Chained By The Alpha Jessica Hall

Cleo

Morning light filters through the sheer curtains, casting a warm glow over the room. Yesterday is now a haunting memory I wish wasn't mine

I'm uncomfortably aware of the pulsing sensation on my neck - the mark that Zayn branded into my skin. It's both a declaration and a binding, like a ring etched with fangs instead of diamonds. My fingertips graze the tender spot, and a shiver runs through me, not from pain but from the depth of what it represents

Turning my head to the side, Zayn 1s not in bed, making me wonder where he is yet my mind is also stuck on yesterday. How my entire life was turned upside down and now I have no idea

what I'm doing

Sitting up against the mountain of pillows. The thoughts in my head are a jumbled mix of anxiety and excitement, each one colliding with the others like atoms gone wild. For once I have no obligations or restrictions yet at the same time I have no idea what to do with this weird freedom, but is the pulsing of my neck truly freedom or just another cage? One I willingly climbed into

I swing my legs off the bed and pad across the floor, catching my reflection in the full-length murror. Dark blonde hair tousled, light blue eyes staring back at me with an intensity I hardly recognize anymore

"Morning," Zayn's deep voice rumbles from the doorway, his eyes taking in the sight of me with an intensity that ignites my skin

"Morning," I echo, acutely aware of the power I hold over him now. If I reject him, he'll be weakened, vulnerable. The thought makes my stomach churn

I turn to find him leaning against the doorframe, his muscular build outlined by the soft light, dark chocolate locks framing a face that could make angels sin. His gray eyes hold a glint of silver as they meet mine

"Are you just going to stare at yourself all morning?" Zayn's voice cuts through my reverie, low and laced with amusement

"Maybe," I retort playfully, but my heart skips a beat. "There's a lot to take in."

"Come here," he says, and there's a command wrapped in his velvet tone that I can't resist

I cross the room to where he stands. He reaches out, his fingers tracing the mark on my neck with a tenderness that belies his strength. A sigh escapes me, a sound of surrender that feels right at this moment

"Zayn..." My voice 1s a breathy whisper as the countless emotions swirling within hunts for an outlet

"Shh," he hushes gently, pulling me close. "I know. It's a lot. You're safe here, Cleo. Just let things happen naturally."

His lips find mine, and the world narrows down to the point of contact between us. The kiss deepens, sparking a fire that threatens to consume me, fueled by the raw energy of this one sided bond, yet I still can feel him, the sensation is odd, unnatural to me. I struggle to differentiate my emotions from his like they

bleed into each other, it's just a trickle since I haven't marked him but odd all the same

"Zayn," I murmur against his mouth, "what if..."

"Whatever you're worrying about, it can wait," he assures me before capturing my lips once more

But the fears linger, shadows at the edge of the bright flame we've kindled. What have we done? What does the future hold?

"Let's not think about that now," Zayn whispers, sensing my inner turmoil, his hands roaming over my body in a way that makes it impossible to focus on anything else. Eventually, he pulls away, leaving me breathless. "Get dressed. I have pack members downstairs," he tells me

"Is everything okay?" I ask him and he shrugs

"Nothing I can't handle, just pack fears; word travels fast so I now have a house full of curious pack members, well the ones that help run the pack with me." he tells me. I nod and get dressed before we both head downstairs together, but the atmosphere in the packhouse 1s charged with tension. The air thick with whispered conversations that die down as we enter

"Zayn," Vance approaches with a heavy sigh, though his concern is etched into his features, "the pack... they're nervous."

I can feel their eyes on us as we enter the huge living room. Whispers slither through the room, coating my skin like frost as I take in the people here, there are about dozen, who must Zayn community council, each pack has one so it isn't something I am unfamiliar with. I am just shocked seeing them all here, my father never

allowed pack members to just freely come and go from the house. Which defeats the purpose of a PACK house, it's supposed to be communal, a safe place for pack members so it's good to see Zayn's pack has held onto older traditions that aren't used much in today's society where we have technology

"Alpha Samuel has declared war," one voice rises above the rest, laced with fearProperty belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.

"Joseph too," another confirms, casting a wary glance my way

"Are we to be strengthened by this union or torn apart?" a female pack member questions, her eyes piercing into mine

"Why hasn't she marked him back?" another member mutters, not quite under his breath. The question hangs heavy in the air, and I feel the

sting of judgment. Zayn sighs heavily, like this wasn't how he planned his morning

"Settle, you're panicking for no reason! So enough, it's too early in the morning for this kind of headache." Zayn's command slices through the murmurs, and silence falls like a guillotine. "And Cleo's choice to mark me, Stanley, 1s hers alone, and it will not be questioned."

He turns to me, his gray eyes softening

However, with every conflicted gaze that meets mine, I understand the gravity of our situation- the precariousness of a balance tipped by him marking me and the war that seems to be brewing

Zayn stands watching them debate and argue in his living room like this is a normal thing, he 1s the calm in the eye of the storm. He addresses

his pack, his voice resonant and firm. "Alpha Greyson has offered his support. We're not alone in this."