Chapter Two — Footsteps Behind the Door
859 Words
By the time they reached the cottage, Lila’s arms ached from supporting his weight. Rain clung to both of them, dripping onto the wooden floor as she pushed the door shut with her foot.
“Sit,” she said, guiding him to the old sofa.
He obeyed, but his eyes never stopped moving—windows, corners, shadows. Like he expected something to burst through the walls.
Lila grabbed towels and a small first-aid box. When she returned, he was breathing more steadily, though the cut on his shoulder still looked deep and raw.
“I need to clean this,” she said.
He nodded once.
As she dabbed the wound with antiseptic, she braced for him to flinch. He didn’t. His skin was warm—too warm. The bleeding had already slowed.
“That’s… strange,” she muttered.
“I told you,” he said quietly. “I heal.”
She glanced at him. “You keep saying that like it’s normal.”
“For me, it is.”
The room fell silent except for the ticking of the old clock and rain tapping the roof. Up close, she could see the tension in his jaw, the way his nostrils flared slightly as if he were smelling the air.
“What’s your name?” she asked.
He hesitated. “Kael.”
“Kael,” she repeated. “Okay. Kael, who is ‘they’?”
His eyes met hers. Gold, steady, conflicted. “My pack.”
A cold understanding slid into place. The word hung between them, heavy with meaning she didn’t want to accept.
“Your… pack?” she said slowly.
He studied her face, searching for disbelief. “You saw me in the forest.”
She didn’t answer.
“You know,” he said softly.
Her mind replayed the wolf. The eyes. The impossible connection. Her stomach tightened. “That’s not possible.”
“It is.”
A long silence stretched.
She wrapped gauze around his shoulder with shaking hands. “So what—you’re saying you’re a werewolf?”
He didn’t laugh. Didn’t deny it.
“Yes.”
The simplicity of his answer frightened her more than anything else.
She stood abruptly and stepped back. “This is insane.”
“I know how it sounds.”
“No—you don’t,” she said, running a hand through her hair. “I followed a wolf into the forest, found you half-dead, and now you’re telling me you turn into that thing?”
“That thing is me.”
Her breath came faster. But beneath the fear was something else: the memory of those eyes watching her without hostility. Almost… gently.
“Why were you out there?” she asked.
“I ran.”
“From your own pack?”
He nodded. “They want me to come back. I won’t.”
“Why?”
His jaw tightened. “Because of you.”
Her heart skipped. “You don’t even know me.”
“I do,” he said.
She stared at him. “We’ve never met.”
“Not like this.”
A chill crept up her spine. “What does that mean?”
Before he could answer, a faint sound came from outside.
Crunch.
Gravel.
Both of them froze.
Kael’s head snapped toward the door. His body went rigid, every muscle alert. His nostrils flared again.
“They’re here,” he whispered.
Lila’s pulse thundered in her ears. “Who?”
He didn’t answer. He was already on his feet.
Another crunch. Slow. Deliberate footsteps circling the house.
Fear clawed at her chest. “Should I call the police?”
“They won’t help,” he said sharply. “Turn off the lights.”
She hurried to obey. The cottage fell into darkness except for the faint grey of moonlight through the curtains.
They stood in silence.
Then—
A low growl from outside the window.
Not one.
Several.
Lila’s blood ran cold.
Kael stepped in front of her instinctively, placing himself between her and the door. His posture changed—less human, more animal, shoulders squared, head slightly lowered.
“They can smell you,” he said quietly. “Your scent is everywhere now.”
Her voice shook. “What do they want?”
“You.”
A shadow passed the window.
Lila clamped a hand over her mouth to stop a gasp.
The growling grew louder, circling, testing.
Kael glanced back at her. In the dim light, his eyes seemed to glow. “No matter what happens, don’t open that door.”
“What are you going to do?”
His expression hardened. “What I should have done before I came here.”
A loud thud hit the side of the house.
Lila flinched.
Kael took a slow breath. His muscles tensed. She could almost see the change beginning beneath his skin.
“Kael…” she whispered.
He looked at her one last time, something fierce and protective burning in his gaze.
Then he said, “Lock yourself in the bedroom.”
Another slam shook the walls.
The growls turned into snarls.
And Lila realized the night wasn’t finished with her yet.
- Writer
