The Genetic Bride: Alpha's Obsession

Chapter 3: The Escape

ISABELLA

The room was still heavy with the scent of him. I could still feel his lingering heat and his breath that sent shivers through my body, while his mark burned low between my thighs like an echo of everything he had done to me.

My body ached in places I had not known could ache, but more than anything, it was the heavy silence that unsettled me. After everything—after giving in to him, to the bond, and to the fire that consumed me under that cursed full moon—he unchained me just like that.

He didn’t say much before he left. He just looked at me with dark, intense eyes, brushed a knuckle over my cheek, and whispered, “Rest. You’re free now, my Bella.”

But was I really?

The room felt entirely different without his presence. It suddenly became too wide and too cold. In fact, his absence was louder than his presence ever was.

I sat there naked on the mattress with my knees drawn tightly to my chest, the marks of his mouth lingering on my skin. He left me alone in this room with the door unlocked, as if he were daring me to run—or perhaps he was secretly hoping I wouldn't try.

But what crossed my mind was the exact opposite. I wanted to get out of this place and be free from his twisted obsession.

Driven by a desperate need to escape, I quickly wrapped myself in the nightgown he had torn earlier and pushed through the door. My legs trembled from our intense mating, making each step hesitant. I was terrified that the guards or Sebastian himself might catch me.

However, the mansion was completely quiet and the guards were entirely gone. The air carried the sharp hint of rain while the sky outside split open with lightning, but I didn’t stop to think. I hurried my steps down the winding staircase as quickly as I could, but stopped dead in my tracks when I caught a familiar silhouette at the foot of the stairs.

“Bella?”

My breath caught in my throat, my eyes widening with shock. I hadn’t heard that voice in so long—at least not outside of my dreams.

“Riven?!” I exclaimed in utter surprise.

He stood there soaked to the bone, panting slightly. His deep blue eyes were wild and frantic as he looked at me.

“God, you’re really here!” he cried out, his voice shaking with disbelief.

I couldn’t speak, nor could I think straight. I just ran to him desperately. His arms wrapped around me immediately, making me feel like I was finally home. A loud sob tore from my throat as I buried my face in his neck, my hands gripping his jacket as if he might vanish—terrified that the moment might dissolve into the fog of this nightmare.

“You found me,” I choked, my entire body shaking. I could not believe that this moment had actually come, or that I was finally seeing the man whom I truly loved again.

“I never stopped looking for you, Bella,” he said, his voice shaking as he pulled back just enough to look at me. “Not for one damn second.”

Tears rained down my face as we embraced each other again.

But even as my heart pressed against his, I felt a sudden shift in the air. It felt as though a wire had snapped, and the storm was waking up again.

***

SEBASTIAN’S POV

The world outside the car window blurred into endless darkness—the vast forest and the road completely covered in thick fog.

None of it reached me, though. My mind was entirely filled with Isabella's face. I kept thinking of the way she had trembled under me—not in fear, but in complete surrender. I remembered how her eyes had gone glassy with pleasure, and how her mouth had whispered my name like a prayer she didn’t want to believe in. I had waited years for that moment, and now she was finally mine. The bond had sealed tightly—I could feel it in every single part of me.

Yet, there was still a hollow ache in my chest—like a wound that hadn’t closed, even after taking what fate had promised me.

Would she ever forgive me, or could love truly grow inside a cage?

I honestly didn’t know the answer, but I knew I had to try. I would even change the world for her if I had to, building her a kingdom made of truth instead of chains so that maybe one day she would look at me without fear.

Before I could think about it further, something suddenly twisted violently in my gut. It was faint at first, like a ripple in still water, but I felt it clearly as seconds passed—like a thread pulled taut, creating a crack through the bond.

My spine straightened instantly.

“Slow down,” I ordered my driver.

I lowered the window and sniffed the air outside, until I caught a scent that didn't belong in this place.

A sharp growl rumbled deep from my chest.

“Turn the car around!” I snapped at once.

My driver hesitated for a second.

“I said turn the f**k around!” I roared.

The tires screeched against the wet asphalt as the car spun back toward the mansion.

My heart thundered with a mix of fury and panic. She was supposed to be safe since I had left her unchained and free. I had trusted her now that she had become my mate.

But that man had somehow found my place, and he had dared to touch what was mine. Now he would face my fury once and for all. I promised myself I would tear him apart for invading my possession.

The moment I stepped inside the mansion, the intruder's scent hit me like a heavy punch to my chest. Riven's scent was getting stronger by the second, causing my wolf to surge beneath my skin and claw toward the surface.

I stormed through the hallway, taking each step heavier than the last. The walls blurred as my senses sharpened, locking onto the thread of Bella and the bastard who dared to come near her.

The front doors were already ajar, and when I reached them, there they were. Bella stood with wide eyes and a trembling body, while Riven stood directly in front of her like a shield.

A blazing fury snapped inside me completely.

"You shouldn’t be here!" I growled, my voice sounding raw and feral.

Riven stepped forward bravely to face me.

"She’s not yours to keep, Sebastian."

The words barely registered in my brain—my gaze was locked entirely onto Bella, but she refused to meet my eyes. She had chosen to stand behind him and go against me, even after everything we had shared hours before.

My chest burned with pain and jealousy. Even though I had marked her and completely owned her body, I still did not have her heart.

"You came into my home," I snarled. "You really think you can take her from me?"

“I’m here because you never deserved her,” Riven spat back at me. “You stole her from me.”

I didn’t have much patience left for talking. I lunged straight at him with raging fury. The impact shook the entire floor as we crashed hard into the wall with fists flying. I barely felt his blows—the rage made me completely numb all over. I wanted to rip him apart and tear the lingering bond between him and the woman who now belonged to me.

He fought back hard, acting much fiercer than I remembered, but I was no longer just a man. I was the Alpha, and the beast under my skin was no longer sleeping.

He swung at me, but I caught his arm and slammed him hard into the floor until his blood stained the white marble.

“I’ll kill you if you take one more step toward her,” I snarled, pinning him flat onto the floor.

“She doesn’t want you! She never did!” Riven shouted, his face twisting in rage as he put all of his remaining strength into pushing me off.

I didn't anticipate his sudden counterattack, which caused me to stumble slightly.

****

BELLA’S POV

I stood completely frozen as I took in the brutal scene unfolding right in front of me.

The two men fought each other fiercely. Sebastian was out of control. That dark look in his eyes—I recognized it. It wasn't just rage driving him; it was his deep obsession and a sudden fear, all because I had chosen to stand behind Riven instead of him.

"She doesn’t want you, Sebastian. Just let her go!" Riven spat again, even as Sebastian’s hand tightened securely around his throat.

"Stop!" I cried out, finally finding my voice. I couldn't take the horrible sight anymore, especially seeing Riven like this. His strength as a human could never win against someone as powerful as an Alpha.

But neither of them listened to me. Thunder cracked loudly above us and the windows rattled violently from the wind and rain, signaling that the storm was already here.

And so was my only chance.

Sebastian's attention slipped for just a split second while Riven coughed and struggled beneath him. I ran toward them immediately and shoved Sebastian on the side.

“Riven!” I grabbed his arm and pulled with everything I had. “Come on, we have to go right now.”

His weight sagged heavily against me, but he managed to stagger to his feet and keep up with my pace.

We bolted from the room and ran down the long corridor, our frantic steps echoing loudly off the high walls. I didn’t look back—I would never look back at this damned place again now that I was finally escaping.

When we finally made it outside, the cold, wet air slapped my face. The storm howled around us, drowning everything in a blur of wind and darkness, but we ran into the woods as fast as we could. Mud sucked at my bare feet, the pouring rain blurred my vision, and sharp tree limbs clawed at my arms, but we didn’t stop. Freedom was so close.

Riven’s hand gripped mine firmly, holding on tight even through his immense pain. We were almost there, heading straight toward the shore.

But then, the ground suddenly trembled underneath us. A deep, guttural growl tore through the howling storm, warning us that something was coming.

And it was no longer human.