Chapter 6

Emilia POV

I woke with a start, my chest still feeling tight. Blinking my eyes open, I was welcomed into a strange environment—I was lying on something soft and warm, obviously a bed. The ceiling looked strange yet expensive, and even the walls were painted in colors I hadn't seen before.

My brows knitted as the questions clawed at me.

Where am I?

What happened, and how did I end up here?

I tried to sit up, throat burning as I swallowed back the ache in my chest obviously from Jason rejecting the bond, but then the sudden weight beside me made me freeze mid-motion, and slowly, I turned...

“Ja…son?” My heart nearly burst out from my chest at the person I saw sleeping beside me, my voice coming out in a broken whisper as I quickly recoiled back against the headboard, my heart hammering.

What is he doing here?

But then the look on his face changed, his lips curling low in disgust as he glared at me.

“Don’t you dare call me by that bastard’s name.” The voice was full of venom and spite.“It’s Jettison.”

My stomach lurched immediately at the words "Oh Goddess," and that was when I saw it.

The ink on his arm, the earring dangling in his ear, catching the light with every movement he made, and the dangerous smirk that I recalled couldn't have belonged to Jason.

My chest ached as the truth dug into me like claws—I'd done it again; I'd mistaken them.

"B-but… what are you doing here?" I asked, still finding it hard to believe I was with Jason's twin.

What and why did he bring me here?

"And where the hell am I?" My gaze moved all over the room again as I asked that my fingers digging into the sheet, like thin fabric, could shield me.

“You passed out at the feast.” I saw the tense look on his face drop, getting replaced by the usual lazy smirk I'd recall seeing on him from the feast as he settled back into the space beside me. “And not even your little crush could save you.”

“And you had to be the one?” I rasped back, still in disbelief.

“I had to, princess.”

"Why?" I probed, and he scoffed.

"What? Would you have preferred I left you there so people could trample on you while your little crush ran off with his girlfriend the moment you passed out?"

Although it wasn't a direct answer,the word stung so bad it made my chest burn. Of course, what else should I have expected from Jason? The same Jason who betrayed me and had rejected me in front of the whole crowd, leaving me to die, should have meant nothing to him.

The sudden creak in the bed pulled me out of my daze, and I looked up to see Jettison was now sitting up; his eyes were locked onto mine with a predatory calm as he did.

With just a glance, one could sense he reeks so much of trouble—he had the aura with him. He looked so much like Jason—the same face, eyes, and everything. Only he was on the darker and sharper side. 

Still, I didn't like him. I didn't know if it was the fact that he looked so much like Jason, the man who broke me, that irked me, or maybe the fact that he was dark, but then I knew there was something about him that unnerved me that made me want to get as far away from him as possible.

Suddenly he moved closer to me, and my senses snapped back to attention at once. Instincts kicked in, and I shifted back immediately, clutching onto the bedsheets tight, my pulse racing with every movement, panic rising in my chest as I wondered, what the hell is he doing?

Still, I noticed he wouldn't stop even as he saw me trying so hard to distance myself from him.

“W-what are you doing?” I couldn't help but voice out now, my voice shaking.

He didn’t answer at first but kept coming, determined to close the distance between us.

“Stay away from me!” I shrieked, my voice coming out frail and panicked as I pressed myself harder against the headboard as if that would save me from him.

He stopped eventually and tilted his head to the side. His gaze swept over me, dragging across my skin in such a way that made me cringe.

“You really couldn’t tell, could you?” His voice was low and dark—so close to Jason’s it made my stomach twist even more.

“Tell what?” I choked out.

“That night,” he said, leaning forward, his lips curving into an amused smile. “You let me touch you. All of you. And you thought it was him.”

His words hit me so hard, and shame like fire burned into my veins. My chest burned, bile rising up in my throat as the words carved open the wound I wanted to bury.

Goddess, did he really have to bring that up?

“Stop!” My voice came out as a broken whisper, tears running down my cheeks now. “It was a mistake. I swear to God, if I had known—if I could take it back—”

"Take it back?"

He cut me off with a laugh, low and sharp, and somehow it didn't sound amused. "So what? so he could be the one to fuck you instead?” His eyes darkened almost immediately at the words, something feral flickering inside them.

He shifted closer, finally closing the distance between us and caging me with his body.

I turned my face away, trembling, just as I felt the traitorous heat pooling low in my belly. His scent wrapped around me—cinnamon, expensive, and mixed with smoke. It curled deep into me, and no matter how I tried to resist, I couldn't help but inhale it sharply.

“Please,” I whispered. “I just want to forget. I beg you in the name of the goddess, don’t remind me…”

“There’s nothing to be ashamed of, princess. If that's what you feel right now, His voice dropped to a growl, his lips brushing my ear, and I shuddered. “If anything, it makes it sweeter—that you couldn’t even tell the difference.”

I bit back a sob, my fists curling tight. “Get away from me, Jettison. For the sake of my sanity, stay away.”

“Unfortunately,” he murmured, his hands reaching up to brush my hair away from my face. My skin tingled with something unfamiliar. “I can’t.”

I flinched, hating myself for the way my body betrayed me and the way I felt hot under his touch.

“Don’t touch me!” I caught myself in the last instant and shoved at him, but he caught my wrist in a bruising grip and pulled me closer against him. His breath was hot against my ear.

“You still don’t get it, do you?”

“Leave me alone,” I begged, but my voice was thin and even breaking.

“That night, when you gave yourself to me… You did more than that, Emilia. You imprinted yourself on me. And now my wolf—” his voice roughened, animalistic— “my wolf is addicted to you. To your scent. To the sound of your heartbeat.”

He lowered his face to my neck, inhaling deeply. My entire body went rigid, a traitorous whimper escaping my lips.

“He likes your scent,” he whispered, lips ghosting my skin. “And he doesn’t want to let you go. Do you know how much torture it’s been, watching you sleep here, smelling you, the entire time?”

My heart raced wildly. Goddess, I hated this...hated him...hated how part of me trembled not just with fear but with something I refused to name.

“I’m your brother’s mate,” I forced out, desperate to anchor myself.

“Not anymore,” he growled, his mouth brushing the crook of my neck, and of course my pulse betrayed me, fluttering wildly beneath his lips. “He rejected you. And Theron wants to claim you.”

I bit my lip to stop the sound threatening to escape me, panic clawing at my chest. Somehow, I found strength and shoved hard against him, then scrambled off the bed, gasping like I’d just broken into the surface of water.

“I made a mistake with you, Jettison, but I won’t let you ruin me.” "I said," my voice shaking as I staggered toward the door. “I want to go home.” I reached for the handle, and just as I was about to open it.

“Emilia.”

His voice suddenly called, stopping me cold in my tracks.I halted and turned to look at him.

“My wolf doesn’t go around claiming just anyone. I never cared for mates, never wanted one. But after that night…” His eyes burned into me, piercing. “He hasn’t stopped wanting you. He used to be restless normally, but now you’ve calmed him. Do you understand what that means?”

I swallowed the lump in my throat; my hand shook slightly on the knob. “W...what are you saying?”

He leaned back into the bed, his smirk curling slow and dangerous as he watched me.

“I’m saying if you run, I’ll chase. And if I chase, I’ll catch you. And if I catch you…” His gaze dropped low, his eyes roaming over me in such a way that made my stomach crawl. “… I

’ll ruin you in ways you’ll never recover from." He licked his lips."So tell me, princess—are you really up for the chase?"