17
1707 Words
KADE
I turned and walked back to her quarters. The hallway felt heavier than usual, my steps slow and deliberate, my heart hammering in my chest. When I got to her door, I paused. I had no idea how she would react. She might scream at me, or slam the door in my face again.
Regardless, I had to try.
I raised my hand and knocked gently against the wood.
“Isla?” I called, my voice low and gentle.
Silence.
Then the door opened slightly. She peeked out, her eyes wary, guarded.
“What do you want?” she asked, her tone cautious.
“I came to take you out for a walk,” I said.
“Are you taking me for a walk?” she asked again.
“Yes,” I said simply. “If you let me.”
She hesitated, then stepped out of the room. “Fine.”
She stepped aside, allowing me to lead her down the hall.
This time, I didn’t rush or try to impress. I just walked beside her, letting her set the pace.
The air felt different that evening. Lighter maybe. Or it was just me.
We walked side by side on the narrow path that led away from the pack grounds. The sun was low, painting the sky in soft orange and gold. I kept my pace slow, matching hers. I didn’t walk ahead like an Alpha. I walked beside her like a man.
For a while, she said nothing so I didn’t push. I had learned that silence didn’t always mean rejection. Sometimes it meant thinking.
“You don’t talk much,” she finally said, glancing at me.
“I prefer to listen,” I responded.
That made her look at me properly. As if she were testing whether I meant what I had just said.
After walking for a while, she began to speak.
“I used to wake up at six every morning for school,” she said. “I hated it. But I loved campus. I loved sitting with my friends, arguing over small things. I was studying International Relations. I wanted to work with embassies. Travel the world. help build policies. I wanted…something big.”
Her voice quivered on the last words.
I listened carefully. The way her eyes lit up when she spoke about school was different from how they looked inside the pack. There was life there. Ambition, fire.
“What stopped you?” I asked gently in a soft tone.
She gave a dry laugh. “You did.”
The words hit me, but her tone wasn’t cruel. It was simply honest.
“I had plans,” she continued. “I was supposed to apply for an internship abroad. I wanted to prove that I could make it on my own. I didn’t want to depend on anyone.”
I nodded slowly. “You still can.”
She stopped walking and turned to look at me like I had said something impossible. “How? I’m stuck in a forest with werewolves.”
“You’re not stuck,” I said. “You’re mated. That’s a difference.”
She rolled her eyes and continued walking. “Do you even understand how hard this is for me?”
“No,” I admitted. “But I’m trying to.”
That calmed her a little.
Then, she began to tell me more about herself and her family. About her mother’s cooking, about her best friend who talked too much. About late-night study sessions fueled by bad coffee. About how she had once failed a test and had cried in a bathroom stall for an hour.
Small details. Human details. Simple but important.
And I paid attention to every single one of them.
After a while, she looked at me. “What about you? Do wolves just train and fight all day?”
I smiled. “Not all day.”
She waited. Listened.
“We have structures,” I began. “Packs are not chaos. Each pack has an Alpha, a Beta, warriors, and hunters. We protect our land. We honour treaties. We survive.”
“Treaties?” she asked. “What does that mean?”
“Yes. With humans.”
She frowned. “Humans know about your kind?”
“Some do. The old ones. Leaders. People who understand balance.”
We continued walking deeper along the trail. The forest grew thicker, but I stayed alert.
“There’s an old man in town,” I said. “You saw him once. White hair. Walks with a carved cane.’
Her eyes widened. “The one who owned the old library?”
I nodded. “He helped start the treaties years ago. When wolves and humans were killing each other over land. He believed in peace, he believed that both species could survive without war.”
“And you trust him?” she asked.
“I respect him. He’s a good friend.”
She was quiet for a moment. “So…You’re saying not all wolves are violent?”
I glanced. “No. Not at all.”
She looked thoughtfully as if part of her fear were slowly fading away.
We walked for a long time. The sun had disappeared completely, leaving only cold blue sky. I could hear distant birds chirping, the steady rhythm of her breathing beside me.
She wasn’t tense anymore.
“You’re different out here,” she said softly.
“How?”
“You’re not….intense,” she murmured.
I huffed lightly. “I am always intense.”
She smiled faintly. A real smile.
Suddenly, the air shifted. A scent. Different. Wrong. Not from my pack.
I stopped walking.
She noticed. “What is it?”
“Stay close,” I said quietly.
We turned toward the path leading back to the pack. My senses heightened. My muscles tightened.
Then three wolves stepped out of the woods.
Large, dark fur. Scarred. Their eyes glowed with hostile intent.
They were from rival packs.
“Well, well, well. Look who we have here,” one of them sneered in a low human voice as he shifted partially, standing on two feet.
My body moved quickly in front of Isla without thinking.
She gasped softly and grabbed my arm. “Kade..”
They snarled, circling us slowly.
“She smells human,” another wolf said, inhaling deeply. “Is this your mate, Alpha?”
I gave no response.
Isla pressed closer behind me. I could sense her fear through the bond. Her hands were trembling against my back.
“She looks fragile,” the third one mocked. “Easy leverage.”
My wolf growled inside me, furious at their words.
“Leave,” I warned, my voice low and dangerous.
They laughed. Then the first one lunged at us.
Before his teeth could reach us, a massive grey wolf slammed into him from the side, sending both bodies crashing into the trees.
It was my brother, Rafe.
Another wolf tackled the second attacker, jaws snapping violently. Leon.
The third one tried to circle around me, but Dain leapt from behind, knocking him first.
The forest exploded into chaos. The sickening sound of teeth sinking into flesh. The growls and snarls.
I grabbed Isla’s waist and pulled her back behind a thick tree trunk. “Stay here,” I ordered.
She was visibly shaking. “They’re going to kill each other.”
“Maybe.”
Her breathing grew faster as she peeked around me.
Rafe tore into the first wolf’s shoulder, ripping fur and skin. Blood splashed across the leaves. The rival wolf howled in pain but he retaliated, clamping his jaws onto Rafe’s neck.
Leon shifted fully into his wolf form, larger than the others and crushed his opponent against the ground causing the bones of his opponent to crack under the pressure.
Dain too was relentless. He dodged a bite and went straight for the throat.
The sound of ripping flesh filled the air. One of the rival wolves broke free and charged toward us.
I stepped forward instantly and shifted before he could reach Isla
My bones snapped and reformed. My spine arched, fur burst through my skin. The Alpha wolf had replaced the man.
I met him mid-air. Our bodies colliding violently. We rolled across the dirt, teeth bared, claws tearing at each other. He was strong but not stronger.
He tried to clamp down on my leg. I twisted and sank my teeth into his neck, biting down hard. he howled, thrashing wildly but I didn’t release him.
I tightened my grip until I felt the life leave him.
When I pulled away, blood coated my muzzle.
The forest slowly became quieter.
One by one, the rival wolves fell.
My brothers stood over the bodies, breathing heavily. Blood dripped from their jaw, the metallic scent of blood filling the air.
They didn’t hesitate. They began to devour the bodies.
Isla made a small choking sound behind me.
I shifted back and immediately stepped in front of her view. “Don’t look.”
But she had already seen them.
Hey eyes widened, and her face was pale.
“They…they’re eating them,” she whispered.
“It’s survival,’ I said firmly, though my voice softened when I looked at her. “This is our way.”
She trembled.
I cupped her face gently. “They would have killed you.”
She swallowed hard.
Rafe approached, already in his human form, wiping the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand. “You’re welcome,” he muttered.
Leon chuckled darkly. “Nice timing, Alpha Kade.”
“You can leave with her,” Dain said, glancing at Isla. “We’ll handle the rest.”
I nodded.
I wrapped my arms around Isla and guided her away from the scene.
She didn’t speak for a while until we got to a safer distance.
“You weren’t scared,” she whispered, looking up at me.
“No.”
“You didn’t even hesitate,” she said again.
“They threatened you.’”
She stared at me, her expression unreadable.
“You’re dangerous,” she said.
“Yes, I know.”
She paused.
“But you protected me,” she continued.
“Always, Isla. Always.”
- Writer
