Chapter 69

Chapter 69
Jesse

“I own you now.”

The words didn’t fade. It stayed right there in my head, loud and heavy, like Maddox had carved them straiht into me instead of saying them out loud.

This was serious. Maddox was obsessed and if I didn't do anything, I was done for. So I spoke.

“No,” I said. "No, you don’t own me.

Maddox didn’t react the way I expected. He didn’t get angry. He didn’t raise his voice. He didn’t even threaten me. Instead, he smiled like I had just said something funny.

“That confidence,” he said, tilting his head slightly. 

“I missed that a lot.”

“I’m serious,” I snapped at him. “You don’t own me. You can lock me up, you can threaten Rhea, you can drag me across territories, but that doesn’t mean you own me.”

He stepped closer to me in a deliberate manner but not rushing, not backing me into anything. Just close enough that I could feel him there.

“Don’t fight this, Jesse,” he said quietly. “Don’t fight me.”

'You’re not making any sense. You talk like this is some destiny thing, like I’m supposed to just roll over and accept it.”

“The more you fight,” he continued, ignoring my words, “the more it’s going to hurt you.”

“That’s not an answer,” I shot back. “That’s just another threat you're making.”

He sighed, like I was the stubborn one in the room. 

“You need to let go of your old life.” He said.

“My old life?” I repeated.

"The pack that rejected you and the years you spent running as a rogue?”

I opened my mouth to say something back but then closed it again. I didn’t like where this was going.

“Tell me something,” Maddox said. “When you were in Revelle Pack… were you happy?”

“That’s none of your business.” I told him flatly

“That wasn’t an answer.”

“I don’t have to explain myself to you.” I said again, in hopes that he'll let it go.

“Were you happy?” he asked again.

My throat felt tight. I tried to say yes. I really did but the word wouldn’t come out.

He watched my face closely, like he already knew.

“And when you were a rogue,” he continued, his voice steady, “trapped between territories being hunted everyday of your life … were you happy then?”

I laughed once, sharp and bitter. 

“You already know the answer, don't you?"

“Say it.”

“No.”

The silence stretched. My chest felt weird, like something was pressing on it from the inside. Why was this bothering me so much? Why couldn’t I just lie? It would have been easy to say yes and rub it on his face... but I just couldn't.

"That's what I'm talking about." He said.

“Don’t,” I said. “Don’t act like you understand me.”

“I understand enough,” he replied. “You’ve never belonged anywhere. Not fully and not without someone reminding you that you were disposable.”

I felt my hands curl into fists. “Stop.”

“You were never truly chosen,” he went on. “Not by your pack, not by the people you trusted,not even by fate.”

"Then why chase me? Why do all this if I mean nothing?”

“Because you don’t mean nothing,” he said. “You mean everything.”

My breath hitched before I could stop it.

“You could have the life you always wanted,” Maddox said. “Here in Variant territory.”

“A place where no one throws you away,” he continued. “Where no one questions your worth.”

“You could be anything by my side.” He revealed and ny head shot up to look at him.

I felt it before I could think about it. That slow, cold realization creeping in. My throat went dry, and I swallowed hard without meaning to.

Anything? By his side??

I didn’t even know what that was supposed to mean. By his side as what? A pet? A prize? Something worse? My mind kept spinning, trying to understand why Maddox was so focused on me. Why me out of everyone he could have chased.

I didn’t get time to think it through.

Maddox stepped closer.

I took a step back without thinking, my shoulders hitting the wall behind me. There was nowhere else to go. The room suddenly felt smaller. Then Maddox leaned in, close enough that I could feel his breath on my neck. It was warm.

My body went tense on instinct.

I knew I couldn’t fight him, I knew that. He was stronger and faster. An Alpha who had been doing this longer than I had probably been alive. My hands curled at my sides, not because I was ready to attack, but because I didn’t know what else to do.

His fingers brushed against my arm.

I flinched.

Then his hand moved again, slower this time, tracing along my side like he had every right to touch me.

“No,” I said quickly. “Don’t.”

I shoved him with both hands and slipped sideways, putting space between us. My heart was pounding so hard I could hear it in my ears.

“You’re delusional,” I snapped. “If you think I’m just going to give in to this, you’re out of your mind.”

“I belong to no one! Not any pack. No one!"

For a second, he just stared at me.

Then he started laughing.

He e was laughing at a child who didn’t understand something obvious.

“Wake up, Jesse!" He barked. “Face reality!”

He took one slow step toward me again. “You belong to me now.”

“No,” I shot back. “You don’t get to decide that.”

“Oh, I do,” he replied calmly. “And I already have.”

“You’re trying to scare me. That’s all this is.”

“Am I?”

“Your little rogue friends,” he said, almost casually. “Brandon. Carl. Kane. Ellis. Ellie.”

My breath caught at the mention of those names.

“What?” I whispered.

“They’re dead,” Maddox said.

Dead. No he's lying. Of course he's lying.

“No,” I said quickly. “You’re lying.”

I managed to laugh to ease the tension in my chest. “You’re lying. You say things like this to mess with people.”

“They tried to come for you,” he continued. “They thought they could take you back.”

“You’re lying,” I repeated, louder this time. “Say you’re lying!"

“I’m not,” he said. “They crossed into Variant territory.”

I stared at him, my vision starting to blur. “You didn’t.”

“I warned them,” he replied. “They didn’t listen.”

My hands dropped to my sides. My legs felt weak, like they might give out.

“You killed them?” I asked, my voice barely there.

“Yes,” Maddox said. “I had to.”

Something cracked inside my chest.
“No… no, you didn’t.”

\---

I couldn’t believe it.

I stood there staring at him, but my mind wasn’t in the room anymore. It was somewhere else, stuck on faces I never thought I’d have to picture like this. Brandon’s laugh. Carl’s bad jokes and Kane always watching my back like he didn’t trust the world to leave me alone. And Ellis and Ellie.

Ellis and Ellie were just kids.

They were teenagers barely old enough to know how cruel packs could be. Their parents had been cast out, thrown away like trash, and I took them in. I told them they were safe with me. I told them I wouldn’t let anything happen to them. I promised.

And now they were dead... because of me.

My chest hurt so bad I thought I might throw up. I pressed my hand against it like that would help, like I could push the pain back inside. 

I looked back at Maddox who felt no remorse about what he did. 

“You killed them."

He didn’t deny it.

“They trusted me.”

He shrugged, like that meant nothing. 

“They made a choice.”

“No!!” I snapped. “I made a promise!”

My voice broke on the last word, and I hated that he could hear it. I hated that he could see it. My hands were shaking now, and I didn’t bother hiding it.

“I’ll never forgive you for this,” I said. “Never.”

"Oh please." He chuckled.

“I don’t need your forgiveness,” he replied. “I don’t care about that.”

He stepped closer again, not touching me this time, just standing there like he owned the space. 

“What I care about is you staying right here. Getting used to the Variant pack.”

.“After what you did, you think I'll just fall in line?”

“This is your home now,” he said firmly. “Not with dead rogues buried in the dirt.”

“And it definitely isn’t with Claude,” Maddox continued.

I froze.

He watched my face closely, like he had been waiting for that reaction. 

"Ah yes! Alpha Claude. The Alpha who shunned you. The one who rejected his own mate.”

“How do you know about that?” I asked. “You weren’t there.”

“I have sources.”

“I don’t understand it,” he said. “Why would someone cast their mate out? Why would someone reject what’s meant for them?”

“You don’t belong in Grayridge, you don’t belong in Revelle, you don’t belong running around as a rogue, getting hunted and used.”

"You dont get to decide where I belong.”

“Yes,” Maddox said, “I do.”

He looked me straight in the eyes. “This is the only place you can live now. Not Grayridge. Not Revelle. Not alone.”

He paused.

“Here. In Variant territory.”

He turned slightly, already done with the conversation. “And that’s final.”