Chapter4
1064 Words
The moment we stepped into his pack, I felt it not just the shift in the air but the eyes, watching, tracking and judging.
My steps slowed without meaning to, my senses suddenly on edge as figures began to emerge from the shadows of the trees. Wolves, warriors and other members of the pack, all of them staring at me like I was a problem and an outsider but then again that is what I was.
His arm brushed mine again, not accidental this time but not quite intentional either just enough to steady me or maybe to warn them, I couldn’t tell which.
A man stepped forward from the group and he wasn’t just a man because the power that rolled off him was sharp and aggressive though not as controlled as Kaels own but still strong.
His beta. I knew instantly.
His eyes locked onto me, narrowing slightly as he took me in, my scent, my presence, everything about me.
And from the look on his face, he definitely didn’t like what he saw.
“What is this?” he asked, his tone edged with something dangerously close to hostility. Not who, what.
My chest tightened and Kael didn’t even react. “She’s with me.” He said without even looking at him.
The Beta's jaw clenched, his gaze flicking between us. “She’s not one of ours.”
“I’m aware.”
Tension snapped tight in the air.
The Beta stepped closer, his attention fully on me now. I fought the urge to shrink back, even as every instinct told me I didn’t belong here.
“She smells like…” he stopped, frowning slightly, confusion flickering across his face. “What is she?”
The question hit harder than it should have because I didn’t have an answer.
Before I could react, Kael moved not fast or aggressive but deliberate.
He stepped forward placing himself between us, Blocking the Beta’s view of me almost completely.
A clear line drawn.
“You’re asking too many questions.” His voice dropped low.
A warning.
The Beta stiffened, his expression darkening. “And you’re bringing a stranger into our territory without explanation.”
Silence stretched between them.
Then Kael spoke again. “She stays.”
Not a request but a decision, the kind that didn’t get challenged.
But the Beta still didn’t look convinced.
His gaze shifted past Kael, landing on me again and this time, there was something else in it.
Not just suspicion but something sharper, like my presence here… offended him.
“Be careful,” he said quietly, though the words were clearly meant for Kael. “Some things don’t belong in a pack.”
My stomach dropped.
Kael didn’t respond but I felt it, the shift in him
“Dismissed.”
The word cut through everything.
The Beta held his gaze for a second longer then stepped back. But the look he gave me before turning away made one thing clear: This wasn’t even close to being over.
The pack slowly dispersed but not without lingering glances, whispers and judgments. I wrapped my arms around myself suddenly aware of how I looked, how I smelled and how completely out of place I was.
“I shouldn’t be here,” I said quietly
Kael didn’t respond immediately, instead he walking like he expected me to automatically follow him and of course I did.
——
His space was separate from the pack so it was quieter. He pushed the door open and stepped inside but I hesitated at the entrance because entering into his territory was one thing but this… this… felt personal.
“Are you coming in?” His voice broke my thoughts.
I looked up meeting his gaze and there was something there,something quieter like he was watching and waiting to see what I will do so I did the most reasonable thing, I stepped inside.
The door closed behind me with a soft click and suddenly it was just us. I became painfully aware of the space between us, the heat of his body, the way his eyes were in mine like he was trying to figure me out or maybe already had.
“You’re staring,” I said softly.
“I know.” He responded.
My breath caught slightly. “Why?”
He took a slow, intentional step closer. My heart started racing again but not from fear this time, it was from something unfamiliar.
“Because nothing about you makes sense,” he said quietly
My lips parted but no words came out because of how close he was to me and I should step back but I didn’t.
“Then stop looking at me like that.” I whispered.
“Like what?” His voice dropped lower and he stepped closer.
“Like you already know something I don’t.” I swallowed hard.
There was a pause then.. “maybe I do.”
My breath hitched.
The air between us shifted again, heavier now, charged with something that made it hard for me to think and his hands lifted slightly… like he was going to touch me then he stopped himself and the restraint in that moment somehow made it worse.
My chest tightened. “Kael….”
His jaw clenched like that one word did something to him and for just a second, it felt like the world had narrowed down to this moment.
Then something snapped.
Not between us but around us. A sharp invisible pressure filled the room, sudden, suffocating and wrong. I gasped, stumbling back as that same energy from the forest surged again but stronger this time, uncontrollable and violent.
“What..”
Kael moved instantly, grabbing my arm to steady me as his expression darkened. “Not now,” he muttered.
Pain flared in my chest again, sharper than before.
I doubled over, gripping onto him as something inside me twisted, as if it wanted to break thought. “I can’t.”
“You can,” he said firmly, pulling me upright. “Look at me.”
I really tried but the room was spinning, the power inside me spiraling out of control and then everything went still,like the world itself just paused.
Karl’s grip tightened. Slowly very slowly, his head turned towards the door,
I followed his gaze and my blood ran cold because the door.. was already open.
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