Ignite [Wattys 2024 Shortlist] | ✔

09

An Instant Burn

ZARA

      I was beyond the point of no return. This couldn't have been what my life was reduced to. The Moon Goddess must have made a mistake pairing me with the likes of that man. This Alpha. I was used to the idea of freedom, knowing that I could unleash my wolf whenever I wanted.

Yet here I was once again – trapped.

Blinking away the grogginess of sleep, I strained my eyes against the sudden intrusion of sunlight. I woke up in the same mood I fell asleep in last night, caged but this time in a nicer cell. From my curled spot on the floor, I frowned thinking of the fact that I was locked away in here like a child.

Wait a minute.

In an instant, I shot up, glaring towards the bed and expecting to find him there. Instead, all I found was emptiness, just as it was last night. So the Big Bad Wolf still isn't back yet. He should fear for his life when he gets back.

My wolf whimpered at the thought but I ignored her, reminding her that he was the very reason why we were locked in here in the first place. How dare he lock me in his bedroom? How dare he degrade me to nothing more than a common whore?

I had been on my own for years, surviving day in and day out, and I had never faced this much disrespect from anyone. This man thinks he can waltz into my life and tell me what I can and cannot do; where I can and cannot go.

He could go to hell for all I cared.

I stewed in silence, arms tightly folded across my chest, as my gaze bore into the off-white walls encircling the room. My eyes, sharpened with disdain, zeroed in on the door – the only thing standing between me and my freedom. Well, it wasn't the only thing, I begrudgingly thought as the image of the man that trapped me in here filled my head.

Him.

Haden was a man of power, the kind that radiated off him without question. His dark gaze saw through your soul and his scent pulled you in, leaving you wanting more. And I fucking did. I was supposed to hate the man. He was supposed to be the enemy, the man who killed our kind whenever he felt like it, and now I was supposed to be his mate.

How the hell was that supposed to even work? He was the reason so many rogues lived in fear, and they all knew they were signing their death certificates if they ever crossed him.

His reputation made him who he was and it was the gasoline on the firewood with anger lighting the flame. In the moments of heated exchanges, it was clear that he was an Alpha that only cared about himself.

He was narcissistic, greedy, and hot-headed, traits that no woman ever found attractive. The core of who I was as a rogue wanted nothing to do with him.

And yet, I couldn't stop the heat that coursed through my body whenever his dark gaze met mine. He had the body of a Greek god, the kind that made you stop dead in your tracks and stare.

I was trying to resist this mate bond, trying so damn hard, but it was pulling me in his direction. The frustration and undeniable attraction created a tension that lingered beneath the surface. His touch lit fires within me, sparks that torched my soul and set it ablaze. This was fucking unbearable.

Stupid, sexy, goddamn Alpha.

I screamed in frustration and rose, flipping off the blankets that I dragged to the floor last night and marching across the room to the window. Daybreak was imminent. I looked out the window at the open field below, not missing the two men who stood just below. The Big Bad Alpha thought of everything, didn't he, I thought dryly.