This is Why I Don’t Date
697 Words
And I’m not impressed.”
He leaned in, voice brushing her ear like a dark promise.
“You will be.”
Roslynn’s breath hitched. Nope. Absolutely not. She refused to be impressed by a man who thought brooding was a personality trait.
She shoved at his chest hard enough to reclaim an inch of space.
He didn’t budge.
“Okay,” she said, forcing her voice steady. “Let’s get something straight. You don’t get to claim me. You don’t get to drag me around. And you definitely don’t get to—”
Her mark flared.
A pulse of heat shot through her collarbone, and Blaze inhaled sharply, eyes flashing silver as the glow reflected in them as he reached reverently to brush his fingers over the mark again.
Roslynn’s breath stuttered.
“Don’t,” she whispered.
“I can’t help it,” he said, voice rough. “It calls to me.”
“It’s a mark, not a phone.”
"It's a bond. How else do you explain us knowing each other's names even though we have never met before?”
Her heart lurched. “A what?”
He lifted his gaze to hers, and for the first time, she saw something raw beneath the feral intensity.
Fear.
“You marked me,” he said softly. “And I marked you.”
Roslynn stared at him. “I didn’t mark anything.”
“You did,” he murmured. “With your blood. With your power.”
“I don’t have power.”
“You do,” he said. “And it’s waking up.”
The forest went silent; even the wind held its breath.
Roslynn’s pulse hammered in her ears. “What does that mean?”
Blaze stepped back—not far, but enough that she could breathe again. His expression was unreadable, carved from shadow and moonlight.
“It means,” he said, “that you’re not safe. Not from them.”
He paused.
“Not from me.”
Roslynn swallowed hard. “And you think dragging me into the woods is the solution?”
His gaze softened—barely.
“Roslynn… I’m trying to keep you alive.”
She crossed her arms. “Next time, try asking first.”
He huffed out a breath. “If I ask, you’ll say no.”
“Exactly.”
He stared at her for a long moment, then said, “I’ll try.”
She blinked. “You’ll… try?”
“Yes.”
“Wow. Progress.”
He gave her a look. “Don’t push it.”
She smirked. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”
But she would. She absolutely would.
And the worst part?
He looked like he’d let her.
The forest held its breath. Roslynn felt the silence as a living thing—a watchful hush coiled around the brittle space between her and Blaze. His chest heaved then stilled. She braced herself for another round of alpha posturing, but his head snapped up, nostrils flaring.
Her own breath caught, the fine hairs at the nape of her neck lifting as something in the brush shifted. Not the wind. Not the usual shuffle of a small animal. This was heavier, a rustle that set off the old primal warning bells.
Blaze’s eyes went sharp, narrowing in on the source of the noise. He took a step in front of her, shielding her with his body.
“s**t,” he muttered.
Roslynn peered around him, squinting into the blackened undergrowth. “What? Did the forest fail your vibe check, too?”
He didn’t answer, and in the split second before she could poke at his silence, a series of snaps broke the gloom—something large moving with intent, not hunger.
Pursuit.
Blaze’s muscles tensed, the cords in his neck flexing. “We have to move. Now.”
She dug in her heels, not out of logic, but sheer stubbornness. “You said we’d talk. You said you’d try—”
He glanced down at her with an expression so conflicted she almost felt bad for being difficult.
Almost.
“I’m sorry,” Blaze said, and the sincerity in it was a sucker punch.
Then he hit her.
- Writer
