Three Seconds Of Freedom

Naya’s POV

Freedom lasted exactly three seconds.

That was how long it took for me to slam full force into something solid, unyielding and warm.

I gasped as the impact knocked the air straight out of my lungs.

My bare feet skidded backward on the stone floor, pain shooting up my legs, and before I could even look up, a deep, dangerous growl vibrated through the space between us.

I didn’t need to look up to know it was him. I'd know the sound of that growl anywhere.

Alpha Kade.

His strong hands shot out, gripping my arms before I could stumble or recover. His hold wasn’t gentle, but it wasn’t crushing either.

He was witholding his strength. It was controlled, possessive, but very very furious. I could feel his rage wafting all over his body. Not that I cared. He could boil the whole damn earth with his anger for all I cared. I was getting the hell out of there.

I lifted my head slowly, but instead of his face, I was staring straight into his chest.

“Oh,” I breathed, bitterness flooding my voice. “Of course.”

His scent hit me all at once. He smelled like steel, blood, smoke, everything wild and dominant.

My wolf surged inside me, slamming against my ribs, but I shoved her down viciously. Damn this mate bond bullshit. She was literally not helping!!

Kade’s chest rose and fell heavily and I could feel the restrained violence in him, like a storm being held behind iron bars.

“You were trying to run,” he said quietly.

It wasn’t a question.

“Let me go,” I snapped, shoving against him. My hands hit solid muscle and went nowhere.

"Didnt I tell you I would kill you myself if you tried anything stupid?" he growled, grabbing my hands and holding them together firmly with just one of his hands.

“Get your filthy hands off me.”

His grip tightened just enough to warn me.

“I felt you leaving. I felt the joy in your soul. The spike in the beats of your heart as you fucking thought about escaping me!!”

he went on, ignoring my struggle entirely.

His eyes flicked past me, down the corridor straight toward the open dungeon door. “I felt..."

I laughed, sharp and humorless. “Felt what? Your pack’s hospitality?”

His jaw clenched.

“You dont seem to feel what i feel,” he said again, more to himself this time. “I did.”

Before I could respond, he stepped forward.

I stepped back instinctively.

One step.

Then another.

Until my spine hit cold iron bars and stone, the familiar bite of the prison wall pressing into my skin. The cage. My cage. I was walking back in... He was fucking leading me back to my prison room.

I swallowed hard but forced my chin up, refusing to cower.

“Happy now?” I hissed. “You get your little power trip?”

His body caged me in without actually touching me again. One arm braced beside my head, the other hanging loose at his side, fingers flexing like he was resisting the urge to grab me again.

“Did you really think I wouldn’t know?” he murmured. “Did you think you could just walk out?”

“I didn’t ask to be here!” I shouted, the words ripping out of me. “You came to my pack!! You did! You slaughtered everyone!! You did!! You killed my father!!! That was all you... I didn’t ask for you, or your pack, or your damned bond!”

Something flickered in his eyes at that.

It was definitely not hurt, but something darker.

Behind him, soft footsteps echoed.

I looked past his shoulder.

Morgana stood frozen a few feet away, the keys no longer in her hand. Her face was pale now, the smug confidence gone, replaced with something tight and calculating.

All that bravado was gone. Of course I knew she had stolen those keys, and did it because she wanted her rotten alpha to herself. But I could care less.

Kade didn’t turn around,but I knew he had seen her, or could sense her with his so mighty sensing powers.

“Morgana,” he said calmly.

Too calmly it sent chills down my spine.

“Yes… Alpha?” she replied, forcing her voice steady.

“You will leave,” he said. “Now.”

Her eyes widened. “but Alpha...”

“Now.”

The word cracked like a whip, I even saw her flinch.

“I was only trying to help,” she said carefully. “Alpha, She was distraught... She looked unstable. I thought”

“You thought wrong.”

For the first time, he turned his head to look at her. Whatever passed between them in that moment made my skin prickle.

“You will return to your quarters,” he continued. “You will remain there until I decide what to do with you.”

Her lips pressed together. “And her?”

Kade didn’t even glance back at me.

“She stays.”

Morgana’s gaze slid to mine...burning and venomous, but she bowed her head.

“As you command, Alpha.”

She left without another word, her footsteps retreating down the corridor, leaving only silence behind.

Well, silence...and him.

I exhaled shakily, my body trembling now that the adrenaline was crashing.

He slowly turned back to me. “You let her touch you. You let her unlock you.”

“She offered,” I shot back. “Something you never did.”

“That wasn’t mercy,” he said. “That was manipulation.”

I laughed again, tears stinging my eyes. “Funny. Coming from you.”

His gaze dropped just for a second to my bare, bruised ankles and the red marks where the shackles had been.

Something unreadable crossed his face.

“You’re not leaving,” he said quietly. “Not like this. Not yet. Not until i figure it all out”

I looked up at him, hatred and grief tangling so tightly in my chest it hurt to breathe.

“I would rather die than stay here,” I whispered.

His wolf stirred beneath his skin. I could feel it now...hot, restless, and furious.

“So would I,” he said. “And yet here we both are.”

The door slammed shut behind him as he stepped back, sealing me inside once more.

And this time, I knew,

Running wasn’t going to save me.

Maybe murder... Killing him would definitely get me the hell out of here.