Chapter 6

Anna’s POV

His grip was firm. Even as I tried to free my arm.

His hold wasn't enough to cause a wound—but it was secure. Steady. He acted like he didn't need permission for anything.

“Leave my hand alone,” I warned, but my shaky voice did not match my demand.

Mattias was silent..

He eyes just remained fixed on me—those those impossible green eyes. Calm. Unreadable. Dangerous.

The world around us faded.

There was difference in the air, the empty corridors added to my discomfort. I could definitely feel my pulse racing.

He tilted his head, still looking at me.

The next second, he started to walk, dragging me along with him.

“Where are we going to?” I questioned, my steps trying to match his.

He didn’t answer.

“Let me go!” I demanded, feeling agitated. I tried to free myself from his hold.

But he didn't stop walking, without care. Silent. Controlled.

We faced a corner, then turned to the next. The sound of music and laughter from the ballroom kept reducing as the distance widened behind us.

Here, it was quiet. Colder.

A hallway I’d never seen before.

Secluded.

Trapped.

He finally stopped by a thick wooden door.

He pushed it open and stepped aside, without turning to face me, he commanded.

“Inside.”

I wavered.

“Now.”

I swallowed hard and walked inside, feeling my heart beating faster. The room space was small—similar to a side lounge. The room contained velvet curtains and a dusty chandelier, to me it looked like this was some kind of storage space they forgot existed.

Mattias followed behind me and closed the door with a soft click.

The sound, unexpected, nearly made me jump out of my skin.

“I’m not going to follow you any longer,” I said, voice low but firm. “I don't knows What this is, what is going through your head, or what you think you feel—but it’s not real. You can’t just show up and—”

“Finally. I've been searching for you.”

I paused.

My voice seemed to have ran away.

I was stunned as I stood staring at him.

“What?”

“I’ve been searching for you,” he repeated. “For three years.”

I couldn't find immediate words to respond with even though I had opened my mouth.

“I didn’t know details about you. Only your scent. I caught it once, just briefly, near the northern forests. It didn’t stay long. But I never forgot it.”

He stepped closer.

I backed away.

“Dont think for a second that our is a coincidence. Or do you think this meeting was by lucky?” he asked, his tone still calm but eerie. “You think chance is what brought me here tonight?”

He moved closer, as if his eyes closed see through me.

“The second I walked into that hall I knew. Before I saw you. I felt you.”

My chest rose and fell rapidly.

Ava was quiet now—but not gone. She sat in the back of my mind, wavering. Alert. Like she didn't know what to do any longer.

“I don’t give a damn,” I whispered, feeling weight of my body on my knees trying to hold me up right. “I didn't ask fate for another mate. I didn't wish for this.”

“Neither did I,” he said simply.

That shut me up.

“I came here for political formality,” he continued, pacing now. “I didn’t expect anything. I had no plans to linger. But then…”

He stopped, turning his gaze to me.

“I caught your scent. And everything changed.”

I felt a feeling of unease run though my gut, mixed with a flurry of emotions manifesting inside me. I wanted to cry, and scream, I wanted to crawl on my knees and disappear into the ground. I wished for that.

“I’m pregnant,” I said suddenly, thinking perhaps the news would drive him.

“I know.” he said.

“What?” I asked, evidently startled.

“I could smell it when I moved closer to you,” he said. “But that not important.”

I stared at him with disbelief evidently written all over my face.

“Your child is not my concern. Your safety is.”

His words caused a feeling of unease inside me. Sudden. Sharp. Brutal.

“You have no idea who I am,” I hissed. “You don’t know alot of things so I can understand what you feel.

“I know you feel scared, you've been hurt.. I know someone shattered you so much that even your wolf doesn’t know how to heal you.”

Ava whimpered.

“Yet, you withstood everything.”

I looked away. My throat burned.

“I don’t need to be saved,” I muttered.

“You do, Ava. Being adamant wouldn't change that,” he replied, his voice gentler now. “And I’m offering it.”

I turned sharply. “Why? Because of the mate bond? Because you think I belong to you?”

“No.”

His answer stopped me from asking more questions.

“I’m offering because that's what I want to do,” he said.

“Just stop this,” I whispered and I hear my voice starting to crack. “I don't want to relive a dejavu. The promises. The lies. The… bond.”

I looked at him, eyes blazing.

“Gunner said he loved me too.”

Mattias showed no immediate reaction.

“I know you believe your different. No, you're not. You two are just the same. Cold. Controlling. Arrogant. You think you can come and fix everything because your pack is large and your name is grounded.”

My breath was uneven but I made sure I spoke my mind.

“But I’m not going to enter the same trap twice.”

He didn't speak, not immediately. But after some seconds had passed, he said one thing.

“I’m not him.”

Three words. Nothing more.

But they ripped something open in me.

I would've loved to believe what he said. Oh moon Goddess, I wish I could.

But my heart had taken too much damage and was already in shambles. Every time someone came close, all I could see was the pieces reflecting off them.

I turned, looking away from him as I warped my hands around myself.

“This shouldn’t have happened ,” I mumbled, barely aware that my body was trembling. “Escape is all I want. I had a plan. I had it all figured out.”

He didn't stop looking at me.

“Consider what I'm offering you—the choice you have to make,” he said after observing me.

I didn't reply him.

“You can come with me willingly,” he said. “And I’ll protect you. No pressure. No demands. Just safety.”

I laughed bitterly. “And if I don’t?”

His answer came like ice.

“Then I'm going to take you, without your permission.”

I turned, facing him with fury. “You arrogant—”

“I don’t say that as a threat,” he cut in smoothly. “But as a promise. Because I’m not letting you go back out there. Not with them. Not while you’re like this. You’re not safe.”

His voice lowered.

“And whether you like it or not, you are mine. And I protect what’s mine.”

Tears filled the back of my eyes. My entire body ached. I felt pain in my chest. My legs felt grounded.

“I have to do this,” I whispered. “I shouldn't relive this moment . I can’t survive this again.”

The room spun slightly. My breath caught.

And then everything collapsed.

My knees came together. Then darkness followed after.

Before I blacked out, I felt last thing I felt was a pair of arms catch my body.

When I woke up, my was rested against something warm.

Steady.

Mattias.

I was confused and groggy. his coat around me was like a blanket while his held my waist with one hand.

He wasn't talking.

He just… watched me.

The silence hung all around us.

And then—footsteps.

“Anna?!”

I turned, heart skipping.

Yvonne.

Her glasses weren’t even again, her facial expression was concerning. Her face was pale with panic written all over.

“The hell—?!” she gasped, eyes wide trying to comprehend what she saw, but

Mattias didn’t mirror her reaction.

“She’s mine,” he said, his voice low but firm. “And I'll to protect her.”