Chapter 11- Three Wolves One Decision
1532 Words
The first thing I noticed when consciousness began to return was the strange absence of pain.
The agony from earlier should have been overwhelming. I remembered the moment clearly—the rogue’s claws driving into my ribs, the snap that had seemed to echo through my chest, the hot rush of blood pouring down my side.
Instead, there was only a faint soreness, as if my body remembered the injury but no longer carried it.
My mind surfaced slowly through warmth and exhaustion.
Wake up, Anita urged inside my head, tension threading through her voice.
My eyelids fluttered open.
Sunlight filtered through the dense canopy above, scattering patches of gold across the forest floor. Somewhere nearby, water rushed steadily over stone, the sound weaving through the quiet woods.
A river.
Memory hit hard.
The rogues.
The fight.
Claws tearing into my ribs.
My breath caught, and my hand flew to my side. My fingers pressed against my ribs, searching for the wounds I knew had been there.
But instead of torn flesh or burning pain, I felt only smooth skin beneath my touch.
I frowned and pressed harder, confusion settling heavily in my chest.
There was nothing there.
No injury.
No tenderness.
Nothing.
That should not have healed this fast, Anita muttered uneasily.
No kidding.
Not even close to Alpha fast.
My heartbeat quickened as my mind tried to make sense of something that clearly made none.
Then I noticed something else.
I wasn’t lying on the ground.
My back rested against something solid, and strong arms were wrapped securely around my waist, holding me upright.
My entire body went still.
Slowly, I looked down.
An arm rested firmly across my stomach, the hand relaxed but more than capable of tightening if it needed to.
My gaze followed the line of that arm upward.
Broad chest.
Dark shirt.
Then finally—
Green eyes.
Focused.
Calm.
And far too close.
Alpha Kael.
Irritation surged through me at once.
Without warning, I drove my elbow backward toward his ribs while twisting to break free.
His arm tightened around my waist like iron.
Not just control.
Something else sat beneath it.
Instinctive.
Possessive.
“Good,” Kael said calmly.
My glare snapped toward him.
“Good?”
“You’re awake.”
“Let go of me.”
I shoved at his chest again, but the effort barely moved him. Trying to push him felt like trying to shove a mountain.
Infuriating.
“You were unconscious moments ago,” he said evenly.
I didn’t miss a beat.
“And now you’re k********g me.”
One of his eyebrows lifted slightly.
“I haven’t moved you anywhere.”
I opened my mouth to argue—
Then another scent reached me.
Rogue.
My head snapped to the side.
Ronan sat a few feet away on a rock near the riverbank, one arm resting casually across his raised knee as he watched us with open amusement.
Of course he was still here.
My eyes narrowed.
“You.”
Ronan gave me a lazy smile.
“Welcome back.”
My gaze moved between the two men.
The rogue.
The Alpha.
Both watching me as though this situation was somehow entertaining.
“Did I miss something important while I was unconscious?” I asked dryly.
Ronan tilted his head as if considering it.
“You fought four rogues.”
“I remember that part.”
“You collapsed shortly afterward.”
That part was a little fuzzy.
My attention shifted back to Kael.
“You caught me.”
His answer was simple.
“Yes.”
I pushed against his arm again, far less patiently this time.
“Wonderful. Thanks for that. Now you can let go.”
His grip didn’t loosen.
Instead, his gaze moved slowly over my face, studying me far more closely than I liked.
“You healed,” he said.
My stomach tightened.
“What?”
His eyes flicked briefly to my ribs before returning to mine.
“The wounds that should have killed you.”
I shifted slightly in his hold, suddenly too aware of how close we were sitting.
“You must be mistaken.”
“I examined them myself.”
My jaw tightened.
“Congratulations.”
His gaze hardened slightly.
“Those injuries should have taken days to heal.”
I shrugged.
“Guess I’m lucky.”
Behind us, Ronan chuckled under his breath.
Kael didn’t look away from me.
“Luck doesn’t heal flesh that quickly.”
“You seem very invested in my health.”
“Because it makes no sense.”
“Lots of things in life don’t make sense,” I said, my voice flat.
His arm tightened slightly around my waist.
“I’m still deciding what to do with you.”
My eyebrows rose.
“You don’t get to decide.”
Kael didn’t answer.
He simply looked at me in a way that said the exact opposite.
That silent certainty irritated me instantly.
I turned my head toward Ronan.
“Are you planning to help me at any point?”
He leaned back against the rock.
“I’m enjoying this too much to interrupt.”
A beat passed.
“But don’t mistake that for harmless.”
Of course not.
I looked back at Kael.
“You planning to hold me like this all day?”
“Possibly.”
Bite him, Anita snarled.
Tempting.
Very tempting.
Instead, I leaned forward slightly and lowered my voice.
“If you don’t let go of me in the next few seconds…”
Kael’s eyes glinted faintly with amusement.
“You’ll what?”
I held his gaze.
“You’ll find out.”
The tension stretched between us for several long seconds.
Then Kael released me.
I stood immediately and put two steps between us.
Kael rose more slowly.
He looked even taller standing.
“You’re coming with me.”
My eyes narrowed at once.
“To where?”
“Ironclaw.”
The name sent a cold ripple down my spine.
Ironclaw Pack.
Alpha Kael.
The same Alpha I had attacked less than a day ago.
A short laugh escaped me.
“You cannot possibly be serious.”
“I rarely joke.”
“You expect me to just go with you?”
“Yes.”
I shook my head slowly.
“That’s not happening.”
Kael’s expression remained calm.
“We’ll see.”
Behind us, Ronan let out an exaggerated sigh.
“You two are exhausting.”
Both of us looked at him.
He shrugged.
“She’s clearly not going willingly.”
Kael didn’t take his eyes off me.
“That remains to be seen.”
My arms crossed over my chest.
“You’re not dragging me anywhere.”
His voice lowered slightly.
“We’ll see.”
He means it, Anita said quietly.
Yes.
I could tell.
I glanced between them again.
“Let me understand this properly,” I said slowly. “One of you is a rogue who followed me out of a bar.”
Ronan lifted a hand casually.
“That would be me.”
“And the other is an Alpha who apparently believes he can take me back to his pack without asking.”
Kael didn’t deny it.
My eyes narrowed further.
“And both of you think this situation is completely normal.”
Ronan smiled faintly.
“When you describe it like that, it sounds a little strange.”
I rubbed a hand over my face.
“This is ridiculous.”
Kael’s voice remained calm and steady.
“You crossed my territory.”
“That doesn’t give you ownership over me.”
“No,” he said evenly, “but it does give me reason to ask questions.”
“And you think k********g me will help with that?”
“I prefer the word escort.”
I stared at him.
“That’s not better.”
Ronan laughed quietly.
Kael ignored him.
“Either way,” he continued, “you’re not leaving this forest alone.”
My temper flared immediately.
“I’ve been doing just fine on my own.”
Kael’s voice dropped.
“You were seconds away from dying.”
That shut me up for a moment.
Only a moment.
“I handled four rogues,” I shot back.
“You almost didn’t.”
Silence settled between us.
The river rushed steadily over the stones while the forest remained eerily calm, as if it were waiting to see who would move first.
Ronan pushed himself off the rock and stretched slowly.
“Well,” he said casually, “this conversation is becoming tense.”
Neither of us looked at him.
He shrugged.
“Personally, I recommend everyone calms down before someone does something stupid.”
My eyes flicked toward him.
“Like what?”
Ronan smiled faintly.
“Like starting a fight none of us will enjoy finishing.”
Kael’s gaze never left mine.
The tension between us felt thick enough to choke on.
Three wolves stood on the riverbank, each with very different intentions.
And somehow, beneath all of it, I knew one thing for certain.
Whatever came next, I wasn’t walking away from either of them.
And neither of them—
Was going to let me.
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