Chapter 13: After the Storm
367 Words
Three days passed before the pack house felt quiet again.
The dead were buried. The injured were healing. The smell of smoke and blood was finally fading from the walls. But Maya couldn’t sleep.
She sat by the window in Kade’s room, watching the moon. Her shoulder ached, but the pain was nothing compared to the weight in her chest. Twelve people were dead. Because of her.
The door opened without a sound.
Kade didn’t need to knock anymore. The bond told him where she was, how she felt. He crossed the room and sat behind her, pulling her back against his chest.
“You’re thinking too loud,” he said softly.
Maya leaned into him. “They’re gone, Kade. Because of me.”
“Because of the Blood Fang,” he corrected. “You didn’t call them here. You didn’t ask for this.”
“But I finished it. I killed.”
Kade’s arms tightened around her. “And you saved fifty more. You saved me. You saved this pack.”
Maya closed her eyes. “I don’t feel like a hero.”
“You’re not supposed to,” he said. “Heroes don’t feel the weight. Leaders do.”
A knock interrupted them. Elder Ronan stepped inside, bowing his head.
“Luna, Alpha. We have word from the north. The Blood Fang’s Alpha is dead. His pack is scattering.”
Maya sat up straight. “Dead? How?”
“Rogues do what rogues do,” Ronan said grimly. “They turn on each other when they lose. Your name is spreading, Luna. They’re afraid of you now.”
Fear. That word again.
Maya glanced at Kade. He looked proud. Satisfied.
“Good,” he said. “Let them be afraid.”
Ronan hesitated. “There’s more. A message was left at the border. It says: ‘This isn’t over, Luna. We’ll be watching.’”
Maya’s stomach twisted.
The Blood Fang might be broken, but someone else was watching. Someone who knew what she was.
Kade stood, pulling her to her feet.
“Then we’ll be ready,” he said.
Maya nodded. The quiet wouldn’t last.
But for tonight, she let herself rest in his arms.
- Writer
