Ignite | ✔

12

12 - Tensions Flaring

ZARA

Shrieking, I jumped up from my sleep, screams escaping my lips as the remnants of a nightmarish torment clung to my senses. The dream I longed to forget. My heart raced, and I bolted upright in bed, gasping for air. Pain surged through me as I frantically looked around the foreign room, my mind trapped between two realities; one I hoped to fully escape and one I cherished.

I couldn't be taken by him. By that monster.

Fear coiled around me like a vice, and I thrashed wildly, desperate to escape the phantom claws that clung to my mind. I could hear my own voice, a primal scream escaping my lips. I was being tied down, being punished for who I was and what I had. I ripped the cords away from me and stood, the sharp pain nothing compared to the turmoil in my mind. Backing myself into a corner of the room, I slid down the wall. My surroundings were a blurred haze as I grabbed fists full of my hair, the screaming never ceasing.

And then, the door was pushed open, flooding the room with light, and I cowered further in fear. I saw two different men standing before me - one being the man I met who was supposed to be my mate and the other being the one who ended my family and destroyed the only normalcy I knew. I wasn't sure which was the real one.

"Zara," a voice called out.

"No! Don't touch me! Don't kill me!" I screamed.

More people swarmed in the room but I couldn't see their faces, I couldn't see anything past my own panic. The walls were closing in and my chest tightened, my breathing unbalanced as I clawed at my chest. The people approached me but I pushed myself further into the wall.

"Please don't kill me! I don't have what you want!" I cried.

"Everyone stop," I heard one voice say before that man moved towards me slowly. I shook my head, tears running down my cheeks and eyes shut. When I felt jolts of lightning flaring through me, my eyes flashed open and I saw Haden crouched down before me. His eyes locked onto mine, his face a mixture of concern and determination.

"Zara, calm down," he urged and I shook my head, unsure of this reality, of this feeling.

"Stay away from me!" I yelled as I pushed away his hand and stood, my voice trembling with terror and anger. But he didn't heed my plea.

As he took another cautious step, my terror intensified, and my muscles tensed. I couldn't comprehend the turbulent emotions churning within me. Haden was both the source of my torment and my supposed saviour. The mate bond, a relentless force, taunted us both.

Despite my fear, I couldn't deny the strength that radiated from him. His presence was commanding, a testament to his Alpha status. He carried an air of authority, one that demanded respect and obedience. Yet, despite all this, he continued to deny the mate bond, refusing the connection that fate had thrust upon us.

"Calm down," he said once more, pulling my chin up to look at him. He held my gaze and his hands drifted down to my shoulders. His touch, his scent, wiped away the cloud of doubt and brought me back to where I was. I was in a hospital room and Haden was my mate. Taking two breaths, I let my eyes flutter close as I leaned against the wall for support.

I felt him close the gap between us, his body heat radiating off him and when I opened my eyes his arms created a wall around my face. I snapped back into reality - way longer than usual. Those meds must have been something, I thought. Whatever it was, I never slept that deep. Never allowed myself to dream. The memories were too painful.