Episode6
847 Words
Elara woke before dawn.
She lay curled beside the now-cold hearth, her body tangled with Kael’s warmth, his arm still draped across her waist. The moment was soft, still, stolen—fragile as breath. She closed her eyes, pretending for a heartbeat longer that there were no laws, no Council, no threats in the shadows.
But reality returned like frost, crisp and undeniable.
She slipped from his arms and rose quietly, padding to the window. Outside, the world was painted in mist. The trees stood tall and unmoving, but the air buzzed with unease. A change was coming. She felt it in her bones.
Kael stirred behind her. “You always up this early?”
She turned slightly. “Foxes don’t sleep like wolves do.”
He sat up, rubbing his eyes. “It’s nice. Waking up with you.”
“Don’t get used to it.”
He smiled lazily. “Too late.”
She turned back to the window before he could see the way that made her chest ache.
By midmorning, she was in town—alone.
Black Hollow wasn’t large. It didn’t need to be. The shifter clans lived in homes nestled between deep woods and winding paths, each with their own territory lines, all under the watchful eye of the Elder Council. Market days brought everyone together, and even the loners emerged to barter herbs, furs, tools, and secrets.
Elara moved through the open-air market with a practiced calm, her cloak pulled tight, silver hair braided down her back. She exchanged greetings, bought saltroot and cedar oil, but didn’t linger. Not today.
Not with what she’d done.
She passed by Jase’s stall without making eye contact, but of course, he saw her.
“Elara.”
She froze.
Jase stepped out from behind a stack of dyed leathers, arms crossed, jaw tight. “You’ve been avoiding me.”
“I’ve been busy.”
“Don’t insult me.”
She met his gaze. “If you’re looking for a fight, I’m not in the mood.”
“I’m not,” he said, stepping closer. “But I know you, El. I know when you’re lying.”
Her jaw clenched.
“I scouted the ridge,” he continued. “The trail ends near your cabin. The wolf’s still there, isn’t he?”
Silence.
“Elara.”
She looked him dead in the eye. “Yes.”
Jase’s nostrils flared. “Are you insane?”
“He’s not what you think.”
“He’s a wolf. That’s all I need to think.”
“He’s not with them. He escaped them. He’s—”
“—manipulating you.”
She stepped closer. “Don’t do that. Don’t turn this into jealousy.”
Jase’s expression darkened. “It’s not jealousy. It’s survival.”
She didn’t flinch.
“If the Council finds out, they’ll kill him. And you,” he said. “You’re risking everything.”
“I know.”
“Then why?”
Her voice dropped to a whisper. “Because I feel something. Something real. And I’m not turning my back on that—not again.”
Jase looked wounded for a moment. But it passed.
“I won’t tell the Council,” he said, voice low. “But if he steps out of line—if he even breathes wrong—I’ll end him myself.”
Elara didn’t respond. She didn’t have to.
They both knew the line they were dancing on.
And they both knew it couldn’t hold forever.
Back at the cabin, Kael was already waiting outside when she returned.
“You were gone a while,” he said.
“I had to see someone.”
“Jase.”
She nodded.
His jaw tightened. “What did he say?”
“He knows. He won’t talk—for now.”
Kael looked out toward the trees. “You shouldn’t keep defending me.”
“I’m not doing it for you,” she said. “I’m doing it because I believe you.”
He looked at her like she was made of fire.
“You shouldn’t do that either,” she added, trying to brush past him.
He caught her wrist, gently. “Do what?”
“Look at me like I’m the only thing keeping you grounded.”
His voice was soft. “Maybe you are.”
And she hated that her heart fluttered at the sound of it.
That night, after they shared dinner by the fire and he read aloud from one of her old history books—his voice deep, his curiosity almost childlike—she let herself smile.
Just a little.
Kael noticed.
“What?”
“Nothing,” she said.
“Tell me.”
“You don’t fit the stories.”
He raised a brow. “Which stories?”
“The ones we grew up hearing about wolves. Wild. Savage. Unthinking.”
“Do you want me to be that?”
She looked at him. “I think I like what you are.”
Kael set the book down. Moved closer. “Then I’ll stay that. For you.”
- Writer
