Fated hearts

Chapter 4-New Roots, Old Threats

Chapter Four — New Roots, Old Threats

Ava

Lucas shows me the scrap of paper he’d rushed back to retrieve — the address that brought him home just in time. If he hadn’t… I can’t finish the thought.

We go straight to the place on the note: an office complex of glass and marble that shines like a promise. The guard nods, leads us upstairs, and the cool hush of air-conditioning wraps around us like relief.

A few people wait in the reception. When it’s our turn we are ushered into an office where a well-dressed man in his late thirties sits behind a sleek desk. He recognizes Lucas and smiles.

“I have a job for you,” he says. “Office messenger. I see you at the market — you’re exactly the sort of person I need.”

“Thank you, sir,” Lucas answers.

“Ten dollars an hour,” the man continues. “Eight-thirty to four.”

Eight hours. Eighty dollars a day. The figure settles in my mind like a small, steady heartbeat. I look at Lucas, willing him to accept.

“When can you start?” the man asks.

Lucas hesitates. Before he can answer, the word slips from my lips: “Tomorrow, sir.”

Both men turn to stare. The employer considers me for a beat, then asks softly, “Who is she?”

“My fiancée,” Lucas says.

“Ah.” The man nods, amusement and approval mingling on his face. “See you tomorrow, then.”

Outside the building, Lucas doesn’t smile, but a small relief eases the lines around his eyes. For the first time since we fled Moonshaven, a fragile spark of hope kindles in me.

With the little money Lucas had saved, we rent a one-room apartment — a single bed, a table, a chair, shared kitchen and toilet with four others. It’s cramped and noisy, but it’s ours for now.

“We won’t stay long here,” Lucas promises as we sit on the bed. He draws me close, his voice low and urgent. “They’ll be searching for you. Orion will do anything. Stay safe. Lie low until things cool down, then we’ll find you a job.”

“I know,” I say, but a chill of doubt curls through me. I had thought leaving my phone behind would sever every path back to Moonshaven. I had believed a human town would hide us. Lucas is right — this may be exactly where they look first. He’s been here before; they know that.

Still, I can’t remain idle forever. I owe my parents a debt far heavier than rent. If I’m to save them, I must work. I resolve to push Lucas.... gently, fiercely.... until he agrees.

Life settles into a thin routine: Lucas goes out each day; I keep the small room, make tea, and try to be useful. Neighbors stop by. They seem to like me. I make a friend of Amanda, a college student who drops in whenever she has a spare hour, and her chatter brightens the place.

"I can help you get a job at my college” Amanda offers one afternoon, watching me pace in frustration. "There's a vacancy at the library".

“If we both work, we’ll earn faster,” I argue. “We can rent our own place and stop burdening Richard and Lizzy.” I try to convince Lucas on his return from work.

Lucas’s face clouds. “I’m trying to protect you,” he says softly.

“Protecting me by locking me away isn’t protection,” I snap, surprised by the heat in my own voice. “I won’t be a recluse. I won’t live in fear forever. I’ll get a job even if you won’t let me.”

He stares, stunned. The fierceness on my face must be unlike anything he’s seen. For a long moment he is silent, then he exhales and says, “Okay. I’ll speak to my boss.”

When he agrees, I hug him until he laughs, and for a moment the world seems kinder. “You’re my heart,” I whisper. “Forbidden or not, our union will win.”

He holds me close and murmurs, “I love you so much.”

Alpha Orion

How dare she run from me? A lycan pup...defiant, brazen, and young — had the audacity to mock him. Byron would pay for this humiliation. The Bryron family would suffer. He would make sure of it.

Orion storms from the temple, the crowd parting for him as if the air itself feared his temper. He orders his driver to take him straight to Ava’s parents’ compound.

A crowd has gathered there; whispers and shocked faces ripple through the onlookers. Byron emerges shaking like a leaf. Orion grabs him by the collar, and no one moves to stop him. They all know he is capable of killing without hesitation.

“Where’s your daughter?” Orion hisses, the words like steel.

Byron gropes for answers but finds none. Orion’s grin is terrible. “We have a contract." He reminds him. "If I don’t see her in twenty-four hours,” he says, lowering his voice until only Byron can hear, “you and your wife will wish you’d never been born.”

He releases Byron and turns, scolding the crowd as he moves away. “Don’t stand there gossiping. Go about your lives.” His bark leaves no room for disobedience.

At his mansion, the echoes of the day follow him. He paces the rooms, anger coiling tighter with every step. He summons his men. “Get Alpha Justin,” he orders Kyrian, one of his servants.

But Justin is nowhere to be found. News reaches him that Justin fled to a neighboring pack at the hint of Orion’s wrath. Predictably cowardly. Predictably useful.

By morning, Orion has dispatched his right-hand man, Everest — a cold, efficient collector of secrets and debts. “Find everything you can about that loser Lucas and his family,” he commands. “Their humiliation will be thorough. They will pay.”

Everest inclines his head, already cataloguing leads and informants. The hunt has begun.