Chapter 8
968 Words
Not Just Passing Through
Kaia didn’t drive straight through town.
She told herself she would. That she’d get back on the road, put distance between herself and whatever that was at the gas station, and not look back.
Instead, she slowed at the next light and turned.
The diner sat just off the main road, its sign flickering faintly even in daylight. A couple of older trucks were parked out front, dust clinging to the sides like they hadn’t been washed in a while. The windows were slightly fogged from inside, warm against the cooler air outside.
Normal.
That word didn’t mean much anymore.
She parked along the side instead of right out front, cutting the engine but staying where she was for a second. Her fingers tapped once against the steering wheel before going still.
“Either I’m losing it,” she muttered, “or something’s off.”
Her wolf didn’t argue.
That was enough.
Kaia stepped out, closing the door quietly behind her. Gravel shifted under her boots as she moved toward the entrance, her gaze flicking once across the lot, then to the road.
Still nothing.
No sign of him.
The bell above the door chimed when she pushed it open.
Warmth hit her first, along with the smell of coffee and something fried. It wrapped around her in a way that should have been comforting.
It wasn’t.
The place was small but lived in. Two booths by the window were taken, and a man sat halfway down the counter. The rest of the place was open—too open.
A few conversations carried low through the room, broken now and then by the clink of dishes. No one made a big deal about her walking in, but a couple of people looked up anyway.
Just long enough.
Then back to their food.
Kaia moved to the counter and slid onto a stool. The vinyl creaked under her weight, the sound louder than it should’ve been.
She set the bottle of water down in front of her, more for something to do than because she needed it.
A woman behind the counter walked over, wiping her hands on a towel.
“Coffee?”
Kaia nodded. “Yeah.”
The mug hit the counter a second later, steam curling up into the air.
“Food?”
Kaia shook her head. “Not right now.”
“Alright.”
The woman moved off without another word.
Kaia wrapped her hands around the mug, letting the heat sink into her fingers. Her eyes moved without seeming to move, catching reflections in the glass, the angle of the door, the people behind her.
Nothing obvious.
That didn’t mean anything.
“You’re not from around here.”
The voice came from a couple of stools down.
Kaia didn’t turn right away. She took a small sip of the coffee first, letting the heat settle before she looked over.
The man sitting there had his plate pushed to the side, like he’d lost interest halfway through eating. Dark hair, lean build, nothing about him standing out—until you looked a little longer.
Then it did.
“No,” she said.
He nodded like he expected that. “Didn’t think so.”
Silence slipped back in, but it wasn’t comfortable.
Kaia set the mug down slowly. “That a problem?”
He huffed a quiet breath, something like a laugh. “Not for me.”
That didn’t help.
Her wolf shifted again.
Not panicked.
Focused.
“Long way to be passing through,” he added.
Kaia turned a little more this time, enough to see him properly. His posture was relaxed, but it didn’t match his eyes.
“Depends where I’m going,” she said.
He held her gaze a second too long.
Then looked away.
“Fair.”
Kaia didn’t like that he’d looked away.
Not because it ended anything.
Because it felt like he’d already seen enough.
The bell over the door chimed again.
Kaia’s attention snapped toward it before she could stop herself.
Another man stepped inside.
Older. Broader. His jacket was damp from the rain, darkening at the shoulders. His eyes moved once around the room, not lingering anywhere long—until they did.
Not on her.
Past her.
Like he was checking something behind her instead.
Kaia’s grip on the mug tightened.
Two of them.
Maybe nothing.
Maybe not.
The man by the door didn’t move further in right away. He just stood there, like he was deciding something, then shifted enough to clear the entrance.
Too aware of the room.
Too controlled.
Kaia pushed back from the counter.
Not fast. Not sudden.
Just done.
She pulled a bill from her pocket and set it down.
The waitress looked up. “You sure you don’t—”
“I’m good,” Kaia said.
She walked toward the door, feeling it before anything actually happened.
That shift.
That quiet tightening in the air.
The man at the counter didn’t move.
The one by the door stepped aside just enough to let her pass.
Too easily.
Kaia didn’t thank him.
Didn’t slow down.
She pushed the door open and stepped outside, the cooler air hitting her again.
Her steps didn’t stop when she reached the car.
She got in, locked the doors, and started the engine in one smooth motion.
As she pulled out, her eyes flicked to the mirror.
Once.
Then again.
The diner door opened.
The man from inside stepped out, stopping just under the overhang.
And this time—
He didn’t pretend he wasn’t watching.
Kaia didn’t speed up.
Didn’t give him anything to react to.
But her grip on the wheel tightened just enough to feel it.
This wasn’t random.
And whatever Rowan thought he’d kept away from her—
It was already here.
- Writer
