CHAPTER 2: The law Between the Wolves
1196 Words
Kamari’s Pov;
By the time I made it down the stairs, the house was already moving. Voices, footsteps, doors slamming the whole manor had woken up like a beast that smelled blood.
Rheya rushed past me, eyes wide, throwing a jacket over her shoulders.
“Stay inside,”
she said, voice sharp.
“What’s going on?”
I grabbed her arm, but she pulled away.
“Rogues. Near the border.”
Then she was gone, leaving me with that one word that felt too heavy rogues.
I hadn’t heard it since the night everything fell apart.
The hallway felt colder suddenly. My wolf stirred under my skin, restless, anxious. I paced to the front doors before I realized I was doing it. Outside, I could see shadows moving beyond the tree shapes too fast, too low.
And then him.
Reis came out of the dark like he was part of it. Blood streaked his arm, but he didn’t look hurt. His shirt was ripped, dirt on his hands. His eyes glowed faintly under the porch light that eerie green that made me forget how to breathe.
“Get inside,” he said, voice rough.
“I was already inside,” I shot back. “Then I heard….”
“I said inside, Kamari.”
Something about the way he said my name made me stop arguing. I swallowed hard and stepped back, but I didn’t go far. I stood by the doorway while he gave orders to the patrol team in short, clipped sentences that carried authority like thunder.
Silas appeared from the side path, wiping his blade clean. His gaze landed on me for a second too long. There was something in it I didn’t like, like curiosity with a bite.
“She shouldn’t be out here,”
Silas said, voice calm but cold.
Reis didn’t even look at him. “I’ll handle her.”
When Silas walked away, Reis finally turned back to me. His expression was unreadable.
“You shouldn’t have seen that.”
I crossed my arms.
“You can’t protect me from everything.”
He stepped closer, too close.
“I can protect you from this.”
His scent hit me again with sweat, pine, metal, and something else beneath it, something that made my chest ache. For a second, he just looked at me, like he was trying to memorize my face or maybe talk himself out of something.
Then he turned, walked past me into the manor.
“You’re coming to the meeting room. Now.”
I followed, barefoot and still half in shock. The rest of the pack was already there, some sitting, some pacing. Rheya stood by Finley, her face pale but calm.
The tension was thick. Silas leaned against the wall, his eyes flicking between Reis and the rest of the room.
“Two rogues were caught near the eastern line,” Reis started, his voice all Alpha now. “They were scouting, not attacking. But this close means something’s shifting.”
Keturah, the healer, nodded slowly.
“The moon’s turning red earlier this year. It stirs the restless.”
“That’s not all,” Silas said. His tone carried something smug I didn’t like. “The council sent a message this morning. They want to discuss the girl’s stay here.”
My head snapped up.
“The girl?”
He looked straight at me.
“You.”
The room went quiet. My pulse thudded in my ears. Reis’s jaw tightened.
“She’s not their concern,”
he said quietly.
“Maybe not,” Silas said, eyes narrowing, “but keeping a ward of Ebonvale this long without renewal? You’re breaking old laws, Alpha. The council won’t ignore that.”
Something flickered across Reis’s face, not fear, but frustration.
“I’ll handle the council.”
“You can’t handle everything,”
Silas said.
Reis’s voice dropped low.
“I just did.”
The silence that followed made the air feel heavy.
When the meeting broke up, I caught Rheya’s sleeve.
“What did he mean by renewal?”
She hesitated.
“You were placed here under a guardian oath. It expires after ten years unless the council extends it.”
“So if they don’t?”
Her eyes softened.
“Then you go back to your pack.”
Back to Reginald. My uncle. The man who never wrote once, never called, never cared.
No chance.
That night, I couldn’t sleep. The house creaked and whispered like it was breathing. I sat by the window again, looking out at the forest. The moonlight spilled silver across my floor.
I thought about Reis, how he stood in the dark like he belonged there, how he said my name like it hurt him to say it. Every time I tried to hate him, it just didn’t stick.
I was about to close the window when I heard voices outside. Low, fast.
“…you can’t keep her here forever,”
Silas said.
“I will as long as I have to,”
came Reis’s reply, sharper this time.
“The council’s watching you. They’re already whispering about what you feel for her.”
Silas’s tone turned almost mocking.
My heart stopped.
Reis didn’t answer right away. Then: “Watch your mouth.”
Something slammed wood or metal, I couldn’t tell. Then footsteps. Then nothing.
I stepped back, my chest tight. My face felt hot. I didn’t even know why.
The next morning, I found him in the training yard. He was shirtless, swinging a blade through the air like the weapon was part of him. Every move was controlled, quiet. Dangerous.
He didn’t look up when he spoke. “You were listening last night.”
I froze.
“I wasn’t”
“You were,” he said, cutting me off. “You always are.”
I hated how right he was.
“You think I’m a problem, don’t you?”
He finally looked at me.
“You’re not a problem. You’re… a distraction.”
The way he said it made something inside me twist. I wanted to be angry, but it came out softer than I meant.
“Then look away.”
For a second, he did. Then he stepped closer, slow, steady, like every step was a fight against himself. His eyes met mine cold, green, burning.
“Don’t tempt me, Kamari.”
I didn’t move. I couldn’t.
The air between us was thick, charged. His hand twitched like he wanted to touch me, but he didn’t.
Then Rheya’s voice broke through from the doorway.
“Reis! The council’s here. They said it’s urgent.”
He stepped back, breath rough, the Alpha mask snapping back in place.
“Go inside,”
he said, walking off before I could say a word.
But I saw it the way his hands shook slightly when he thought I wasn’t looking.
That night, I sat on my bed staring at the moonlight painting the floor. My pulse still hadn’t calmed down from earlier.
The words replayed in my head: You're a distraction.
But deep down, I knew that wasn’t the truth.
I was his weakness.
And soon, the whole pack would know it.
- Writer
