Chp 15
1154 Words
Zyra POV
The lunch-hour crowd finally thinned, but my pulse hadn’t slowed once. Not since the moment I felt him.
Not saw.
Felt.
That same cold pressure against my spine. That same prickling awareness, like a hand gripping the back of my neck.
Dael.
I didn’t want to look. I forced myself not to. I focused on wiping the counter, on refilling the muffin display case, anything that wasn’t the pull dragging my eyes toward the glass window behind me but my body betrayed me before my mind did.
When I finally glanced up, my breath stuttered.
He was there.
Outside.
Standing in the light rain as if he didn’t feel a single drop.
Hood up, head tilted slightly downward.
Hands in his pockets.
And those eyes, glaring from beneath the shadow of his hood were locked on me.
Not the shop.
Not the street.
Not the menu board.
Me.
A cold tremor rolled through my arms. I curled my fingers around a tray, grounding myself before I dropped it.
Why was he here?
We weren’t in class.
He didn’t need coffee.
He wasn’t the type to go anywhere unless it benefited him.
But he stood there as if he owned the pavement, the shop, the town and I was the only thing he’d come to claim.
I swallowed hard. Ignore him. Don’t react. Don’t give him anything.
I turned away, placing the tray down, but the shift of my shoulders felt stiff, painfully obvious. My heartbeat was too loud an erratic rhythm that I was sure even humans in the shop could hear.
I moved to the espresso machine, pretending to check the water level.
“Are you okay?” my coworker Mia whispered, her brows pulling together.
No. Not even close.
But I nodded.
I had learned how to lie in order to survive.
Mia walked off, and the moment she disappeared into the back, I risked another glance out the window.
He hadn’t moved.
Not an inch. Dael looked like a statue carved from shadow and violence. The hood hid most of his expression, but his stare… that stare made my lungs tighten.
Hungry.
Searching.
Possessive without even knowing it.
Like a beast smelling blood in the water.
Or in my case silver.
A sharp sting hit the back of my throat. Guilt? Fear? Anger? It all mixed together. Why can’t he just leave me alone?
I pulled my scarf up higher around my dyed-black hair. The ends brushed my cheeks, reminding me of what I was hiding. The silver beneath the ink. The curse. The truth.
The truth he already sensed. Dael didn’t know what I was. Not fully. But wolves like him didn’t need explanations. Their instincts filled in everything logic ignored.
He hated me. He wanted me gone.
Yet he stood there watching me as if he couldn’t stop.
My stomach knotted tighter when he shifted slightly only enough for his boots to angle in my direction, like he was ready to storm in the second I got too close to disappearing.
A customer approached the counter, and I tore my gaze away. “What can I get for you?” I forced out, my voice tight but functioning.
Even while taking the order, my entire being felt his gaze burning between my shoulder blades. I moved efficiently, handing the man his drink. But as soon as he walked away, I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding.
When I looked back toward the window..
Dael was gone.
My pulse stalled.
Gone didn’t mean gone.
Gone meant moving.
Searching.
Closing in.
My heart thrashed painfully.
He could be behind the door. Near the tables. Inside already.
The bell chimed.
And there he was.
Hood down now.
Hair damp and dripping onto his dark sweatshirt. Eyes, those relentless, storm-black eyes locked on me like he’d walked through the rain for the sole purpose of stepping into my space. The café seemed to shrink, pulling the walls inward until it was only him and me breathing the same charged air.
He didn’t approach the counter. He didn’t speak.
He just stood there, watching me as if he could hear every terrified thought inside my head. My palms slicked with sweat around the milk jug I was holding. I forced myself to turn back to the machine.
He’s just here for coffee. Give him coffee and he’ll leave.
But when I glanced over my shoulder..
He was closer.
A full step closer than before, even though he made no sound, no announcement, no attempt to hide what he was doing.
Not approaching the counter.
Approaching me.
My pulse hitched. His gaze tracked the movement of my hand as I reached for a cup, his eyes narrowing as if analyzing the slight tremble in my fingers.
I swallowed and gripped the cup tighter.
“What can I get you?” I managed.
He didn’t answer.
Instead, his head tilted the slightest bit, a predator studying prey that had the audacity to speak.
When he finally spoke, his voice was low enough that only I could hear it.
“You’re scared.”
My lungs locked.
He didn’t say it cruelly.
He didn’t mock me.
He said it like he was diagnosing me.
Scenting me.
Consuming the fear he caused.
I clenched the cup so tightly the cardboard bent under my fingers.
“Please step back,” I whispered.
His expression didn’t change, but his jaw flexed.
Not with anger.
With something darker.
Something he didn’t understand.
Something he hated not understanding.
He leaned forward not enough to touch me, but enough that his breath ghosted the air inches from my cheek.
“Don’t run from me,” he murmured. My knees nearly buckled. I wasn’t planning on running.
Survival just looked too much like retreat. I stepped back because I couldn’t breathe with him that close. His eyes followed the small movement, irritation flickering over his features.
Not because he wanted me because he wanted control. He expected fear to make me freeze.
Not move.
Not fight.
Not step out of reach.
I swallowed hard.
“Do you want to order something or not?” My voice cracked, betraying everything I tried to bury.
He dropped his gaze to my trembling hands, and something shifted behind his eyes.
Something dangerous.
Possessive.
Uncontrolled.
“It’s too early to decide,” he said softly, eyes dragging up to mine. “I’m still figuring out what I want.”
A shiver tore down my spine.
He wasn’t talking about coffee.
Before I could react, Mia returned from the back, her cheerful voice floating across the counter.
“Hi! What can I get you?”
Dael straightened slowly, eyes never leaving mine as if speaking to anyone else was a waste of breath.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he answered:
“Nothing.”
I just prayed that he left but he didn't!
- Writer
