“WHAT’S OUT THERE?”
1470 Words
RHETT
The woods breathe back at me.
That is the first thing I notice when I step outside.
Not the cool night air brushing my skin or the way the porch light cuts a pale wedge into the darkness, it is the way the forest seems to inhale and exhale, slow and measured, like a living thing watching me from behind its cover of trees.
My senses sharpen immediately.
Every sound stretches wider, clearer. The rustle of leaves, the distant chirr of insects, the low hum of the earth beneath my feet. I scan the tree line, eyes narrowing, body shifting into that familiar state where instinct overrides thought.
Something is wrong.
I can feel it in the way the air tastes heavier, carrying a sharp edge that does not belong. It coils low in my chest, pressing against my ribs, stirring the wolf beneath my skin.
I take a step off the porch.
The ground is cool beneath the soles of my feet, gravel biting faintly into skin. I don’t rush, I don’t make noise, I let the night adjust to me, let it reveal what it is hiding.
A faint movement catches my attention to the left.
Too controlled to be prey, too quiet to be human.
My jaw tightens.
Rogues.
They are close enough now that I can sense them skirting the edges of my territory, testing boundaries like cowards, they know better than to cross fully. They always do this first, watch, probe, wait for weakness.
And tonight, weakness has a name.
Nola.
The thought hits harder than I expect.
Behind me, the house stands silent and unaware, its walls thin and sheltering someone who does not know how close danger has crept. My shoulders tense as I shift my stance, placing myself squarely between the woods and the front door without thinking.
A sound comes from inside the house. Soft footsteps on the stairs.
I turn sharply.
She is standing there, just inside the doorway, wrapped in moonlight and shadow. Her hair spills loose around her shoulders, dark and soft against the pale fabric of her shirt, bare legs, no shoes.
My chest tightens painfully.
I take in the details without meaning to. The way the fabric clings to her curves, thin and worn from sleep. The faint sheen on her skin where the house warmth meets the night air. Her eyes, wide and searching, fixed on me.
“You should be upstairs,” I say.
My voice comes out lower than intended.
She doesn’t move right away. Instead, her gaze flicks past me, toward the woods, and her body stiffens.
“I heard something,” she says.
So did I.
I don’t answer immediately. I watch her instead, noting the subtle signs. The way her fingers curl slightly at her sides, The shallow rhythm of her breathing, She senses it too, even without understanding what it is.
That awareness sparks something dark and possessive in me.
I step back toward her, closing the distance, close enough that my presence shields her from the night beyond the door.
“Go back inside,” I repeat.
She looks up at me, chin lifting just a fraction, the same stubborn streak she’s always had.
For a brief moment, something else intrudes. The memory of her downstairs earlier. The way the air between us had thickened, the way her scent had shifted, warm and tempting and far too intoxicating for a man who is supposed to know better.
I force it down.
This is not the time.
Another sound rolls through the woods. Deeper this time. A low vibration that hums against my bones, answering something inside me that strains to respond.
Nola’s breath catches.
I see it happen. The exact second fear slips beneath her composure.
My body reacts before my mind catches up, i angle myself fully in front of her now, blocking her view, blocking whatever might be watching us from the tree line.
Her hand brushes my arm.
Every muscle in my body locks, the wolf surges hard enough that I have to clench my jaw to keep my teeth from shifting. Her warmth seeps through the thin barrier of my shirt, sending a sharp pulse straight through my chest.
I look down at her.
She is closer than she realizes. Close enough that I can see the faint rise and fall of her chest, close enough to catch the subtle change in her scent, soft and sweet.
She swallows, eyes flicking briefly to my mouth before she looks away.
I shouldn’t notice that.
I do anyway.
“Rhett,” she says quietly. “What’s out there?”
I hesitate.
The truth sits heavy on my tongue. The pack, the laws, the blood already spilled, how close she is to a world that would tear her apart simply for existing. Brought her to my house to keep her safe, yet they won’t back down.
I can’t tell her yet.
“Nothing you need to worry about,” I say instead.
It is only half a lie.
Another sound breaks through the night, sharper now, closer to the boundary. My instincts scream in warning, the Alpha in me rising fully to the surface.
I step forward, nudging her back inside with my body alone.
“Inside,” I command in a low voice
She obeys this time, without her usual tantrums.
I shut the door behind her and lock it. When I turn back to her, she is standing too close again, eyes lifted with so many questions
“You’re hiding something,” she says.
I meet her gaze.
“Yes,” I think.
I say nothing.
Instead, I reach past her and turn off the porch light, plunging the outside into darkness. When I face her again, the room feels smaller, warmer, charged.
She hugs her arms around herself.
The wolf growls low in my chest, furious that she feels unsafe under my roof.
“I’ll stay up,” I tell her. “You should sleep.”
“And if I can’t?”
The question hangs between us.
I look at her for a long moment, memorizing the way she stands there in my house, wrapped in my space, entirely unaware.
“Then don’t,” I say quietly.
Her eyes soften, just slightly.
Behind me, I hear her retreat upstairs, her footsteps fading one by one.
I don’t relax.
I stand there long after she is gone, watching the woods, listening to the night.
Because I know something she doesn’t.
The rogues are no longer circling.
They are waiting. Waiting to see the decision I’ll take as an alpha, but how do I explain that Nola is different, harming her would be the same as harming myself. I feel unsettled, pacing from side to side like a maniac. For the first time in forever i am lost for solutions, maybe I just have to wait for them to come to me, but I can’t guarantee Nola’s safety. Her father knows about us now the pack wouldn’t let it pass slightly.
The longer she stays under my roof, the harder it is going to be to protect her from them and it would be worse if she’s left in her own house which stood close to mine. I thought it was going to be easier, it’s only a matter of time before we are threatened by the packs.
I reach inward, brushing against the pack bond, testing its edges. Faint answers come back. They are certainly out there, Not one, Not two, more. They are keeping their distance, just beyond the markers I placed years ago.
Behind me, the stairs creak softly.
“You’re still awake,” she says.
I dart my gaze to the stairs behind me, I feel my d**k grow against my trousers, I scan my eyes through her fair porcelain skin, her night wear hugging her curves, n*****s perked through her night wear.
Fuck, only if I could have her
“So are you,” I answer
She hesitates, then takes a step down then another.
“Go back to bed,” I shoot .
“I tried.” Her voice is softer now. “My chest feels strange.”
That does it.
I cross the room in three strides, stopping myself just short of touching her
Her eyes lift to mine
“Strange how?” I ask.
She presses a hand to her sternum. “Like something is pulling. Not painful. Just… there.”
My pulse kicks.
I know that feeling.
“Rhett,” she whispers, breath brushing my shoulder. “What’s happening?”
I don’t answer.
Because the pull in my chest answers for me.
Because the bond I have spent years denying has just tightened.
And because whatever is in the woods has finally decided to move closer.
- Writer
