# CHAPTER 15: THE JEALOUSY
The phone rings at 11 PM.
Alana is in her apartment. Alone. The lilies Derek brought still sit on the coffee table. White. Fragile. A reminder of everything that has happened.
She picks up the phone. Checks the screen.
*Alexander.*
She hesitates. Her thumb hovers over the accept button.
*Should I answer?*
*Do I want to hear his voice?*
She swipes. Brings the phone to her ear.
"Hello."
"Alana." Alexander's voice is rough. Strained. Something is wrong. "We need to talk."
"We've been talking all week. I'm tired of talking."
"This is different." A pause. She hears him breathe. Ragged. Heavy. "It's about Derek."
Alana's body tenses.
"What about him?"
"He came to see you. Tonight. I know." Alexander's voice drops. Possessive. "I felt it. Through the bond. You let him into your apartment. You talked to him. You..."
He trails off. The silence is heavy. Charged.
"You felt what?" Alana asks. Her voice is sharp.
"Connection." The word comes out like a curse. "Warmth. Comfort. Something I haven't felt from you in five years." His breath catches. "I felt you with him. And it... it broke something in me."
Alana's blood heats. Anger. Defensive.
"You don't get to do this."
"Do what?"
"Be jealous." She spits the word. "You don't get to be possessive. Not after what you did. Not after you left me alone for five years."
"I'm not—"
"You are." She cuts him off. "I can hear it in your voice. The anger. The possessiveness. Like I belong to you. Like you have some right to decide who I see. Who I talk to."
"You are mine." Alexander's voice drops. A growl. "The bond—"
"The bond doesn't give you ownership." Alana's voice rises. "The bond doesn't erase what you did. You left me, Alexander. You walked away. You didn't call. Didn't write. Didn't explain. You let me believe I was nothing to you."
"I did it to protect you—"
"You did it because you were afraid!" She's shouting now. Screaming into the phone. "You were afraid of Marcus. Afraid of losing. Afraid of everything. And you left me to pick up the pieces alone."
"I had no choice—"
"There's always a choice!" Alana's voice breaks. "You could have trusted me. You could have told me the truth. You could have stayed and fought beside me." She pauses. Swallows. "But you didn't. You ran."
The line is silent.
Alana's chest heaves. Her hands tremble. The phone feels like a weapon. Heavy. Dangerous.
When Alexander speaks again, his voice is different. Broken. Shattered.
"You're right."
Alana freezes.
"What?"
"You're right." The words come out like a confession. Like a death. "I was afraid. I ran. I told myself it was to protect you. But the truth is... I was a coward. I couldn't face losing you. So I made the decision for both of us. And I've regretted it every day since."
Alana doesn't respond. Her throat is tight. Her eyes sting.
"I know I don't deserve you," Alexander continues. His voice cracks. "I know I have no right to be jealous. No right to feel anything when you're with another man. Even Derek. Especially Derek." He pauses. "But I can't help it. The bond... it's too strong. When I feel you with him... when I sense your warmth toward him... something inside me breaks."
"Then let me go." Alana's voice is barely a whisper. "If it hurts so much. If the bond is so painful. Just... let me go."
A sharp intake of breath. Like she's stabbed him.
"I can't." The words are raw. Torn from his chest. "I've tried. For five years. Every day. Every night. I've tried to let you go. To forget you. To move on." His voice breaks completely. "But I can't. You're part of me, Alana. The best part. The only part that matters. Without you... I'm nothing."
Alana closes her eyes. Tears stream down her cheeks.
*He loves me.*
*After everything. He still loves me.*
*But is that enough?*
"I don't know what to do," she whispers. "I don't know how to forgive you. I don't know if I can."
"I know." Alexander's voice is rough. "I'm not asking for forgiveness. Not yet. I'm just asking..." He trails off.
"Asking what?"
"For a chance. To prove I've changed. To show you I'm not the same man who left." He pauses. "Please, Alana. Just... give me that. A chance."
Alana is silent.
The clock ticks. The city hums. The weight of the decision presses down.
"I need time," she says finally. "To think. To process everything."
"Take all the time you need."
"And stop... stop feeling me through the bond. Stop monitoring my emotions. It's invasive. It's—" She struggles for the word. "It's too much."
A pause. Then a breath.
"I'll try." Alexander's voice is quiet. "But I can't promise. The bond has a will of its own. It responds to you. Even when I try to block it... your presence pulls at me. Like gravity." He pauses. "I'll try to give you space. But I can't stop feeling you. I can't stop loving you. I can't stop being yours."
Alana doesn't respond.
"Goodnight, Alana." His voice is soft. Broken. "I hope you find the answers you're looking for."
The line goes dead.
Alana stares at the phone. The screen glows in the darkness. Then fades to black.
She sets it down. Walks to the window. Presses her forehead against the cold glass.
*Love. Hate. Anger. Grief.*
*Everything tangled together. Everything screaming for attention.*
*What do I want?*
*What am I willing to risk?*
The questions echo in her mind. Unanswered. Unanswerable.
She stands there for a long time. Watching the city lights. Watching the darkness.
Hours pass.
Then a knock at the door.
---
Alana freezes.
Her heart races. Her body tenses.
*Who?*
*At this hour?*
She glances at the clock. 3:17 AM.
The knock comes again. Harder. More insistent.
"Alana." A voice. Muffled through the wood. "Please. Open the door."
*Alexander.*
She doesn't move.
"Alana, I know you're awake. I can feel it. Through the bond." His voice cracks. "Please. I just... I need to see you."
She closes her eyes. Takes a breath.
*This is a bad idea.*
*Everything about this is a bad idea.*
But her feet carry her forward. Her hand reaches for the lock.
She opens the door.
---
Alexander stands in the hallway.
He's soaked. Rain drips from his hair. His clothes. His shoes. He's shivering. Violent. Uncontrollable.
But his eyes...
His golden eyes are red. Bloodshot. Haunted. Like he hasn't slept in days. Maybe longer.
"I couldn't stay away," he whispers. "I tried. I drove around the city for hours. Trying to clear my head. Trying to give you space." He laughs. Bitter. Broken. "But I ended up here. Outside your building. Like a goddamn stalker."
Alana stares at him. This broken man. This wolf who has been fighting alone for five years.
"You look terrible," she says.
Alexander almost smiles. "I feel worse."
"Come in." She steps aside. "Before you catch hypothermia."
He enters. Leaves a trail of water on her floor. His shoes squelch against the hardwood.
She grabs a towel from the bathroom. Throws it at him.
"Dry off."
He catches it. Presses it against his face. His hair. His shoulders.
"I'm sorry," he says. The words are muffled by the towel. "For the phone call. For being jealous. For all of it."
Alana crosses her arms.
"You should be."
"I know." He lowers the towel. Meets her eyes. "I'm not good at this. At feelings. At relationships. At..." He gestures vaguely. "At anything that isn't fighting or killing or surviving." He pauses. "I've been alone for so long. Fighting a war no one knew about. And when I felt you with Derek... when I sensed your connection to him... something in me snapped."
"Because he was there when you weren't."
"Yes." Alexander's voice breaks. "He held you. Comforted you. Stayed with you when I couldn't. And I hate him for it. Even though I know I shouldn't. Even though I know he was protecting you for me." He steps closer. "I hate that I failed you. That someone else was there when you needed me most."
Alana's throat tightens.
*He hates himself. More than I ever could.*
"You did fail me," she says quietly. "You left me alone. And I don't know if I can ever forgive that."
"I know." Alexander nods. "But I'm not asking for forgiveness tonight. I'm just asking..." He trails off. His eyes are wet. "I'm asking you to let me stay. Just for a few hours. So I don't have to be alone with my thoughts. So I can pretend, for just a little while, that I haven't lost you completely."
Alana is silent.
*Let him stay?*
*After everything?*
*Can I do that?*
She looks at him. At this broken, soaking, desperate man. The man she loved. The man who left. The man who came back.
"Fine," she says. "You can stay. On the couch. And in the morning, you leave."
Relief floods his face.
"Thank you." His voice cracks. "Thank you, Alana."
She walks to the bedroom. Grabs a pillow and blanket. Throws them at him.
"Couch. Now. Goodnight."
Alexander catches the bedding. Holds it against his chest.
"Goodnight, Alana."
She closes the bedroom door. Leans against it.
Her heart races. Her hands tremble.
*He's here. In my apartment. Sleeping on my couch.*
*What am I doing?*
She climbs into bed. Pulls the covers up. Stares at the ceiling.
In the other room, she hears him settle. The couch creaking. A soft exhale.
*He's here.*
*Broken. Desperate. Still mine.*
*And I don't know what to do about it.*
She closes her eyes.
And for the first time in five years, she sleeps without nightmares.