This Is a Mistake
946 Words
Reza
The moment stretches.
Too tight.
Too close.
The supply room feels smaller than it did seconds ago, the air thickening until it’s almost hard to breathe, charged, like it’s waiting for something to break. My pulse hammers in my ears, loud enough that I’m sure he can hear it. I keep my back to him, hands braced on the counter, breath shallow and uneven.
Don’t turn.
Starla prowls beneath my skin, restless, alert, coiled tight like a drawn bow.
- He’s right there.
- Yes, I think back, jaw tightening. That’s the problem.
Behind me, Aaron doesn’t move, but his presence presses in anyway, heavy and undeniable. The bond hums low and constant now, no longer content to sit quietly in the background. It pulls. Tugs. Demands attention.
I inhale slowly and turn.
He’s already watching me like he’s braced for impact, like one wrong breath from me might shatter what little control he has left. His eyes are dark, stripped bare of rank or restraint or reason. There’s no Alpha there. No calm authority.
Just raw focus.
On me.
The bond tightens.
Not a warning.
A pull.
Starla surges forward, fierce and unafraid.
- Take him.
Heat floods my body, sudden and overwhelming, licking down my spine, pooling low and sharp. My breath stutters, chest rising too fast, too shallow. My skin feels too sensitive, nerves sparking like they’ve been laid bare.
Aaron takes one step toward me.
That’s all it takes.
The bond snaps tight, not painful, not violent, but inevitable. Like something long denied finally claiming its shape. Like gravity remembering what it’s meant to hold.
I move first.
I don’t plan it. I don’t hesitate. My hands fist in his jacket as I close the distance and crash into him, my mouth finding his like I’ve been starved.
He makes a sound, low, broken, and then his control shatters.
He catches me hard, arms wrapping around me with brutal precision, hauling me flush against him like letting go is no longer an option. The kiss is fire and hunger and months of restraint burning off in one violent collision.
Starla howls in triumph.
- Yes. This. Ours.
The bond erupts.
Heat coils and coils and coils, spiralling until there’s nothing but him, his mouth, his scent, his heartbeat pounding against my ribs. He kisses me like he’s been waiting his entire life to do exactly this, like he’s afraid I’ll vanish if he doesn’t take everything he’s allowed.
And then some.
His hand slides into my hair, firm but careful, reverent in a way that steals my breath. He anchors me there, fingers spread at the base of my skull like the world might tilt if he lets go. His mouth slows, deepens, turns devastating, like he wants to memorize me.
I gasp into the kiss, fingers digging into his shoulders. My body arches into him without permission, without restraint, every instinct screaming for more. My knees feel weak, my balance dependent entirely on his hold.
Starla pushes hard.
- Seal it. Burn it in. Claim him.
The word pulses through my blood.
- Mate.
He groans against my mouth, the sound torn from somewhere feral. His wolf presses against the bond, vast, possessive, aching. A presence that makes my breath catch and my spine bow.
- Mine.
Starla answers instantly, fierce and unyielding.
- Yours.
The world tilts.
For one breathless, reckless moment, I let myself fall.
I let myself feel how right it is, the fit of him, the pull of the bond singing in perfect harmony, the way my body responds like it’s always known this shape, this heat. I forget the pack. The politics. Bethany’s eyes. The weight of being new, being watched, being judged.
I forget what’s smart.
Then something snaps.
Not logic.
Not fear.
A reflex.
I pull back sharply, breaking the kiss like tearing myself out of flame. My hands shove against his chest, sudden and decisive.
“No.”
He freezes instantly.
The bond screams.
His eyes snap open, blazing, breath ragged, lips still parted like he’s already chasing me again. His hands hover in the air for half a second, caught between instinct and restraint, before they drop to his sides.
I step back.
Once.
Twice.
The heat still burns. My lips throb. My chest aches like something has been ripped out mid-beat. My hands tremble, curling into fists at my sides.
Starla snarls, furious and wanting.
- What are you doing?
I don’t answer her.
I don’t explain.
I don’t soften it.
“This is a mistake.”
The words fall clean. Sharp. Final.
He looks like I’ve struck him.
“Reza..”
I’m already turning.
I don’t let him finish. I don’t give him space to argue, to reason, to pull me back in. My hand finds the door and yanks it open.
Cool air slams into my overheated skin, shocking and necessary. The corridor beyond feels impossibly bright, impossibly normal, like the world didn’t just tilt on its axis inside that room.
I leave.
The door shuts behind me with a muted thud.
_____________
Aaron
I stay where I am.
Chest heaving.
Hands clenched.
Mouth burning with the taste of her.
The bond is blazing so bright it hurts, stretched taut and screaming for completion.
Shay roars inside me, furious and desperate.
- She’s ours!
I drag a hand through my hair, breath shaking as I stare at the closed door like it might open again if I will it hard enough.
“She wanted it,” I mutter hoarsely.
The bond answers with raw, aching certainty.
So did I.
And she’s gone.
Leaving me burning.
Exploding with need.
- Writer
