Chapter 3: Bella's escape
1652 Words
ISABELLA’S POV
The room was still heavy with the scent of him.
I could still feel his lingering heat, his breath that sent shivers through my body, and his mark still burning low between my thighs like an echo of everything he’d done to me.
My body ached in places I hadn’t known could ache, but more than anything, it was the silence that unsettled me. After everything—after giving in to him, to the bond, to the fire that consumed me under that cursed full moon—he unchained me.
Just like that.
He didn’t say much. Just looked at me with those storm-lit eyes, brushed a knuckle over my cheek, and whispered, “Rest. You’re free now, my Bella.”
But was I?
The room felt different without the weight of his presence. Too wide and too cold. His absence was louder than his presence ever was.
I sat here on the mattress, naked, knees drawn to my chest, the marks of his mouth still glowing on my skin like claims.
Free? No. I didn’t believe that.
He left me in this room, door unlocked. As if daring me to run. Or perhaps... hoping I wouldn’t.
But I what crossed my mind was the opposite.
I wanted to get out of this place. I wanted to be free from his twisted obsession. I finally made my decision. I would escape.
I quickly wrapped myself in the thin silk he’d once draped over me and pushed through the door.
My legs trembled from the intense mating we had earlier. Each steps i took was hesitant, afraid if the guards caught me or Sebastian himself. But the mansion was too quiet. Guards were gone.
The air had the hint of rain, the sky outside split open with lightning. But I didn’t stop. I didn’t think.
I hurried my steps down the marble stairs and across endless halls. To the front doors that had never opened for me.
But I stopped in my tracks when the front door burst open.
A very familiar silhouette came in.
“Bella?”
My breath caught. That voice—I hadn’t heard it in so long, not outside my dreams.
“Riven?!” I exclaimed in surprise.
He stood there, soaked to the bone, eyes wild and frantic as he looked at me with those familiar deep blue eyes.
“God, you’re really here.” His voice shook with disbelief.
I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t think either. I just ran to him desperately.
His arms wrapped around me like home, like a promise I’ve forgotten how to believe in. My face buried in his neck, and the sob that tore from my throat surprised us both. I gripped him like he’d vanish, like the moment might dissolve into the fog of this nightmare.
“You found me,” I whispered, my body shaking.
I couldn't believe that this moment would still come, that I would see him again. The man whom I truly loved.
“I never stopped,” he said, pulling back just enough to look at me. “Not for one damn second.”
But even as my heart pressed against his, I felt it—the shift in the air. Like a wire had snapped. Like the storm was waking again.
And somewhere far off… a growl was rising.
___
SEBASTIAN’S POV
The world outside the window blurred into endless darkness. The vast forest and and road was covered with fog.
But none of it reached me. My mind was always filled with her.
Of the way how she trembled under me, not in fear—but in surrender. Of 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. For her.
And now, she was mine. Truly and completely mine. The bond had sealed. I felt it in every part of me.
But there was still a hollow in my chest. A wound that hadn’t closed, even after taking what fate had promised me.
Would she forgive me? Could love grow in a cage?
I honestly didn’t know. I only knew I had to try. I would even change the world for her if I had to. Build her a kingdom made of truth instead of chains. And maybe one day… she'd look at me without fear.
But then, all of a sudden, something twisted in my gut. It was faint, like a ripple in still water—but I felt it clearly. A thread pulled taut. A crack in the bond.
My spine straightened. I sniffed the air—through the sealed car, through the metal and glass—and I caught it. A scent that belonged to the only person I was wary of.
A low growl rumbled from my chest.
“Turn the car around,” I snapped at once.
My driver hesitated.
“I said turn the f**k around!” I growled loudly.
The tires screeched as the car spun back toward the mansion. My heart thundered, not with fear—but with fury, and panic.
She was supposed to be safe. I left her unchained. I trusted her more than the silence of my own damn fortress. But Riven—he had finally found my place. He had touched what was mine. How dare this man!
Now he will face my fury once and for all! And I promise to tear him apart for invading my possession.
___
The moment I stepped inside the mansion, the scent hit me like a punch to the ribs. Riven's scent was getting stronger.
My wolf surged beneath my skin, clawing toward the surface.
I stormed through the hallway, each step heavier than the last. The walls blurred as my senses sharpened, locking onto the thread of her—Bella—and the intruder who dared to come near her.
The doors at the front were already ajar. And there they were.
Bella, wide-eyed, her body trembling—and Riven, standing in front of her like some pathetic shield.
Something in me snapped.
"You shouldn’t be here," I growled, my voice raw, shaking with fury.
Riven stepped forward bravely. "She’s not yours to keep Sebastian."
The words barely registered in my brain. My gaze locked onto Bella, but she wouldn't meet my eyes. Her shoulders curled inward.
She had chosen to stand behind him, and chosen to go against me... After everything...
My chest burned with anger and jealousy. Yes I have marked her and completely owned her body, but not her heart.
"You came into my home. You think you can take her from me?"
“I’m here because you never deserved her,” Riven spat. “You stole her.”
I didn’t answer. I didn't have much patience for talk. I lunged at him directly with raging fury.
The impact shook the floor. We crashed into the wall, fists flying. I barely felt his blows—rage made me numb all over. I wanted to rip him apart, tear the bond that still lingered between him and the woman who was now mine.
He fought hard—fiercer than I remembered. But I was no longer a man. I was the Alpha. The beast under my skin was no longer sleeping.
He swung, and I caught his arm, slammed him into the floor. Blood stained the marble.
“I’ll kill you if you take one more step toward her.”” I snarled, grounding him onto the floor.
“She doesn’t want you! She never did!”
Riven choked, face twisted in pain as he put all his strength to push me. I didn't anticipated his attack and budged to the side a bit.
___
BELLA’S POV
I stood frozen, taking in the scene unfolding infront of me. The two men fought each other fiercely. Their bodies slammed into each other again and again—brutal. The sound of fists on flesh, the dull thud of Riven’s body hitting the marble floor.
My heart beat so loud that I thought it might break through my ribs.
Sebastian was out of control. I knew that look in his eyes. Not just rage.
It was his deep obsession... and fear. Because I had chosen to stand behind Riven.
"She doesn’t want you. Just let her go!" Riven spat again, even as Sebastian’s hand tightened around his throat.
"Stop!" I cried, finally finding my voice.
I couldn't take the horrible scene anymore, seeing Riven defeated. He could never win over the powerful Sebastian.
But neither of them listened.
Thunder cracked above us, the windows rattling with wind and rain. The storm was already here.
And so was my chance.
Sebastian's attention slipped—just for a moment. Riven coughed, struggling beneath him.
I ran toward them.
“Riven!” I grabbed his arm, pulling with everything I had. “Come on—we have to go. Now.”
His weight sagged against me, he staggered to his feet keeping up on my pace.
We bolted from the room, down the corridor, our steps echoing off the walls. I didn’t look back.
I would never look back again. I'm finally free from this damned place.
Finally we were outside.. The cold, wet air slapped my face. The storm howled, drowning everything in wind and darkness.
We ran into the woods as fast as we could. Mud sucked at my bare feet, rain blurred my vision and tree limbs clawed at my arms.
But we didn’t stop. Not this time, when I was so close to freedom.
Riven’s hand gripped mine, firm even through the pain.
We were almost there—by the shore—
But then, the ground trembled underneath us. A deep, guttural growl tore through the storm, far too close.
Something was coming.
And it was no longer human.
- Writer
