He Rejected The Wrong Wolf

Chapter 19

Brielle’s POV

The pack house was still dark when Brielle carried her suitcase downstairs the next morning.

The early silence wrapped around the estate in a way that felt unfamiliar after the chaos of the last few days. Most of the lights had been dimmed for the night, leaving only the warm glow of wall sconces stretching softly across the long hallways while the sound of rain tapped quietly against the tall windows overlooking the courtyard outside.

For a second, standing near the bottom of the staircase with her bag beside her, Brielle almost felt like she was sneaking away.

Which was ridiculous.

Everyone knew she was leaving.

Still, something about walking through the quiet house before sunrise made the whole thing suddenly feel more real than it had the night before.

“You look like you’re reconsidering your life choices.”

Brielle glanced toward the kitchen doorway as Wren appeared carrying two coffees and somehow looking completely awake despite the fact that it was barely six in the morning.

“That’s because it’s six in the morning,” Brielle muttered.

“That’s not an answer.”

Wren crossed the foyer and handed her one of the coffees before nudging Brielle lightly with her shoulder. “Relax. Once we’re on the train, you’ll be fine.”

Brielle curled both hands around the warmth of the cup and exhaled slowly. The smell alone helped slightly.

“You’re way too energetic for this hour.”

“I’m surviving on excitement and bad decisions.”

“That explains a lot actually.”

Wren grinned unapologetically before reaching for the handle of her suitcase. “Come on. Mom said if we woke anyone up while leaving, she was disowning us.”

“She absolutely did not say that.”

“She implied it emotionally.”

Brielle laughed quietly under her breath as they headed toward the front entrance together. Rain continued tapping steadily against the windows while the cold early-morning air slipped through the slight gap beneath the front doors.

For the first time since deciding to leave, nervousness twisted properly through Brielle’s chest.

Not because she thought the trip was a mistake.

Because suddenly it felt real enough to matter.

The second Wren opened the front doors, cold rain-scented air swept through the foyer around them.

And both girls stopped.

A black SUV sat parked at the bottom of the front steps.

Brielle blinked once.

“You have got to be kidding me,” Wren muttered beside her.

Thaddeus leaned casually against the driver’s side door, arms folded across his chest while rain misted lightly through the dark hair falling across his forehead. He looked like he’d been standing there for a while already.

Waiting.

Brielle stared at him in disbelief. “What are you doing here?”

“You were about to leave without saying goodbye.”

Wren made a quiet choking sound beside her. “Oh, this is getting embarrassing for him now.”

“Wren,” Brielle hissed.

“What? I’m right.”

Thaddeus gave Wren a look that suggested he had no intention of engaging with her commentary before turning his attention back toward Brielle.

His gaze flicked briefly toward their suitcases. “How are you getting there?”

“Train,” Brielle answered.

His expression tightened slightly. “It’ll take almost eleven hours in this weather.”

Wren narrowed her eyes immediately. “Why do you know the train schedule?”

Again, he ignored Wren’s commentary entirely, his attention remaining fixed on Brielle instead.

“I can drive you,” he said simply.

The offer caught Brielle off guard enough that she just stared at him for a second.

“You’re joking.”

“I’m not.”

“Absolutely not,” Wren cut in immediately. “I already emotionally committed to this being a girls trip.”

A faint flicker of amusement crossed Thaddeus’s face for the first time all morning. “I’m not staying in the capital with you.”

“That somehow doesn’t help.”

Brielle tightened her grip slightly around the coffee cup warming her hands. “You really don’t have to do that.”

“I know.”

“Then why are you?”

For a second, rain was the only sound between them.

Soft against the stone steps.

Against the roof of the SUV.

Against the trees surrounding the estate grounds.

Then Thaddeus looked at her fully and said quietly, “Because I’d rather know you got there safely.”

The honesty of it hit harder than Brielle expected.

Not because the words themselves were dramatic.

Because they weren’t.

There was no arrogance in them. No possessiveness. No attempt to tell her not to go.

Just concern.

Real concern.

And somehow that felt more dangerous than anger would have.

Wren looked between them slowly before muttering under her breath, “I knew this was going to become emotionally complicated.”

Neither of them acknowledged her.

Brielle looked away first, trying to ignore the uncomfortable warmth spreading through her chest. “You don’t have to feel guilty because you rejected me.”

His expression shifted immediately. “That’s not what this is.”

“Then what is it?”

Again—

That hesitation.

Like he knew the answer but didn’t want to say it out loud yet.

Wren sighed dramatically. “You two are exhausting.”

Brielle barely heard her.

Because Thaddeus was still looking at her in that same frustratingly intense way he had been ever since the birthday gathering.

And worse—

Part of her was starting to look back.