Eileen didn’t have to wait to find trouble for herself, because it came looking for her on its own. She wrapped her flimsy shawl tighter around her as she practically ran towards her cottage after getting off of the carriage and flung her door open before rushing inside. She laid her head against the hard wood and worked the lock, only to raise her head and gasp in shock at the sight before her. 

Nathaniel was sitting on a chair in the corner, with only his face illuminated by a small candle while the rest of him was shrouded in darkness. She calmed her thundering heart by taking a few deep breathes, already annoyed by this situation. He just couldn’t leave her in peace, could he? She pulled off her shawl and scarf, draping them over the table and stepped out of her muddy boots, her hurried movements representing her sullen mood. 

Nathaniel had already stood up and was standing in front of her, studying her face. She faced him with a harsh glare to get him to back off, to her complete lack of surprise, it obviously didn’t work. 

‘Why are you here?’ She demanded, having enough of people doing anything they wanted with total disregard to how she felt about it.

He appeared taken aback by her tone, yet his brow furrowed in worry. ‘Are you alright?’

Dammit. 

She closed her eyes and raked her fingers through her hair. His gentle voice and apparent concern was enough to make her want to blurt everything out. 

She was about to even, except when she looked into his concerned eyes and handsome face, everything that had happened that day raced through her mind like a tornado. All the degrading voices swarmed in her head, morphing into one single voice, Nathaniel’s, even though his was saying, ‘talk to me Eileen.’ 

She regained her senses once he grabbed his shoulders and shook her, and her rage was back, this time tenfold. She yanked herself from his hold and pushed against his chest. The wall of muscle that was his body refused to budge, even as her shoves changed into fists banging on his torso in utter frustration. 

He simply stood there and allowed her to hit him, having no regard for the fact that what she was doing- raising a hand against the Alpha in any form, was punishable by death. He didn’t let her hit him for long though, because he suddenly grabbed her face with both hands and pushed her body against the wall with him own. All the fight left her body and turned into sheer passion as she matched his intensity and kissed him back.

 Even though it was wrong and she belonged to someone else. 

His hands slid into her hair, pulling her harder against him as they molded against each other. When they parted and came up for breath, her face was flushed and eyes were wide as saucers. He smiled at her, loving the way she had turned red, loving the fact that he wasn’t the only one trapped in this fatal attraction. 

The blissful moment didn’t last long because she came to her senses, once again- it appeared that she had trouble staying sane around this particular man-, and stepped away from him. A measurable distance clearly because Nathaniel’s jaw tightened into a near scowl. 

She cleared her throat, feeling awkward as hell, before she said, ‘we can’t do this.’ 

He nodded. ‘I know.’

But stepped forward anyway. ‘I won’t stop though, I’ll win you over eventually.’ 

She couldn’t take it anymore, so she said,

‘I think you should go’, her voice was a soft, pathetic whisper. 

He sighed. ‘I thought I made it clear last week. I want you, Eileen, and I tried to stay away but I can’t.’

‘That’s where you keep missing the point. I’m engaged, to someone else, it doesn’t mater what you and I want.’

‘So you don’t love him, then?’

‘No.’ Her admission was so melancholic that his heart broke. 

‘So don’t marry him. Leave him.’ 

‘I can’t refuse an Alpha, you know that. I don’t even have a wolf, or a proper status. Without a leg to stand on, it really isn’t a choice.’

He opened his mouth to respond but they both jumped when a knock sounded at the door, followed by Marcus’s voice.

‘Eileen! You left your bag in the carriage.’

‘Coming!’ She stepped away from Nathaniel with great difficulty for what seemed like the last time before she walked to the door and looked outside. The night sky was dark, just like her inevitable future.