Five
998 Words
The Wolf’s Restlessness (Kael)
Kael hadn’t slept through the night in months.
Every time his eyes closed, dreams dragged him into the same spiral, dark hair spilling over white sheets, laughter that felt like sunlight, a scent he couldn’t shake no matter how many borders he patrolled or battles he fought.
Aria.
He told himself it was weakness to think of her. A mistake, long buried, best forgotten. But the bond didn’t care about pride or reason. His wolf tore at the cage of his chest, growling for what it had lost, howling for what it couldn’t name.
He paced the length of his room in the Alpha’s house, the walls too close, the air too heavy. Outside, the pack quieted for the night, but inside, Kael felt nothing but emptiness.
Mine, his wolf snarled.
“She’s gone,” he bit out, raking a hand through his hair. “We buried that. We buried her.”
But the words tasted like ash.
At council meetings, he was sharper than necessary, snapping at warriors, cutting off advisers mid-sentence. His Beta, Elias, finally called him on it after training one morning.
“You’re like a storm about to break,” Elias said, wiping sweat from his brow. “Snapping at shadows, running yourself ragged. What’s eating you?”
“Nothing.” The word came out clipped, final.
But Elias just raised an eyebrow, unconvinced. Kael turned away, unwilling to admit the truth, not even to his second. If anyone knew the Alpha carried a wound that wouldn’t close, they’d see it as weakness.
And weakness was a luxury he couldn’t afford.
Still, when night fell, the emptiness consumed him again. His wolf prowled restless in his skin, clawing for the bond, driving him toward dreams he couldn’t stop. Every time he closed his eyes, she was there.
Aria. Carrying something he hadn’t realized he’d left behind.
The whispers came with the scouts.
Kael sat in the council chamber, head bowed over a map of their borders, when the door opened and two scouts slipped inside. Their faces carried the look of men unsure whether their news was boon or curse.
“Alpha,” one said, bowing low. “We’ve caught rumors outside our territory. A lone she-wolf, hiding in the human town across the river.”
Kael’s head snapped up. “A she-wolf?”
“Yes, Alpha. Quiet, careful. But different. People talk about odd things happening, strength beyond human, reflexes too sharp. Some say she doesn’t belong.”
His pulse hammered. His wolf surged to the surface, teeth bared in a snarl. Her.
“Descriptions?” Kael asked, voice dangerously low.
The scout hesitated. “Not much, Alpha. Only that she’s young. Dark-haired. And… she’s with child.”
The chamber tilted. Kael gripped the edge of the table, his claws threatening to break free. The words struck deeper than any blade.
With a child.
The bond roared awake inside him, a certainty no denial could smother. His wolf howled, triumphant, hungry. Ours. Ours.
He turned sharply, dismissing the scouts with a gesture before they saw too much. As the door shut behind them, Kael pressed both hands to the table, trying to steady his breathing.
Aria. Not gone. Not forgotten. Carrying his blood.
That night, the dreams changed.
He saw her standing in the rain, eyes glowing faintly gold, one hand curved protectively over her belly. He felt her fear like it was his own. He felt her strength too, wild, untested, but undeniably his.
When he woke, the emptiness was gone. In its place burned purpose.
He couldn’t ignore it anymore. Couldn’t bury her under duty, under pride, under anything. She was alive, and she was carrying his heir.
No more silence. No more distance.
The hunt had begun.
The next morning, Kael saddled his black horse before dawn. Elias caught him in the courtyard, eyes narrowing.
“You’re leaving,” the Beta said flatly. “Where?”
Kael strapped his blade to his thigh. “Beyond the river.”
“Alone?”
“Yes.”
Elias stepped closer, his voice low. “What are you chasing, Kael? Because whatever it is, it’s driving you like a madman. You look half feral already.”
Kael met his gaze, jaw tight. “There’s something I need to find.”
“Or someone,” Elias countered.
Kael didn’t answer. He didn’t need to. His silence was admission enough.
Elias sighed, resigned. “Then at least don’t get yourself killed. The pack needs an Alpha, even if his mind is haunted.”
Kael swung into the saddle. “If I don’t go, the pack won’t have an heir to need me at all.”
Elias’s eyes widened, but before he could question, Kael spurred the horse forward, disappearing into the forest.
The land beyond the pack’s borders felt foreign and raw. Human towns dotted the edges of rivers and roads, their scents sharp with smoke and steel. Kael moved like a shadow through them, following whispers, piecing together fragments of rumor.
A woman too quick to be normal. A strange crack in a diner counter. A fight in the rain no one could explain.
Each story pulled him closer, until the bond inside him thrummed with certainty. She was here. His wolf prowled, restless and eager. Find her. Claim her. Protect ours.
Kael clenched his fists. He wanted nothing more. But he also remembered why she’d run, why she’d left him standing in ruins that night, her eyes full of defiance and betrayal.
If he found her now, would she come willingly? Or would she run again, taking his heir deeper into shadows he could never reach?
The thought made his chest ache.
Still, he couldn’t stop.
Kael tilted his head back, catching the faintest trace of her scent on the wind. His wolf went still, then growled low in satisfaction.
She was close.
And nothing, not distance, not fear, not even her anger, would keep him from her this time.
- Writer
