Chapter 11
1298 Words
Gwen
The days passed like mist—quiet, strange, and heavy with something unspoken.
Olivia stayed curled up in the guest room Jordan had set up for her. I kept close, checking her temperature, coaxing her to eat small bites, brushing her hair back when the pain became too much. I knew that kind of heartbreak. The hollow ache that pressed against your ribs and made your lungs forget how to breathe.
And still, my wolf, Akira, was restless.
Every evening, she would pull at me, urging us to shift and run. So I let her.
Under the moonlight, her red fur glowed like fire—fiery russet with snowy white along her throat and the tips of her paws like she had danced through frost. She was larger than most females, graceful and strong, her eyes sharp with hunger and instinct.
She ran for hours, deeper into the woods each night, until the trees swallowed all traces of the pack.
That’s where she found him again.
The black wolf—massive, silent, with eyes like lightning and a voice in her mind that made the forest tremble. Achilles.
He never gave more than a name. Never stepped closer than a few paces.
But every night, he was there.
They didn’t speak in words at first—just presence. His scent lingered like wild pine and storm-churned rivers. When he moved, it was like watching smoke and muscle glide through the underbrush.
Tonight, they stood beneath the crescent moon. Achilles tilted his head at Akira, his voice brushing her mind.
“You are not afraid.”
“Should I be?” she replied, flicking her tail.
“Not of me.”
She didn’t ask what he meant. Some part of her already knew.
They stood in silence for what felt like hours before she turned to leave. And when she did, she caught a whisper in her mind.
“Tomorrow, same place?”
Akira didn’t answer out loud. She didn’t need to.
During the day, I sat on the porch with Olivia asleep behind me and Jordan training in the yard. I smelled it again—that scent. My mate’s. Spicy, dark, unmistakable. It danced past on the wind, there and gone. I remembered the first time I smelled it. Subtle at first. Just a brush of pine, smoke, and the faintest echo of something that made my chest tighten.
Mate.
I froze on the back steps of Jordan’s cabin, nose tilted to the breeze. The scent was faint—too faint to trace. I inhaled deeply, but it vanished before I could follow it.
Akira stirred, alert. “He’s close.”
“Who?” I whispered.
“The one we’re meant for.”
The idea both thrilled and terrified me.
My wolf paced inside me. Where is he?
I scanned the street. Nothing. But the feeling lingered.
And so did Cain.
He was always around now. Not obviously, not overbearing—but always nearby. Lifting bags, helping Jordan fix her fence, bringing tea or books for Olivia. Watching me when he thought I wouldn’t notice. I felt it in my bones, like the echo of a storm on the horizon.
I knew he was hiding something. I just didn’t know what.
Cain
I stayed close. Not just to Olivia—though I checked in every day—but to Gwen.
She didn’t know who I was. She didn’t know she was mine.
But I couldn’t stay away.
Her scent haunted me. Her strength stunned me. The way she cared for Olivia, the quiet fury in her eyes whenever someone mentioned Justin’s name—it was magnetic. Dangerous.
And the longer I stayed, the more pieces I gathered.
Karl was hiding something. Terrance, too. Their patrol schedules didn’t match their claimed territory threats. Supply counts were off. I caught one of their scouts delivering packages in the dead of night, too far from the border.
They were nervous. And they had reason to be.
Tonight, I lingered by the training field after a late session. The moon was high. The night quiet. I was about to head in when I heard shuffling and a soft slurred voice.
“Cain,” he slurred. “Man, you’re always brooding. Loosen up.”
I said nothing.
He dropped onto the bench beside me, swaying slightly. “You ever have a girl you couldn’t stop thinking about?”
My jaw tightened. “Once or twice.”
Justin chuckled darkly. “Gwen. She’s a wild one, huh? So sweet. But fire under all that quiet.”
My stomach turned.
He leaned closer. “You know, I was supposed to marry her. My dad had it all arranged. She was going to be mine. Still could be.”
“You rejected your mate.”
He waved the words away. “Please. Olivia’s nothing. Gwen though... Gwen’s the prize. And soon, she won’t have a choice.”
My vision went red.
Before I could respond, a voice cut through the night.
“Justin.”
Terrance.
He appeared from the shadows like he’d been waiting.
“You’ve had enough,” he said calmly. “Come with me.”
Justin rolled his eyes. “We were just talking.”
“Now,” Terrance said, tone brooking no argument.
Justin wandered off, muttering.
Terrance turned to me. “He talks too much when he drinks.”
“So I noticed.”
He stepped closer, voice calm. "You’ve been asking questions. Watching things you shouldn’t."
"I don’t like being lied to," I replied.
He smiled coldly. "Neither does Alpha Karl. If you’re smart, you’ll stay in your lane. You’re a guest here. Act like one."
I held his gaze. "And if I don’t?"
He shrugged. "People disappear all the time."
He walked away, leaving only silence and the weight of his threat behind.
Gwen
Later that night, I found Cain out back, staring up at the stars.
"You okay?" I asked.
He turned. "Just thinking."
I leaned beside him, the air cool between us.
"I saw the ledger again," I murmured. "There are more names missing. And I found something else—supply orders that don’t match what’s coming in. Some of it marked for... entertainment expenses."
His head turned sharply.
"You’re brave," he said. "Most people look the other way."
"I’m not most people."
He smiled faintly. "No. You’re not."
I met his eyes, that strange warmth pulsing between us again. And for a moment, I could almost see the truth in him.
Almost.
“Why have you been coming around so much?” I asked, to break the silence.
“I like the quiet,” he replied. “And the company.”
My heart gave a stupid little jolt.
I stepped closer, arms crossed against the chill. “You don’t seem like someone who needs quiet.”
“I need it more than most,” he murmured. “Noise covers rot. Quiet reveals it.”
His gaze flicked to me, then away. “And you?”
“I’m not used to silence. But I’m learning.”
The moment stretched. The space between us crackled like frost in sunlight.
He reached out slowly, brushing a fallen leaf from my shoulder. His fingers lingered for a heartbeat too long.
Our eyes met.
My breath caught.
His hand drifted toward my cheek, the motion hesitant, unsure. I felt the warmth of his skin before it touched mine.
“Cain—”
He leaned in, just slightly. Close enough for me to count the flecks of gold in his eyes.
My lips parted—
Then Olivia called from inside. “Gwen?”
I stepped back like burned.
Cain exhaled slowly, jaw tightening. “Another time.”
I didn’t answer.
But my heart thudded loud enough for both of us to hear.
- Writer
