chapter 17 Isla
859 Words
I didn’t stay.
Not after the way everything shifted without actually changing.
His parents.
The bond.
The way everyone seemed to already know what was going to happen—except me.
I turned before anyone could say anything else, moving toward the door without asking, without waiting.
“I’m not staying in here,” I said.
Silence followed for half a second.
Then—
“Let her go.”
His mother’s voice cut in.
Calm.
But not optional.
I didn’t hesitate. I stepped out into the hall, the door closing behind me before anyone could stop me—before I could second guess it.
I didn’t run.
I could have.
But I didn’t.
I just needed space.
Air.
Something that wasn’t him.
The Alpha floor felt different now. Less suffocating—or maybe I was just too overwhelmed to feel it the same way.
I walked without direction at first, my thoughts too loud, too tangled to settle into anything solid.
Footsteps echoed behind me.
Steady.
Unhurried.
Of course.
I didn’t stop. Didn’t turn.
“Really?” I muttered under my breath. “Of course you’re here.”
A quiet breath of amusement came from behind me.
“Can you blame him?”
I stopped then, turning just enough to glance over my shoulder.
Not Nico.
Taller than I remembered. Broader. Familiar.
“Seth,” I said flatly.
His mouth twitched slightly.
“Still quick.”
I rolled my eyes and turned fully this time.
“So you’re babysitting now?”
“Following,” he corrected easily. “There’s a difference.”
“Not really.”
He didn’t argue that. He never wasted words when he didn’t have to.
I crossed my arms slightly, studying him for a second. He hadn’t changed much.
Still calm.
Still observant.
Still standing just close enough to be annoying.
“You gonna report everything I say too?” I asked.
“That depends,” he said. “You planning on saying something worth reporting?”
I huffed quietly and looked away.
“Relax. I’m not running.”
“I know.”
That made me look back at him.
“You do?”
He shrugged slightly.
“You would’ve already tried.”
I hated that he was right.
“Why is he like this?” I asked after a second.
Seth didn’t pretend not to know who I meant.
“Like what?”
“Like—” I stopped, frustrated, searching for the right words.
“Like he doesn’t hate me enough.”
Seth didn’t answer right away.
Which meant something.
“He should,” I added. “After everything.”
Seth’s gaze sharpened slightly.
“He was never good at that,” he said.
“Yeah, well—he should’ve learned.”
“He tried.”
That stopped me.
My brows pulled together.
“What does that mean?”
Seth exhaled quietly, like he was deciding how much to say.
“He didn’t shut up about you,” he said finally.
I blinked.
“What?”
“After you left. You were the only thing he talked about for months.”
My chest tightened.
“That doesn’t make sense.”
“It doesn’t have to.”
The same words Nico used.
That didn’t help.
“He almost went after you,” Seth added.
That hit harder.
My breath caught slightly before I could stop it.
“Then why didn’t he?”
“Because he wasn’t allowed to.”
My confusion sharpened.
“What?”
“His parents didn’t want to push you further away,” Seth said. “They thought if he came after you, you’d run farther.”
My chest tightened again.
“They knew where I was?”
Seth hesitated this time.
“I think they had a good idea,” he said. “Enough to make sure you were safe.”
“And Nico?”
Seth shook his head once.
“He didn’t know. Not really.”
That didn’t sit right.
None of it did.
“So they just… let me go?”
“As long as you were alive, yeah.”
Silence settled between us.
Heavier this time.
Because that changed things.
Because it meant everything I thought I knew—
Wasn’t right.
I started walking again without thinking, needing movement more than anything else. Seth followed easily, not pushing, not crowding—just there.
We passed through the lower corridor and out toward the open grounds, the air shifting as soon as we stepped outside.
The training field stretched out ahead of us, quiet at this hour.
Open.
Too open.
I stopped near the edge of it, my arms crossing loosely as I stared out across the space without really seeing it.
“I don’t get it,” I muttered.
Seth didn’t answer right away.
He didn’t need to.
A shift moved through the bond.
Sharp.
Immediate.
Anger.
My head turned instinctively.
Nico.
Close.
Too close.
Seth exhaled quietly beside me.
“Well,” he said under his breath, “this should be interesting.”
I didn’t move.
Didn’t run.
Didn’t step back.
I just stood there—
And waited.
Because this time—
I wasn’t leaving first.
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