62

62
Thalia’s POV

The walls felt smaller after Jaden’s confession. Trapped. That single word had rooted itself inside me like a thorn, pricking every time I tried to breathe. My room was supposed to be my sanctuary, but with him standing there, the air was too heavy, the silence too sharp.
I turned my face toward the balcony, hoping the cold morning breeze might cut through the suffocating weight pressing against my chest. But the bond pulsed between us like an invisible chain, reminding me with every heartbeat that there was no true escape.
“Why me?” My voice cracked against the quiet. “Out of everyone in this cursed pack, why did it have to be me?”
Behind me, Jaden didn’t move. For a moment, I thought he wouldn’t answer at all. Then, his voice came low, rough, like stone grinding against stone.
“The curse never explains itself. It chose you because it could. Because fate is cruel.”
I bit down on my lip until I tasted iron. “So that’s it? I’m just supposed to accept this bond, let it eat at me until I can’t breathe without you?”
His silence was its own answer.
I whirled on him. “You don’t even look surprised! Was this your plan all along? To claim me, trap me like this, so I couldn’t refuse you?”
For the first time, his expression cracked. His eyes darkened, jaw clenching. “Do you think I wanted this?” He took a step closer, voice rising. “You think I wanted to see your skin burned by my curse? To know that if I lose control, it’ll tear through you too? No, Thalia. I would’ve given anything for it not to be you.”
The words hit hard, but I refused to let them soften me. I wrapped my arms around myself, pressing my trembling hands into my sides. “Then why do I feel like it is exactly what you wanted?”
He flinched, just barely, but enough that I noticed. The flicker of guilt in his eyes was sharper than any blade.
“You’re lying,” I whispered. “You knew something like this would happen when you bit me.”
Jaden’s hands curled into fists. “I didn’t know. I only wanted to scare you—make you keep your distance from me. But the curse…” His voice faltered, rough with a weight I couldn’t decipher. “It claimed you anyway.”
For a moment, neither of us spoke. The room felt like a battlefield—me at one end, him at the other, the bond strung tight between us like a rope ready to snap.
I wanted to scream. I wanted to claw at my arm until the mark disappeared, to prove I was still mine and not his. But every time the thought came, the bond tightened, whispering that such defiance would only hurt me more.
I turned back to the balcony, gripping the railing so hard my knuckles ached. “I don’t know how much longer I can survive this.”
Behind me, I heard his footsteps approach. My body stiffened instinctively. His presence carried heat, a dangerous warmth that crawled over my skin even before he touched me.
But he didn’t. He stopped just short of reaching me. “You will survive,” he said, low and steady, as if daring the world to prove him wrong.
I let out a shaky laugh. “You sound so sure.”
“I have to be.”
The bond pulsed again, hotter this time, spreading through my chest like fire. My breath stuttered. I knew what it meant: his emotions bleeding into me. Whatever fury or desperation lived in him, it tangled into my veins until it was impossible to tell where he ended and I began.
“No.” I pressed my palms against the railing, forcing air into my lungs. “I won’t let this control me.”
His voice softened behind me. “It’s already inside you. Pretend all you like, Thalia, but the curse doesn’t take no for an answer.”
I hated him for saying it. Hated him more because part of me knew it was true.
Before I could spit another word, a knock rattled the door. Both of us froze.
Nancy’s voice slipped through, calm but firm. “Thalia, may I come in?”
Jaden stiffened, his gaze snapping toward the door like a predator caught off guard. I swallowed, uneasy. Nyra, Nancy—whatever name she bore—she had a way of twisting every moment into something sharp.
“Come,” I said, my voice tight.
The door opened and she stepped inside, her eyes sweeping immediately to my wrist. Her expression didn’t flicker, but I swore I caught the faintest curve of satisfaction at the corner of her lips.
“So it’s true,” she murmured. “The bond has taken root.”
“Leave,” Jaden growled, his voice deepening, darker than I’d heard before.
Nancy’s smile widened just enough to be infuriating. “Oh, Alpha, don’t be so protective. I’m only here to help.”
I glanced between them, tension sparking in the air. The way she looked at him wasn’t fear—it was defiance, almost mockery. And the way he glared back at her… there was history there, sharp and poisonous.
“What kind of help?” I demanded, stepping forward.
Nancy’s gaze flicked to me. “Advice. That mark will spread unless you learn to balance the bond. If you keep resisting it, you’ll weaken. Eventually, it won’t just burn your skin. It’ll burn your soul.”
My chest tightened, dread coiling in my gut.
“And how exactly do I ‘balance’ it?” I asked, though I wasn’t sure I wanted the answer.
Her eyes glinted. “By giving in. By accepting him—not just as your Alpha, but as your mate.”
The words struck like a slap. I recoiled, shaking my head violently. “No. Never.”
“Then prepare yourself for pain,” she said simply, tilting her head as though she’d already won. “Because this bond is a greedy thing. It will not be ignored.”
Jaden’s growl rumbled through the room, low and dangerous. “Enough. Get out.”
Nancy lingered, her smile sharp. Then, with a graceful bow, she slipped out, leaving the echo of her words burning in my ears.
The silence after her departure was heavier than before. My thoughts churned, colliding into one another until I thought I might break apart under their weight.
Submit. Accept. Mate.
No. I wouldn’t.
I turned on Jaden, fury trembling through me. “Is this what you wanted all along? For me to bend, to accept you because the curse says so?”
His eyes burned, but his voice was steady. “I want nothing forced between us, Thalia. Nothing.”
The bond pulsed, contradicting him. I pressed my hand against my chest, where the ache had grown unbearable. My voice cracked as I whispered, “Then why does it feel like everything about you is being forced into me?”
For once, he didn’t answer. He only stood there, silent, his own torment plain in his eyes. And somehow, that silence terrified me more than any words could have.
Because it meant he didn’t know either.
And if he didn’t know… then maybe there was no escape at all.