falling in love
1091 Words
Pain throbbed through my body as I stirred, the dull ache of bruises and the deeper sting of cuts reminding me of the fight in the cage. My limbs felt heavy, my wolf exhausted, but I wasn’t weak. I had proven that.
The scent of herbs filled my nose, and I became aware of soft hands pressing a damp cloth against my shoulder. My eyes fluttered open, meeting the concerned gaze of a maid I didn’t recognize.
"You should rest, Luna," she said gently, dipping the cloth into a bowl of water before wringing it out. "Your body needs time to heal."
Luna. The title still felt foreign, as if it didn’t belong to me. As if I hadn’t earned it. But I had, hadn’t I? The fight in the cage had cemented my place—or so I thought.
"Resting isn't a luxury I can afford," I murmured, wincing as she pressed against a particularly deep bruise.
The maid hesitated. "The Alpha ordered that you—"
She stopped abruptly, her back stiffening. A dark presence filled the doorway.
Luca.
The air seemed to thin around me as his heavy boots crossed the floor, his movements slow, deliberate. I refused to flinch under his gaze, but something about him now was different. It wasn’t just dominance. It was something more—something dangerous.
"You’re dismissed," he said to the maid.
She obeyed instantly, gathering her things and scurrying away, leaving me alone with him.
Silence stretched between us as he came closer, his sharp, assessing gaze trailing over my injuries. Then, to my surprise, he crouched beside the bed, his fingers brushing against the cloth the maid had abandoned.
I tensed as he picked it up, dipping it into the water and wringing it out with slow, practiced ease.
"You don’t have to—"
"Be still," he murmured, his voice low. Commanding, yet... softer than usual.
I bit my lip, forcing myself not to react as he pressed the cool cloth against my arm, wiping away dried blood. His touch was surprisingly careful, the usual roughness held at bay. It was unsettling.
"You fought well," he said after a moment.
I scoffed. "Surprised?"
His lips curled slightly. "No. But they were."
Ah. The pack. I wasn’t a fool—I had seen their doubt, their resistance. Winning the fight hadn’t changed that.
"They won’t accept me so easily," I muttered, watching his face carefully.
"They’ll learn." His tone was final, as if his word alone was enough.
But was it?
I wanted to push him, to see if his loyalty to his pack outweighed whatever claim he thought he had on me. Instead, I stayed quiet, letting the silence press between us.
His hand, still damp from the cloth, brushed against my skin as he reached for another wound. My breath caught.
The room felt smaller now, the air thicker.
His fingers skimmed my collarbone, lingering a second too long before continuing their path. I should have pulled away. I should have stiffened in resistance. But I didn’t.
Luca’s eyes flickered to mine, something unreadable passing through them.
"Does it hurt?" he asked, but there was something else layered beneath his words.
Yes. No. Not in the way he meant.
I swallowed hard, my body betraying me in ways I despised. There was something about the way he touched me—like he was testing my reaction, waiting for something.
I hated that I wanted him to keep going.
"You don’t have to do this," I whispered, the words barely escaping my lips.
His fingers lingered at my shoulder, his warmth seeping into my skin. "I know."
The tension between us stretched, thick with something I refused to name.
His gaze dropped to my lips for the briefest second before he looked away.
Something inside me twisted.
I should have pushed him away. I should have ignored the heat curling low in my stomach. But I didn’t.
Luca stood suddenly, and I felt the loss of his touch far more than I should have.
"I’ll wait," he said, his voice lower now, rougher. "Until you’re ready."
A lie.
Because I would never be ready. Because I didn’t want to want him.
But I did.
And that terrified me.
The whispers started as soon as I stepped out of the room the next morning.
"She got lucky."
"She’s still an outsider."
"She won’t last."
I forced myself not to react, keeping my expression neutral as I moved through the packhouse. It didn’t matter what they thought of me.
What mattered was my plan.
I needed to act while Luca was distracted. The fight had shifted things between us, but that didn’t change my end goal. It only complicated it.
Night fell, and I made my move.
Slipping through the halls unseen wasn’t easy, but I had memorized the guards’ rotations. My heart pounded as I stepped into the cool night air, my steps quick and silent.
The meeting place wasn’t far—a clearing just beyond the northern border.
He was waiting for me.
"You're late," the shape-shifter murmured, stepping out from the shadows. His features shifted subtly, never settling on one form for too long.
"I had to be careful," I replied, my voice low.
He studied me. "You’re slipping."
I stiffened. "What?"
"Something’s different," he mused, tilting his head. "You hesitate now."
I gritted my teeth. "I don’t hesitate."
His smirk was sharp. "If you say so."
I wanted to argue, but I didn’t have time for his mind games. "Is everything ready?"
He nodded. "The distraction is in place. When it happens, you’ll have a small window to act."
I exhaled slowly. "Good."
But even as I said it, something in my chest twisted.
Luca’s voice echoed in my mind. I’ll wait.
I shook the thought away.
This was revenge. This was justice.
I couldn’t afford to doubt myself now.
Luca’s mood was unreadable when I returned.
His eyes tracked my movements as I stepped into the room, and for the first time, I wondered if he knew.
If he had noticed the absence, the slight shift in my scent from the night air.
He didn’t say anything. But his gaze burned into me, searching for something.
I met his stare, forcing my expression to remain neutral.
He didn’t look away.
A slow smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.
And I realized—
He was watching me.
Waiting.
He suspected something.
And if I wasn’t careful, my plan would fall apart before it even began.
- Writer
