Natalia was born to obey, raised as a bargaining chip to secure peace between packs. It was the way girls were raised in her family. And within powerful families, being an only child, her father was sure to make her know her place since her fate was sealed when he had arranged her marriage to the brutal Alpha of the Crimson Howl pack. But Natalia refuses to be anyone's pawn. She refused to obey, and most importantly, she refused to be controlled. On the day of her wedding, dressed in white and suffocating in expectations, she runs. By the edge of a forgotten river, she finds a stranger. A man with cold eyes and a darker soul, Alpha Nolan. He mocks her at first, calls her dramatic, tells her she’d drown ugly if she jumps. But beneath his sharp tongue lies a haunted alpha with no love, no mercy, and no reason to care… until now.
View MoreNatalia:
The dress was too white.
Too perfect. Too much like a noose stitched in satin.It was the reminder of the duty that they wanted me to carry. A duty that I wanted no part in. A rage that I felt coursing through my veins in ways that I didn’t even want to think about.
And I couldn’t wait to get rid of it. All of it.
I ran barefoot, the gravel slicing my feet, my lungs burning with every breath. Behind me, the bells tolled like a mockery, celebrating a union I never consented to. A union that my father had planned for me, but one that I planned to escape. I was not going to give in to what they desired, and I sure as hell was not going to give them what they wanted. I was not going to allow them to seal my fate.
Let them ring. Let them be the reminder that what they were doing was not going to change the reality. Let them understand that I was not going to give in.
“I will not marry a man that I did not choose. I will not give them that satisfaction.” I muttered under my breath.
I didn’t stop running until I reached the bridge. The river below looked calm, almost gentle in the way it reflected the clouds. Like it was promising me silence. Freedom. “All you need to do is jump. You are going to be free of all of this. And you won’t have to meet him…”
I stepped up onto the ledge. The wind caught my veil, ripping it from my head and tossing it into the water like a final blessing. Or a curse.
“Dramatic,” a deep voice cut through the quiet, slow and indifferent. “If you’re going to jump, at least do it with better form. You’ll drown ugly that way. Because if you think that this means freedom, the current is going to end up pulling you with it.”
I froze.
A man stood by the edge of the trees, lighting a cigarette with steady hands. Smoke curled around him like a crown of shadows. He looked like sin in a suit, dark, dangerous, and maddeningly composed. His eyes didn’t flinch, didn’t waver. He didn’t even seem to care that I was on the verge of collapsing, yelling, or trying to escape.
He was watching me like I was a mildly interesting movie he didn’t pay to see. He was watching like he was actually enjoying it!
“Go to hell,” I snapped, my voice cracking more than I wanted it to. “I don’t need you to give me advice that I did not ask for.”
He took a drag. Exhaled slow. “Already there, sweetheart. You thinking of joining me, or are you just making a scene in that pretty dress? As for the piece of advice, I was merely telling you that if you were trying to run away, it was not going to work in your form.”
I turned fully to face him, still balancing on the edge. “This isn’t a scene. It’s my goddamn life. And I do not need you to tell me something that I am capable of doing.”
His eyes flicked up to mine. Something shifted in them. Just a flicker.
“Oh, yeah? And what is that?”
“Running away from the hell that is building up for me to live in, to be obey, and to be used.” I said, and he chuckled.
“And where do you think you’re going, exactly? Where do you think this river ends? Surely you know that there is a waterfall at the end of it?” He asked, putting the cigarette away. I glared at the smoke and he raised an eyebrow.
“Wherever I am going, as long as it is not here, as long as I get my life back. I am going to take it.”
“Good,” he said, stubbing out the cigarette on the bridge railing. “Because people who jump to die don’t usually yell at strangers first. But I think that you need to get down before you ruin more than just your attire.”
I stepped down from the ledge before I knew why.
“Good girl,” he said, making me frown. “How about you go and get cleaned up? Because judging by the bells, it is only a matter of time, minutes, maybe, before they start looking for you…”
Nolan:The gates opened without a sound, but the silence that followed was heavier than chains.The car ride was quiet anyway. She refused to speak because she knew that I did not want to hear her voice at all. At least she understood that part. She stood her back straight, looking out the window as if trained to do what she was. Theoretically speaking, I believed that she was.I felt her shift beside me in the back seat, just slightly, like someone bracing for impact. Just like she was waiting for us to come. A fear of outcome and anger, a rage, everything that just spiraled about.The estate came into view. Moonstone Manor, they called it. Always polished. Always perfect. It was the way that I wanted it to be, strong, calculated and formed away from the disorder that was outside the world.It was always full of wolves who followed orders but rarely smiled. We had our duties and our missions. We were not here to mingle around. We were here for a reason and that was to survive, to sta
Natalia:The dance was almost over.And I couldn't help but want to live this whole wedding, this whole facade, everything that seemed fake about it. The perfect smiles, the dances, the movements. I just wanted to leave.I’d counted every step, every turn, every forced smile like seconds on a ticking bomb. My cheeks hurt from pretending. My feet ached in silence. My father glared, waiting for me to make a mistake. I knew better than to do so.Yet and surprisingly, Nolan never missed a beat. The man who wants to be my husband, the man whom my father forbade me from even speaking to. I did not even know how he looked like stood in front of me.His hand stayed firm at my waist, his eyes scanning the room even as he held me like we were lovers, like we weren’t strangers who just signed our lives away under the same roof. Like we were not strangers who barely missed. Just met today. He saw my picture, of course he did. I had to be to his liking, but I never saw his.I was quiet as I walked
Nolan:She stood across from me like a flame barely contained, eyes defiant, lips trembling just slightly, as if she’d rather bite through her own tongue than say the words that were expected of her. And truth be told, I would have wished that she didn't say them if it came from her. If she was the one who chose not to want this marriage, I would easily be out of it.But she said them anyway. Regardless of how I wanted things to be, she still chose to say the words.“I do.”My jaw ticked. I glared at her before forcing myself to calm down, reminding myself that we were amongst people.So I said them too.“I do.”The officiant smiled like this was some kind of love story. His voice rang out, thick with pomp and tradition. “You may now kiss the bride.”I stepped forward, slow. Measured. Her eyes widened just slightly, not in fear, no, she didn’t fear me. That was the problem. It was something else. Curiosity, maybe. Or disappointment. She didn't want me to kiss her.Too bad.This was a
Natalia:Everything smelled like roses and rot.While everyone was enjoying themselves, I found myself walking towards a path that I did not want to take. I found myself dealing with anger that I did not want to feel.Every step down the aisle felt like walking into a cage. The heavy organ music swelled around us, but all I could hear was the crunch of gravel from earlier, the sound of my own breath when I almost…“Keep walking,” my father muttered, his arm like iron beneath my hand. “And put a smile on your face. People are watching.”I didn’t respond. I gave the perfect smile that he wanted to say, the same smile that I've been learning how to perfect since I was twelve. The kind that looked obedient. Silent. Safe. The kind that would show them who I was, what I was to their liking, to their appeal and pressing them.His grip tightened. “You will not humiliate me today. I will not allow you to cross a boundary that you should not. I have given you more excuses at home, but now this
Nolan:She walked away from the ledge with the same fire in her eyes that she had when she stood on it. I had my arms crossed over my chest as I looked at her.My bride.She was the same woman that I wanted nothing to do with. She did not even know how I looked like. She didn't know who I was. I doubt that she would have been playing this game if she did.I didn’t stop her. I didn't really care to do so. I had other things to take care of. She could deal with her anger, her rage, and whatever emotion she was feeling on her own terms as long as it was away from me.I rolled my eyes and reached for another cigarette, letting the smoke burn through the silence she left behind. I stared into space for a moment, allowing myself to digest the moment of peace, but of course that was short lived.“You just let her go?” a voice hissed from behind me. “Of people, you just let her go. She could have left, you could have been free.”Mira.Of course.I should have known that you would see this. Sh
Natalia:The dress was too white.Too perfect.Too much like a noose stitched in satin.It was the reminder of the duty that they wanted me to carry. A duty that I wanted no part in. A rage that I felt coursing through my veins in ways that I didn’t even want to think about.And I couldn’t wait to get rid of it. All of it.I ran barefoot, the gravel slicing my feet, my lungs burning with every breath. Behind me, the bells tolled like a mockery, celebrating a union I never consented to. A union that my father had planned for me, but one that I planned to escape. I was not going to give in to what they desired, and I sure as hell was not going to give them what they wanted. I was not going to allow them to seal my fate.Let them ring. Let them be the reminder that what they were doing was not going to change the reality. Let them understand that I was not going to give in.“I will not marry a man that I did not choose. I will not give them that satisfaction.” I muttered under my breath.
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