Chapter 11 : The Weight of the Truth
700 Words
Lena didn’t stop running until she reached her house.
She barely remembered how she got there. Her mind was a blur of broken images—Cade’s eyes glowing in the dark, his claws ripping into the creature, the way he had looked at her when she backed away.
Like he already knew this moment would come.
She slammed the door shut behind her, locking it even though she knew a lock wouldn’t stop him.
Her breath came in short, panicked bursts.
Since I was born.
The words echoed in her skull, looping over and over.
Cade had always been different. She’d known that since they were kids. He was faster, stronger, more in tune with the woods than anyone she’d ever met. He used to disappear for days, only to come back like nothing had happened.
And ten years ago…
That night.
The one she had spent a decade trying to forget.
She remembered the howling. The fear. The way Cade had looked at her—like he was in pain, like he was losing control of something inside him.
And then he was gone.
And now she knew why.
Lena sank onto the couch, pressing the heels of her hands into her eyes.
A werewolf.
Cade was a werewolf.
Her stomach twisted. Not just because it was impossible—because it meant he had lied to her for as long as she’d known him.
And worse…
If he had lied about that…
What else had he been hiding?
A soft creak outside made her breath hitch.
She shot up, heart hammering.
The porch.
Someone was on the porch.
Slowly, Lena reached for the hunting knife she kept under the coffee table. Her father’s old habit, passed down to her.
She stepped toward the window, careful to keep to the shadows.
A figure stood outside, just beyond the porch light.
Tall. Still. Watching.
She gripped the knife tighter. “Who’s there?”
No answer.
Her pulse pounded in her ears.
Then—Cade stepped into the light.
Lena exhaled sharply, every nerve in her body still on edge. “Jesus, Cade.”
He didn’t say anything.
His face was unreadable, but there was something in his eyes she couldn’t place. Guilt. Desperation. Something else.
She should tell him to leave. She should slam the door in his face.
But instead, she opened it.
Only enough to look at him properly. Only enough to see him.
Cade was covered in blood. His shirt was ripped, his knuckles raw, his entire body tense like he was barely keeping himself in check.
His voice was quiet when he finally spoke.
“I didn’t want you to find out this way.”
Lena swallowed hard. “But you did want me to find out?”
Cade’s jaw clenched. “No.”
Something in his voice made her shiver.
Not because he was dangerous.
Because he sounded afraid.
She had never seen Cade afraid. Not once. Not even when they were kids.
Lena gripped the edge of the door. “You should go.”
Cade took a step closer, but stopped himself. “Lena—”
“I need time,” she said, barely keeping her voice steady. “I need to think.”
A muscle in his jaw twitched. “You think I wanted this?”
She hesitated.
Cade exhaled sharply, looking away. “You think I chose to be like this?”
The rawness in his voice made her chest ache, but she forced herself to stay firm. “You chose to lie to me.”
His eyes snapped back to hers.
For a second, they weren’t golden anymore.
They were wolf eyes.
Cade sucked in a sharp breath, stepping back. He ran a hand over his face, shaking his head. “I’ll go.”
Relief and guilt tangled inside her.
He turned away, heading back down the porch steps.
Then, just before he disappeared into the night, he spoke again.
“But if you hear howling, Lena…” His voice was low, dark. A warning.
“Don’t go outside.”
And then he was gone.
Lena shut the door.
And for the first time in her life, she locked it for Cade.
- Writer
