CHAPTER3
1013 Words
Riley hadn’t meant to sleep past dawn, but the dream had left her so drained she barely stirred until sunlight crept across her floor. She sat up slowly, her limbs aching, the echo of that haunting howl still whispering in her ears.
Something had changed.
She could feel it deep in her bones, humming under her skin like a hidden current. Every sound outside—birds chirping, leaves rustling—seemed sharper. Her senses were on edge. She sniffed the air, then stopped herself.
What am I doing?
It was just a dream. Just a strange, adrenaline-spiked dream… with Alec in the center of it, shirtless, wild, claiming her with a single word that pulsed like a drumbeat in her chest: Mine.
She ran a shaky hand through her hair and got up. A hot shower might clear her head. As the water streamed down her back, she stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. Her skin looked… different. Flushed. Glowing. Her eyes brighter. More alive.
Was she losing her mind?
After dressing in jeans and a soft gray sweater, she grabbed her notebook and decided to head back to town. Anything to distract herself from the fact that her dreams were getting more real—and more intimate.
No more seeing Alec Blackthorn today, she told herself firmly as she locked the cabin and started her car.
But Silver Ridge had other plans.
⸻
She was walking down Main Street when she heard her name.
“Riley!”
She turned, surprised to see Luna jogging across the street, balancing two cups of coffee. She handed one over with a grin.
“You’ve got that ‘I didn’t sleep because the forest whispered my name’ look,” Luna said.
Riley raised an eyebrow. “That obvious?”
Luna sipped from her cup. “You learn to spot it around here.”
They walked toward the bookstore near the edge of town. The shop was quiet, nestled between a bakery and a forgotten antiques place, and smelled like old pages and lavender.
Riley wandered through the shelves, but her mind wasn’t on the books. She turned to Luna. “You ever dream of the woods? Like… not just being in them, but being part of them?”
Luna’s smile didn’t fade. “You’re asking if I’ve ever felt like I belonged to the forest instead of the world.”
“Exactly,” Riley said, heart thudding.
“You’re waking up,” Luna murmured. “It happens when your blood remembers.”
Riley stared at her. “My what?”
But before Luna could answer, the door opened—and the air shifted.
Alec Blackthorn entered like a storm on the horizon. His presence rolled through the bookstore, sending a ripple down Riley’s spine.
She stiffened. “Seriously? Are you following me now?”
Alec looked amused. “You’re not that hard to find. You’re the one drawing attention.”
“I’m not doing anything,” she said, narrowing her eyes.
“That’s the problem,” Alec replied. “You’re reacting to instincts you don’t understand yet. You’re stirring things up—pack energy, territory, bonds.”
Riley stepped back. “You sound insane.”
“I sound like someone who knows what you’re becoming,” he said quietly.
Her chest tightened. “I’m not becoming anything. I’m just… me.”
“Not anymore.”
Luna cleared her throat. “Maybe take this outside before you tear down the fiction section?”
Riley glared at Alec as she brushed past him and marched out. He followed without hesitation.
“You’re not safe out here,” he said once they were alone.
“I’m not safe with you,” she snapped. “I’ve had dreams—visions—since I got here. You were in them. You marked me in them.”
Alec’s expression hardened. “That wasn’t a dream.”
Her breath caught. “Excuse me?”
“There’s a connection between us,” he said, voice low and fierce. “It’s ancient. It chose us. You can feel it—I know you can.”
“I don’t even know what you are,” she said.
He hesitated… then took a slow step forward. “I’m not just the sheriff of Silver Ridge. I’m alpha of the Blackthorn pack. And you… you’re a wolf too. You just haven’t shifted yet.”
The words knocked the air from her lungs.
“That’s not possible,” she whispered.
“You’ve felt the pull. Heard the howl. You ran in the forest, Riley. You felt the shift beneath your skin.”
“No,” she said, backing away. “I’m human. I’ve always been human.”
“You were raised human,” Alec corrected. “But your blood says otherwise.”
Everything swirled around her—memories of dreams that felt too vivid, instincts she couldn’t explain, scents she shouldn’t be able to notice. The way Alec’s voice echoed inside her soul.
Mine.
“You knew,” she said hoarsely. “From the moment we met.”
“I felt the bond,” Alec admitted. “But I didn’t expect it to be you. Fate doesn’t always make sense.”
Riley turned away, shaking. “This is insane.”
“Riley—”
“Don’t,” she said sharply. “Don’t say my name like that. Don’t act like this is normal. It’s not. I don’t want this.”
“You can’t fight the bond forever,” he said, voice softer now. “And you’re not alone. I’ll help you through it. But you need to stop running.”
She stared at him, caught between fear and something dangerously close to longing. Her heart beat fast—too fast. Her skin burned. She wanted to scream, to cry, to kiss him.
Instead, she turned and walked away.
But even as she put distance between them, Riley knew one thing for certain.
She was changing.
And nothing—not Alec, not fate, not even her own denial—was going to stop it.
- Writer
