Chapter 10 : The Truth Between Us
667 Words
Lena’s hands wouldn’t stop shaking.
She wanted to blame the adrenaline, the blood loss, the fact that she had nearly died twice in the last five minutes.
But that wasn’t it.
It was him.
Cade stood a few feet away, chest rising and falling with heavy breaths, his body still tense from the fight. He looked the same as he always had—broad shoulders, sharp jaw, golden eyes that had always felt a little too intense.
But now she knew why.
Because those weren’t human eyes.
And those claws—God, the claws—she had seen them tear into the creature’s flesh. Had seen Cade move faster than any man should be able to move.
Her mind rebelled against what she had just witnessed, but her body knew the truth.
She had felt this fear before.
Ten years ago.
Cade took a step toward her.
She took a step back.
His face flickered with something—pain, maybe—but he didn’t stop. “Lena—”
“Don’t,” she snapped. Her voice was raw, uneven. “Don’t say my name like I’m the one who’s changed.”
Cade exhaled sharply. “I haven’t changed, either.”
Her laugh was bitter. “You’re joking, right?” She gestured toward the bloodstained ground, the claw marks gouged into the dirt. “Because from where I’m standing, I just watched you fight a monster like you’ve done it before. Like you knew what it was.”
Cade’s jaw tightened.
“And then—” Her breath hitched. “Then you—you had claws, Cade.”
Silence.
Cade didn’t deny it.
Lena swallowed, her throat dry. “What are you?”
Cade hesitated.
Then, quietly—“You already know.”
She did. She just didn’t want to say it.
Cade took another slow step forward. “Lena, I need you to listen—”
“I need you to tell me the truth.” Her voice cracked, but she didn’t care.
Cade ran a hand through his hair, looking at her like he was trying to find the right words, trying to pick the right lie.
Lena didn’t give him the chance.
“I remember that night,” she said, voice shaking. “I remember following you into the woods. I remember the howling. I remember the look on your face.”
Cade closed his eyes for a brief second, like he wished she would stop.
She didn’t.
“And then the next morning, you were gone.”
His hands clenched at his sides.
Lena forced herself to meet his gaze. “Did you kill that thing?”
Cade didn’t answer right away. But when he did, it was slow. Careful.
“No.” His voice was quiet. “Not that one.”
Lena felt the breath leave her lungs.
Not that one.
The words settled over her like a shadow.
Because there had been others.
Because Cade had killed before.
Her stomach turned. “Oh my God.”
Cade shook his head. “Lena, it’s not—”
“Not what?” she cut in. “Not what it looks like?” She gestured wildly at the bloodstained ground, at the rifle she hadn’t even thought to pick back up. “Because it looks like you’re one of them.”
Cade flinched.
But he didn’t deny it.
Lena wrapped her arms around herself, trying to suppress the tremor in her bones. “How long?” she whispered.
Cade exhaled. “Since I was born.”
She sucked in a sharp breath. “You were never going to tell me.”
His silence was answer enough.
Lena shook her head, taking another step back. “I can’t do this right now.”
Cade’s eyes darkened. “Lena—”
“No.” She turned away, fighting the sting behind her eyes. “Stay away from me.”
And then she ran.
She didn’t look back.
Not even when Cade whispered her name into the dark.
- Writer
