ALPHA’S UNWANTED BRIDE

CHAPTER 4 : INTO HIS EYES

KAYLA

There was a woman smiling down at me.

Her smile was so pure; so soothing. She was glowing with beauty. She placed a hand on my temple and it felt so warm. I wanted her to stay with me forever. All my life, no one had ever touched me with so much kindness and warmth. It had always been angry and filled with hate.

“You need to stay strong. You’ll be fine. . .” The strange woman whispered before fading away.

I suddenly felt sad as I watched her leave me but there was nothing I could do to stop her. When she was completely gone, I stirred awake.

My eyes slowly came open. I could not tell where I was as my eyes kept going in and out of focus. Slowly, my vision became stable and I saw the moon shining down at me.

I moved my eyes around and I saw tall trees surrounding me. The trees resembled guards sent to protect me from danger. It was as if the branches were hands that stretched out to cover me up in a coocoon. The only opening was at the top which allowed the moon’s rays reach me.

There was something about the way the moon shone down at me. It was almost as if they were blessings from the moon goddess herself. Somehow, it reminded me of the kind woman I had been dreaming of. Was she behind this?

Come to think of it, I had been on the run. I was been chased by the palace guards. Did they get me and put me in here?

I struggled to lift myself up and I felt pain shoot through me. It must have been the pain from the fall. I groaned as I forced myself up. An annoying migraine hit me the moment I got to my feet. I gritted my teeth to try bite the pain down as I used the opportunity to take in my surroundings.

There was neither a way out nor in. It was all blocked out by the trees. Again I asked myself; how did I get in here? Who put me here?

Could it be the moon goddess herself? Had the heeded to my call? Had she protected me? If she did, why did I still feel caged?

Like before, there were no answers to my question. I went back to the center and raised my head up at the moon. “Did you do this? Did you save me?” I asked but as expected, there was no response.

I sighed in defeat and looked down at my dress. That was when I noticed how shredded they had become. I had Killian to blame for this. He was the reason I was in this situation in the first place. If he had not walked back into my life today; then I would have been fine maneuvering my way through surviving.

“Way to go Killian, thank you for ruining my life for the second time again!” I screamed.

Anger started to build within me as I thought about how Killian had played a big role in the destruction of my life. The back of my throat burned just thinking of him. A memory from the past started to enter my head.

Echoes of my own scream reached my ears. The sound of my cries filled my head. The evil laughter of a man dominated my mind. I immediately blocked out the sounds only I could hear with my hands. I fought to push the thought far away from my head. I was not ready to relive that memory again. I did not think I was strong enough to. It was just too painful.

I was about to say something nasty about Killian when sudden pain hit my left arm. I dropped to my knees immediately but the pain did not stop. It was as if someone had set my arm on fire. Breathing became a very hard task as the pain burned my arm. It began to spread through out my body and I started to sweat profusely. My lips went pale due to the pain. It hurt the most at my arm. My eyes started to water and I brought my head to the ground as I cried. At that moment, I wished someone would come to console me. I desperately wished that someone would hug me and kiss the pain away.

I wished Killian would be the one to do it.

I suddenly cringed. An involuntary shiver ran down my spine. Was I the one who just thought about Killian? After everything he had put me through?

But the pain hit me again and I yearned for Killian. It was as if I did not have power over my body anymore. I think at this point, I cared less. All I wanted was to get rid of the pain that was burning into my soul.

I examined my arm and realised that someone's name was been inscribed into it. As every word spelled itself out on my skin, the letters only burned me and caused more tears to come spilling out of my eyes. My wolf was as good as powerless. It could not even try slow the pain or make it go away. I cried nonstop as the burn continued.

Eventually, the pain stopped. When I checked my arm, Killian’s name was there. It was etched boldly on my skin. I stared back at the name in horror. I tried to rub off the name but my efforts were futile. It was burned into my skin like a tattoo.

My heart sank deeper into its ribcage. I stared at it in defeat. This meant that Killian was truly my mate! He was not bluffing when he claimed me. I was not imagining it when I felt the mate bond.

Was this some kind of joke? It made no sense at all. Was the moon goddess making a joke out of my life? How could life be this cruel? Why did it have to be him of all the men in this world?

Angry tears spilled out of my eyes. I had thought that I would not have to deal with Killian again. That I would not have to face him again. Yet here I was having him for a mate for the rest of my life.

Suddenly, I felt my wolf rebel against me. I felt nauseous as my wolf fought to take control. My vision blurred and I felt an overwhelming sensation take over me. I started to yearn for only one person. My heart squeezed and skipped beats as it craved only one man; the same man who had been named my mate.

Killian!

I could not believe that I was the one wanting him yet I could not stop the feeling that was slowly building and getting stronger within me. My body screamed for Killian. I needed him now. I could not understand what was happening to me. I knew mates were supposed to be inseparable but was it supposed to feel this way?

I felt as if the air was been squeezed out of my lungs and the only person who could give me back this air was Killian. My body started heating up. My temperature was rising and I did not have control over it. I just knew that the only person who could cool me down was Killian.

Yet I kept cringing each time I thought of his name. But I kept wanting to be with just him. This was truly a cruel fate.

Suddenly, a cracking sound took over the air and I turned my head towards the direction. The trees seemed to be shifting. I did not think the trees could actually move. I remained still— I was on my knees the entire time— and watched.

It was as if the trees were making way for one to pass. I waited for whoever it was to reveal himself. Finally, I would know who had put me in this place.

Behold! Killian appeared through the path that had been created by the trees. I don’t know if it was just me but he seemed to glow as he walked towards me; still dressed in the robes and pants from earlier. His curls remained perfect atop his head. He was like my knight in shining armor.

I wanted him and I did not want him. I needed him and I did not need him. I wanted him gone and I also wanted him to stay. Just seeing him increased my hunger for him. My wolf wanted me to go running into his embrace but my pride gave me enough strength to stay put. All I did was get better ack on my feet.

Killian kept walking towards me nonstop. I had expected him to stop a yard away from me but he was still approaching me. So much so that he even entered my space. The dominance in his aura made me want to back down but my ego made me stay and watch him. I was not ready to show him my weakness.

He kept walking until he stopped inches away from me. I stared up at him in disbelief. The last thing I had expected was for him to get this close to me. If I understood the message he had tried to pass across to me earlier today, it meant that a filthy and used person like me could never be his mate. So what then was he doing standing so close to me?

He stared at me intensely for prolonged seconds. His icy blue eyes darkened and I instantly knew that he had a lot to say yet he remained so quiet.

Suddenly, he reached out, grabbed my hand and pulled me into a warm hug.

I widened my eyes in shock as I remained still. The world seemed to stop. All sounds faded away. All I could hear was the sound of my beating heart as well as my ragged breathing. The overwhelming feeling from earlier hit me again and got stronger. Only one question ruled my thoughts.

Why was Killian hugging me?