Chapter 6
1134 Words
Arabella POV
Despite the lateness of the hour, I'm still hearing echoes of the masquerade ball in my mind. I am now at home again in the mansion, and all the lavishness cannot take the whirlwind of my thoughts away. This night had seen masks of different types-both real and metaphorical-but most burning into my mind is the face of a peculiar man.
Caleb Storm.
The flash of silver in his eyes had struck through me as lightning, and his aura-had shaken me under an unexplained feeling. The moment I had felt the spark of our connection, my body had rebelled, every instinct screaming at me to run. But I couldn't. I stood there frozen, not knowing who he was or why I had reacted in such a manner. The mind of mine raced with memories.
His whisper, that cold touch, and the way he had tasted the word: "Mate".
I knew deep inside of me that it wasn't a trick. No. It was real. The mate bond was unmistakable; the mate bond is an ancient force binding the wolves together. And yet, the feeling of it being him was...wrong. Something about him was sent into my nerves, unsettling yet beautiful. But this time, I have better things to do than indulge in such a distraction. There is a plan, and no mate, especially a Caleb kind of mate, is not part of it.
After an entire hour of pacing in my room and trying hard not to think about Caleb, I finally reached my limit. Fresh air awaits me-space where I can think clearly. A little clearer head. I nearly ran through the mansion in my jacket, boots noisily echoing off the stone underfoot. The night, however, is still, as if the world itself is holding its breath, awaiting something.
As I stepped outside, the cold breeze entered like an old friend into a cool night. It is soothing, the balm to my restless soul.
I wandered aimlessly, led by my feet to the edge of the pack's territory. I often found solace here, among these quiet woods, where no one could catch me existing effortlessly without the burden of being the pack's Luna or the broken-hearted mate of Jacques.
But something about this night felt different, though. The woods, usually so soothing, felt almost claustrophobic, like they were keeping something-or someone-eagerly watching me.
I shook off the feeling and tried to focus on the sound of my footsteps crunching in the dry leaves beneath me. The moon hung high above, casting pale light on the clearing ahead, but just as I reached the place where I usually found solace, something stopped me.
Then a figure stepped out of the shadows, moving into the moonlight with a quiet grace. My breath caught in my throat.
It was him.
Caleb Storm.
His silhouette against the backdrop of the moon, his piercing silver eyes locked onto mine the moment I saw him. The whole world evaporated away, and all I could hear was the intense thrum of my heartbeat.
What was he doing here?
I took a step back, instinct screaming at me to run, but my legs wouldn't move. My entire body suddenly seemed paralyzed, unable to break away from the pull of his presence. His gaze held steady, and I could feel the intensity of his eyes as though they were trying to read every hidden thought in my mind.
"Arabella," he said then, his voice a low rumble rich with authority and something else-something raw.
The hair on the back of my neck stood up as he said my name.
“I said, “Caleb,” the one word sounded so full and heavy on my tongue.
“What are you doing here?”
He never answered right away. Instead, he half-launched himself forward, methodically… as a predator growling toward point. I dared not move but relented to every bit of me screaming to move backwards. Some part of him screamed at me- no YOU AREN'T HUMAN he was more than a wolf!
“Let me find you,” he said, his statement firm locked but delicate.
That I…. . To find me?” it was barely a whisper, I could feel my heart pounding and choking on the air.
“The bond. You sensed it, too, didn't you?
I wanted to lie, to tell him I am right. But I couldn't. I he had known, the undeniable pull, the sparks that had flowed just after our skin withstood at ball. The mate bond was for real, and it scared me.
“I WILL NOT!” I blurted out. You cannot have this. This is not ok.
You have to pick who you are fated to, Caleb smirked but there was a shadow in his eyes. “You are not getting out until we discuss this…”
His words hit home, like a physical weight at my chest. He wasn't just some hang loafer. He wasn't a run - into - the - face. Caleb Storm was here because of the mate bond, and there was no getting out of that.
We were both suffocated by an aura of apprehension and I could sense my wolf getting more and more agitated in me.
I shook my head, “You don’t get it. You have NO idea the s**t I have been through You shouldn’t have to be chained to anyone ever again
Caleb got a little closer, his eyes never wavered from mine. “If you ever lose everything. Being betrayed by the people you trusted the most. He almost whispered, “but the meld it ain’t a liar Arabella. You can beat it for so long, and yet I reached to speak, the words half formed in my mouth. Embarked on a sentence formation but Caleb grabbed my wrist with his hand.
I gasped, but it was not fear. It was fire — and I could feel the path of it traveling down both my arms as its heat pulled me to him.
“He said he can tell you” his voice was an order but something in his eyes was just a little less commanding, it barely nudged me on.
Between us it was immensely silent in the woods, as if it knew that I needed to make my decision.
I don't know what to do but I can't help but take a stumbling step towards him as if some force deep inside was pulling me towards the sound.
But then, just as I thought I would actually get somewhere everything changed.
My world blurred in front of me the floor beneath me crumbling as black creeps in.
In the last moment before I blacked out I heard Caleb whispering my name in a deep dangerous voice.
“Arabella…"
- Writer
