Chapter 13
1266 Words
Gwen
The dream hit me like a wave, warm and suffocating all at once. I was suspended in a twilight haze, the air thick with the scent of pine and something deeper—something that felt like home and danger tangled together.
Cain was there—solid and real—his hands tracing the delicate line of my jaw with a gentleness I hadn’t dared imagine. His breath whispered against my skin, sending shivers cascading down my spine. Every nerve in my body awoke, alight with a fierce ache I had tried to bury beneath duty and fear.
His eyes held storms and softness, raw and unyielding. “Gwen,” he murmured, his voice like a melody meant only for me. I reached out, desperate to close the distance, to feel the warmth of him without the cruel barrier of reality.
His lips brushed the shell of my ear, a feather-light promise that made my heart thunder.
But the dream shifted—pulled away—like smoke slipping through my fingers. I tried to call his name again, voice trembling, “Cain… please…”
In my sleep, the sound escaped me—soft, urgent, laced with longing. My fingers curled as if trying to grasp something just beyond reach.
I woke gasping, heart pounding, the heat of Cain’s lips still burning on my skin—even if only in my mind. The dream lingered like a soft fire, his hands gentle, possessive, the promise of a touch that felt like belonging. The way his eyes had looked into mine—intense, unwavering—made my breath hitch. I wanted to reach out, to find him, but—
Then the cold reality slammed back.
I was in the packhouse. The walls felt tighter than ever. The heavy silence of the room pressed down on me, thick with expectation and threats unspoken.
Justin’s shadow loomed large in the hallways again. His voice was low and sharp, cutting through the heavy air.
“You belong here,” Karl reminded me during one of the rare moments he acknowledged my presence. His tone was a whip. “You will stay silent. You will obey. There is no other way.”
I clenched my fists beneath the table during the council meeting. The same room where Alpha Karl’s voice echoed with finality as the pack discussed the brothel—the poison festering in the heart of our territory.
I was forced to sit there, a ghost in the room, unable to speak, unable to defend the truth I knew. The words floated around me, detached and cruel. The brothel was a scandal, but my voice was chained. I could only watch and endure.
Cain
The warm glow of the small living room was a stark contrast to the chill that clung to my bones. Olivia sat curled on the couch, wrapped in a soft blanket, her eyes shadowed but sharp as she spoke.
“I still can’t believe how deep it goes,” she said quietly, voice low and guarded. “The brothel… it’s worse than anyone outside could imagine. Secrets buried beneath layers of lies and fear.”
I nodded, watching her carefully. “Do you think the investigation will reach Karl?”
Her fingers trembled as she clutched the blanket tighter. “I hope so. But he’s cunning. He’s already silencing anyone who even whispers. I’m lucky I got out when I did.”
The door creaked open, and Jordan stepped in, her expression taut with worry. She didn’t hesitate. “Cain, I haven’t heard from Gwen in days. I’m worried. She barely answers her calls, and when she does, something’s... off.”
I swallowed hard, sensing the weight in Jordan’s words, the silent alarm beneath her concern. “She’s at the packhouse,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. “Under… pressure.”
Jordan’s jaw tightened. “We need to get her out of there”
I gave a curt nod, but before I could say more, a faint sound drifted from outside — almost a whisper on the wind.
“Cain…”
My heart lurched, every instinct screaming. The voice was unmistakable—soft, pleading, real.
I stepped away from the room, toward the open window. The night air was cold and sharp against my skin, but the sound lingered, pulling at me like a tether.
“Gwen?” I whispered, searching the shadows.
But the night was still, save for the rustling of leaves. Gwen was not here. Not near.
I shook my head, forcing myself to breathe. She was at the packhouse, trapped by that cruel Alpha, silenced and controlled.
But that voice… that call…
It wasn’t just in my mind.
It was a promise.
A vow.
I would find her.
No matter what.
Gwen
I dreamed of Cain again the next night. The dream left a lingering heat beneath my skin, like a slow burn that didn’t want to fade. Even with my eyes open, the memory of Cain’s touch was vivid — the weight of his hands on my waist, the way his breath ghosted over my collarbone, the soft growl that rumbled low in his throat.
My skin prickled with the memory, a trembling ache pulsing through me that had nothing to do with sleep.
Then there was the knock.
Sharp. Hesitant. Yet impossible to ignore.
I froze, pulse hitching. My throat felt tight, raw, like a knot was twisting inside.
Cain’s silhouette filled the doorway, dark and impossible to miss even in the pale moonlight. His eyes glinted — emerald fires flickering with a hunger that matched the storm swirling inside me.
“I could smell you from the hall,” he said, voice low and husky, a rough edge threading through the words like steel. “Your scent… it’s strong.”
My breath hitched, shallow and uneven. The room felt suddenly too small, the air thick and heavy, charged with something dangerous and sweet.
“Cain…” I whispered, barely daring to breathe his name.
He stepped forward, slow, deliberate, closing the distance between us like a predator closing in on his prize. The door clicked softly behind him — sealing us in this moment.
His fingers brushed my cheek, fingers warm and steady, sending a shiver down my spine. The faintest touch, but it felt like electricity igniting every nerve ending.
“You were dreaming about me,” he said, his gaze dropping to my lips, dark with a need I felt but couldn’t quite face.
I swallowed hard, the invisible weight of the Alpha command pressing on me — silencing me — trapping me in this fight I was losing.
“I want to tell you everything,” I breathed, voice breaking, raw with longing and frustration.
Cain’s eyes softened, but the fire didn’t dim.
“I’m here,” he murmured, voice thick with emotion. “Whenever you’re ready.”
His hand slid to my waist, pulling me just a fraction closer — close enough that the heat of his body pressed into mine, close enough to catch the scent of his skin, musky and wild.
My heart thundered, the wolf inside me rising with a howl of need and confusion.
But I held back, trembling on the edge.
Because saying yes meant breaking every rule.
Because giving in might mean losing myself.
Cain’s breath brushed my cheek, his lips almost—almost—touching mine.
“Soon,” he promised again, just before I pulled away.
And the moment cracked like glass.
I stood there, breathless, aching, caught between two worlds that refused to bend.
- Writer
