From Frying Pan to Strange Fire

It all felt like a dream and everything happened so fast the joining, the exchange of rings which Roman surprisingly provided, the signing of the marriage certificates. Everyone was left dumbfounded at the speed at which a marriage was conducted and concluded.

Although the groom looked like he was having his best day, the bride still looked confused as if she still wasn’t sure she wasn’t dreaming all of it.

Now sitting in the back seat of one of the luxury cars driving away from the house she once called home, she let out a loud sigh, then turned her head to stare at the man who turned her entire world upside down in less than thirty minutes.

He was seated comfortably beside her, his eyes closed and his head thrown back against the headrest. He looked so peaceful and possessed more than everything she desired in a man.

Strange as it was, in only a few minutes, he had made her feel better than Richard had made her feel in three years, but she still couldn’t get rid of that nagging feeling that something was off somewhere.

His eyes snapped open just then and he turned his head to meet her gaze. They stared at each other for a while in silence until he broke it by saying, “you’re beautiful.”

“Why are you doing this?” Joan asked, ignoring his complement. Much as it sounded pleasing to her ears, she had other things bothering her to let that throw her off track.

“Doing what? Taking my wife home?” Roman asked, feigning ignorance of what she was talking about about.

“Why did you insist on getting married to me? To someone you barely know? To the person who drunkenly took advantage of you in your vulnerable moment?” Joan asked straight to the point this time.

“Isn’t it obvious already? It’s because I love you.” Roman answered in a manner that suggested she should already know the answer to her question.Content bel0ngs to Nôvel(D)r/a/ma.Org.

But his answer left Joan in more confusion than she earlier was.

“Love?” She let out an incredulous scoff. “Do you even know what love is? How do you love someone you don’t know?” She asked, unable to believe her ears. Was he crazy or something?

“Have you not heard of love at first sight? Haven’t you heard of soulmates? You think these things aren’t real? Some people know their soulmates from the very moment they set eyes on them, or touch them” Roman leaned toward her, almost yielding to the temptation to touch her.

However, he quickly reminded himself not to, and leaned away from her, relaxing into his seat. “I fall into that category. I knew we were meant to be together the moment I saw you. And I’m not one to wait for things to happen. I make them happen. You can relax. You are in safe hands. I won’t hurt you.”

Joan let out a disbelieving laughter. “This is insane. How did I get myself tangled in such a mess? How the hell did I even get here?” She asked herself out loud. “I want a divorce.” She stated, and Roman let out a chuckle.

“We just got married, my dear, and you are already talking about a divorce? Two divorces in one day. Do you want to break a record?”

“I don’t care. I don’t know what I was thinking agreeing to this, but I want out. This is absurd.” Joan uttered, at the verge of breaking down.

“I will give you anything you want, anything at all. You only have to ask. I will even burn down a city for you. But these two things I will never grant. A request to hurt you, and a divorce.” Roman revealed.

“Then I will hand myself over to the police and confess everything I di-” Joan started speaking but couldn’t finish her words as the air in the car suddenly became too stuffy, she couldn’t breathe properly. Confused as to what was happening, she placed her hand on her chest as she wheezed for lack of air.

Confusion registered on Roman’s face. Her words had hit a nerve, stirring up a pissed emotion inside of him. What he didn’t expect was that she would suddenly have trouble breathing. He was familiar with that reaction and it only happens with omegas, when they are in the same space with an angry Roman.

For the first time in his entire existence, Roman tried to quickly switch his mood back to the happy one. Seeing her suffer that way dealt a hard blow to him and knowing he was the cause of it made it even worse.

When he couldn’t immediately switch his mood from anger to the happy one, fear and panic set in, seeing how Joan was turning paler by the second with tears trailing down her cheeks.

However, as soon as his emotions switched to fear, the stuffiness in the air cleared up and Joanne realized she could breathe again. Without wasting much time, she drew in deep and quick breaths to make up for the oxygen she has been deprived of for some time.

“Are you okay?” Roman asked, moving slightly farther away from her to give her more room to breathe in unpolluted air. How was she an omega and he couldn’t sense she was a werewolf?

Upon hearing his voice, Joan opened her eyes, still taking in as much air as she could. Although he wasn’t too close to her, she still shifted in her seat away from him. A chill instantly ran down her spine. She could swear she saw specks of red forming in his eyes just before her air supply got cut off. But looking at him now, his eyes were clear ocean blue. Was it just her imagination?

“You need to relax. You’ve had a hectic day. Stop increasing your stress levels. I already gave my word that I wont hurt you.” Roman reassured, adding ‘not intentionally, at least’ in his mind, realizing he just hurt her unintentionally seconds ago. He leaned his back against his seat and shut his eyes afterward, pondering on what just happened.

Joan wanted to say something but she forced herself to swallow the words. She was still trembling slightly from the lack of air incident and her suspicion about something not being right had doubled. She needed to think of a way to escape this man and she needed to do it fast.