bite.”
He chuckles softly. “Even poisoned, you’re dangerous.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“Do.”
I glare at him. “You think this is funny, don’t you? Breaking people down just to see what’s left?”
His smile fades. “No, Adinna. You think I break people. But the truth is I break myself trying not to destroy you.”
That silences me.
For a fleeting second, there’s something raw in his expression. That almost human look he had before. Then it’s gone, replaced by the smirk I know too well.
“Go to hell,” I whisper.
“Already live there,” he replies lightly. “You just make the view more interesting.”
I grab the nearest pillow and throw it at him, but he dodges easily, laughing under his breath.
The sound does something strange to me. I want to hate it. I really do. But part of me likes that I made him laugh.
“Why are you really here?” I ask, voice trembling despite my effort to sound steady. “If you wanted me dead, you could’ve done it already.”
He studies me for a long moment. “You think death’s the worst thing I can give you?”
“Then what is?”
His grin sharpens. “Wanting me.”
My stomach twists. “You’re sick.”
“Probably,” he says with a shrug, rising from the chair. “But so are you, little wolf. You just haven’t realized it yet.”
He walks toward the door, but pauses at the threshold. For a heartbeat, I swear I see hesitation flicker in his eyes.
Then, in that low, dangerous voice that I’m familiar with, he says,
“You’ll beg for my attention one day.”
And then he’s gone leaving me trembling in a silence that feels far too intimate for comfort.
- Writer
