CHAPTER FIVE
1044 Words
BETWEEN TWO ALPHAS
Mira
The wind rushed through the trees, cold and sharp like the tension standing between them.
Torren Vale.
The first man who helped me breathe again.
The first man who saw me when I was nothing.
And Cian Drevan.
The man who shattered me with a sentence.
The father of my child.
Now both stood in front of me and neither was looking at me.
They were looking at each other. Like two wolves sizing each other up, ready to rip the other apart.
I shifted Luka in my arms. His skin was still warm. His breathing was shallow but steady. I tightened the cloak around him and forced myself to stay calm.
"We don't have time for a pissing contest," I snapped.
Torren gave me that half-smile again. The same one he wore the first day he found me half-dead in the snow, five years ago.
"Nice to see you too, Mira," he said. "Or should I call you Luna now?"
Cian growled. "Don't."
Torren's smile didn’t break. "Oh, right." You never marked her, did you? My mistake."
"You’re not helping," I said sharply.
He tilted his head. "I came to help. I have a safehouse twenty miles northeast. Off the radar. Shielded with old runes. No one tracks anything in or out without blood permission. You want him safe, we will go now."
I hesitated. Twenty miles. Luka was weak. And yet, I knew staying here wasn’t an option.
Cian stepped forward. "I don't trust you."
Torren snorted. "We finally agree on something."
"Enough!" I barked.
Both men turned toward me.
"This isn't about you two. "This is about him," I said, nodding down at Luka. "And I will not watch him die because of your pride."
Torren sobered quickly. "Then come. All of you. We move fast, we move silent. And we pray he doesn’t wake glowing again."
I swallowed. "Let’s go."
---
We moved through the forest in silence, Torren leading, Cian at the rear. I stood in the middle with Luka wrapped tight against my chest, listening for the sound of wings or wolves or anything unnatural.
The trees grew thicker as we moved east. The moonlight flickered through the branches, casting long shadows that danced across our path. Even the animals had gone silent.
Cian hadn’t spoken since we left the tunnel. But I could feel his presence, like a steady beat behind me. He was always near, always watching.
I hated how safe that made me feel.
Torren moved like smoke–quiet, fast, confident. He knew these woods. I had followed him once before, years ago, through these same shadows, fleeing from the pack that cast me out.
And now, here I was again. For different reasons. Same fear.
Luka whimpered once. I pressed my lips to his forehead. Still warm. But not glowing. Not yet.
---
After hours of travel, we finally reached a hollowed-out cliffside camouflaged with thick vines and carved into mountain rock.
Torren murmured a word I didn’t recognize. The vines shifted aside like they were alive.
We entered.
Inside, the safehouse was dim, warm, and silent. A long central room with a fireplace already lit, herbs drying above the stone mantle. A back corridor led to two rooms and a cellar.
I laid Luka down on the soft bed furthest from the door. He whimpered once, then stilled.
Cian stood at the threshold, arms crossed, but didn’t speak.
Torren set a kettle on the fire and poured water into a basin. "He’ll need more moonroot," he said quietly.
I nodded. "I have some left. Not much."
Torren opened a hidden drawer beneath the mantle and pulled out a pouch. "Take mine."
I paused.
"You still keep that after all this time?"
He shrugged. "You needed it once. Figured you might again."
Cian stepped closer. "Let me help."
I handed him the herbs and turned away.
I couldn’t let him see how my hands shook.
---
Hours passed.
Luka’s fever dropped. His pulse steadied. I sat at his side, brushing his hair, humming the lullaby my mother used to sing. My back ached. My eyes burned.
I felt Cian watching us.
Finally, when Luka slept peacefully again, I stood and stepped outside into the moonlight.
Torren followed.
We stood beneath the old pine trees, the moon rising high above the ridge.
He didn’t speak at first. When he did, his voice was rough. "You never told me."
I looked away. "I was afraid."
"Afraid I’d want him?"
"Afraid you’d leave."
Torren was silent. Then he said, "I would’ve stayed. For you. Even if he wasn't mine."
That broke me.
I closed my eyes. "I know. And that’s why I couldn’t ask you to."
He moved closer. His hand brushed my arm. "Is there still a place for me? In your life?"
I turned to face him. "I don’t know."
A pause.
"But I know I never stopped caring."
His eyes darkened. "You don’t owe me anything, Mira. But you deserve someone who chooses you. Without hesitation."
My breath caught.
Then I heard footsteps behind us.
Cian stood in the doorway. Watching us. Face unreadable.
---
Later that night, I found Cian sitting by the fire. He didn’t look up.
"Do you love him?" he asked quietly.
I sighed. "He was there when you weren’t."
"But do you love him?"
I didn’t answer.
"I know I failed you," he said. "I see him now. His strength. His heart. He’s everything good about you. And I will spend the rest of my life trying to be worthy of him."
I swallowed hard. "Cian, you don’t get to walk back in and fix this overnight."
"I’m not trying to. I’m asking for a chance to earn it. To earn you."
Tears burned in my eyes. "Why now? Why not then?"
"Because I was blind. And because losing you hurts more than anything else in my life."
Silence stretched.
Then Luka stirred. We both ran to his side.
His eyes fluttered open. "Mama..."
He looked at Cian.
"Papa... there’s something coming."
"What is it, little wolf?" I whispered.
His eyes glowed again. "The Moon... she’s waking. She’s angry."
And then the wind outside howled.
Something howled with it.
Something not of this world.
- Writer
