“He doesn’t own you.”
Jude’s voice cuts through the room like a knife.
I slowly raise my head.
My wrists are free now, but my body still feels tight and like it’s about to break.
The heat is still under my skin, but it’s not sharp like it was before.
It’s low and heavy, like a warning that hasn’t finished speaking.
Charles looks at Jude right away.
His eyes flash.
Dark.
Risky.
“Be careful what you say,” Charles says.
Jude doesn’t move.
Instead, he steps forward and stands between us, like a line in the sand.
“I’m not wrong.”
I push myself up on the edge of the bed.
I feel weak in my legs, but I won’t show it.
The room smells like both of them: warm, deep, and Alpha.
My body responds before I want it to.
My thighs are pushing together.
I don’t like what they see.
Charles sees.
For half a second, his gaze drops.
Then back to my face.
Charles says, “She chose.” “You saw it.”
Jude looks at me.
Not at Charles.
Not in the room.
At me.
“Did you?”
The question hits hard.
I take a sip.
My throat is dry.
My heart is beating too fast.
“I didn’t choose to be held back,” I say.
“I didn’t want to burn like that.”
Charles gets closer.
“But you leaned on me.”
My breath stops.
“Because you were there.”
Jude says, “That’s not the same as choice.”
Charles growls softly.
“You’re pushing.”
“I’m keeping her safe.”
“I don’t need protection,” I say, louder than I mean to.
They both stop moving.
The silence is thick and heavy.
Jude’s eyes get a little softer.
“I know you think that.”
Charles’s jaw tightens.
“Enough.”
I stand up, even though my knees are shaking.
“No.
Don’t stop it.
I want to hear this.
Now they both look at me.
“Say what you mean.”
Jude takes a slow breath out.
“Charles thinks your heart gives him rights.”
Charles gets mad at him.
“I’m acting like an Alpha who refuses to let her break.”
“You’re acting like care and control are the same thing,” Jude says calmly.
Charles snaps, “That’s rich.” “Coming from someone who ties her hands and calls it balance.”
Jude doesn’t deny it.
“I never said I was gentle.”
My heart races.
There is a crackling sound in the air between them.
I can feel it in my chest and bones.
Their wolves push against mine from both sides, testing and circling.
My wolf lifts her head inside me, ready and on edge.
I say, “You two won’t pull me apart.”
Charles looks back at me right away.
“That’s not what’s going on.”
“It seems like it is.”
He moves one step closer.
I won’t go away.
Before I can stop it, my body leans toward him.
Slowly and deeply, heat stirs again.
Jude sees.
His mouth gets tight.
“You’re responding to pressure,” Jude says in a low voice.
“Not trust.”
Charles raises a hand and stops just short of my waist.
He doesn’t touch me.
The space between his fingers and my skin feels hotter than when they touch.
“Look at me,” he says.
I do.
His eyes are steady now.
Yes, burning, but focused.
“I won’t take what isn’t mine.”
Jude’s eyes get sharper.
“Then take a step back.”
Charles doesn’t.
The stress breaks.
“I said step back,” Jude says again, more firmly.
Charles growls, “No.” “Not when she’s right here.”
I take a deep breath and shake.
My wolf pushes hard against my ribs, pulling and pushing.
Instinct says one thing.
Fear screams something else.
“Stop,” I say.
They both stop moving.
“I am not a rope for you to pull,” I say, my voice shaking but loud.
“I am not a prize.” I am not your point.
Charles slowly lowers his hand.
Jude tilts his head.
“Good.”
I look at Jude.
“But don’t think you can choose for me either.”
His eyebrows go up a little.
“I never said I would.”
I keep saying, “You think you’re safer because you’re calm.” “But holding back can hurt just as much as using force.”
Something lights up in Jude’s eyes.
Respect. Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
Or shock.
Charles looks at me like he’s never seen me before.
I move forward.
To Charles.
Jude’s body goes stiff.
“Jessica—”
“I’m picking,” I say.
Charles stays still.
He waits.
My heart races as I come to a stop just inches from him.
His heat wraps around me like it always does.
Not safe.
Truthful.
“I choose you,” I say softly.
“For now.”
Jude’s jaw gets tight.
“You don’t have to pay him—”
“I know,” I said.
“That’s why I chose it.”
Charles lets out a long breath, as if he has been holding it the whole time.
Finally, his hand rests on my waist.
Strong.
Grounding.
Not saying.
“Thank you,” he whispers.
My body reacts right away.
Heat rolls, but not sharply or wildly.
It’s controlled.
I lean against him a little.
Jude steps back, his eyes dark.
“This isn’t over.”
“Yes,” I agree.
“It’s not.”
A knock on the door comes out of nowhere.
Hard.
Important.
We all turn.
A guard’s voice yells from the other side.
“Alpha!
The lower wing has been broken into.
Someone was calling her by name.
My stomach drops.
Charles’s hand grips my waist tightly.
Jude’s eyes get cold.
“They’ve found her.”
The door begins to open.
And my wolf rises up, sharp and screaming, as a smell I haven’t smelled since I was exiled fills the room.
Jackson.