Longing
1339 Words
Cadence POV
my face burned with embarrassment as I took his hand.
Then I saw the time on his watch. 1 pm. I was going to be late for my second shift at the Cafe. I had done the morning one, then returned to campus for some revision before I had to return again.
"Regan, I actually need to get to work..."
"You can't take it off? I'll make it worth your time." He grinned wolfishly at me, full of promise.
I was still a virgin, and now the fog of lust gad cleared my head, I didn't think I was quite ready yet.
"No, I can't."
Regan looked crestfallen, but he agreed to walk me back to my dorm and then give me lift to work.
"Are you keeping my panties?"
"Yes," Regan winked and my face was a flame once more.
.....
Regan took me to work at the mall, aftr I hor cgsnged, it was reassuring to be escorted there and slightly embarrassing.
He told be he'd pick me up when my shift was over. He brushed his fingertips against my knee, sending shivers through me before I got out the car.
Was this what having a boyfriend ment? Having someone to rely on? Someone who made you feel alive? If so, I could get used to it.
Regan POV
I’d been awake long before dawn came. I had gone straight to the campus in anticipation of seeing her.
Jar had given reliable intel that she went to work early, returned to studied, before heading to her job at the mall on weekends. It was useful he was on her dorm...but I was also jealous.
Cadence.
Even her name carried a rhythm that calmed my wolf, and that was a rare thing. She was soft-spoken but fierce in quiet ways, unguarded in her honesty, and utterly unaware of the pull she had on me.
The thought of that Graham, thinking she could he his, sent me into a fury. I needed this workout to release some murderous intent.
Cadence didn’t know what I was. What we were. How much I wanted to possess her.
The thought followed me into the gym on the ground floor of my building — a private facility that doubled as a training hall for my pack. The scent of steel and sweat grounded me as I began my routine. Bench press, squats, shadow sparring. Every movement was precise, deliberate. The weights clanked in a steady rhythm, the sound echoing through the open space like a heartbeat.
The burn in my muscles helped clear my head. Leadership came with too many thoughts — responsibilities layered over instinct, strategy balanced against emotion. I needed the pain, the focus, to keep it all in check.
As Alpha, I was next in line to lead the Crescent Moon pack. My father had stepped down five years ago, leaving the city’s protection and our business empire in my hands. The gym chain had started as a front — a way to train pack members discreetly within human society — but it had grown into something much bigger. Humans came for fitness. Wolves came for purpose.
By the time the clock hit 3pm, I grabbed a towel and took a long breath.
I hadn’t seen her since I dropped her off at work. My wolf didn’t like that.
She was human — or at least she seemed human. That was what didn’t make sense. The mate bond only formed between wolves. The Moon Goddess didn’t make mistakes.
So why did my soul answer hers?
I tried to shake the thought, heading upstairs to shower and dress.
My desk was already stacked with reports from the night patrols. Rogue sightings again — near the eastern boundary.
Trouble. Always trouble.
Before diving into it, I pulled out my phone and sent a quick message to Jar, my Beta.
Regan: Status check. You at still watching?
The reply came fast.
Jar: Yeah, Alpha. She's still working.
Regan: Good. Keep checking on Cadence. Quietly.
There was a pause, then:
Jar: You sure you want me to spy on your girl, boss? After what happened this afternoon?
I frowned.
Regan: Not spy. Just… make sure she’s safe.
Jar: Relax. She’s fine. Coffee in hand, messy bun, looking half asleep.
Despite myself, I smiled. I could picture it perfectly — her small figure swallowed by a large tee, that stubborn determination etched into her tired face.
Regan: Thanks. Keep an eye out, but don’t let her notice.
Jar: Copy that.
I tossed the phone aside and turned to the reports, forcing my thoughts back to business.
The rogues were getting bolder — moving closer to our territory lines, probing for weaknesses. Most packs dealt with the occasional stray wolf, but this felt organized. Coordinated. Someone was testing us.
I flipped through the pages, scanning for patterns. Eastern perimeter. Near the river. Two sightings in the past week. Both times, the wolves vanished before our enforcers could engage.
The intercom buzzed softly. “Alpha Regan, the council is ready for your briefing.”
“Send them in,” I said.
Moments later, the door opened, and three senior members of the pack entered — Marcus, our head enforcer; Isla, our strategist; and Theo, liaison for the young wolves in training.
They greeted me with nods, each of them tense but respectful.
I gestured toward the table. “Sit. Let’s begin.”
Isla spread a map across the surface, markers dotting several key areas. “The rogues have been sighted here, near the river crossing. Always at night, always in small numbers. They’re not attacking — just watching.”
“That’s worse,” Marcus muttered. “Means they’re planning something.”
We spent the next hour reviewing patrol rotations, assigning guards, and finalizing contingency plans. My focus stayed sharp, but every so often, my thoughts drifted — to the mall, to her small hands wrapped around a coffee cup, to the shy way she’d said thanks.
When the meeting ended, the others filed out quietly, leaving me alone with the echo of my own thoughts.
I leaned back in my chair, staring out the window. The city stretched endlessly beneath me — humans going about their lives, unaware of the world that existed beside theirs.
And somewhere down there, Cadence was among them.
My phone buzzed again. Jar, of course.
Jar: She just clocked out for a break.
Regan: Good. Keep it casual. Don’t let her see you.
Jar: You worry too much.
Regan: That’s my job.
He sent another message, half a minute later.
Jar: You think she’ll find out what you are?
I hesitated before replying.
Regan: She has to, eventually. But not yet.
Jar: You really think she’s… one of us?
Regan: That’s what I’m trying to figure out.
Because that was the question that haunted me most.
Every wolf could sense the bond — the pull that tied two souls together. When I’d first touched her, it had been undeniable. My wolf had gone silent for a heartbeat, then howled with recognition.
But she had no wolf. No aura. No trace of the magic that marked our kind.
And yet the bond existed.
It shouldn’t have been possible.
I rose from my chair and walked to the window, watching the morning light wash over the streets below. My reflection stared back at me — calm, controlled, but with something burning behind the eyes.
Why her?
The Goddess didn’t make mistakes, but sometimes she tested us.
All I knew was that I couldn’t stay away.
My wolf stirred restlessly. She’s ours.
I closed my eyes. Not yet.
---
The day moved on, filled with calls, reports, and strategy sessions. But no amount of business could drown out the quiet ache of distance. Every instinct in me wanted to go to her — to see for myself that she was safe.
Instead, I stayed where I was, fighting the pull.
I kept her underwear in my pocket, to keep her scent near me.
- Writer
