Chapter Seventeen

I pin me to the wall, his hand wraps around my neck squeezing it tightly. Tears gathered in my eyes, I attempt to release myself from him but he wasn't bugling.

“I shouldn't have said anything about his former mate, now I'm going to die,”

“R… Rex,” I cried out slowly. “Ple…Please stop, you are hurting me.”

“How dare you talk about her,” he fires, his face darkens. “What gave you the right?”

I don't try to argue or fight back, he is not reasonable now.

“I…I'm sorry,” I beg, hoping he would listen. “Ple…please just stop.”

The tears roll down my cheeks, he flinches, gradually releasing his grip on me. I cough out, my throat sore and in pain.

“I told you to stay away from me but you won't listen,” he barks.

“I also don't want to be next to you but one way or the other, I end up where you are,” I explain.

“That's why I ask you to leave this pack, you are not safe, as long as you are next to me.” He looks away.

“Is it because of the curse?” The words rush out before I can stop them. I beat myself up internally, who knows what he would do to me now. I lower my head, fidgeting with my hands.

His once calm voice becomes cold again. “Who told you that?”

“No one. I just heard rumors.” I close my eyes, scared of what he would do this time.

“I'm not weak but why am I vulnerable when it comes to him?” His voice calls me out of my thoughts.

“Rumors,” he repeats slowly, like he’s tasting the word.

“Careful, Raya. Around here, rumors get people killed.” The bitterness in his tone cuts deep.

“I'm sorry,” I pause, contemplating if I should go on before continuing. “Your first mate. I heard about what happened to her, that she died while giving birth. I want to know if it's true.”

He remains quiet, his expression blank as he stares at the floor. I bite my lips, trying to stop myself from crossing all limits but I can't stop. Curiosity got the best of me.

“Is that why you don’t let anyone close to you, anymore?”

His eyes flashed with something I'm familiar with, the pain of losing someone dear.

“Just stop talking,” he says quietly, but the quiet is worse than shouting.

“Then tell me what I want to know!” I yell.

“Tell me that’s why you’re shutting me out. Tell me it’s not because of me.”

He moves suddenly fast, until he’s standing right in front of me. His nearness makes my blood run cold. The scent of his skin fills my nostrils and the mark on my neck glows, reacting to him.

I can’t think straight. My body moves before my mind does. My knees feel weak, my pulse climbing for no reason I can explain.

“Why do you care?” he asks, low and dangerous. “Why do you need to know so badly?”

“Because you confuse me,” I whisper. “You are angry at me this minute and then the next you're this close to me and…” I look straight into his eyes.

“I can't seem to stop thinking about you.”

I see his anger immediately subsides. “You shouldn't go down this path, Raya.”

“Maybe I already did.”

He lets out a sharp breath, turning away as if looking at me burns. “You have no idea what you’re doing to yourself.”

“Then tell me.”

“I said, enough!”

His voice echoes against the walls, raw and full of something I don’t think he meant to let slip. For a moment, he looks… human. Broken.

He drags a hand through his hair, eyes closing. “I don’t want to talk about the past.”

“You loved her.”I ask

“I buried her,” he corrects, voice shaking. “And with her went every piece of me worth saving.”

The words make me feel bad. I'm not sure if it's for him or myself. I want to say something but I'm not sure what I should say.

He takes a step back from me, and there’s no mask now. Just exhaustion and grief.

“You feel pity for me, right?” He is hurting and I caused it.

“It’s not pity, Rex,” I say, wondering if that's really the truth. “I just…”

“You just what?”

The question hovers there, unsteady and sharp. I'm not sure what answer to give, standing this close to him feels dangerous, magnetic, impossible to look away from.

I stumble back, trying to think, but the bond won't let me. It takes my attention back to him, to his face now fill with grief and the warmth that comes from him.

The pull between us tightens, and before I realize it, a soft sound escapes my throat, a small, involuntary groan that makes me flinch.

He notices. His eyes snap to mine, something unreadable flashing there.

I spin away from him, mortified. “I need to go,” I manage, voice thin.

He doesn’t stop me. Doesn’t say a word. Just standing there, breathing hard, like the effort of keeping me still costs him everything.

I walk away, stopping for a second. My heart is still racing, my whole body thrumming like it’s stuck between two worlds, one that wants to hate him, and one that just wants to understand.

I glance back once. He’s in the same position, shoulders bowed, head lowered. I now see not the Alpha or the cursed man but someone who’s been fighting a war with himself for far too long.

The ache that spreads through my chest feels dangerous. I leave before it can swallow me whole. My skin still remembers his nearness, my mark still glows faintly through my collar.

Whatever is happening between us is something I can’t control. I don’t even know if I want to anymore.

All I know is that every time I try to run, he pulls me back not with words, not with touch, but with the quiet gravity of something that feels too much like fate.

And I hate that part of me doesn’t want to fight it.