Chapter 53: 53: Ground Zero
My eyes widened. That was going too far, even by Rowan’s standards.
"You’re insane!" I yelled.
However, I didn’t manage to get a reply. The warriors led me away right after that, and I turned around, my eyes meeting all of their gazes before I was flanked out of the dining room.
They led me into my new prison, practically tossing me inside before the doors slammed shut. I could hear the click of the lock from the outside.
Clenching my jaw, I jogged to the far end of the room where the large floor-to-ceiling windows were. I peered past the curtains. Outside, there were several warriors standing guard on ground level, making sure that I couldn’t jump out the windows.
If there were warriors patrolling outside my windows, the door of the room could only be worse. I could only imagine how many men Rowan had pulled out of rotation just so that they could babysit me twenty-four-seven.
I gulped, taking a step away from the windows. My blood chilled in my veins.
There was no other way I could run.
I sighed, dropping myself down onto the plush armchair.
To be very fair, this place may be my new prison, but it was decorated like anything but one. It was probably one of the guestrooms in the pack house, with large windows, a huge bed, couches and armchairs, and even a fireplace for the winter months. There was also an ensuite bathroom, and quite possibly one of the largest rooms I had ever stayed in in my life.
If it were under different circumstances, I would’ve marveled at the interior decor of this place. I had always cleaned similar rooms, but this was the first time I was ever allowed to stay in one. Even my old bedroom from before Willow got sick wasn’t as extravagant as this.
How ironic that the only time I was allowed to stay in such a well-furnished room was because I was kept as a prisoner. I was surprised that Rowan didn’t simply throw me into one of the dungeons for the prisoners. That would’ve made more sense.
I paced back and forth around the room, my footsteps unceasing.
I needed to escape. Now that my first escape plan had failed, it was unlikely that Violet would be gracious enough to offer her help a second time. She might simply decide to kill me while I was still in Shadowclaw territory. Or, she could target my baby first before coming for my life.
Just the thought of it made me shudder. She was cruel enough to go back on her word. I shouldn’t expect anything less.
All of a sudden, there came a click from the door. I stopped my endless pacing, my eyes immediately flitting over to the door instead. It creaked open torturously slow, and the moment I saw who it was who stood outside, I frowned.
"What are you doing here?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.
Frankly, I would rather it be Cassian who was visiting. However, I suppose he was currently too preoccupied with the news of Violet’s pregnancy to care about me― not that he cared a lot about me to begin with.
Soren stood by the door, hesitating. He almost seemed afraid to step into the room. Instead, he remained unmoving, simply watching me from where he stood.
I tried to peer past him, and from where I was, I couldn’t spot any of the warriors standing guard outside. Perhaps he had temporarily dismissed them, though I couldn’t imagine why.
"Why did you leave?" he asked, completely ignoring my question.
"I believe I asked you a question first, Alpha," I said, meeting his gaze squarely. "Shouldn’t you be accompanying your pregnant mate right now?"
Soren slightly flinched at my words. Or maybe it was the cold tone that had thrown him off. He slowly walked into the room, not forgetting to kick the door closed while on his way in. The door slammed shut, and I flinched slightly at the sudden sound.
"I’m your alpha," Soren said, crossing the room. For every step that he took closer towards me, I moved further backwards. However, he eventually cornered me against the wall, and I had nowhere else to retreat. "I think my question takes precedence."
"I don’t think it works that way, Alpha," I said, hissing out the last word to stress it. However, I still answered his question. "What do I have to stay in Shadowclaw for?" I asked. "You?"
I stared at him defiantly, pursing my lips into a tight line.
Soren’s lips were also pinched tightly together as he glared at me. In the end, he was the first to break eye contact, choosing to look at the floor as he exhaled before turning to look at me again.
"You are our fated mate," Soren slowly said, his voice low and dangerous. "You had — have — no right to leave."
Hearing his words, I couldn’t help but laugh mockingly.
"You know, that’s the second time I’ve heard that tonight." I tilted my head to one side. "But neither time do I actually feel any bit of truth in it."
Soren frowned. I didn’t care and continued to speak.
"You, especially, have no right to tell me this. Not after you’ve declared to want nothing to do with me," I reminded. "In fact, since you’re here, why don’t we make this final? You can reject me, and I will stay far, far away from you and your beloved new mate."
"That’s not happening," Soren growled, which only made me scoff.
"I don’t understand what you and your brothers want!" I yelled. My hands pushed hard against Soren’s chest, trying to move him back, but he was like a boulder that refused to budge. "What do you seek to gain from this conversation, Alpha Soren? Frankly, I think we’ve been through this enough times!"
Anger and indignation bubbled up my throat and through my skull. I could even feel the back of my eyes burn with tears. Inwardly, I cursed the pregnancy hormones for making me feel things that I didn’t want to, amplified.
"You play with my feelings, you toy with something so sacred as the fated mate bond. You are infinitely worse than Rowan and Cassian! After what we had gone through, you thought it was best to tear my heart out in the most cruel way possible, so why is it that you’ve come again? Did you think coming here would magically erase everything that had happened between us and start us off at ground zero?!"
