Chapter 27
780 Words
Chapter 27
Kaia barely slept after that.
Every time she closed her eyes, she heard Rowan’s voice again.
They were trying to take you.
Not kill.
Not threaten.
Take.
The difference sat heavily in her chest long after the storm outside finally quieted into steady rain against the cabin roof.
By morning the silence inside the safe house felt worse.
Too quiet.
Too controlled.
Like everyone inside already knew something she didn’t.
Kaia stood near the kitchen window with a mug of coffee that had long since gone cold between her hands. Dense forest stretched endlessly beyond the glass, dark pine trees swaying beneath heavy fog rolling through the mountains.
No nearby roads.
No neighboring cabins.
Nothing.
A perfect hiding place.
Which only made her more uneasy.
“You’re supposed to be resting.”
Rowan’s voice came from behind her.
Kaia didn’t turn around immediately. She stared out at the fog instead before taking another slow sip of cold coffee. “You keep saying that like resting magically fixes anything.”
He moved farther into the kitchen, quieter than a man his size should’ve been. “You almost died yesterday.”
“And apparently nobody bothered mentioning why.”
The words came out sharper than intended.
Rowan leaned one hand against the counter beside her, exhaustion visible beneath the rough edge of his expression now. He looked like he hadn’t slept either.
“That conversation wasn’t finished.”
“No,” Kaia said softly. “It wasn’t.”
Silence stretched between them.
Rain tapped steadily against the windows while the old cabin creaked softly around them.
Finally Kaia looked at him fully. “Who am I to them?”
Something flickered across Rowan’s face immediately.
Not surprise.
Recognition.
That alone made her stomach tighten.
“You know,” she realized quietly.
Rowan’s jaw flexed.
“Rowan.”
“You’re asking questions that don’t have safe answers.”
Kaia gave a short humorless laugh. “I think we passed safe answers around the time someone put a bullet through a warehouse window.”
“That wasn’t meant for you.”
Her brows pulled together instantly. “What?”
The words slipped out before he could stop them.
Kaia saw the exact moment he realized it.
“You said they wanted to take me,” she pressed carefully, pulse beginning to rise again. “So who were they shooting at?”
Rowan looked away first.
And somehow that terrified her more than anything else.
“Rowan.”
His voice lowered. “Me.”
The room went completely still.
Kaia stared at him.
Outside, fog drifted slowly between the trees while thunder rumbled somewhere deeper in the mountains.
“You think this is about pack politics?” Rowan asked quietly. “About some challenge for territory?”
Kaia didn’t answer.
Because honestly…
Until now?
Yes.
That was exactly what she thought.
Rowan pushed away from the counter and paced once across the small kitchen, frustration rolling visibly beneath his skin now.
“There are wolves outside Blackwater who have been searching for something for years,” he said finally. “Some think it’s a bloodline. Others think it’s power.”
“And what does that have to do with me?”
Rowan stopped moving.
Everything inside Kaia tightened painfully.
Because suddenly—
Suddenly she understood what he meant.
Rowan looked directly at her, his expression darker now than she had ever seen it.
“You,” he said quietly. “This has always been about you.”
The words settled heavily between them.
Kaia shook her head immediately, confusion and fear tangling together inside her chest. “That doesn’t make any sense.”
“You felt it before you ever came to Blackwater,” Rowan continued. “Your wolf reacting to things she shouldn’t. The strength spikes. The instincts. The way other wolves respond to you.”
Kaia’s stomach twisted hard.
Memories flashed through her mind all at once.
People staring too long.
The way wolves either avoided her completely or watched her too carefully.
The strange pull she’d felt since arriving in Blackwater.
The attacks.
The nightmares.
“I thought I was losing control,” she admitted quietly.
Rowan’s expression tightened slightly. “No. You were waking up.”
Fear slid coldly beneath her ribs.
“All this time…” she whispered, struggling to keep up with the conversation now. “The rogues. The attacks. Everyone watching me…”
“This was never about rejection,” Rowan said softly.
The rain outside seemed louder suddenly, the sound filling the silence between them.
Kaia stared at him. “Then what am I?”
For the first time since she’d met him…
Rowan hesitated.
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