Dry lands
1541 Words
(Isla)
I woke to Mira’s arm around me and the smell of cold soup.
The cottage was dark, probably because the fire had died. My throat was raw and my eyes felt like sandpaper, but for a few seconds I didn’t remember why but then the bond reminded me as it pulled againstly heartstrings, sharp and angry and the memory of the square slammed into me all at once.
Serena’s laugh, Zayden’s cold face. One night doesn't mean forever.
Mira stirred behind me. “You’re awake,” she mumbled, her voice rough with sleep. “You okay?”
“No,” I whispered.
She tightened her hold. “I know.”
We didn’t move for a long time. The only sound was the wind against the windows and the stupid, relentless tug in my chest that wouldn’t stop pointing toward him.
Then the door slammed open.
I shot up so fast my head spun. Mira was already on her feet, putting herself between me and the doorway.
Zayden stood there and he looked like hell. His hair was messy, his shirt wrinkled and his eyes red. Like he hadn’t slept or like he’d been fighting himself all night and lost.
Behind him, half-hidden in the shadows, was Serena. Her arms were crossed and she had a smug look on her face.
The bond roared.
Mate. Mate. Mate.
It hurt. Goddess, it hurt to look at him and feel that pull and know he didn’t want it.
“What are you doing here?” Mira snapped. Her voice was steady but her hands were fists at her sides. “Get out.”
Zayden didn’t look at her. His eyes were on me and they weren’t cold this morning. They were desperate, much to my surprise.
“We need to talk,” he said. His voice was low and rough. The tenderness with which he spoke to me on that night was gone.
“No, we don’t,” I said. My voice shook but I forced it steady. I stood up. My legs barely held me. “You said everything you needed to say in the square.”
Serena stepped forward then. “Actually, he didn’t.”
She smiled. That sharp, sweet smile. “Did you, Zay?”
He flinched at the nickname but he didn’t tell her to leave.
Mira moved to stand beside me. Shoulder to shoulder. The way we had stood against the world since we were kids. “Say what you came to say and leave,” she told him. “She’s done.”
Zayden finally looked at Mira, then back at me. He ran a hand through his hair and I hated that I noticed how tired he looked.
“I’m going to marry Serena,” he said. Just like that. No preamble or apology.
The words didn’t hurt but not at first. They were numb and distant. Like they’d been said about someone else or my body was trying to process it.
Mira sucked in a breath beside me. “You bastard,” she hissed.
Zayden ignored her. His eyes never left mine. “But the bond—” He pressed a hand to his chest, right where it hurt. “The bond is still here. And it’s getting worse.”
“So what?” I spat. The numbness cracked. “You rejected me in front of everyone. You made your choice.”
“I had to,” he said quickly. Too quickly than I would have liked. “For the pack. For politics. Serena’s family—”
“I don’t care about her family,” I cut him off. “You stood there and told me I would never be Luna. You humiliated me.”
“I know,” he said and he did look sorry for one second but then, his face hardened again. “But that doesn’t change what we are. What the bond is.”
Serena laughed. “What he means, Isla, is that fated mates make stronger pups.”
She said it like she was explaining something to a child. “Alpha heirs need to be strong. The strongest. And that only happens with fated mates.”
It took me a second to understand before it hit me like ice water.
I stared at Zayden. “No.”
He didn’t deny it.
“My only job,” I said slowly. The words tasted like bile. “My only job is to bear you kids.”
“Isla—”
“Is that it?” My voice was rising. I could feel Mira beside me, vibrating with rage. “That’s all I’m good for to you? A broodmare? After you rejected me, after you chose her, you still want to use me?”
“It’s not like that,” Zayden said but he wouldn’t meet my eyes. “The bond is killing both of us. This is the only way to—”
“The only way to what?” I stepped forward. The bond screamed but I ignored it. “To have your cake and eat it too? A political wife and a secret breeder on the side?”
Serena’s smile dropped. “Watch your tone.”
“Or what?” I turned on her. “You’ll have him reject me again? Oh wait, he already did.”
“Enough.” Zayden’s voice cracked like a whip. It was the Alpha command and the room went still.
He looked at me then, really looked and I saw it. The guilt. The anger. The need.
“I’m offering you a deal,” he said, much quieter now. “Marry Serena. I’ll make it official. But you... you stay. You bear my children. The bond will settle. The pack gets strong heirs. Everyone wins.”
Everyone except me.
I started laughing. I couldn’t help it. It came out broken and hysterical.
Mira grabbed my arm. “Don’t,” she whispered. “Don’t you dare agree to this.”
I wasn’t going to.
I wiped my eyes and looked at Zayden. Really looked at the man who had held me two nights ago like I was precious. Who had whispered my name like a prayer.
“f**k you,” I said, clear and loud.
Zayden’s jaw tightened. “Isla.”
“No.” I shook my head. “My answer is no. I’m not a vessel. I’m not a secret. I’m not going to carry your children while you play house with her.”
Serena’s eyes narrowed. “You don’t get to refuse an Alpha.”
“I’m not refusing an Alpha,” I said. “I’m refusing him.
The air in the room went cold.
Zayden stepped forward. The bond pulled so hard I gasped. It felt like he was dragging me forward by my ribs.
“You don’t understand,” he said. His voice was low now and dangerous. “If you refuse, I’ll have to reject you publicly. Snap the bond. In front of everyone.”
The words hit me like a punch.
“You know what that does,” he continued. “The one who gets rejected bears the brunt. The pain. The madness. The wolf goes feral. Sometimes they don’t come back from it.”
Mira stepped in front of me. “You wouldn’t,” she said, but her voice shook.
“Three days,” Zayden said. He wasn’t looking at Mira. He was looking at me. “Three days to think about it. To come to me. If you don’t... I’ll do it in the square. Same place and this time I won’t be gentle.”
The bond flared. Pain shot through me and I doubled over.
Mira caught me before I hit the floor.
“Get out,” she snarled at him. “Get the f**k out of her house.”
Zayden hesitated and for one second I thought he might come to me. Touch me.
Then Serena took his arm and he let her.
He paused at the door. “Three days, Isla.”
Then they were gone.
The door closed and I collapsed.
Mira was holding me, rocking me, whispering my name but I couldn’t hear her over the screaming in my head.
The bond. Goddess, the bond.
It felt like he was tearing it out of me piece by piece just by threatening it.
“Breathe,” Mira said fiercely. “Breathe, Isla. Look at me.”
I opened my eyes. Tears were streaming down my face.
“He wants me to—” I couldn’t finish.
“I know,” Mira said. She brushed the hair from my face. “And you’re not going to do it. You hear me? You’re not.”
“How?” I whispered. “He’ll snap it. He’ll kill me, Mira. You know what public rejection does.”
“I know,” she said. Her eyes were wet too. “But you’re stronger than him. You’re stronger than this pack. And you’re not alone. You’ve got me.”
I clutched her hand. The bond pulled again and I cried out.
Three days.
Three days before he either claimed me as a breeder or broke me in front of everyone.
Outside, the wind howled and inside, my wolf was dying.
- Writer
