Trapped in a Wolf Novel

Chapter 5

When I saw that Ezra was still looking at me as if I were a pebble in his shoe, I felt an irresistible urge to keep talking. Not because I expected him to respond with something kind or comforting; I just wanted to annoy him.

“Well, if it was just s*x and my mere existence is so dispensable,” I said, crossing my arms, “then why waste so much air in this tent to look at me like you're assessing me for the market? Don’t you have other soldiers to torment?”

Ezra raised an eyebrow, a small sign that, at the very least, my loose mouth was bothering him.

"Let me make something clear, you’re not important. I don’t even consider you a threat; otherwise, you wouldn’t be here,” he replied in an icy tone. “You’re a mistake from the past that must be corrected, but not a priority.”

Something cracked inside me, but I hid it behind a fake smile and decided that if he wanted to keep playing this game of hurtful comments, I could play too.

“A mistake… How curious! That’s exactly what I think of you, you know?” I said, raising my chin and holding his gaze. “And here we are, both trapped in the same mistake. If you don’t want to see me, then let me go. You have no idea how much I’d love to run in the opposite direction.”

He took a step toward me, barely inclining enough to appear intimidating. His cold gaze pierced through me, but I held my own, not backing down for a second.

“You’ll stay exactly where I leave you,” he murmured, his tone lower but just as sharp. “You’re nothing more than a hostage. Don’t speak as if you have options.”

“Options?” I let out a brief, bitter laugh. “Sure, because between being ignored, used, and held like a sack of potatoes, I have a whole buffet of options, don’t I?”

He didn’t respond, but I didn’t need him to. His bored expression was starting to unsettle me, but I kept talking. The words came out like a tide I couldn’t contain, each sentence more sarcastic than the last.

“So tell me, Ezra, is this how you treat all your ‘non-priorities’? Do you tie them up and chain them in a tent just to stare at them from afar? Because if so, you seriously need to work on your kidnapping skills, I assure you. This is the worst accommodation I’ve ever seen.”

Ezra sighed, and I felt he was fighting not to tell me to shut up or, better yet, drag me out of there. He took another step closer, enough that my fake smile began to fade. His amber eyes seemed to freeze the surrounding air, and his voice was low and controlled.

“What kind of female are you?” he asked, with a note of disdain and, perhaps, a hint of curiosity. “I haven’t encountered any creature in this entire territory that talks so much with so little importance.”

I bit my lip, trying to keep my composure while Eva growled in my mind. What kind of female am I? I shot him a defiant look.

“The kind that doesn’t kneel before cold men who think they’re the center of the universe.” And then, in a soft, mocking tone, I added, “I assure you, Alpha, that even if you don’t like my presence here, I didn’t ask for it either. So why don’t you just leave me alone? Maybe I, too, have a destiny that matters, and it doesn’t involve catering to you.”

Ezra seemed to consider my words for a moment before responding in that tone of absolute indifference that grated on my nerves.

“I don’t understand you,” he said, turning toward the entrance of the tent. “And if I sell you, I assure you the buyer won’t either.”

I placed a hand on my hip, throwing one last verbal jab at him as he walked away.

“Perfect. Make sure it’s someone with as poor taste as you. And, by the way, don’t forget to tell them how annoying it can be to have someone critique you every minute of the day.”

Ezra paused for a moment and turned just slightly, barely enough to throw me one last glance. In that expression was a spark of something... something I couldn’t decipher, but it told me that perhaps my words had found a crack in his icy armor.

“Stay here and keep quiet,” was the last thing he said before leaving the tent.

As I watched him walk away, I finally exhaled, letting my fake smile fade. Every muscle felt tense after holding that defiant pose in front of him. I crossed my arms, hugging myself and drumming my fingers on my skin as a whirlwind of emotions and thoughts spun through my mind.

Eva, who had been silent until now, burst into my mind with a mix of exasperation and resignation.

I watched him disappear outside, and once he was gone, I let out a sigh. What kind of situation is this? I thought, tapping my fingers against the old fabric barely covering me. A hostage in a world that isn’t mine, and on top of that, with this cold, indifferent lunatic as my only company.

You know, Eva, I said to my inner wolf, who seemed just as frustrated as I was. I may be trapped here, but one thing I can assure you: if this is a novel, I plan to be the loudest and most annoying character in the whole story.

“You want to be ‘the loudest character’?” she scoffed. “Do you think shouting and talking as if you’re not afraid will make any difference here? He’s our mate, Carolina, and you’re driving him away. What kind of wolf does that?”

“Oh, please, Eva,” I muttered mentally, lacking patience for her moralistic tone. “Do you want me to become the protagonist who suffers in silence? Do you want me to kneel? Because I assure you, that’s not going to happen.”

“That’s not what I’m asking, stubborn human,” she replied with a growl. “But if you at least showed a little submission and stopped acting like a… a lunatic with no self-control, maybe he wouldn’t be thinking about selling us.”

I rolled my eyes, even though I knew she couldn’t see me. I felt Eva more agitated than usual, somewhat impatient and even a bit frustrated. Maybe Ezra had managed to crack her patience as well.

“I don’t know what’s worse,” I said in a low voice, “that you think giving power to such an arrogant guy will get us anywhere, or that you judge me for being myself. And if I’m so infuriating, why are you still here, growling in my head?”

“Because I’m part of you,” she replied, her tone in my mind more serious and tense. “And because, whether you want to admit it or not, you know you have to think about more than your human impulses. Ezra is dangerous… but he’s also our destined mate. You should feel at least some respect for that.”

Respect? I laughed, incredulous. Respect, she says... Respect for a guy who treats me like a commodity, who plans to sell me as if I were some hunting trophy. Sure, Eva, that sounds very deserving of respect.

Eva let out a sigh, as if my tone pained her, and then said in a low, rough whisper:

“You may not understand what a destined mate bond means, Carolina, but I do. I know what that bond means… and I can feel how it hurts me when you reject it when he rejects you. You’re not just rejecting him; you’re rejecting me too.”

That comment left me silent. I could feel Eva withdrawing as if hurt, and a pang of guilt surfaced inside me. I had felt Eva as part of me since I arrived in this world, but this was the first time I saw her vulnerability. My words didn’t just affect Ezra; they affected my inner wolf too.

“Listen, Eva,” I began, softening my tone, “I get what you’re saying. But this… this situation is so unreal. Ezra isn’t just an alpha or some attractive guy. He’s someone who despises me and sees me as a threat or, worse, as a mere object. I need you to understand: I can’t just lower my guard like that.”

“So what will you do? Keep fighting him until he sells you, and only then do you decide you should have done things differently?”

I sighed. I couldn’t give her a clear answer because I didn't even know what I should do. I didn’t have a plan. I only knew I wasn’t going to let myself be subdued so easily, though, at the same time, I didn’t want to keep hurting Eva.

“Fine,” I said at last, “I’ll see what I can do to…” —I swallowed, feeling a knot in my throat— “to not be so annoying. But I can’t promise you I’ll stay silent.”

Eva seemed to understand, and her presence in my mind softened. I said nothing more. I knew that although it was a first step, the road would be long and complicated.

But I was willing to try.