Chapter 6

Emma’s pov.

At night, I couldn’t sleep. Every time i closed my eyes, i saw him. Hayes.

Not the stranger from the hotel room i barely remembered…. But the man standing in front of me at the forest, looking at me like i was both a problem and something he couldn’t walk away from.

A mate.

A stepbrother.

A disaster wrapped in fate.

I turned in bed again, gripping the thin blanket around me as if it could stop the storm inside my chest. It didn’t. The mate bond was still there. Every few minutes, a strange pull would ripple through my body— warm, insistent, like something inside me was trying to reach him even without permission. It made me angry, made me restless. I hated it. At some point, I gave up pretending i could sleep.

I sat up.

The silver fang guest room was too large, too quiet, too expensive for someone like me. Everything in it screamed i don’t belong here. 

Just like him.

Just like all of this.

I swung my legs off the bed and stood, pacing slowly.

“Get it together, Emma,” I whispered to myself. It’s just biology, just a mistake, it will fade.” But even as i said it, I didn’t believe it.

Because nothing about the way his eyes looked at me felt like a mistake. 

“Just then”,

A knock came at the door. I froze instantly.

“Emma”

It was him again.

I closed my eyes for a second.

“What do you want?” I asked, not moving.

“Open the door”.

“No”.

“Am not here to fight you”.

I laughed under my breath. “That’s what people always say before they ruin your life further.” There was a pause. 

Then his voice softened slightly. “Just talk to me.” 

Something about that tone…. quieter than before, less controlled. I walked to the door but didn’t open it fully. I only cracked it enough to see him, he was still in yesterday’s shirt, sleeves rolled slightly, hair messier than before. Like he hadn’t slept either. 

That detail irritated me more than it should have.

“What?” I asked.

His gaze met mine instantly. 

And again— there it was.

That pull.

It hit me so hard i had to grip the door frame. His eyes flickered briefly, like he felt it too. “I spoke to my father”, he said. That caught my attention.

“What about me?” I asked immediately. His eyes darkened as he looked at me. “About the bond”.

“And?”

“He wants it handled quietly”.

I already knew what that meant.

My stomach sank. “Rejected”, I whispered.

He didn’t answer immediately. The hesitation in his eyes told me everything.

“Of course”, I said bitterly, stepping back slightly. I should’ve known. A wolfless omega as a stepdaughter is already embarrassing enough. A bonded one is just a problem. 

“That’s not what I said”.

“You didn’t have to”.

His eyes sharpened slightly. “You are twisting everything”,

“Am being realistic”.

He exhaled slowly, rubbing a hand down his face like he was trying to keep control of something.

“I didn’t say I would reject you”.

That made me pause.

“…. What?”

He looked at me directly.

“I didn’t agree to it”.

For a moment, I didn’t speak. The air between us felt heavier.

“That’s…. not how packs works” I said slowly. “I know”.

The bond pulsed again— stronger this time. I instinctively grabbed my chest. His gaze dropped to the movements.

“You feel it”, he said. I glared at him.

“Stop saying that”. He stepped closer to the door without crossing the threshold. “I can’t ignore it”, he said quietly. No matter how much i try. My breath caught slightly. That was the closest thing to honesty i had heard from him. And i didn’t know what to do with it.

“You hated me yesterday”, I reminded him.

“I didn’t hate you”. 

“You accused me of seducing you”.

“I was wrong”.

The admission hung in the air between us. I stared at him. He actually looked…. Irritated with himself. That unsettled me more than his anger ever did. “Why are you really here?” I asked softly. He paused for a second. “I don’t want you treated like property”. My breath caught. I didn’t expect that answer.

“I don’t care what my father says”, he added. Or what the elders think. “You are not going to be forced into anything”.

I blinked.

“That’s not your decision to make”.

“I know”.

“Then why are you acting like it is?”

His jaw clenched.

“Because no one else is doing anything”.

That shut me up.

The silence that followed wasn’t heavy this time. It was different. Unstable. Like something shifting. I looked away first. “I don’t trust you”, i said again.

“I know”.

“I don’t want this bond”.

I know that too.

My breath caught.

“Then what do you want from me?” “I want you safe”.

My gaze wavered at that. I hated that it did. 

A sudden noise echoed down the hallway behind him, there were multiple footsteps. A loud voice rang out.

“Hayes!”

Another angrier voice.

Jenna.

My stomach dropped instantly. Of course she would appear. 

Because nothing in my life was ever allowed to stay calm for more than five minutes.

“Stay inside”. Hayes said softly.

And then he turned and walked straight into the noise. Leaving me behind with a pounding heart and a growing sense that whatever was starting between us…..

Was about to be tested.

Hard.