Chapter 16 Rowans POV
912 Words
The settlement doesn’t sleep after that.
It pretends to.
Lanterns dim. Voices lower. Rotations continue like clockwork.
But tension hums under everything.
I stand on the north wall just before dawn, watching mist roll low across the tree line. The forest looks almost peaceful in gray light.
Almost.
Nicole stands a few feet to my right, arms folded, eyes scanning without pause.
Icy blue eyes.
Not soft blue. Not warm.
Cold. Precise. Like frozen glass that misses nothing.
She doesn’t fidget.
Doesn’t pace.
She simply exists in readiness.
I respect that.
A lot.
She doesn’t posture. Doesn’t brag about what she’s done. Doesn’t try to insert herself into command. She observes, calculates, contributes when it matters.
That kind of discipline is rare.
And dangerous—in a good way.
The wind shifts and strands of her white hair lift slightly, pale against the dim morning light. It’s striking—unnatural almost, like frost that never melted. A few loose pieces brush against her cheek before she tucks them back without thinking.
It suits her.
Sharp. Unforgettable.
I notice it.
I also compartmentalize it.
Because attraction in a world like this can blur edges.
And I can’t afford blurred edges.
Not tonight.
“You always watch the horizon like it insulted you?” she asks quietly without looking at me.
A corner of my mouth lifts. “Only when it’s planning something.”
“It is.”
“I know.”
Silence settles again.
I glance at her briefly.
The white of her hair catches the weak sunrise, almost glowing against the gray sky. There’s a scar near her temple I hadn’t noticed before. It doesn’t weaken her face.
It hardens it.
Forged, not broken.
I respect her.
I’m slightly attracted to her.
Both can exist without interfering.
But the fight comes first.
Always.
“You ready?” I ask.
“Yes.”
No hesitation.
“Once we move, there’s no fallback beyond the creek,” I remind her.
“I don’t plan on falling back.”
That earns a quiet exhale of amusement from me.
“I figured.”
Below us, the strike team assembles—Mara checking arrows, Jensen securing charges in his pack, Kade mapping the creek bed route one last time.
Dad approaches from behind.
“You good?” he asks me.
“Yes.”
His eyes flick to Nicole briefly.
“She’s solid,” I say before he asks.
“I know.”
He does.
That’s why she’s going.
He rests a hand briefly on my shoulder—firm, grounding.
“Bring everyone back.”
“I will.”
He nods once and steps away.
Nicole watches that exchange carefully.
“You carry it well,” she says.
“What?”
“Being his son.”
That almost makes me laugh.
“It’s heavy,” I admit.
“Leadership is.”
“You don’t want it?”
“No.”
“Not even here?”
She shakes her head slightly. White strands shift against her shoulders. “I work better on edges. Not at center.”
Fair.
Every structure needs both.
A horn gives a single low note.
Time.
We descend from the wall and join the team.
I step in front of them.
“Primary objective: eliminate the intact variant in the rail tunnel. Secondary: collapse entrance. No prolonged engagement. If coordination fractures, we disengage immediately.”
Everyone nods.
Nicole’s icy blue eyes are steady on mine.
Not questioning.
Aligned.
We move out through the secondary gate under dim light.
The creek bed swallows our footsteps quickly, mud dampening sound. Mist clings low, giving us partial cover.
Halfway to the ridge, I catch myself glancing at Nicole again.
Not because I doubt her.
Because I don’t.
She moves like she belongs in this formation.
Like she’s always been part of it.
That realization is more dangerous than attraction.
Because belonging is harder to walk away from.
I shove the thought aside.
Focus.
The rail depot ridge rises ahead.
Kade signals halt.
Fresh tracks.
More than yesterday.
They’ve reinforced.
Good.
Means the head is still there.
Nicole shifts closer to me.
“If it’s deeper in the tunnel tonight,” she whispers, “we draw it out.”
“How?”
“Noise at entrance. Threat display. It responds to perceived challenge.”
“You think it has ego?”
“I think it has hierarchy.”
Interesting.
I nod once.
We crest the ridge slowly.
The clearing is thicker with bodies now.
Outer ring expanded.
But something’s different.
The formation is tighter.
Compressed.
Guarding the tunnel.
They’re expecting pressure.
Nicole leans in just enough for me to hear.
“They’re braced.”
“I see it.”
A fresher variant steps forward slightly from the front rank.
Head tilted.
Listening.
Waiting.
Somewhere deeper in the tunnel—
A low, resonant sound vibrates outward.
Not a howl.
A rumble.
The intact one is inside.
Good.
Better than roaming.
I signal the team into position along the ridge.
Charges ready.
Bows nocked.
Rifle steady.
I glance at Nicole once more.
White hair ghosting in the fog.
Icy blue eyes locked on the tunnel entrance.
For a split second, the world narrows to just that look.
Mutual understanding.
Respect.
Possibility.
Later.
If we earn it.
I turn my focus back to the tunnel.
Tonight isn’t about attraction.
It isn’t about connection.
It’s about cutting the head off a growing intelligence before it learns how to tear down everything we built.
- Writer
