The white-golden wolf

The Watchers...

The drive home should have been peaceful.

It wasn't.

Every pair of headlights in my rear-view mirror made my pulse quicken.

Every car that stayed behind me for more than two turns became suspicious.

Every shadow at the edge of the road looked like it was moving.

I told myself I was being ridiculous.

Then I checked the mirror again.

Nothing unusual.

A silver hatchback several car lengths behind me.

A delivery van farther back.

Normal evening traffic.

I tightened my grip on the steering wheel anyway.

"You're checking the mirror again," Clarissa said.

"I know."

"That's the sixth time."

"Are you counting?"

"I got bored."

I glanced at the mirror once more.

"Seven."

"Very helpful."

"Do you think we're being followed?"

My fingers tightened.

"I don't know."

Clarissa fell silent.

For several seconds, there was only the quiet hum of the engine and the soft music playing from the radio.

"Neither do I," she finally admitted.

That answer unsettled me more than if she'd said yes.

Clarissa relied on instinct.

Smells.

Sounds.

The subtle awareness wolves possessed that humans had long ago forgotten how to use.

If someone had been following us closely, she should have known.

But whatever we'd sensed at the office had been different.

Hidden.

Almost as though it knew how to stay beyond the reach of a wolf's instincts.

I didn't like that thought.

"Maybe we're imagining it," I said.

"Both of us?"

"It happens."

"When?"

I opened my mouth.

Closed it.

"Exactly."

I sighed.

"You're particularly annoying today."

"I'm particularly correct today."

"Debatable."

The road narrowed as I left the centre of town behind.

Buildings gave way to scattered houses.

Then fields.

Then forest.

The setting sun had almost disappeared behind the mountains, leaving streaks of fading orange across the horizon.

Usually, I loved this part of the drive.

Tonight the trees seemed darker.

Closer.

My phone sat in the cup holder beside me.

I glanced down at it when I stopped at a red light.

Kael's message was still there.

I enjoyed meeting you properly. I'll send you the coffee details tomorrow.

Clarissa immediately perked up.

"Read it again."

"I've already read it."

"Three times."

"Twice."

"Four."

I frowned.

"Why do you keep count of everything embarrassing I do?"

"For entertainment."

Despite myself, I smiled.

My thumb hovered over the screen.

I'd already replied.

I enjoyed meeting you too. Coffee sounds good.

Simple.

Normal.

Definitely not the response of a woman whose wolf had spent the last hour celebrating the discovery of her mate.

"Your reply was boring."

"It was appropriate."

"You could've added a heart."

"Absolutely not."

"A little one."

"No."

"A moon?"

"Clarissa."

She laughed.

The light turned green.

I put the phone down.

For a few minutes, thoughts of Kael managed to distract me from the strange unease that had followed me since leaving work.

Then another car appeared in my mirror.

Black.

My heartbeat stumbled.

The sedan remained several vehicles behind me.

I couldn't see the driver.

At the next junction, I turned right.

So did the sedan.

My stomach tightened.

"Clarissa."

"I see it."

I took another turn.

The car followed.

My heartbeat accelerated.

"That's not proof," Clarissa said.

"No."

But neither of us sounded convinced.

I deliberately drove past the road that led towards home.

The sedan continued behind me.

I swallowed.

One kilometre.

Then two.

I turned towards a petrol station.

The black car continued straight.

I watched its taillights disappear.

Only then did I realise how tightly I'd been gripping the steering wheel.

"Coincidence?" I whispered.

"Maybe."

I waited another minute before pulling back onto the road.

Neither of us mentioned that Clarissa didn't sound convinced.

By the time I pulled into the driveway, the porch light was already glowing.

The familiar little house looked warm against the cool evening sky.

Golden light spilled from the windows.

Smoke curled gently from the chimney.

Someone—probably Mary—had left a small lantern glowing beside the front door.

Home.

The word settled something inside me.

This was the place I'd come to broken and terrified five years ago.

The place where Mary had sat beside my bed when nightmares made sleep impossible.

Where Kevin had discovered that irritating me was apparently his life's purpose.

Where I'd slowly learned that surviving wasn't the same thing as living.

Home.

A place where nothing bad could reach me.

Or at least, that was what I'd always wanted to believe.

The front door opened before I reached it.

Mary stepped onto the porch, wiping her hands on a dish towel.

"You're late."

"I know."

"I was about to send Kevin looking for you."

I climbed the steps.

"That sounds more like a punishment than a rescue."

Mary laughed.

"You're probably right."

As if summoned by the insult, Kevin appeared in the doorway.

"There you are."

He placed a hand dramatically over his heart.

"I was worried sick."

"You didn't even know I was late until Mary told you."

"That's irrelevant."

"Is it?"

"Completely."

He stepped aside to let me enter.

"I was this close to eating your dessert."

I narrowed my eyes.

"You already did, didn't you?"

He gave an exaggerated shrug.

"It would've been rude to let it go to waste."

"It wasn't going to waste. I was coming home."

"Eventually."

"You are impossible."

"So I've been told."

Clarissa sighed.

"I missed him."

"You spent twelve hours away."

"A peaceful twelve hours."

Kevin frowned at me.

"Why are you smiling?"

"No reason."

"That's suspicious."

"So is stealing someone's dessert."

"It wasn't stealing."

"What would you call it?"

"Preventative food waste."

I stared at him.

Mary laughed from the kitchen.

"Both of you, wash up. Dinner's ready."

The familiar rhythm of the house wrapped around me.

For the first time since leaving work, my shoulders relaxed.

Almost.

Dinner was louder than usual.

Mostly because Kevin had decided to tell us about the office fire alarm.

"It wasn't my fault."

Mary pointed her fork at him.

"You said that last time."

"Last time wasn't my fault either."

I looked between them.

"There's a last time?"

Kevin ignored me.

Mary didn't.

"Tuesday."

I stared at him.

"You set off the fire alarm twice in one week?"

"Accidentally."

"How?"

Kevin suddenly became very interested in his potatoes.

Mary smiled.

"He tried to microwave something."

"That's not unusual."

"It was wrapped in foil."

I slowly lowered my fork.

Clarissa burst out laughing.

"Kevin."

"It wasn't labelled."

"Foil doesn't need instructions."

"That's easy to say afterwards."

I covered my face with one hand.

"How are you still alive?"

"Natural talent."

Mary shook her head.

"The second alarm was this afternoon."

I looked at Kevin.

"What did you microwave this time?"

"Nothing."

"Then what happened?"

A pause.

"The toaster caught fire."

I stared.

Mary stared.

Kevin looked offended.

"Why are you both looking at me like that?"

"Because I'm reconsidering whether you're safe around kitchen appliances."

"I'm perfectly safe."

"You've caused two evacuations."

"Everyone could use more fresh air."

I laughed.

Actually laughed.

Not the polite kind I used at work.

Not the small smile I gave people when I wanted them to stop worrying.

A real laugh.

Kevin grinned triumphantly.

"There she is."

My laughter faded.

"What?"

"Nothing."

But his expression softened.

I understood.

He'd noticed too.

The nightmares.

The quiet mornings.

The way I'd been disappearing into my own thoughts lately.

My chest tightened with affection.

This ridiculous man was my brother in every way that mattered.

Dinner continued.

Mary complained about Kevin.

Kevin defended himself badly.

I listened.

Laughed.

For a little while, everything felt normal again.

Yet every so often, my fingers drifted beneath the collar of my shirt.

Towards the silver pendant.

Without realising it.

Without thinking.

Almost as though some part of me expected it to protect me.

Mary noticed.

She always noticed.

Her gaze followed my hand.

"You've been holding that pendant all evening."

My fingers stopped.

I looked down.

"I didn't realise."

Her expression softened.

"It reminds you of them."

It wasn't a question.

I rubbed my thumb across the familiar crescent shape.

"Every day."

For a moment, the table grew quiet.

Kevin's teasing disappeared.

Mary reached across and squeezed my hand.

"They'd be proud of the woman you've become."

A lump formed in my throat.

"I hope so."

"They would."

Her certainty made my eyes sting.

I looked down before either of them noticed.

Then the pendant warmed.

Barely.

A faint pulse against my fingertips.

My breath caught.

Mary's hand tightened around mine.

Her eyes dropped instantly to the silver beneath my fingers.

Something passed across her face.

Fear.

Gone so quickly I almost thought I'd imagined it.

"Mary?"

She looked at me.

"What?"

"Nothing."

Clarissa stirred.

"Lara."

"I know."

Mary withdrew her hand and reached for her water.

Too casually.

I watched her.

"Did you know my mother wore this often?"

The question came without warning.

Mary's glass stopped halfway to her lips.

Kevin glanced between us.

"I..."

She lowered the glass.

"I saw her wear it."

"When?"

"A long time ago."

Something in her voice made me sit straighter.

"You knew my parents before—"

"Lara."

Her tone was gentle.

But final.

"Tonight isn't the night."

A strange pressure formed in my chest.

"Why?"

Mary looked tired suddenly.

Older.

"Because some memories should be approached carefully."

"Whose memories?"

She didn't answer.

Mine?

Or hers?

Before I could ask again, Kevin cleared his throat.

"Anyone want to hear about the time I almost crashed the company forklift?"

Mary turned towards him.

"You what?"

He froze.

Apparently that story had not been approved for family discussion.

I almost laughed.

Almost.

But my eyes remained on Mary.

Clarissa's voice was quiet.

"She knows something."

Yes.

I'd always known Mary kept pieces of my past from me.

I'd simply never realised how frightened she was of them.

Later that night, the house settled into silence.

Kevin went to bed after receiving a twenty-minute lecture about workplace safety.

Mary checked the locks twice.

That caught my attention.

She always checked them once.

Tonight, twice.

I didn't ask.

I changed into a soft jumper and sleep shorts but found myself unable to settle.

My thoughts kept circling.

Kael.

The black sedan.

Mary's reaction to the pendant.

The strange presence we'd sensed.

Finally, I gave up on sleep.

I stepped outside onto the back porch.

Cool night air brushed across my skin.

The moon hung high above the trees.

Full.

Bright.

Silent.

Silver light spilled across the garden.

Beyond the fence, the forest stretched into darkness.

Clarissa stirred.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

"It is."

For once, she sounded peaceful.

"I miss running."

A smile touched my lips.

It had been too long since I'd shifted simply because I wanted to.

Running as a wolf was different from running as a human.

Faster.

Freer.

No thoughts.

No nightmares.

Only instinct and earth and wind.

"We'll go this weekend."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

"Can we go to the northern ridge?"

"If you don't chase deer."

"That happened once."

"Three times."

"They challenged me."

"Deer don't challenge wolves."

"You weren't listening to their tone."

I laughed softly.

"You're impossible."

"So I've been told."

I leaned against the porch railing.

For several minutes, neither of us spoke.

The quiet felt good.

No questions.

No strange Alphas.

No secrets.

Just moonlight.

Then Clarissa suddenly stiffened.

Every trace of playfulness vanished.

"Lara."

My smile faded.

"What?"

No answer.

"Clarissa?"

"We're not alone."

Cold slid down my spine.

I straightened.

The forest had gone completely silent.

No insects.

No birds.

No wind moving through the branches.

Nothing.

My heartbeat began to pound.

I scanned the tree line.

"Where?"

"I don't know."

Again.

Those three words.

I was beginning to hate them.

Every instinct screamed that something was wrong.

A branch snapped.

Not close.

But not far enough.

I stepped backwards.

The porch suddenly felt very exposed.

"Who's there?"

My voice carried farther than I intended.

No answer.

Only darkness between the trees.

Clarissa pushed closer to the surface.

"Go inside."

"What?"

"Now."

I'd never heard that tone from her before.

Not fear exactly.

Something more primitive.

A warning from one predator recognising another.

I took one step towards the door.

Then I saw them.

Two amber eyes.

Watching.

Unblinking.

My breath stopped.

A wolf stood at the edge of the forest.

Large.

Far larger than any ordinary wolf.

Its coat was so dark it almost disappeared against the trees.

Only those eyes remained visible.

Amber.

Intelligent.

Fixed directly on me.

It didn't growl.

Didn't bare its teeth.

Didn't approach.

It simply watched.

Clarissa inhaled sharply.

"That's no rogue."

My hand found the pendant.

"Then who is it?"

"I don't know."

The wolf took one slow step forwards.

Moonlight touched its face.

A scar crossed its muzzle.

Old.

Jagged.

Something inside me recoiled.

Not recognition.

Almost recognition.

A sensation hovering just beyond memory.

My head began to ache.

Suddenly—

Fire.

A scream.

Trees rushing past me.

Amber eyes.

I gasped.

The vision vanished.

My knees weakened.

"Lara!"

Clarissa surged forward, steadying me from within.

I gripped the railing.

The wolf remained perfectly still.

Watching.

Waiting.

My pendant grew hot.

This time there was no mistaking it.

Heat spread through the silver until it nearly burned my palm.

The wolf's ears flattened.

It could sense it.

Whatever the pendant was doing—

the creature knew.

Then the back door opened.

"Lara?"

Mary.

The wolf's head snapped towards her.

Mary stepped onto the porch.

She saw it.

Every trace of colour disappeared from her face.

For one terrible second, neither Mary nor the wolf moved.

Then she whispered something.

So quietly I almost didn't hear.

"No."

The wolf turned.

And disappeared into the forest.

Not running.

Not fleeing.

Simply melting back into the darkness.

The moment it vanished, sound returned.

Crickets chirped.

Leaves rustled.

Wind moved through the branches.

The world breathed again.

Mary grabbed my arm.

"Inside."

"What?"

"Now, Lara."

Her voice left no room for argument.

I followed her.

She closed the door.

Locked it.

Then locked the deadbolt.

"Mary."

She moved towards the window and pulled the curtains closed.

"Mary."

Nothing.

I caught her wrist.

She stopped.

"Who was that?"

"I don't know."

"You're lying."

Her eyes met mine.

Pain flashed through them.

"I don't know who that particular wolf was."

That particular wolf.

My stomach dropped.

"But you know why he was here."

Silence.

"Mary."

She looked towards my pendant.

"Keep that hidden."

My heart began to pound harder.

"Why?"

"Please."

"Why?"

Mary closed her eyes.

When she opened them again, fear was written plainly across her face.

"Because if one of them has found you..."

She stopped.

My blood turned cold.

"One of who?"

Footsteps sounded upstairs.

Kevin.

Mary immediately lowered her voice.

"We'll talk tomorrow."

"No."

"Lara—"

"You've been saying that for five years."

The words came sharper than I intended.

Mary flinched.

Guilt struck me immediately.

But I didn't take them back.

Five years.

Five years of nightmares.

Five years of half-answers.

Five years of everyone apparently knowing more about my life than I did.

Mary touched my cheek.

"I'm trying to protect you."

"From what?"

Her eyes filled with something I couldn't name.

"From remembering before you're ready."

Then she walked away.

I remained beside the window.

Clarissa was silent.

My fingers closed around the pendant.

Outside, somewhere beyond the glass, the forest waited.

Someone knew where I lived.

And Mary knew why.

Miles away, on the balcony of a secluded lodge overlooking the valley, Kael Nightshade stood beneath the same moon.

He had removed his jacket hours ago.

His sleeves were rolled to his forearms, a glass of untouched whisky resting on the railing beside him.

He'd come outside for quiet.

Instead, his wolf had been pacing for nearly an hour.

"You're going to wear a hole through my skull."

No response.

Kael sighed.

He knew the problem.

Lara.

He could still remember her scent.

Her laugh.

The way she'd tried to hide her discomfort when he'd asked about her past.

The way she'd knelt beside a stranger without hesitation.

Mate.

His wolf had been repeating the word all evening.

Kael had spent most of his adult life assuming the bond would happen eventually.

He hadn't expected it to feel like this.

Not attraction.

Not merely that.

Recognition.

As though some part of him had known her long before they'd met.

The balcony door opened.

Elias stepped outside.

"You met her."

Kael didn't turn.

"I did."

"And?"

Kael's gaze remained fixed on the distant forest.

"She's nothing like I expected."

Elias raised an eyebrow.

"You expected someone?"

Kael was quiet for a moment.

That was the part he hadn't told anyone.

Not Elias.

Not Finn.

Not even his father when he was alive.

"I've dreamed of that scent for years."

Elias's expression changed.

"What?"

"Rain isn't unusual in dreams."

"Kael."

"Pine isn't unusual either."

"How long?"

Kael stared towards the mountains.

"Since I was seventeen."

Elias frowned.

"That's impossible."

"I know."

"You've dreamed about your mate for more than a decade?"

"I didn't know that's what she was."

"What did you dream?"

Kael's jaw tightened.

"Never enough to understand it."

Fragments.

Silver moonlight.

A girl running through trees.

Fire burning somewhere beyond sight.

And always that scent.

Soft beneath smoke.

Fading before he could reach it.

"When I looked into her eyes today..."

He paused.

"...it felt as though fate had finally stopped running."

Elias was silent.

Then—

"There's something you're not saying."

Kael looked at him.

"I sensed someone watching her."

"In the garage?"

"And earlier at Blackwood Industries."

Elias's expression hardened.

"Same scent?"

"I couldn't identify either."

"Could it be unrelated?"

"No."

Kael didn't know how he knew.

He simply did.

His wolf had recognised danger before Kael consciously understood it.

"What do you want me to do?" Elias asked.

"Nothing yet."

"Kael."

"If someone is watching her, moving openly could frighten them off."

"Or give them time to act."

Kael's wolf growled at the thought.

The sound escaped his chest before he could suppress it.

Elias noticed.

"You're already protective."

"She's my mate."

"You've known her for less than a day."

"Apparently my wolf doesn't care."

"Do you?"

Kael looked towards the valley.

He thought of Lara laughing in the garage.

Of the guarded look that entered her eyes whenever her past came too close.

Of the pendant beneath her blouse.

"I don't know her yet."

It was the truth.

"But?"

Kael's expression hardened.

"But someone is hunting her."

The certainty surprised even him.

Elias went still.

"You think it's that serious?"

"Yes."

Before Elias could respond, the balcony door opened again.

Finn stepped outside.

His usual grin was absent.

"The council meeting is tomorrow, Alpha."

Kael nodded.

"I remember."

"There's something else."

Kael turned.

Finn handed him a thin folder.

"This arrived twenty minutes ago."

"What is it?"

"No sender."

Kael opened it.

One photograph lay inside.

His entire body went still.

Lara.

The photograph was old.

Years old.

She looked younger.

Terrified.

Her dark hair was tangled around her face.

Smoke filled the background.

Around her neck h