His Mark, My Curse

Chapter Three

Aria's POV

When I opened my eyes, I was staring at a ceiling I didn't recognize.

For a second, nothing made sense.

Then it all came back.

The courtyard. The pain in my chest. The bond pulling tighter the farther I tried to move. Caleb.

I sat up too fast.

My body ached. Everything ached.

I looked around.

Big room. Masculine. Everything sharp lines and dark wood. And that scent.

No.

I threw off the blanket and swung my legs over the bed.

The door opened before I could stand.

Caleb.

He stopped when he saw me awake. For a moment, neither of us moved.

Then his face went blank. That controlled mask he wore.

"You're awake," he said.

I just stared at him.

"This is your room," he said. Not a question.

"You brought me here?"

"There was nowhere closer."

I laughed. It came out sharp.

"Right. The Alpha of Mooncrest has no other rooms in this packhouse."

His jaw tightened. Just barely. But I caught it.

I stood up. The room tilted for half a second, then steadied.

"I'm leaving."

"You're not."

The words came too fast. Like they were ripped out of him.

I looked at him. Really looked.

He wasn't angry. He was tense. Like he was holding something in and it was taking everything he had.

"Do you hear yourself?" I asked. "You rejected me in front of the entire pack. Then you drag me into your room and tell me I can't leave?"

His eyes stayed on mine.

"I didn't drag you."

"That's your correction?"

Something flickered across his face. Annoyance. Maybe guilt.

He took a step closer.

"Aria."

My name sounded different like that. Lower. Less guarded.

It made everything worse.

"No," I cut in. "You don't get to do this. You don't get to act like any of this is normal."

"It isn't."

The honesty caught me off guard.

I asked the question I'd been circling since I woke.

"Why did you reject me?"

The words landed between us. Heavy.

Caleb looked away first.

That told me everything. Because Caleb didn't look away from anything.

"Because I had to," he said.

"That's not an answer."

"It's the only one you're getting."

Something inside me snapped. Not the bond. Something else. Something I'd been holding together for years.

I stepped closer until there was barely space between us.

"Do you know what I hated most?" I asked.

His eyes met mine.

I didn't wait for permission.

"It wasn't that you changed. People change. I got that."

My throat tightened but I pushed through.

"It was that you acted like I meant nothing. Like those years never happened. Like I was just some stranger in your way."

His composure cracked.

Only slightly. But enough that I saw it.

That hit him.

Good.

"It was easier that way," he said after a moment.

I stared at him.

"Easier for who?"

He didn't answer.

The silence said everything.

I shook my head and turned to walk past him.

He caught my wrist.

Not rough. Just enough to stop me.

The second his skin touched mine, something inside me pulled tight.

Both of us felt it.

I saw his breath change. Saw his grip shift.

My chest tightened in response.

We stood there frozen.

Neither pulling away.

Neither moving closer.

And for one second, I was younger again.

Standing too close to him beneath the old willow tree near the pack border.

Both of us pretending not to notice what was happening between us.

Before titles. Before distance. Before everything got complicated.

His voice broke the silence.

"You should have stayed away."

Quiet. Almost rough.

"Why?" I asked.

He searched my face for a long moment.

Then he said, "Because now I can't."

I stopped breathing.

Before I could ask what that meant, someone knocked on the door. Hard.

Caleb let go of me immediately.

The distance came back like a wall.

"Enter," he said.

A guard stepped inside, looking uncomfortable.

"Alpha. The elders are here."

Caleb's expression hardened.

"What do they want?"

The guard hesitated. Then looked at me.

"They know about the bond awakening," he said. "They're demanding she be removed before sunrise."

The silence that followed was sharp as a blade.

I looked at Caleb.

He looked back at me.

And in his eyes, I saw something I hadn't expected.

Fear.