Chapter 3: “The Cabin and the First Shift”
1332 Words
The cabin was not what I expected.
I thought “rogue hideout” meant a cave. Or a broken-down shed. Instead, Kael’s place was tucked between two cliffs, made of stone and wood, with a small garden and a roof that didn’t leak.
He shifted back to human form as soon as we were inside the tree line. He was breathing hard, but he didn’t let go of me until my feet were on solid ground.
“Stay close to the walls,” he said. “There are wards here. Blackstone wolves can’t cross them unless I allow it.”
Wards. Magic. I had read about it in Pack history books, but I never thought I’d see it.
The inside was simple. One room. A bed in the corner. A fireplace. Shelves full of books. And no mirror.
Kael lit a fire without looking at me. “Sit,” he said.
I sat on the only chair. My feet were still bleeding. The cloth around my neck had slipped again, and I could feel the mark pulsing.
He noticed. He always noticed.
“Let me see it,” he said softly.
I hesitated, then reached up and pulled the fabric down.
The silver mark glowed faintly in the firelight. Crescent moon. Vines. It looked old. Important.
Kael didn’t touch it. He just stared. His jaw was tight again.
“Luna Bloodline,” he murmured. “I thought they were all gone.”
“Why me?” My voice cracked. “I didn’t shift. I don’t have a wolf. Marcus was right to reject me.”
“No.” Kael’s eyes snapped to mine. Sharp. Certain. “He was wrong. He rejected you because he couldn’t feel the bond. Luna bonds don’t work like normal mate bonds. They don’t snap into place at eighteen. They wake up.”
“Wake up how?”
“When you’re in danger. When you’re chosen. When the Moon Goddess decides it’s time.” He crouched in front of me, elbows on his knees. “The rejection broke something open in you. That’s why the mark appeared.”
I pulled the cloth back up. “So what now? I just… wait to grow a wolf?”
Kael shook his head. “You don’t wait. You call her.”
He stood and went to the shelves. He pulled out a thick book. The pages were yellow, edges burned.
“Lunas have abilities most wolves don’t. Healing. Mind shields. Pack bonds without a mate.” He set the book on the table between us. “But first, you need to meet your wolf.”
I laughed. It came out bitter. “With what? I’m empty inside, Kael. There’s nothing there.”
He didn’t laugh back. “Close your eyes.”
I stared at him.
“Please, Ella.”
Something in his voice made me obey. I closed my eyes. The fire crackled. The mark on my neck warmed.
“Now breathe,” Kael said. His voice was close. Calm. “In. Out. Think about the forest. Think about running. Think about the moment you decided to come with me instead of going back.”
I did. I thought about Marcus’s cold eyes. My father’s silence. The laughter.
Pain.
“Good,” Kael said. “Now go deeper. What’s under the pain?”
I wanted to say “nothing.” But then… a flicker. Warm. Silver. Like moonlight behind closed eyelids.
“I feel…” I whispered. “Something.”
“Your wolf,” Kael said. No doubt. “She’s been asleep. Protecting you. The rejection woke her.”
The warmth grew. It spread from my neck down to my chest. It didn’t hurt. It felt like… home.
My hands started to shake.
“Kael?”
“Stay with me,” he said quickly. “Don’t fight it. Let her come.”
The room got cold. Then hot. My skin prickled. I gasped.
“Ella, look at me.”
I opened my eyes. Kael was right in front of me, holding my shoulders. His silver eyes were intense. Focused only on me.
“Can you feel her?” he asked.
“Yes,” I breathed. It was faint. Like a whisper. But it was there. A presence. Female. Cautious.
Then it vanished.
The warmth disappeared. The room went normal again. I slumped forward, exhausted.
“I… I lost her,” I said, panicked.
“You didn’t lose her,” Kael said. He let go of my shoulders slowly. “She came close. That’s more than most wolfless omegas get in a lifetime.”
I covered my face with my hands. “I was so close. Why did she go away?”
“Because she’s scared,” Kael said simply. “You’ve been told you’re worthless for eighteen years. She doesn’t trust you yet.”
I looked up at him. “How do I make her trust me?”
“By not rejecting yourself first.” His answer was immediate.
The words hit me harder than Marcus’s did.
Kael stood and went to the fireplace. He tossed in another log. “You need rest. You’ll try again tomorrow.”
“Here?” I looked around. “With you?”
He paused. “I’ll take the floor. You take the bed. The wards will hold.”
I nodded, too tired to argue. He gave me a blanket and a shirt that was way too big for me. It smelled like pine and rain. Like him.
I lay down. The bed was hard, but warm from the fire.
Kael blew out the lamp. The room went dark except for the firelight.
“Kael?” I whispered into the dark.
“Yes?”
“Thank you. For not… leaving me.”
Silence. Then: “Get some sleep, Ella.”
But his voice was softer.
I closed my eyes. For the first time in months, I didn’t dream of laughter. I dreamed of silver light. And a wolf, watching me from the shadows. Waiting.
---
I woke up to the smell of food.
Kael was at the table, heating something in a pot. He looked up when I sat up.
“Morning,” he said. “How’s the mark?”
I touched my neck. The burning was gone. Just warmth. “Better.”
“Good.” He handed me a bowl. Stew. It tasted better than anything I’d had at the Pack house.
We ate in silence. Then Kael pushed the book toward me.
“Again. Tonight. When the moon is high.”
I nodded.
That night, we tried again.
I sat by the fire. Eyes closed. Breathing. Thinking of running. Of choosing.
The warmth came back. Stronger this time. The whisper too.
_Mine_, it said. Just one word.
My body jerked. My bones felt strange. Like they wanted to move.
“Ella?” Kael’s voice was urgent. “What’s happening?”
“I… I think…”
Pain shot through my spine. Not bad pain. Stretching pain. Like growing.
“Don’t fight it,” Kael said. His hand was on my back now, steadying me. “Let her.”
I threw my head back. The mark on my neck flared bright silver, lighting up the whole cabin.
And for one second, just one second…
I saw her.
A white wolf. Small, but fierce. Silver eyes just like mine. She stood in a field of moonlight and stared right at me.
Then the vision snapped.
I collapsed forward into Kael’s arms.
He caught me before I hit the floor.
“Ella? Ella, look at me.”
I blinked up at him. Breathless. Shaking.
“I saw her,” I whispered. “She’s… she’s white.”
Kael’s arms tightened around me for half a second. Relief.
“A white Luna wolf,” he said, voice low. “Moon Goddess help us all.”
Because white wolves were rare. Legend rare.
And Blackstone Pack would kill to control one.
Or kill to make sure no one else had her.
- Writer
