Chapter7
982 Words
The creek wasn’t large — just wide enough to sing over smooth stones and carve a shallow bend through the clearing.
Sunlight fractured across the surface in shards of gold, flashing whenever the current shifted.
It felt… normal.
Which was exactly what Linda needed.
She kicked off her boots first. Then her socks. She rolled her pants to mid-calf.
Mira arched a brow. “You’re not.”
“Oh, I absolutely am.”
“It’s freezing,” Evan warned.
Linda dipped one toe into the water.
She inhaled sharply.
“Oh, that is aggressively cold.”
Talia smirked. “You won’t last ten seconds.”
Linda shot her a look. “Wanna bet?”
Mira groaned. “Don’t encourage her.”
Too late.
Linda stepped in.
The cold swallowed her ankles first, then her calves. She hissed between her teeth — and kept going.
“Ten seconds!” Talia called.
Linda turned, water swirling around her knees.
“You guys are dramatic,” she said, teeth chattering slightly. “This is refreshing.”
Evan folded his arms. “You’re turning blue.”
“I’m glowing.”
“You’re lying.”
Linda scooped water with both hands and flung it toward the bank.
It didn’t reach them.
She narrowed her eyes.
“Oh, it’s like that?”
Talia stepped back instinctively. “Linda—”
Linda splashed forward two quick steps and sent another arc of water flying.
This one hit Mira’s boots.
Mira gasped. “You did not.”
“I absolutely did.”
Talia laughed — bright and full and finally relaxed.
“You’re dead,” Mira declared.
“Oh, bring it.”
Mira kicked off her boots and socks and stepped into the water in one smooth motion — barely reacting to the cold.
Wolf blood.
Show-off.
Evan shook his head, unable to hide the faint smile tugging at his mouth.
Linda splashed Mira again.
Mira retaliated.
Within seconds, the clearing filled with shrieks and laughter and water flying in every direction.
Talia gave in next, darting in and scooping water with strategic precision.
Evan held out the longest.
He stood on the bank, arms crossed, trying to look unimpressed.
Linda noticed.
Of course she did.
“Oh no,” she called sweetly. “He thinks he’s safe.”
Evan raised a brow. “I am.”
Linda bent slowly, hands trailing through the water.
Mira caught on instantly.
“Don’t,” Evan warned.
Linda stood and launched a full, committed splash directly at him.
It hit his jeans and soaked the front of his shirt.
There was a beat of silence.
Talia burst into laughter.
Mira doubled over.
Evan looked down at himself.
Then up at Linda.
“You chose violence,” he said calmly.
Linda grinned.
“Worth it.”
He moved fast.
She barely had time to gasp before he was in the water, one arm catching her around the waist as he spun her deeper into the creek.
She shrieked as cold surged to her hips.
“Evan!”
He didn’t drop her — just held her there long enough for the others to exact revenge.
“Traitors!” she sputtered.
Talia splashed her again. “You started it!”
Mira laughed harder than Linda had ever heard her laugh before.
For one clean, golden moment — there was no bond.
No tension.
No hatred.
Just sunlight and water and the easy chaos of friendship.
And from the tree line—
Nick watched.
Evan’s arm around her waist.
Her laughter bright against the rush of water.
His wolf surged forward, sharp and possessive.
Mine.
The instinct hit hard and immediate.
Nick shoved it down.
She wasn’t his.
He had no right.
Yet his body had already shifted half a step forward before he forced himself still.
He hadn’t meant to come this close.
But the sound of her laughter had pulled him forward without thought.
It was different from yesterday.
Lighter.
Unburdened.
She stood in the water now, hair damp against her shoulders, cheeks flushed from cold and movement.
She wasn’t fragile.
She wasn’t prey.
She looked… alive.
His wolf pressed close to the surface.
Mate.
Cold.
Protect.
The word rolled through him with quiet certainty.
Nick’s jaw tightened.
She didn’t look like someone who needed protecting.
She looked like someone who would shove you into freezing water and laugh while you sputtered.
And he couldn’t stop watching.
Back at the creek, Linda wiped water from her eyes.
The air shifted.
Subtle.
But she felt it.
The thread in her chest tugged faintly.
She went still.
Mira noticed immediately. “What is it?”
Linda didn’t look toward the trees.
She didn’t want to give him the satisfaction.
“He’s here,” she said quietly.
Evan stiffened.
Talia’s posture changed instantly.
Mira scanned the tree line.
Linda exhaled slowly.
Then — deliberately — she bent, scooped up water, and splashed it high into the air like a salute.
The droplets caught sunlight and scattered like glass.
“If you’re going to lurk, I hope you are enjoying the view.”
Mira choked on a laugh.
Evan muttered, “You’re unbelievable.”
Talia grinned slowly.
In the trees—
Nick went rigid.
Heat flared through him — not anger.
Something far more dangerous.
She knew he was there.
And she didn’t retreat.
She didn’t shrink.
She challenged.
His wolf stirred.
She’s fearless.
“She’s reckless,” he corrected under his breath.
But he didn’t leave.
He didn’t step forward.
He stayed exactly where he was.
Close enough to protect.
Far enough to pretend he wasn’t.
And wishing she would get out of the water before he felt compelled to intervene.
Back in the creek, Linda tilted her face toward the sun and let it warm her skin.
The bond hummed quietly between them.
Unbroken.
Unwanted.
Unavoidable.
And for the first time—
It didn’t feel entirely hostile.
- Writer
