The Estate Rules
767 Words
### *EPISODE 2:
The Blackwood Estate didn’t feel like a home.
It felt like a cage made of glass and money.
6:05am.
I stood in the marble foyer with one duffel bag and a bracelet I wasn’t allowed to take off.
Kael was already gone. A note on the counter in sharp black ink:
*RULES*
*1. Office. 8am. No excuses.*
*2. You eat dinner with me. 7pm.*
*3. You do not leave the property. Ever.*
*4. If the bond hurts, you come to me. Not your room.*
*-K*
Clause 4 wasn’t in the contract.
Mrs. Hale showed me to the 3rd floor. East wing.
My room was huge. Cold. The bed could fit 4 people.
No photos. No warmth. Just like him.
"Mr. Blackwood said you’re to wear this to dinner," she said, setting a black dress on the bed. Silk. Sleeveless. Expensive.
"It’s not a request, Miss Moon."
---
*8:00 AM. CEO OFFICE.*
Kael didn’t look up when I entered.
"Close the door."
I did.
"Sit." He finally met my eyes. No tie. Hair messy. Like he’d been awake all night.
He probably had.
"The stalker texted again at 3am," he said, sliding my phone across the desk.
_“Night 1 down. 364 to go, Luna.
- A Friend”_
My stomach dropped. "How did they—"
"Because someone in my house is leaking information." Kael’s voice was ice. "Which is why Rule 3 exists."
He stood and walked around the desk. Stopped in front of me.
"Put your hand out."
I did.
He fastened a second bracelet next to the first. This one had a small black stone.
"Tracker. Shield. And if your bond spikes, it sends me an alert." His fingers brushed my wrist. Cold. "Don’t take it off."
The bond pulsed. Hard.
Pain shot through my chest. I gasped.
Kael’s eyes went gold instantly. "Arielle."
"I’m fine," I lied.
"Bullshit." He crouched in front of me. 6'3 reduced to my level. "Rule 4. Come to me."
"I don’t need—"
"You do." His hand hovered near my chest, not touching. "The bond thinks we’re mates. It’s confused. It hurts when you’re scared and I’m not close."
He was so close I could smell him. Pine. Rain. Danger.
"Let me help," he murmured. "Just this once."
I nodded. Once.
His hand settled over my heart. Warm. Steady.
The pain dulled. Not gone. But bearable.
"Better?" he asked. Voice rough.
"Yes."
He pulled back like I’d burned him. Back to CEO. Back to cold.
"Good. Now work."
---
We worked 10 hours straight.
He was brutal. Cutting every word of my campaign apart.
"Pathetic." "Do better." "This is why they didn’t hire you."
But at 6:55pm, he stopped.
"Dinner."
In the dining room, the table was 12 feet long. We sat at opposite ends.
Mrs. Hale served and left.
Silence.
Until Kael broke it.
"Why did you really reject me?"
I froze. "We’re not doing this."
"We are." He set his fork down. "5 years, Arielle. I deserve an answer."
I looked down. "I was scared. Of being owned. Of being Luna Moon instead of Arielle Moon. Of loving you and losing myself."
Kael was quiet for a long time.
"And now?"
"Now I’m scared of dying," I whispered.
His jaw ticked. "You won’t."
---
*1:17 AM.*
The bond woke me up.
Not pain. Pulling. Like a rope tied to my ribs, dragging me down the hall.
I tried to ignore it.
Failed.
I was standing outside his door before I realized it.
No knock. I just... opened it.
Kael was awake. Sitting on the edge of his bed. Shirtless.
He looked up. Eyes fully gold.
"You felt it too," he said. Not a question.
"The bond," I whispered.
He stood. "Come here."
I shouldn’t have.
I did.
He didn’t touch me. Just stood 2 feet away. Breathing hard.
"If I touch you, I won’t stop," he said honestly. "And we have a contract."
"Then don’t," I said. My voice shook.
Kael laughed. Bitter. "You think I can control this? I’m an Alpha. You’re my mate. And you’re sleeping 20 feet from me."
He stepped closer.
My wolf whined.
His did too. I heard it.
"Go back to your room, Arielle," he said, jaw tight. "Before I break every rule I just made."
I turned and ran.
Back in my room, my phone buzzed.
_“I see you went to his room. Good girl.
Night 2 will be more fun.
- A Friend”_
I dropped the phone.
Someone was watching.
Inside the house.
---
*END OF EPISODE 2
- Writer
