NOT YOURS TO CAGE
277 Words
The silence between us stretched.
Heavy.
Unbreakable.
“You’re not leaving.”
Kael’s voice was calm.
Too calm.
Like the decision had already been made for me.
But something inside me refused to accept that.
“I am,” I said, even though my body trembled slightly from the effort of standing.
His gaze dropped briefly to my condition, then back to my face.
“You can barely stand,” he said. “You’re in no position to argue.”
“I don’t need to argue,” I replied quietly. “I just need to leave.”
Frustration flickered across his expression.
“You’re being unreasonable.”
“No,” I said. “I’m being realistic.”
The words hit harder than I expected.
Because deep down…
He knew I was right.
“This pack is the safest place for you,” he insisted.
A bitter smile touched my lips.
“Safe?” I repeated. “Is that what you call it?”
His jaw tightened.
“You’re under my protection.”
“That’s not protection,” I said firmly. “That’s control.”
Silence.
Again.
That same silence that always followed when the truth was too close.
“I won’t let anything happen to you,” he said.
“You already did.”
That stopped him.
Completely.
For a moment, the Alpha disappeared.
And all that was left was a man who had made a mistake he couldn’t undo.
“I won’t lose you,” he said quietly.
The words caught me off guard.
But they didn’t change anything.
“You don’t get to decide that,” I replied.
And this time…
I meant every word.
- Writer
