Chained By The Alpha By Jessica Hall

Cleo

The cool afternoon air hits my face like a slap as I step out of the stadium, my chest heaving with sobs that threaten to break free at any moment

My whole world had just been turned upside down-I am officially alone, abandoned by the man I called father for nineteen years

Somehow, my feet carry me away from the mess behind me, and away from the whispers and glares of everyone who saw those horrific images

I stumble around outside, the ground coming fast toward me, and I lean against the brick wall for support before my legs give out completely, dropping me onto the cold pavement

Humiliation, anger, grief they all rush through me in an uncontrollable torrent. Hot tears stream down my cheeks, creating streaks in the dirt and blood that coats my face a result of Zayn and my father’s fight above me

“Cleo!” Zayn’s desperate voice cuts through the thickening fog in my mind, but I can’t bring myself to look at him, not now. His footsteps come closer, crunching on the gravel, relentless

“Cleo ”

“Go away!” I choke out, the words like shards of glass in my throat. My eyes are swollen, my vision blurred by the onslaught of tears. I can barely make out his form as it approaches, a shadowed silhouette against the waning light

“Look at me,” he demands, but there is a tremble in his voice that betrays his own turmoil

“Why?” I spit out bitterly, pressing my back

against the bricks as if I could disappear into them. “So you can gloat? So you can see the mess you’ve made?”

Zayn is suddenly kneeling before me, his muscular frame somehow making even this position seem powerful, commanding. “I didn’t do this. I didn’t want this for you.”

“Then what did you want, Zayn?” My voice rises, fueled by a rage I don’t fully understand

“Because right now, it feels like you wanted to destroy everything!”

“Everything I’ve done…” he starts, but I cut him off

“Everything you’ve done has led to this! I asked you not to get involved!” I gesture wildly to my tear-streaked face, to the empty space around us

where my life seems to have fallen apart. “You think because you’re some all-powerful Alpha that you can just ”

“Damn it, Cleo, I’m trying to protect you!” His shout echoes off the wall behind me, and for a moment, we’re both stunned into silence. Zayn’s gray eyes meet mine, and the intensity within them pins me in place. “This isn’t about power or me one upping your father. It’s about you

Can’t you see that?” I shake my head, and he reaches for me

“Stop,” I choke out, batting his hands away

Shame and confusion coil tightly within me as Zayn remains crouched in front of me, his eyes softening slightly. “I get you’re angry, upset, and want someone to blame, but I’m not it,” His fingers are cool and gentle on my hot skin, an unwelcome contrast to the heat of my embarrassment

His touch is hesitant, a reminder of the chaos I’ve just left behind. “I’m so sorry this happened.” A tremor races through his words, betraying the iron strength I know he possesses

The raw honesty in his tone stirs something inside me, yet I can’t allow myself the comfort of his apologies not now. I push him back, needing distance, needing air. My legs find their strength, and I rise, heart pounding against my ribcage like a trapped bird desperate for escape from its owner’s cage

“Enough, please just stop Zayn, stop with the act, stop acting like you fucking care!” I manage to stand, trying to loom over him even though I’m only 5’4. It’s futile; he’s a tower of muscle and resolve, dark hair tousled from the fight, his presence overwhelming as he stands there chest bare and in just a pair of sweatpants

“Can’t you see? This was never about what you wanted or didn’t want!” Anger flares up again, burning away the tears, replacing them with a bitter taste in my mouth. “You couldn’t just stay away, could you?”

“Stay away?” Hurt flickers across his face like a shadow

“Yes! Stay the fuck away!” I shove Zayn, my hands striking his chest like bricks, the

force of my betrayal driving each blow. “Don’t make out this isn’t what you wanted! I asked you to stay away, to not step in! This is exactly what you wanted!” My words are a whip, lashing out with venom and despair

He staggers back, a look of hurt flashing across his rugged features. “You think a sorry is enough?” I cry, my voice breaking under the strain of anger and tears that refuse to

stop

They blur the world around me until there’s only him, the source of my pain, and the target of my fury. He flinches, a visible wince, as 1f my accusations are physical blows beating against him and inflicting injury

The taste of salt from my tears and bitterness floods my mouth as I confront him with

the truth he can’t escape. “You just ruined my life! You fucking sired me and now I wonder if it was your plan all along when you healed me.” He growls his own anger showing at my words

“Was it you who gave her those photos?!” I scream, my fingers curling into fists, wanting to strike, to hurt, to unleash the storm within him

He 1s the only one that would have had a chance to take them, how else would she have them? “Were you bored and wanted to humiliate me?!” The sob that follows cuts through the tension, a raw sound that bares my soul to the man who

stands before me, the man whose actions have unfurled my world

Zayn’s face hardens, his jaw set in a defiant line as he grabs my wrists, halting my

assault. His grip 1s firm but careful, trying to contain the rage without causing more damage by unleashing his. “Cleo, listen to me,” he begins, his voice low, a growl simmering beneath the surface, “Everything you’re thinking—it’s wrong

I could never-