Chapter 6

Scarlett's POV

It was still very silent in the house and I got up from my seat to get some water from the kitchen. It was the middle of the night, and the last thing I thought I would do is run into someone, especially him.

I tiptoed down the stairs, my head still spinning with all the events that have occurred in the recent past. Alexander had been provoking me in a way that I did not like to admit. I was still standing in front of the fridge and taking a glass of water when I heard a noise from the darkness.

"Scarlett. .. "

The familiar deep voice made me jump in surprise; I turned around almost spilling my wine glass.

“Alexander? What are you doing here?” I stammered, feeling my heart race in my chest. ‘It is past midnight, why have you not gone home?’

He was leaning against the kitchen counter as if he had all the rights to be there and not as if he had just broken into my house. His shirt was still partially opened from before, and his chest, muscular, well-built, and very attractive, was the last thing I wanted to look at but couldn’t help it. He had messy hair like he had been ruffling it with his hands all night and he smelled of alcohol.

“I’ll be sleeping here,” he said with a devilish grin, his words slurred from the alcohol he had taken. His eyes were blank, but he was staring at me, his stare was piercing.

I scowled, attempting to maintain a safe distance from her. ‘Well, you should be resting, not wandering in kitchens and frightening people at night. ‘

I spun around to go, but his words made me pause, “Scarlett, why are you avoiding me?”

I tightened my grip on the glass, keeping my back to him. “I am not avoiding you,” I said in a low voice. ”I just don’t want to be in awkward situations.”

He laughed softly, a sound that sent shivers down my spine. “It’s a bit awkward, isn’t it? Or are you just uncomfortable around me for some other reason?”

I stiffened and my face burned red. “I’m not uncomfortable, I just have nothing to say to you, so if you’ll let me, I’ll go back to bed.”

But before I could take another step, his next question knocked the wind out of me. “Why did you go to New York without informing any one?”

I stood still, my hand clutching the glass even tighter. I had tried so hard to bury those memories, to keep that part of my life in the past.

“That’s none of your business,” I replied more harshly than I had probably meant to. ”Please don’t think that we are friends or anything like that because we are not.”

A sinister expression crossed his face, one that made her feel like she had just seen the devil himself. He moved closer to her and spoke in a low tone. “You’re my mate, Scarlett. Whether you like it or not, I’m not letting you go that easily. ”

When I heard the word mate I was struck like a ton of bricks. My wolf rose within me but I suppressed it, I did not want to accept it. ‘I don’t care about that,’ I said sharply. “You are going at dawn, Alexander. I don’t wish you to be here.”

He furrowed his brows, and I could tell he didn’t anticipate that I would be so unfriendly. “Why are you treating me like this? What did I do, Scarlett? Did I hurt you before you left?”

“I don’t care about you!” I shouted louder than I intended to. I felt the adrenaline rushing through my veins and I thought I saw pain in his eyes for a second.

But then, everything changed.

In one swift movement, he closed the distance between us. Before I could react, his lips crashed into mine, hard and demanding. My mind went blank. The glass slipped from my fingers, shattering on the floor, but I barely heard it over the pounding of my heart.

His hands gripped my waist, pulling me closer. I tried to push him away, but he was too strong. Every part of me screamed to fight back, but another part—the part I had been trying to suppress for so long—melted into the kiss.

Heat surged through me as my wolf howled inside, desperate for this. For him. I hated how much I wanted him, how much my body craved his touch. My resistance faltered, and I found myself kissing him back, my fingers curling into his shirt as I let the emotion take over.

No! I screamed internally. You can't do this!

I managed to push him back, gasping for breath as I wiped my lips, trying to erase the feeling of his mouth on mine.

"What the hell was that, Alexander?" I breathed, my voice shaky.

He stood there, his chest rising and falling heavily, his eyes dark with desire. "You can pretend all you want, Scarlett. But you feel it too. You’re my mate."

I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. "I don't want this," I whispered, though my body betrayed me, still trembling from the kiss. "I'm only here to check on my father, and I’ll be gone soon. We’re not mates. We’re nothing."

I stepped back, hating the way my voice quivered. "Just... leave me alone."

With that, I turned and slammed the door behind me, leaning against it as I tried to catch my breath. My lips still tingled from the kiss, and my wolf stirred restlessly inside me, wanting more. But I couldn’t give in. Not to him. Not to the one person I was trying so hard to forget.