Chapter 14 Chapter 14
Stetson was standing beside Mr. Vale, hands in his pockets, eyes sharp and unreadable as the two men exchanged low words. The late afternoon sun hit his hair, turning the edges gold, but there was nothing warm about the way he looked at Vale.
When Mr. Vale saw Zarlia, he brightened. “There you are. Come on, I’ll drop you off”, he said, extending his hand.
Zarlia smiled politely and nodded, trying to ignore the weight of Stetson’s gaze. But before she could move, his voice cut through the air—calm but dangerous.
“Why didn’t you ask me for a ride?”
She froze. “I… you were busy and I couldn’t possibly b…bother you with—”
Before she could finish, Mr. Vale gently took her hand, attempting to lead her towards his car. “Come on, Miss Shaw, it’s fine”.
The next thing she knew, Stetson’s hand was on her arm, firm and possessive. He pulled her back, his eyes never leaving Mr. Vale.
“She’s not going with you”, Stetson said coldly.
“Excuse me?”, Mr. Vale’s brow shot up in surprise, a smirk attempting to form on his lips. His driver already chuckling silently.
Stetson stepped closer; his voice low but steady. “I’ll take her home myself”.
The two men locked eyes for a tense moment before Mr. Vale gave up—not like he put up an actual fight in the first place.
“Mr. West, you’re overreacting”, she started, but he ignored her completely.
“Make sure she knows who she belongs to”, Asher hissed
Stetson turned to Zarlia, leading her to his sleek black car, his voice quieter now. “Get in”. she hesitated, glancing once more at Mr. Vale before nodding. “Fine”.
As soon as she slipped inside, Stetson shot the older man a glare sharp enough to cut through glass, then walked around to the driver’s side.
The car door slammed shut, and the moment the engine started, Asher’s voice echoed again—calm now, but heavy with smug satisfaction. “You can lie to yourself all you want, Stetson. But she’s already yours”
The hum of the engine filled the air, and Zarlia kept her eyes fixed on the window, refusing to look at him. Stetson’s hands tightened on the steering wheel, the veins in his forearms standing out.
Finally, his voice cut through the quiet—low and controlled.
“Why did you want to follow him?”
She blinked, still staring outside. “He offered me a ride. It’s not that deep”
“It is that deep”
She turned to him, her tone sharper. “Excuse me?”
“You should have asked me”. His jaw clenched. “Next time, you will ask me”
Her browns drew together. “I don’t need to—”
“I’m not finished”, he interrupted, voice calm but iron-hard. “From now on, I’ll take you to work and take you home myself. You are not allowed to follow anyone else. Especially not Vale. Stay away from him”.
Sometime she wished she knew what was going on in Stetson’s head. Every new interaction is a whole new different personality. In the morning, he had made it clear that he didn’t like her and also refused to tell her more about who he was and when they first saw each other at the office, they make boundaries, legit boundaries but Stetson uses that line like a jump-rope.
She let out a bitter laugh, shaking her head. “You’re unbelievable. You don’t get to order me around Stetson. You don’t own me”
His eyes flickered towards her—gold bleeding into the brown, wolf close to the surface. “Yes”, he said quietly, dangerously. “I do”.
Her breath caught. “What did you say?”
“You belong to me.” His words were low, raw. “And the mark on your neck is proof”.
Her fingers flew to her neck instinctively, brushing over the faint, tender spot she’d noticed the morning after the night they slept together—the one she thought was just a bruise.
Her heartbeat quickened. “What did you do to me?”
He didn’t answer. His silence said everything.
Stetson had all the answers but he refused to tell. Zarlia could remember some of Mimi’s blog posts, it has nothing about bite marks but a word popped in her head ‘Mate’. It made her wonder if it had anything to do with her. Was she his mate?
The thought of it made her worry the more
“Stetson”, she whispered, voice trembling now. “What did you do?”. Still nothing. His jaw tightened; his eyes fixed straight ahead—as if he couldn’t bear to look at her.
The car slowed to a stop.
She frowned, confused, until she looked out the window—and her stomach dropped. Her house.
And on the front porch—Romero.
He was shouting, throwing her bags one by one onto the ground. Clothes, shoes, her old laptop. Each one hitting the pavement like an insult. Beside him, Letisha stood smugly with her arms crossed, a lazy smirk on her glossy lips.
Zarlia’s voice cracked. “What…what is he doing?”
She stepped out of the car before Stetson could stop her. He gripped the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles went pale, fighting the urge to follow. His wolf was restless, pacing in the back of his mind.
“You’re just going to sit here?” Asher’s voice was sharp, impatient. “I’ll lose control if I go out there”, Stetson thought back, forcing a steady breath. “She doesn’t need that right now”.
“She needs you”, Asher growled. “She’s ours”
Outside, Zarlia walked towards Romero, her steps unsteady but her chin high. She didn’t know why he was at her house which may have something to do with his calls but she stood tall.
“Romero”, she called out. “What are you doing?”
He turned, eyes blazing. “What’s it looks like I’m doing? I’m taking my house back”, he smiled while Letisha smirked in the corner.
“Your house?”, she repeated, her voice tight.
“Yeah,” he sneered, tossing another bag to the curb. “I paid the rent. You couldn’t keep up remember? You wanted to act independent, now look at you”
Zarlia couldn’t understand, since when does he pay rent, she had always been the one paying rent. The landlord had given her a month to arrange the money and since she just got a new job, she was waiting for the pay.
She shook her head, chest heaving. “You can’t just throw me out. I’ve got nowhere else to go”.
“Not my problem”, he snapped.
Letisha, standing by the wall with her arms crossed, stepped forward. “Maybe if you focused on getting a proper job instead of chasing men who don’t want you, you wouldn’t be in such a mess”.
Zarlia’s breath caught. For a moment, she said nothing—then her hand moved before her mind her mind could ever stop it.
Smack!
The sound echoed through the street. Letisha stumbled back; eyes wide.
“You little—” Romero started, shoving Zarlia hard. She hit the pavement, pain shooting up her arms as she fell.
That was the last thing Stetson saw before the thin thread of control snapped. The car door slammed open. He was across the yard in seconds, eyes dark, chest heaving. The moment Romero saw him, his expression faltered.
Zarlia looked up, stunned. “Stetson—”
He didn’t say a word. He knelt, his hand gentle as he helped her up, brushing dirt off her sleeve. “You’re done here”, he said quietly.
Romero’s jaw tightened. “And who the hell are you supposed to be?”
“The man she’s leaving with”, Stetson replied coldly.
Zarlia’s lips parted in shock, but before she could protest, Stetson’s hand was already on her lower back, guiding her towards the car.
“She’ll stay with me”, he said firmly. “And if I ever see you near her again— “. He stopped himself, his eyes flashing gold before he forced them back to normal. “—don’t”
Romero said nothing. Letisha’s glare burned but neither of them dared to move.