When The Pack Sees Me
1450 Words
Chapter 4
When the Pack Sees Me
POV: Aria
Opening Hook
I didn’t know which scared me more—the enemies I couldn’t see, or the ones standing right in front of me.
“They are close,” he said.
My heart started racing.
“How close?” I asked.
“Too close for you to run,” he replied.
The way he said it made my chest tighten.
I turned to Adrian.
“What do we do?” I asked.
For a moment, he didn’t answer.
His eyes were on Kael.
Cold. Sharp. Careful.
Then he looked at me.
“You stay behind me,” he said.
Kael let out a low breath.
“No.”
The word was firm.
Adrian’s gaze snapped at him.
“You don’t give orders here.”
“And you don’t get to decide for her,” Kael replied.
The tension between them rose again.
Heavy. Dangerous.
“Stop,” I said quickly. “This is not the time.”
Neither of them spoke.
But neither of them stepped back either.
That scared me.
Because I realized something.
They were not just protecting me.
They were ready to fight each other.
Even now.
Footsteps came closer.
Fast. Controlled. Strong.
I felt it before I saw them.
Power.
Not just one.
Many.
Kael’s voice dropped.
“Do not speak unless I tell you to.”
I frowned.
“I am not a child—”
“Please,” he said.
That word surprised me.
Please.
Not command.
Not control.
Something softer.
Something real.
I swallowed.
“Fine,” I said quietly.
They appeared.
Three men.
All strong. All sharp. All watching.
Their eyes went straight to Kael.
Then to me.
And everything changed.
“Alpha,” one of them said. His voice was respectful, but tense. “We’ve been looking for you.”
Kael didn’t move.
“I told you to stay back,” he said.
“We had no choice,” another one replied. “We felt it.”
My chest tightened.
“Felt what?” I asked softly.
All three of them looked at me.
Like I had just spoken something forbidden.
The first one stepped forward.
His eyes were hard.
“Who is she?”
Kael’s voice came low.
“She is under my protection.”
That was not an answer.
And they knew it.
“With respect,” the second one said, “that is not enough.”
Adrian let out a quiet, humorless laugh.
“You see?” he said. “This is what I was talking about.”
Kael ignored him.
His gaze stayed on his men.
“You will stand down,” he said.
No one moved.
The third one spoke this time.
“You found her.”
It was not a question.
My heart skipped.
Found me?
Kael’s silence confirmed it.
The air grew tense.
Very tense.
“You were not supposed to find her yet,” the man continued.
My stomach dropped.
“What does that mean?” I asked.
No one answered me.
I stepped forward slightly.
“I asked a question.”
The first man looked at me again.
His expression changed.
Not anger.
Not hate.
Something else.
Something like… fear.
“That’s not possible,” he muttered.
Kael’s voice sharpened.
“Enough.”
But it was too late.
The man’s eyes were locked on mine.
“She has it,” he said.
My chest tightened.
“Has what?” I asked.
No one answered.
Again.
I was starting to hate that silence.
---
“Tell me,” I said. Louder now.
Kael turned to me.
“I will explain later.”
“No,” I said. “You will explain now.”
His jaw tightened.
“This is not the time.”
“It is the only time I have,” I snapped. “Because every time I ask, you all act like I don’t deserve to know.”
His eyes softened for a second.
Then hardened again.
“You deserve to know,” he said. “But not like this.”
“Then how?” I asked. “When?”
He didn’t answer.
That hurt.
More than I expected.
Adrian stepped forward.
“I will tell her,” he said.
Kael’s gaze snapped at him.
“You will not.”
“I will,” Adrian replied calmly. “Because, unlike you, I understand what happens if she doesn’t know.”
Kael’s voice dropped.
“You think I don’t understand?”
“I think you are too close to think clearly,” Adrian said.
That hit something.
I saw it in Kael’s eyes.
A flicker of anger.
Of something deeper.
“You don’t get to speak about clarity,” Kael said. “Not after what you did.”
Adrian didn’t respond to that.
Instead, he looked at me.
“Aria,” he said, “there is something you need to understand.”
I held his gaze.
“Then say it.”
He hesitated.
Just for a moment.
Then—
“You are not just carrying Alpha blood,” he said.
My heart skipped.
“I already know that,” I replied.
“No,” he said. “You don’t understand.”
Something in his voice made my chest tighten.
“Then make me understand,” I said.
He took a slow breath.
“You are the last of your bloodline.”
The words hit me hard.
“What?”
Kael’s expression darkened.
“You shouldn’t have said that,” he said.
“She deserves to know,” Adrian replied.
My head felt light.
“The last?” I whispered. “What does that mean?”
“It means,” Adrian said slowly, “everyone else like you… is gone.”
A cold feeling spread through me.
“Gone?” I repeated. “You mean… dead?”
He didn’t answer.
But I didn’t need him to.
I already knew.
My chest hurt.
A lot.
“So I’ve been alone this whole time,” I said quietly.
Kael stepped closer.
“You are not alone now.”
I looked at him.
Something in me wanted to believe that.
But something else…
Was afraid to.
The first man spoke again.
“Alpha, we don’t have time for this,” he said. “If the others sense her—”
“They won’t,” Kael cut in.
“They might,” the man insisted. “And if they do, they will come.”
My heart started racing again.
“Who will come?” I asked.
No one answered.
Again.
“I’m tired of this,” I said.
My voice was shaking now.
But I didn’t stop.
“I’m tired of being confused. I’m tired of being scared. I’m tired of everyone deciding things for me.”
Silence followed.
Then—
“I choose to stay,” I said.
Both Alphas looked at me.
“With him,” I added.
Kael’s eyes flickered.
Adrian’s expression hardened.
“You don’t know what you’re choosing,” Adrian said.
“I know enough,” I replied. “He didn’t reject me.”
That hit him.
Hard.
I saw it.
But I didn’t take it back.
Kael stepped closer.
Not touching.
But near.
“You are sure?” he asked quietly.
I looked at him.
At the way he stood.
At the way he watched me.
Not like I was weak.
Not like I was nothing.
But like I mattered.
“Yes,” I said.
His jaw tightened slightly.
Like he was holding something back.
Then he nodded.
“Then you come with me.”
Adrian stepped forward.
“No.”
The word was sharp.
Final.
“You are not taking her out of this territory.”
Kael didn’t look at him.
“She is not yours to keep.”
“She is under my protection,” Adrian said.
“And I am offering her more than protection,” Kael replied.
“What?” Adrian asked. “War?”
Kael finally looked at him.
“If that is what it takes.”
The words hung in the air.
Heavy.
Real.
My chest tightened.
“This is because of me,” I whispered.
Neither of them denied it.
That made it worse.
Suddenly, one of Kael’s men stiffened.
His eyes widened slightly.
“They’re coming,” he said.
Kael’s expression turned cold.
“How many?”
“More than we can handle quietly.”
My heart pounded.
“Who?” I asked again.
This time…
Kael answered.
“Not just enemies,” he said.
A pause.
Then—
“Hunters.”
Cliffhanger
My breath caught as fear crashed into me—
If hunters are coming for me… then what exactly have I become?
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