THE LYCAN ENFORCER

Chapter 14: The Garden~

The Lycan Enforcer ~

~ANNABETH’S POV ~

The silence didn’t break between us.

Kael stayed crouched beside my chair, his blue eyes patient. Waiting. He didn’t reach for me. He just waited, like he had all the time in the world.

And I had no answer for him.

The candle on the table sputtered, wax pooling around the base. It was the only sound in the room besides my breathing.

Finally, he stood. Slow. No sudden movements. Like I was a deer that might bolt.

“Okay,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

That was it. No anger. No “you will.” Just… okay.

He walked back around the table and sat down. Picked up his wine glass, but didn’t drink. His knuckles were white around the stem.

“Eat some more,” he said softly. “Your food’s getting cold.”

I looked down at my plate. The steak I’d been drooling over five minutes ago now sat like a rock in my stomach.

“I’m not hungry anymore and I think I'm full.”

He nodded once. Didn’t argue. “Then we’re done here.”

He stood again and came to my side. He didn’t touch me, Didn’t grab me like before. He just held out his hand, palm up.

An offering. Not a command.

I stared at it. At the scars across his knuckles. At the vein that ran up his wrist. A warrior’s hand. A killer’s hand.

And it was shaking. Just slightly.

“Annabeth,” he said, and my name on his lips was almost painful. “I won’t carry you. Not unless you ask. But you don’t walk these halls alone. Not yet.”

Not yet. The promise of freedom, hanging there.

I swallowed. Then, before I could talk myself out of it, I slid my hand into his.

His fingers closed around mine. Warm. Calloused but Gentle.

He didn’t squeeze it, neither did he yank me up. He just held my hand and waited for me to stand on my own.

We walked back upstairs in silence. His thumb brushed across my knuckles once but I didn’t pull away.

At the door, he stopped but Didn’t open it and Just turned to me.

“Mrs. Halloway will be up in the morning,” he said. “If you want to walk the gardens of this mansion, tell her. She’ll stay with you.”

I nodded, not trusting my voice.

“You’re not a prisoner here Annabeth,” he said, like he needed me to believe it. Like he needed to believe it. “You’re…”

He stopped. Jaw tight.

“What?” I whispered.

“Mine to protect,” he finished. “That’s all.”

He let go of my hand. The cold rushed back in immediately.

No I wanted more.

“Goodnight, Annabeth.”

He didn’t wait for me to say it back. He just turned and walked down the hall, shoulders stiff, hands shoved in his pockets like he didn’t trust them.

I watched until he disappeared around the corner.

Then I went inside and locked the door. Not because he told me to.

But Because I wanted to.

~

I didn’t sleep.

I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, I had his cardigan pulled up to my chin. His scent was beginning to fade slightly from it. And That scared me more than it should have.

I shouldn't be feeling this way? I didn't understand these feelings, it must be because of the Mate bond.

Hate was easier. Hate made sense. He’d torn me from my home. He kept me locked up. He was the Enforcer.

But tonight , he’d asked about my parents. He’d listened to my stories. He’d said sorry, and it didn’t sound like a lie to me.

He’d given me his hand instead of taking me forcefully.

He’d asked politely for my affection. Not demanded it.

And I said nothing to him.

Because if I admitted I didn’t hate him… then what did that make me? What would my parents think of me?

A knock at the door jolted me.

It was still dark. Pre-dawn maybe.

“Annabeth?” Mrs. Halloway’s voice, soft. “May I come in?”

“Yes,” I croaked.

She slipped inside with a candle. She took one look at me and her face softened. “You haven't been sleeping, have you?”

I shook my head no.

She set the candle down and sat on the edge of the bed. “He didn’t either. Kael. I heard him in the training hall all night. Tore through half the dummies down there.”

My chest did something stupid and tight. “Why?”

She gave me a knowing look. “Why do you think, child?”

I looked away. “He shouldn’t… I’m not…”

“You’re not what?”

“Nothing.”

Mrs. Halloway was quiet for a moment. Then, “The gardens are beautiful at sunrise. The roses are blooming even in this cold. Would you like to see them?”

Is this the Freedom He’d promised?

“Can I?” I whispered.

“It’s your choice,” she said. “Always.”

I threw the covers back, fully awake. “Then yes. Please.”

~

The garden was cold with morning dew and snow. The sky was gray, just starting to bleed pink at the edges.

I walked slowly, Mrs. Halloway a few steps behind me, giving me space.

Roses. Lavender. A stone bench under a willow tree. It was the kind of place I’d dreamed about in Red Moon, when the walls felt like they were closing in.

I reached out and touched a rose. Soft. Alive.

“You can pick one, if you like,” Mrs. Halloway said.

I shook my head. “No. It’s prettier here.”

A twig snapped.

I spun around, heart in my throat.

Kael stood at the garden entrance.

He was in a gray shirt, sleeves pushed up, forearms streaked with dirt and sweat. He looked like he hadn’t slept a wink.

His eyes found mine and stopped.

We just stared.

Mrs. Halloway cleared her throat. “I’ll… be inside if you need me, dear.”

She left.

And it was just us. The sunrise. The roses.

He didn’t move closer. Just stared.

I should’ve been afraid. I should’ve run back inside with Mrs Halloway.

Instead, I took a step toward him.

His eyes widened, just a fraction.

Another step.

The space between us crackled.

“Kael,” I said. His name was shaky on my tongue.

“Annabeth,” he answered, like a breath.

“I don’t… I don’t know what I feel at the moment.” The words tore out of me. Honest. Ugly. “But I don’t hate you today.”

Something broke in his face.

He closed the distance between us in two strides. Stopped a foot away. His hands fisted at his sides, trembling with the effort not to touch me.

“You don't hate me anymore?” he asked, voice raw.

I looked down at the rose beside me. Then back up at him.

“Just for today,” I whispered. “For keeping to your word.”

A shudder went through his whole body as he wanted to touch my cheeks.

“Annabeth...”

“Don’t,” I cut him off, stepping back from him. “Don’t ask me for more. Not yet. I can’t.”

He nodded. Once. Sharp. “I won’t.”

He lifted his hand slowly. Keeping his distance.

“ I’ll wait,” he murmured. “For as long as it takes for you to fully accept me, I'll wait.”

The sun crested the wall, spilling gold over the garden, Over him, Over us.

And suddenly under his steady gaze, I didn’t feel like a prisoner anymore.

I felt… seen. Truly.

~

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