I Was Raised To Kill My Mate

Chapter 5: Fire and chains

Sera's POV

The air was so constricted that it was likely to crack in case we began to inhale too vigorously. Jayce was standing much too near. He moved forward, and I moved back. “Don’t,” I warned. His eyes grew black, yellow fire down. You do not have the right to order me around. I merely have to keep you off my hands. His jaw folded. You shake. Hate. You are frightened. I hate you.

His mouth curled in a slow dangerous smile. “Lie again.” I fled before my wolf could betray me. My chest was hot, tight, disoriented. He did this each time he stared at me that way--like I was a valuable and dangerous thing, all at the same time, it got me confused. “You don’t own me,” I said.

He stepped closer. Not touching. Never touching. “And yet you haven’t run.” I spun back. “You chained me here!” “No.” His voice softened. I took you to some place safe. I laughed bitterly. Your country is infested with foes. “Because of you.”

The words hit hard. “Say that again,” I whispered. It is you who are changing things, he said. There is something that is awakening old fears when you are there. Old prophecies.” My blood burned. Keep on saying that word like it is like it pardons all. “It justifies more than you think. But then justifies Ember Village. Silence. His shoulders stiffened. “Not yet.”

Rage surged. You want me to believe you and you cover up the truth? I expect you to live, he shot back. And sometimes it means when not to inquire. I pushed him aside, and my hands trembled with anger. You are just like the monsters you are playing as fighters. His hand caught my wrist. Heat exploded up my arm. We both froze. His hold was loosened instantaneously. I did not intend to--but it was too late. My wolf leaped forward in response to the touch. Fire licked through my veins. My breath hitched. Jayce felt it too. His eyes were flaring gold, eyes wide open.

Touch me not, I said to myself trembling. He withdrew with a gesture of surprise. “I won’t. Unless you ask.--then never look at me. I swung my back, palms aching.

Later I went out on my own. I needed space. Air. Control. The area outside the cabin was dark, and the moon was lying on the surface. I shut up my eyes and caused my wolf to climb. Fire bloomed inside me. Not pain. Power. My hands were slightly radiating, the heat was throbbing beneath my skin. I uttered a shriek and sank on my knees. “What are you?” I whispered to myself. “Strong,” a familiar voice said. I spun.

Liam came out of the shadows and looked with sharp eyes, a tense face. “You shouldn’t be here.”

My heart leapt. “Liam!” He grabbed my shoulders. “You need to leave. Now.”

“Why?”

“Because packs are moving,” he said urgently. “They know about you. About the Fireborn.”

I stiffened. “Jayce told you?”

“No,” Liam snapped. “I heard it from wolves who want your head on a spike.”

I glanced back toward the cabin. “Jayce won’t let me go.”

Liam’s jaw tightened. “That’s what scares me.” Before I could answer, a howl split the night.

Then another. Jayce burst into the clearing, already shifting. “Get behind me.”

“I won’t hide,” I said.

“You will,” he growled.

Shadows moved fast. Too fast. Wolves poured from the trees.

I fought. Claws, blades, instinct. Fire flared with every strike. But there were too many. A blow knocked me to the ground. Pain exploded through my side.

Jayce roared. He tore through them like a storm, taking hit after hit meant for me. His body slammed into mine as he shielded me.

Our breaths mixed. His blood dripped onto my hand.

I froze.

He was bleeding.

“You’re hurt,” I whispered.

He looked up at me. “Doesn’t matter.”

“It does to me.”

The fight ended as suddenly as it began. The wolves retreated. Jayce swayed slightly.

My wolf growled, furious, possessive.

I didn’t run. I stared at him, heart pounding, confusion tearing me apart.“Why,” I whispered, voice shaking, “do I feel like I’m the one who belongs to him?”

The sound ripped through the clearing, echoing against the cliffs, carrying my anger, my fear, my fire. Jayce stiffened beside me, his golden eyes locked onto mine, pupils wide. He didn’t move away. He never did. Not once in all these hours of tension, not even when I wanted him to.

“You hear that?” I whispered, voice trembling. “That’s me. That’s all for me. Not just the Fireborn, not just… whatever you think you own.”

His lips curved into a slow, dangerous smile. “I hear it. And I like it.”

I wanted to spit at him. Instead, my body betrayed me. Heat rolled across my skin, fire coiling in my chest. My wolf growled, low and possessive, pressing at the edges of my control. I hated it. Hated that part of me that responded to him. Hated the pull, the desire, the fire that screamed his name even as my mind swore revenge.

“Stop looking at me like that,” I said, turning away.

“I can’t,” he said simply, voice low and almost rough. “Not when you’re like this. Not when you’re mine, whether you admit it or not.”

I whirled on him. “Mine? You don’t even know what that means!”

He stepped closer, closing the distance in a heartbeat. My breath caught. Every nerve is on fire. “I know enough. I know enough to know that you belong to me in ways you refuse to see.”

I shook my head violently, forcing my wolf down. The growl turned into a whimper inside me. I sank to the ground, hands clutching my knees. “I don’t belong to anyone,” I whispered. “I belong to my mission. To vengeance.”

He crouched in front of me, close enough that I could feel the warmth of his body, the faint heat radiating from his skin, his aura brushing against me. “Vengeance?” he asked. “You think killing me will bring you peace? You think I’m the only one responsible?”

My heart faltered. Rage and confusion tangled together. “Then who? Tell me!”

His jaw tightened, voice dropping. “You don’t want to know. Not yet.”

I wanted to scream at him, to shake the truth from him. But I couldn’t. Not when my wolf stirred with desperate hunger, not when every fiber of me burned for him despite everything.

The night pressed closer. Shadows stretched across the clearing. Moonlight glinted off the blood on his skin, catching on the muscles of his arms, the curve of his jaw. I could feel it—his power, his control, his dominance, not just over the pack, over the wolves, but over me.

“Stay back,” I warned, holding my hands out.

He didn’t move. “Why? So you can fight me?” His tone was teasing, dangerous, impossible. “You’ve done nothing but fight me since the moment we met. And yet…” His golden gaze softened for the briefest second. “You never leave my side when it counts.”

I turned away, heart thundering. “You’re insufferable.”

He chuckled, low and full of warmth that shouldn’t have made me shiver. “Insufferable? Maybe. But irresistible, Fireborn. You can’t deny it. Your wolf can’t. And neither can you.”

I clenched my fists, nails digging into my palms. “I hate you,” I hissed.

“Yes,” he said, voice dropping low. “I know. And yet… here you are. Alive. Breathing. Standing. Fire roaring inside you. And I can feel it. Every spark.”

My wolf whimpered, claws raking at the edges of my control. I dropped my gaze, trying to steady my breathing. “I… I can’t—”

“You can,” he interrupted, placing a hand lightly on my shoulder. Not firmly, not controlling. Just… presence. Comfort. Possession. My stomach tightened. My wolf pressed against him in agreement, whining softly. I wanted to scream at it. To scream at him. To scream at myself.

Before I could think, a howl split the night. Not far away. Closer this time. Too close.

Jayce stiffened, eyes flashing gold. “They’re here.”