Chapter9
1157 Words
"Who’s there?!"
Georgia’s voice cut through the silence, sharp and commanding.
She spun around, her heartbeat hammering against her ribs. The cabin door stood slightly open, swinging ever so gently as if someone had just slipped inside, or out.
Her grip tightened around the blade in her hand.
She had locked that door.
The night air slithered in through the gap, carrying the scent of damp earth and something else… something rotten.
A footstep. Soft. Slow. Deliberate.
Her blood ran cold.
She wasn’t imagining it.
Something, or someone was in here with her.
The wooden floor creaked. Another step.
Her eyes darted toward the shadows near the cupboard. A shape moved, shifting ever so slightly. Georgia’s breath caught in her throat.
Her fingers flexed around the knife handle as she took a step forward.
Creeeak.
Another step.
Her instincts screamed at her to wake the children, to run, to fight, but she refused to panic.
Instead, she forced herself forward, inch by inch, until she was close enough to strike.
With a sudden motion, she raised the knife
Creeeak.
A wet, slurping sound filled the room.
Georgia’s stomach twisted.
She lunged, only to freeze.
Something lurched out.
Georgia staggered back, knife raised
A rat.
A huge, bloated rat sat on the floor, gnawing hungrily on a leftover piece of bread. Its beady black eyes gleamed in the dim light, staring at her with eerie stillness.
For a moment, the tension snapped.
A damn rat.
Her body sagged with the weight of adrenaline.
Then, it moved.
Fast. Too fast.
The rat scurried across the floor, vanishing into the shadows with a sharp, high-pitched screech.
Georgia let out a shaky breath, pressing a hand to her racing heart.
The door.
Her gaze snapped back to it, her unease growing.
She had been so sure someone was there. That something was watching her.
She rushed to the door, slamming it shut and throwing the lock into place. The wooden walls of the cabin suddenly felt smaller, the air too thick.
Was she losing it?
Or was someone really watching?
Her eyes flickered to the triplets, their small bodies curled under the blankets, completely unaware of the lingering tension.
No.
She wasn’t imagining it.
Something was coming.
And she had no idea what.
The Next Evening
The warmth of the fire barely touched the cold creeping into Georgia’s bones. She sat at the wooden table, sharpening a blade with slow, deliberate strokes.
Anna sat across from her, stirring a pot of soup.
For a long time, neither spoke.
Then Anna exhaled heavily.
“I saw my mother today.”
Georgia’s sharpening motion stopped. She lifted her eyes. “What?”
“In town. She was with my father. I didn’t go near them, but…” Anna’s voice faltered. “She looked tired. Older. But still the same.”
Georgia remained silent, waiting.
Anna’s fingers curled around the wooden spoon. “They wanted me to marry someone, you know? That’s why I left.”
Georgia leaned forward. “Who?”
Anna let out a bitter laugh. “Some alpha’s son. A perfect little arrangement to make my father proud. He never cared what I wanted.”
Georgia’s stomach twisted. “And your mother? She didn’t fight for you?”
Anna hesitated. Then, softly, “She tried.”
That admission made Georgia’s heart ache.
Anna inhaled deeply, staring into the fire. “I remember the night I left. My father had already chosen the date for the mating ceremony. I told my mother I wouldn’t do it. That I’d rather run into the wilds and be eaten alive than be owned by a man I didn’t love.”
Georgia’s hands clenched into fists.
“She cried,” Anna whispered. “Begged me to stay. But I couldn’t.”
Georgia reached across the table, squeezing Anna’s hand.
"Even the man I loved, the one I chose over my father's arranged marriage, betrayed me." Anna's voice trembled, but her face remained unreadable. "He got someone else pregnant, Georgia. And then he rejected me".
Silence crashed over the room.
Georgia barely breathed. “The father…?”
Anna gave a hollow smile. “A warrior. A man I thought cared about me. But when I told him? He said he didn’t want to ruin his ‘future’ with a mistake like me.”
Georgia’s blood boiled.
She wanted to hurt this man.
“I ran,” Anna continued. “I ran before my father could give me off to the one I never loved. Because if he had…” She swallowed hard. “I would’ve killed myself.”
The weight of the words settled between them.
For a moment, Georgia saw herself in Anna’s story. The betrayal. The desperation. The running.
They weren’t so different.
“Did he ever try to find you?” Georgia finally asked.
Anna shook her head. “No. He probably moved on. Found a more suitablemate.”
Georgia inhaled sharply. “If I ever meet him”
Anna cut her off with a small, sad smile. “It doesn’t matter. I have you. And that’s enough.”
Georgia swallowed hard, nodding.
The past had taken so much from both of them.
But they survived.
They had built something better.
A Knock at the Door
The cabin was quiet. Too quiet.
Georgia had just finished putting the triplets to bed when it happened.
A knock.
Sharp. Unfamiliar.
Her entire body went rigid.
Anna looked up from the fireplace, her expression instantly mirroring Georgia’s unease.
They never got visitors. Not at this hour.
Georgia grabbed the knife on the table, stepping carefully toward the door.
Another knock.
More urgent this time.
She exhaled slowly, her heart hammering. With a silent glance at Anna, she reached for the handle and yanked the door open.
A man stood there, breathless, his eyes wide with urgency.
His hand trembled as he held out a crumpled piece of paper.
Anna took it, her fingers tightening as she unfolded it.
Her breath caught in her throat.
The message was short.
"Your mother is sick. You need to come home."
The paper shook in her grasp.
Georgia stepped closer, reading over her shoulder.
A long, heavy silence.
Then Anna whispered, “What am I supposed to do?”
Georgia didn’t answer.
She just stared at her friend, then at the crumpled paper in her shaking hands.
Anna’s mother was sick. And Moon Pack was calling her home.
The fire crackled between them.
Anna’s breathing was uneven, her grip on the letter tightening. Geor
gia didn’t have to ask, Anna’s mind was already made up.
Then, softly, Anna whispered, “Will you come with me?”
Georgia’s chest tightened.
Going back meant facing everything she had buried. Everything that had broken her.
She swallowed hard, forcing the thought away.
Then, as her eyes lifted from the letter, her blood ran cold.
The man who had delivered the message… was already gone.
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