A PLEA
1870 Words
CHAPTER ELEVEN
A PLEA
ELENA'S POV
My fingers shook as I gently grasped Liam’s wrist, guiding him inside the house. The weight of what had just happened lingered in the air like a shadow that refused to leave. I let go of his arm as soon as we crossed the threshold and sat down on the couch, still trying to wrap my mind around the scene outside. Liam stood near the door, his posture rigid, as if something was clawing at him from the inside. He seemed like he wanted to say something but wasn’t sure how to begin.
An uneasy silence settled between us, each second stretching out longer than the last. The ticking of the clock on the wall only served to make the silence more unbearable. I shifted uncomfortably, waiting for him to speak, to break the heavy stillness.
Finally, he took a deep breath, his voice coming out quieter than I expected. “There’s something I need to tell you.”
I blinked, caught off guard by his serious tone. *A secret?* My heart skipped a beat, and I immediately felt a strange awkwardness settle in my chest. “A secret?” I echoed, unsure of how I felt about it. Liam wasn’t the kind of person I expected to open up easily, especially to me.
He nodded, stepping closer but not too close, as if keeping a small distance between us was a necessity for him. “Yeah… something I’ve never told anyone.”
That made my heart race faster. I didn’t know why, but the thought of Liam, this confident, often arrogant man, confiding in me—it felt… wrong. Or maybe it was just unexpected. He had always been so guarded, so… untouchable.
“I don’t know if you...” I started, not sure if I wanted to hear it, but he cut me off before I could finish.
“I need to tell you.” His voice was firmer now, a hint of desperation beneath the words. “Not even Derek knows.”
That made me pause. Derek? The beta who practically knew everything about Liam?
“Okay,” I said softly, unsure of what else to say. I could see the way he was struggling to find the right words, and it unnerved me. This wasn’t the Liam I was used to—the one who could command a room with just a look.
He took another deep breath, rubbing his hand over the back of his neck before speaking again. “You know how I always act like I’m in control? Like nothing gets to me?”
I nodded. Of course, I knew. Liam always carried himself like he had the world at his feet. Untouchable, unbothered. He was the Alpha. Nothing fazed him.
“It’s all a lie.” His words came out sharp, bitter, and I could feel the weight behind them. His eyes finally met mine, and the rawness in them made my chest tighten. “I’m not as invincible as I want people to think. I...” He hesitated, his jaw clenching as if he was battling himself to keep going.
I didn’t say anything, waiting for him to continue. Something told me this was important—more important than I realized.
“I’m terrified,” he whispered, the words barely audible. “Terrified of losing control.”
My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “Control?” I asked softly. “Of what?”
“Of myself. Of everything,” he admitted, his voice laced with frustration as he ran a hand through his hair. “I’ve always had to be strong, always had to keep things together. But lately, it’s like…like I can’t. Like I’m losing my grip, and the harder I try, the more everything falls apart.”
I stared at him, my heart aching at the vulnerability in his voice. This wasn’t the Liam I knew. The Liam I knew didn’t admit to fear, didn’t let anyone see him falter. But here he was, confessing that beneath all the bravado, all the confidence, he was just as scared as anyone else. Maybe more.
“Liam…” I started, not really knowing where I was going with it, but he shook his head quickly.
“No, let me finish,” he said, his voice a little more urgent now. “I’m scared because I feel something for you, Elena. And I can’t control it. And that scares the hell out of me.”
My breath caught in my throat at his confession. My mind raced to process what he had just said. He… felt something for me? Liam, the Alpha who seemed like he could never be fazed by anyone, was scared because of me?
“I’ve always been able to keep my emotions in check,” he continued, his gaze locking onto mine. “But with you, I can’t. Every time I’m near you, I feel like I’m losing control. And it’s not just because you’re my mate. It’s… more than that.”
I didn’t know what to say. My hands gripped the edge of the couch, my heart pounding so loudly I was sure he could hear it. Part of me wanted to run, to push him away, because the intensity of his words was overwhelming. But another part of me—one I didn’t fully understand—felt drawn to him in a way I wasn’t ready to admit.
“I don’t know…” I trailed off, my voice barely above a whisper. I didn’t know what to feel, what to think.
“I’m not asking you for anything,” he said quickly, as if sensing my hesitation. “I just needed you to know. I needed you to understand why I’m the way I am with you. I don’t want to lose control, but I can’t help it. Not when it comes to you.”
His words hung in the air between us, raw and vulnerable. My breath caught in my throat, the gravity of his confession weighing heavily in the quiet room. I could see the tension in his posture, his muscles tight as if he was bracing for my reaction.
He cleared his throat suddenly, breaking the moment. “I, uh... I actually only came back to grab something I dropped earlier.” His voice shifted, more detached now. “Some papers from a meeting... thought they might’ve fallen in here.”
He glanced around the room, clearly trying to divert from the intense conversation we had just been having. It was like he was retreating back into that safe, controlled version of himself, the one who didn’t let anyone see too far beneath the surface.
I watched him as he moved towards the door, clearly intending to leave. My heart raced, panic bubbling in my chest. *Was that it?* He drops a bomb like that and then leaves?
Before I could stop myself, my hand shot out, catching his arm. “Liam, wait.”
He turned, his eyes wide with surprise as they met mine. I could feel my pulse pounding in my ears, but I wasn’t about to let him walk away, not after what he had just said.
There was a part of me that wanted to let it go, to pretend this conversation never happened. But the other part—the part that had been carrying around my own questions, my own confusion—couldn’t hold it in any longer. “Why were you so wild with me in the woods?”
Liam’s brow furrowed. “Wild?”
“You practically pinned me your anger on me, threatened and made me look like I weighed nothing!,” I continued, my voice shaking slightly as I recalled the intensity of that moment. “You acted like you couldn’t control yourself. And now, you’re telling me all of this, like you want me to understand something, but you’re not saying it outright.” I took a breath, my hand still gripping his arm. “Are you… is this your way of asking me not to reject you?”
His expression shifted, a flash of something—fear, maybe?—flickering across his face before he could mask it. He didn’t answer right away, and that silence only made the tension between us grow. My heart was hammering now, every second that passed amplifying the weight of the question.
Finally, he exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair in frustration. “I don’t know what I’m asking, Elena,” he admitted, his voice rough. “I just...” He cut himself off, looking away from me as though he couldn’t bear to say the words. “I don’t want to lose you, but I’m not asking you to make any decisions right now.”
“But you are asking me for something, aren’t you?” I pressed, my grip on his arm tightening slightly. “You’re not just telling me this because you needed to get it off your chest. You’re telling me because you don’t want me to reject you.”
His jaw clenched, and for a moment, I thought he might storm out without answering. But then, he looked at me again, his eyes blazing with an intensity that sent a shiver down my spine. “Yes,” he said finally, his voice low and strained. “I’m asking you not to reject me.”
I swallowed hard, my throat dry. “And what if I do?” The question slipped out before I could stop it, and I immediately regretted it. But it was too late to take it back.
Liam’s eyes darkened, and for a moment, I thought I saw a flicker of something dangerous in them. He stepped closer, and I could feel the heat radiating off of him, the raw power that he kept so carefully restrained.
“If you reject me,” he said slowly, his voice a low growl, “it won’t change how I feel. You can push me away all you want, Elena, but it won’t make me stop wanting you. It won’t make me stop fighting for you.”
His words sent a jolt of fear and something else—something thrilling—through me. I could feel the tension crackling between us, like the air before a storm. I had never seen Liam like this—so raw, so unguarded. It scared me, but it also drew me in, like a moth to a flame.
I took a shaky breath, trying to steady myself. “And if I don’t reject you?”
He was so close now, his eyes boring into mine. “Then you’ll see just how far I’m willing to go to prove that you’re mine.”
I opened my mouth to respond, but the words caught in my throat. There was a part of me that wanted to run, to push him away and deny what I was feeling. But there was another part of me, deeper and more primal, that wanted to see what he would do if I didn’t reject him.
And now, I was starting to feel, I made myself distant from him. Had I be too locked up?
- Writer
