Guilty
1502 Words
~Iris
I walked over to lock my closet, fingers fumbling with the key, when the door swung open behind me.
Alice stepped in and closed it with a soft click that somehow sounded louder than a slam. Her skirt was shorter than usual, ridiculously short, riding high enough that I could see the smooth expanse of her thighs as she moved.
She knew exactly what she was doing.
“I know you’ve been trying to avoid me, Iris,” she said, voice low and firm, no room for excuses.
“I’m sorry, I…” I started, racking my brain for something that wouldn’t sound like the lie it was.
“I’ve been through things lately? I’m busy with classes? Life hasn’t been the same?” She cut me off, eyes narrowing. “Isn’t that the bullshit you were about to feed me? Do you think I’m stupid?”
The anger in her face made the guilt twist harder in my gut. I couldn’t even look at her properly.
She stepped closer, tears already glistening. “Do you remember who started this between us? You did. You kissed me first. You pushed me onto that bed, spread my legs, and ate me out while you held a handkerchief over my mouth so I wouldn’t scream the whole dorm down. You begged me not to stop you. And now you just… pull away? Like it meant nothing?”
A tear slipped down her cheek.
I felt my own eyes burn. I reached out without thinking, thumb brushing that tear away before it could fall. My hand lingered on her skin longer than it should have.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered, voice cracking. “I never meant to hurt you.”
But even as I said it, the mark on my neck throbbed, a hot secret reminder of the man waiting for me tonight.
And I hated myself for how much I still wanted to go to him.
But this was forbidden. I shouldn’t do this, not just because he was a man, when I’d spent my whole life swearing men did nothing for me, but because the age gap was something I could never say out loud without people judging.
And worst of all… he was Alice’s father. My girlfriend’s father.
Gosh, I had to stop this.
Alice was still standing too close, tears shining in her eyes, waiting for an answer that would fix everything.
I took a shaky breath. “Alice, I…”
“No,” she cut in, voice cracking. “Don’t give me another excuse. I can feel you slipping away, Iris. I’m not blind.”
Her hand came up, fingers brushing my cheek, then sliding down to the side of my neck, dangerously close to where Duncan’s mark hid under my hair. I flinched.
She noticed as I almost shouted in pain. Of course she did.
“What aren’t you telling me?” she whispered, hurt turning sharp.
I couldn’t let her see it.
In one quick move, I grabbed her wrist, pushed her back until she hit the closet door with a soft thud, and kissed her hard, desperate, pouring everything I had into it.
My tongue slid against hers, tasting salt from her tears, trying to drown out the memory of another mouth on mine last night.
She moaned into me, hands fisting my shirt, pulling me closer.
I broke the kiss just enough to speak against her lips.
“Get that f*****g idea out of your head,” I said, voice low and fierce. “I’m not leaving you. I would never leave you.”
Her eyes searched mine, hopeful and scared all at once.
“By 8:30 tonight, be home,” I told her. “I’ll be there. I swear. I just… I need to clear something up first. Alone.”
She nodded slowly, still breathing hard, lips swollen from the kiss.
I let go of her wrists, stepped back, and forced a smile I didn’t feel.
“I love you,” I said. And I meant it.
But as I turned to leave the room, the mark on my neck burned hotter than ever, reminding me exactly where I was headed at 8 p.m.
And who was waiting.
I waited until the clock hit 7:55, my stomach in knots, then slipped out of the dorm before the securities could come searching classes for whoever is locked in.
Outside, the night air was cool, but it did nothing to calm the heat under my skin. I hailed a cab, slid into the back seat, and stared out the window as the academy lights faded behind me.
Tears pricked at my eyes. I blinked them back hard.
“I won’t do it,” I whispered to myself, gripping my phone so tight my knuckles went white. “I’ll march in there and tell him straight to his face, this is wrong. Forbidden. f*****g his daughter’s best friend isn’t normal. It can’t happen again.”
Easier said than done. I knew it the second the words left my mouth.
The cab pulled up to The Obsidian Grand towering black glass and marble, the kind of place that screamed power and money.
Guards in dark suits were waiting the moment I stepped out. They recognized me somehow, maybe he’d sent my photo and escorted me through the private elevator without a word.
The doors opened directly into the penthouse suite.
And there he was.
Alpha Duncan stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows, city lights glittering behind him like a crown.
He’d changed since this morning, dark shirt unbuttoned at the collar, sleeves rolled up to show those tattooed forearms, hair curled and brushed back in a way that made him look dangerously refined.
The silver at his temples caught the low light, and his eyes, those piercing golden eyes locked on me the second I stepped in.
He didn’t sit until I did, waiting like a gentleman while my legs carried me to the plush sofa on shaky autopilot.
I sank down.
He followed, taking the chair across from me.
Every careful speech I’d rehearsed in the cab vanished.
All I could do was stare.
How the hell was a man over forty this handsome? It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t right.
And the mark on my neck throbbed like it knew exactly who its owner was.
He leaned forward slightly, elbows on his knees, voice low and steady.
“You came.”
Two words. That was all.
And they undid me completely.
His hand found my chin, rough thumb brushing the tears that had spilled over without my permission.
He tilted my face up, forcing me to meet his eyes, golden, stormy, completely lost.
“I don’t know what you’re doing to me,” he said, voice low and ragged. “I feel like I need you to survive more than I need food. Like if I don’t touch you right now, I’ll lose my f*****g mind.” His gaze dropped to my lips. “These lips… they’re tempting me every second I’m near you.”
He looked as confused as I felt, maybe more.
“And this…” His fingers moved to the silk scarf I’d wrapped around my neck to hide the mark.
He tugged it away in one smooth pull, exposing the fresh bite, still tender and raised. “How are you my mate? Why did I claim you?”
I swallowed hard. “Is that why you called me here tonight?”
“Who are you?” he demanded, voice sharpening. “That’s what I asked.”
Before I could answer, his hand shot to my throat, not gentle this time. He gripped tight, lifting me until my toes barely touched the floor.
“I’m just… a mere omega,” I choked out, air thinning. “No roots. Nothing special.”
He slammed my back against the wall, pinning me there, fingers still wrapped around my neck. His body pressed close, heat pouring off him, but his eyes were wild with something darker than lust.
“You’re hurting me,” I gasped, tears streaming freely now, hands clawing weakly at his wrist.
He didn’t loosen his hold.
“An Alpha shouldn’t fall in love,” he growled, face inches from mine. “He shouldn’t have an obsession. And if he does,” his grip tightened just enough to make my vision blur at the edges, “his responsibility is to cut it off.”
His thumb brushed the mark he’d left on me, almost tender, contradicting every word.
“Tell me one reason,” he said, voice breaking on the edge of a snarl, “why I should keep you alive.”
I couldn’t speak. I could barely breathe.
But my body, traitor that it was, leaned into him anyway, the bond pulling me closer even as fear screamed at me to fight.
Because the truth was, I didn’t have a reason.
And deep down, I wasn’t sure I wanted him to let go.
- Writer
