Chained By The Alpha By Jessica Hall

His fingers brush against my skin, tracing the line of my jaw with a touch that sparks fire amidst the ice in my veins. It’s a paradoxical sensation comforting yet disarming and I’m lost in the dilemma of it all

His hands find my waist, grip firm, pulling me against the hard planes of his body. I can feel the heat radiating from him, despite the chill in the air that’s trying to slip between us. It’s not enough to cool the fire he stirs within me the fire that’s been smoldering since the day I met him

“Mark you?” He breathes out, stunned, then a slow, predatory smile spreads across his face

“Do you think that will scare me off?” his breath

hot against my ear, sending shivers down my spine as he pulls back. His smirk is gone, replaced by an intensity that holds me captive

Zayn’s gaze darkens, a shadow of something intense and indescribable flickering in his

eyes

“You want my soul forever tied to yours, my heart in your hands?” His voice is low, a murmur that vibrates with power and menace

He chuckles, a sound that holds more weight than laughter should. “You break it, you break me… Can you live with that?”

His question sends a shiver down my spine, the reality of what I’m asking dawning on me in its full, daunting spectrum. I haven’t got my wolf yet, and until I mark him, I hold the ultimate power to reject him, just like my father did to my mother. Alphas never relinquish such control, and here I was, demanding Zayn to surrender his

But before I can retract my demand, reconsider the gravity of my request, he continues, not giving me a chance to take it back, and suddenly, I’m desperate to do just that, understanding the enormity of what he’s considering sacrificing for me a sacrifice I now realize wasn’t fair of me to demand

“I’d give you the world, and you ask for my heart like you think it would scare me, make me buckle,” he laughs again, but there’s no humor in it, only a deep, resounding truth. “What you don’t realize is you had it all along. From the moment I laid eyes on you.”

His fingers trace the line of my neck, while his other hand tilts my face up to meet his. His eyes search mine, seeking answers to questions unspoken, fears unvoiced. And then, with a gentleness that belies the ferocity of his nature, he brushes his lips against mine

“It’s always been yours, I don’t fear being chained to you, you can have it, it belongs to no one else.”

Without another word, he sinks his teeth into my neck, pulling me impossibly closer. A squeak escapes my lips, not from pain but from the overwhelming sensation of our hearts syncing, his soul binding to mine while mine remains free to wander. I can feel him entirely, and the moment he jolts as if pained, I realize the weight of what’s happening his soul attaching to mine 1n a bond that’s irreversible for him even if I reject him he will always have the lingering after effects of my soul once owning

his

He staggers slightly, pressing us both against the brick wall, and it’s suddenly unclear who’s supporting whom. When he finally withdraws, his lips are stained with my blood, marking me

in the most primal way known to our kind

Even now, marked, I hold the power to reject him, a power he’s willingly given me. He will always be sired to me, in some way, echoing the tragedy of my mother and father. If only Alpha Greyson had marked her, perhaps she would still be here

Suddenly, the power I hold over Zayn feels too immense, too dangerous. It terrifies me, not because I have it, but because of the profound implications for him—how by giving it to me, he’s exposed his heart, betting everything on us, on me. And in this moment, I realize I don’t want this power. The realization hits me hard, the weight of his sacrifice anchoring me to him with a bond that goes beyond blood, beyond marks. It’s a bond forged in trust, love, trust I don’t deserve from him

Not after everything I’ve done

“Zayn…” I falter, words sticking in my throat

“I’m sorry… I didn’t understand—

IT

He silences me with a finger to my lips. “No more ‘what ifs,’ no more doubts, and no more apologies. We are what we are, and right now I’m yours.” Guilt floods me as I stare up at him knowing what he gave me, some part of me screams what he did was reckless, yet another part of me screams how right it feels. Then there is the nagging thought of how selfish I was to demand he give me it

“Why are you sad?” he asks and my brows furrow at his words. “You can’t feel me, but I can feel you, don’t feel guilty Cleo. As you said IT am an alpha, I have my aura, you haven’t forced me to do anything, you gave me a choice, so I chose you.”

“Then why do I feel like you’ll hate me later for Ta

“Hate you?” he laughs like it is the most idiotic thing I’ve said. “That’s the last thing you could ever make me do. How could I hate you for being the one thing that’s ever made me feel complete?”

His hand shifts to cradle my cheek gently, his thumb caressing my skin with a tenderness that belies the strength in his arms. “This mark,” he continues, his voice softening, “I didn’t give it lightly, and I don’t give my heart lightly, either.”

He leans in, his forehead resting against mine, our breaths mingling. “I chose you, Cleo, with every fiber of my being. This mark, it ties me to you, yes. But more than that, I knew what I was giving you by marking you.”

The warmth in his gaze thaws the last of my doubts, filling the spaces between my heartbeats with something new, something exhilarating. “I could never hate you for making me feel alive, for making me love so deeply. You’ve awakened a part of me I didn’t know existed. And for that, I could never hate you.”

He smiles then, a genuine, heart-stopping smile that lights up his entire face. “T love you, Cleo

And I’ll spend every day making sure you never doubt that. This mark, it’s not a chain. It’s the start of a bond, and one day, hopefully soon I will wear it proudly when you return it.”

In that moment, any lingering guilt or fear dissolves under the weight of his words, his love. Zayn’s mark isn’t just a claim—it’s a gift, one he is trusting I will return one day

“Come on, let’s get you home.” Zayn presses his lips against my forehead and wraps his arm around my shoulders, tugging me toward his car