Chapter4
1092 Words
No one moved for several seconds.
The cougar lay still at the edge of the clearing, blood dark against pine needles.
Mira and Talia shifted back first. The air shimmered briefly around them before skin replaced fur. Evan was already upright, sleeve torn, shallow claw marks knitting closed along his arm.
Linda barely noticed.
Her focus was on Nick.
He stood barefoot in the dirt, chest rising and falling hard, streaked with blood that wasn’t all his. His eyes were still too bright — too wolf.
And they were locked on her.
“You need to leave,” he repeated.
Linda swallowed. “I’m not the one who attacked anyone.”
“This isn’t safe for you.”
“It wasn’t safe for Evan either.”
Evan stepped between them slightly. “I’m fine.”
Nick’s gaze flicked to him, irritated. “You’re pack.”
Linda felt that one.
“Oh,” she said quietly. “So that’s the difference.”
Nick dragged a hand down his face, leaving a smear of red along his jaw. “This isn’t about pride.”
“It feels like it.”
Talia glanced at Mira.
They could all feel it — the bond humming like a live wire stretched too tight. Raw. New. Unstable.
Nick felt it most of all.
It pressed at his ribs. Pulled at his instincts. Demanded proximity.
And he hated it.
“You shouldn’t have been here,” he said, voice rougher now. Not cold — strained.
Mira stepped forward. “She was inside the boundary line.”
“You were too close.”
“We were on the trail.”
Nick’s eyes snapped back to Linda. “And you stepped away.”
She blinked. “What?”
“You moved off the path.”
“For like three steps.”
“That’s enough.”
Linda stared at him.
The anger in his voice didn’t feel protective.
It felt accusatory.
Like she’d done something wrong.
Her heart was still pounding from the attack, adrenaline making her hands shake. But something steadier rose under it.
“I didn’t ask you to save me,” she said.
The words landed like a slap.
Mira inhaled sharply. “Linda—”
“It’s true,” Linda continued, eyes never leaving Nick’s. “You warned us to stay away. We tried. I stayed where I was told. A cougar showed up anyway. That’s not on me.”
Nick’s jaw tightened.
“You don’t understand what’s at stake,” he said.
“Then explain it.”
Silence.
Evan looked at the ground.
Talia crossed her arms, watching Nick closely.
The bond pulsed again — sharp and undeniable.
Linda felt it this time. A tightening in her chest. A heat low under her ribs.
“What is that?” she whispered.
Nick’s breath hitched — just barely.
He looked like a man standing on the edge of something he refused to step into.
“Nothing,” he said.
The lie vibrated in the air.
Linda’s expression shifted.
Slowly.
“You’re lying.”
“I’m not.”
“Yes, you are.”
Mira stepped closer, voice low. “Nick.”
He didn’t look at her.
His gaze stayed locked on Linda like he was fighting something invisible between them.
“I don’t want this,” he said finally.
The words were meant to sound hard.
They didn’t.
They sounded strained.
Linda felt the meaning even if she didn’t know the mechanics behind it.
Her chest tightened again — not the strange pull this time.
Emotion.
Humiliation.
“Oh,” she breathed.
Understanding clicked into place, imperfect but sharp enough.
“This is some kind of wolf thing, isn’t it?”
No one answered.
That was answer enough.
Her throat burned.
“And it’s me.”
Nick’s silence was confirmation.
Something inside her steadied.
She straightened.
“If this is one of those… fate things,” she said quietly, “then just reject me already.”
The clearing went utterly still.
Mira’s eyes widened.
Evan swore under his breath.
Talia’s posture shifted — alert.
Nick’s face went white-hot with anger.
“You don’t know what you’re saying.”
“Then tell me.”
“It’s not that simple.”
“Why?” she shot back. “Because I’m human?”
The word cracked.
He flinched.
And that was the first honest reaction he’d shown.
“You think I asked for this?” he said, voice low and dangerous. “You think I wanted—”
He cut himself off.
Linda stepped closer despite Mira’s hand brushing her arm in warning.
“You hate humans,” she said softly. “You said it yourself.”
His silence was heavy.
“So don’t do me the favor of pretending this is complicated,” she continued. “If I’m some cosmic mistake, fix it.”
The bond pulsed again.
Harder.
Nick’s wolf surged forward inside him, furious at the idea of rejection.
But the man was angrier.
He’d buried his mate.
He’d stepped down as Alpha because he couldn’t stand the scent of grief on pack land.
He would not let fate hand him another human and call it mercy.
“You don’t belong in my world,” he said.
The words were measured.
Controlled.
And they cut clean.
Linda inhaled slowly.
Nodded once.
“Okay,” she said.
That calm hurt more than if she’d cried.
She looked at Mira. “I think I’m done hiking.”
Then she turned and walked back toward the cabin.
No rush.
No drama.
Just dignity.
The bond stretched painfully with every step she took.
Nick felt it like sinew tearing.
Evan stared at him. “You’re going to regret that.”
Nick didn’t respond.
Talia shook her head slowly. “You felt it.”
“Yes,” he ground out.
“And you’re going to fight it.”
“Yes.”
Mira’s voice was quieter. “You already failed once today.”
His gaze snapped to her.
“You hesitated,” she said. “Before you ran.”
That hit.
Because it was true.
For half a second, he’d been too angry at the bond to move.
And that half second could’ve cost her everything.
Nick looked toward the cabin.
Through the window, he could see her silhouette moving inside.
Alone.
The bond pulled.
Demanding.
Claiming.
His wolf pressed forward again.
Mine.
Nick’s hands curled into fists.
“No,” he muttered.
The forest held its breath.
Because whether he accepted it or not—
The bond had chosen.
And it wasn’t going away.
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