Chapter 3
747 Words
By the time Rowan left the kitchen, the entire packhouse already felt different.
Eyes followed them.
Whispers started the moment they passed.
“That’s the one.”
“The Alpha was talking to them.”
“And Damien too…”
Rowan kept their head down and walked faster.
They hated attention.
Especially this kind.
Outside, the cold morning air bit against their skin, but Rowan welcomed it. The forest surrounding the packhouse was quiet, branches heavy with frost.
It felt safer out here.
Rowan carried a basket of herbs toward the edge of the treeline where they usually gathered plants for healing. It was one of the few places where no one bothered them.
Or at least… it used to be.
A twig snapped behind them.
Rowan turned.
Damien stepped out from behind a tree, brushing snow from his shoulders.
Rowan’s heart nearly jumped out of their chest.
“Relax,” Damien said with a grin. “You look like you saw a ghost.”
“What are you doing here?” Rowan asked.
Damie walked closer, hands in his pockets, completely at ease.
“Taking a walk.”
Rowan frowned. “You followed me.”
Damien’s grin widened.
“Maybe.”
Rowan tried to step around him, but Lucien gently moved in their path again.
He leaned closer.
Close enough that Rowan could feel the warmth of his presence despite the cold air.
“That scent again,” Damien murmured softly.
Rowan stiffened.
“What scent?”
Damien’s golden eyes studied them carefully.
“You really don’t know, do you?”
Before Rowan could ask what he meant—
A low growl cut through the forest.
Rowan didn’t need to turn around to know who it was.
Alpha Matthew.
The moment Rowan looked back, Matthew stepped out from the trees, his silver eyes dark with irritation.
Damien sighed dramatically.
“You really need to stop sneaking up on people.”
Matthew ignored him.
His gaze locked on Rowan first.
“Are you alright?”
Rowan blinked in surprise. “Yes.”
Matthew’s shoulders relaxed slightly.
Then his eyes moved to Damien.
“What are you doing with my pack member?”
Damien raised an eyebrow.
“Talking.”
“Alone?”
Damien shrugged.
“You’re very territorial today.”
Matthew’s wolf stirred angrily.
Rowan could practically feel the tension vibrating between them.
“I told you to stay away from him,” Matthew said coldly.
Damien tilted his head.
“You told me to leave.”
His golden eyes flicked toward Rowan again.
“You never asked what she wanted.”
Rowan froze.
Neither Alpha had asked that.
Matthew stepped closer.
The air suddenly felt heavier.
“Rowan belongs to this pack.”
Damien’s expression shifted slightly, curiosity flashing across his face.
“Belongs?”
The word hung in the air.
Rowan’s chest tightened.
“I don’t belong to anyone,” Rowan said quietly.
Both Alphas looked at them.
Damien’s smile softened.
Matthew looked… surprised.
Rowan rarely spoke up.
Damien stepped back slightly, raising his hands in mock surrender.
“Fair point.”
But his eyes were still locked onto Rowan with strange intensity.
“Still,” he added quietly, “there’s something about you.”
Matthew noticed the way Damien looked at them.
Something protective snapped inside him.
Without thinking, Matthew reached forward and grabbed Rowan’s wrist, pulling them slightly behind him.
Damien’s smile slowly disappeared.
“Oh,” Damien said softly.
“There it is again.”
Matthew’s eyes flashed.
“Leave.”
Damien studied the two of them for a long moment.
Then he chuckled quietly.
“You don’t even realize it yet.”
Matthew’s voice turned dangerous.
“Realize what?”
Damien started walking backward toward the trees.
“The secret your quiet little wolf is hiding.”
Rowan’s breath caught.
Damien’s golden eyes met theirs one last time.
“And when it finally comes out,” he said softly,
“Everything in your pack is going to change.”
Then he disappeared into the forest.
Silence settled between Rowan and Matthew.
Slowly, Matthew released Rowan’s wrist.
But he didn’t step away.
His silver eyes searched Rowan’s face.
“What secret was he talking about?”
Rowan shook their head quickly.
“I don’t know.”
Matthew studied them carefully.
Rowan smelled calm.
Gentle.
But underneath it… something powerful was starting to awaken.
And Matthew had a sudden, unsettling feeling.
Rowan wasn’t just a forgotten wolf.
They were something far more dangerous.
- Writer
