ISOBEL
I should have felt relieved and happy that Mason had left the room and I was finally alone, giving me the chance to finally breathe without feeling like he was crowding my mind but instead, I sat still on the couch, with my heart still racing, and my skin still tingled from his touch.
I couldn't help but think about the words he said to me and they echoed in my head, like it was taunting me.
"Dream on, Isobel. You're going to be stuck with me for as long as I see fit."
I clenched my fists and I tried to push down the frustration that was boiling inside me. He was so annoying, so arrogant, and so—
I closed my eyes tightly and groaned loudly.
I hated the fact that I was affected by him and how my body always betrayed me when he was close. It wasn't fair. How could someone I wanted nothing to do with make me feel like this?
My mate bond should have weakened by now, or at least, since I had rejected him even though he had rejected my rejection. But it was still there, and it was stronger than ever, pulling me toward him like a magnet.
I took a deep breath and slowly sighed as I tried to calm down. I had to get away from him. That was the only way. If I stayed here, stuck in the same room with him, I was going to lose my mind.
But I couldn't run because the last two times I tried to run away, it was unsuccessful. I buried my face in my hands, feeling conflicted.
Mason refused to reject me, and worst of all, a part of me was scared that if he finally did, it would hurt me so much.
I snapped out of my thoughts when I heard a knock on the door. I quickly straightened and muttered a small "come in,". The next second, the door was pushed open and a young girl walked in. "Dinner is ready, miss." She said and I nodded, then she turned around and left.
If it hadn't been for Mason, maybe, just maybe, I'd have truly enjoyed staying in the moonlight pack because of how they treated me with so much respect, which was a huge contrast to how I was treated in my Father's pack.
Dinner was unbearable.
I sat at the long dining table, and rested my hands on my lap. Mason sat across from me, and he was the exact opposite of me, he was relaxed, and composed like he had no problems. Alpha Francis said something and Mason laughed smoothly and though the sound was nice, it annoyed me.
I clenched my jaw, and held my fork tighter. How could he be so unaffected or was he just good at pretending?
"Isobel," Alpha Francis called, and I blinked, and I realized that I had completely blanked out.
"Y-Yes?" I cleared my throat and grabbed my glass of water to hide my awkwardness.
"I was just saying…" he smirked, "it's nice to see Mason being so chatty and carefree. He's usually so uptight most of the time."
I swallowed and forced a smile. Carefree? That was an unusual way to describe him. Mason was acting as if he hadn't just walked out on me earlier, after declaring that I was stuck with him. As if he hadn't just—
I turned to look at him, only to find him already watching me. His intense eyes locked onto mine, and he maintained eye contact, not willing to back down. He knew I was annoyed and he enjoyed it.
I wanted to call him out. I wanted to stand up and ask him how he could sit there and act so normal, but I didn't. Instead, I forced myself to turn back to my plate and pushed my food around, waiting for the annoying dinner to end.
"I have a surprise for you," Alpha Francis said after we were done with dinner and I didn't know if he was talking to Mason or me, but I didn't bother asking, "I'll let you know once it's ready."
We finally left Alpha Francis and the second we walked into our shared room, I turned to face him. "What game are you playing, Mason?"
He didn't even look at me as he walked past me while unbuttoning the buttons of his sleeve. "What are you talking about?" He asked, sounding bored.
"You know exactly what I'm talking about!" I snapped, and rushed to stand in front of him before he could move. "You sat there, laughing and joking with Alpha Francis, like everything was fine and like you didn't just—" I stopped myself as I felt my anger rising.
"Didn't just what?" he asked, and slightly tilted his head.
I felt something in my stomach as I realized that he was playing with me again.
"You won't reject me and you won't accept my rejection but you also won't tell me why," I hissed. "You act like you can just keep me here, like I don't have a choice."
His eyes darkened and the playfulness that was in his eyes disappeared. "You don't." He said seriously.
In that moment, breathing became difficult and Mason took a step closer, his voice low. "You keep asking why, but you already know the answer."
I swallowed hard, and I could feel that my body was about to betray me. His scent, and everything about him was pulling me in, and no matter how hard I tried to fight against it, it was stronger.
"Don't," I whispered, and it felt like I was talking to myself rather than to him, but he didn't stop.
For a moment, neither of us moved. I could feel the tension in the air, it was so obvious and then without thinking, I took a step back.
Mason followed me and closed the space between us again. He slowly lifted his hand and caressed my cheek.
I should have told him to let me go but I couldn't. I didn't want to.
He brushed my bottom lip with his thumb and my breath caught. "You claim you don't feel it," he murmured. "But your body tells me otherwise."
I hated that he was right.
"Mason…" My voice was shaky, but I didn't know if I was warning or begging.
He leaned in, close enough for me to feel his breath on my face. "Tell me to stop."
I opened my mouth, but I was unable to form words. Then, just when I thought he was going to kiss me, he pulled back, and he smirked. I frowned and just when I was ready to come at him, a knock sounded on the door.