The Girl by the River
407 Words
The private river cut through Diamond Sky's Pack House like silver glass. Quiet. Untouched.
Ethan came there to breathe. To escape the suffocating expectations.
That's when he saw her.
Kneeling at the riverbank.
Silky soft long brown hair falling forward. Hands trembling gently as she cradled a small injured bird.
"Easy," she whispered to it. "You're not alone."
Ethan froze.
His wolf surged forward — not aggressive. Not territorial.
Recognizing.
The world narrowed.
Her scent hit him next. Wildflower and winter sunlight.
Mate.
The word slammed into him so hard he physically stepped back.
She looked up then — startled by his presence.
Her eyes were soft. Sad. Deeply sad.
"I'm sorry," she said quickly, respectful, lowering her gaze slightly. "I didn't mean to trespass."
Her voice…
It hit something ancient inside him.
"You're not trespassing," he said, though his heart was pounding violently now.
She returned her focus to the bird. "It fell from the nest. I'm trying to warm it before I return it."
Ethan watched her carefully. She moved gently. Patiently. No display. No manipulation.
Just kindness.
"What's your name?" he asked.
She hesitated. Almost as if she wasn't used to being asked.
"Alariel."
The sound of it felt like fate itself had whispered it into existence.
Ethan's wolf pressed against his ribs, desperate.
Mate.
But something was wrong.
He couldn't feel her wolf.
Not faint. Not hidden.
Absent.
Alariel finished tending the bird and stood gracefully. There was strength in her posture, but no Alpha blood arrogance.
"Alpha Edward Rowan used to walk this river," she said quietly. "He said it was where he breathes."
Ethan's chest tightened.
"You knew my father?"
Her expression shattered slightly.
"He saved me," she admitted. "When I was very young. I had no one. He… kept me protected."
Protected how?
Protected from what?
"Are you an Omega and how come I never saw you in the pack house?" Ethan asked.
She lowered her gaze. "No I am not an Omega but it was safer that way."
Safer.
From who?
His wolf snarled softly — not at her.
At the mystery.
As she turned to leave, Ethan felt it again. The undeniable, bone-deep certainty.
Fated mate.
But she walked away unaware.
Because her wolf…
Was silent.
The ancient force stirred again.
It did not react to Ethan this time.
It reacted to her.
And for the first time…
It paused.
As if it recognized something long thought extinct.
- Writer
