Chapter5
976 Words
The cabin door shut behind her with more force than she intended.
Linda stood in the entryway for a moment, hands braced on the table, breathing hard.
Her chest still felt tight.
Not fear.
Not exactly.
Something deeper. Warmer. Unsettling.
She hated that she felt it at all.
Footsteps sounded on the porch. Low voices. Then the door opened again.
Mira came in first. Talia behind her. Evan last.
No one spoke immediately.
Linda didn’t turn around.
“Are you okay?” Mira asked gently.
“I’m fine.”
“You almost died.”
“I didn’t.”
Silence.
Linda straightened and turned slowly. Her eyes were clear. Not teary. Not shaken.
Just… resolved.
“Tell me exactly what that was,” she said.
The three of them exchanged a look.
Evan sighed first. “It was a mate bond.”
There it was.
Spoken.
Linda absorbed that.
“And that means what?”
Mira stepped forward. “It means the bond recognizes one person as their other half. It’s rare. Permanent.”
Linda’s mouth twitched. “Romantic.”
“It’s more than that,” Talia said quietly. “It’s biological. Spiritual. Instinct.”
“And he doesn’t want it,” Linda finished.
No one argued.
That told her enough.
She nodded once. “Okay.”
Evan frowned. “Okay?”
“Yes. Okay.”
Mira studied her carefully. “Linda…”
She shook her head. “No. I’m not leaving.”
All three stilled.
“It’s my vacation,” she said evenly. “You invited me. I took time off work. I drove six hours. I nearly got mauled. I’m not packing up because your former Alpha has unresolved trauma.”
Talia’s lips twitched despite the tension.
Evan tried not to smile.
Mira exhaled slowly. “It’s not just trauma.”
“I know,” Linda said. “It’s history. Loss. Grief. All of it.”
She crossed her arms.
“But it’s his problem. Not mine.”
The words settled solid and immovable.
Evan nodded slightly.
“He could reject you,” Mira said quietly.
“Then he should.”
“And if he doesn’t?”
Linda’s jaw tightened.
“Then he deals with it. I didn’t ask for a bond. I didn’t ask for a wolf. I asked for soup and a hike.”
That almost made Mira laugh.
Almost.
Talia stepped closer. “You don’t feel anything?”
Linda hesitated.
Just a fraction.
“I feel… something,” she admitted. “Like a thread pulling at my ribs.”
The three wolves exchanged a knowing look.
“But that doesn’t mean I surrender my self-respect,” she added firmly.
Evan’s gaze sharpened with approval.
“Good,” he said quietly.
Mira rested her hand on Linda’s arm. “We don’t want you to leave.”
That mattered more than anything else.
Linda’s shoulders eased slightly.
“Then I’m staying.”
Talia leaned against the counter. “He’s not going to like that.”
Linda gave a humorless smile. “He already doesn’t like me.”
“That’s not entirely true,” Evan said before he could stop himself.
All three women looked at him.
He shrugged once. “He reacted too strongly.”
Linda tilted her head. “That’s attraction?”
“It’s conflict,” Talia corrected.
Mira nodded. “He felt the bond first. It would’ve hit him like a lightning strike.”
“Good,” Linda said coolly. “Maybe it’ll knock some sense into him.”
The cabin went quiet again.
Outside, the forest had deepened into evening blue.
“Is he going to come back?” Linda asked.
“Yes,” Evan said without hesitation.
“When?”
“Soon.”
Linda inhaled slowly.
“Fine.”
She moved past them into the kitchen and picked up the knife Mira had used earlier. She began chopping vegetables with steady, precise movements.
Mira blinked. “What are you doing?”
“Making dinner.”
Talia burst out laughing. “You’re unbelievable.”
Linda didn’t look up. “No. I’m practical. I’m not going to sit around spiraling because a man doesn’t want me.”
The bond tugged faintly at her chest again.
Annoying.
Persistent.
She ignored it.
Evan stepped closer to the window, glancing toward the tree line.
“He’s close,” he murmured.
Linda didn’t miss a beat.
“Then he can smell dinner.”
Mira’s eyes softened.
Talia’s grin turned sharp.
“That’s either very brave,” Talia said, “or very dangerous.”
Linda finally looked up.
“Good thing I’m not prey.”
The words hung there.
Not defiant.
Certain.
Outside, at the edge of the clearing—
Nick stood in the shadows.
He hadn’t meant to return so quickly.
He’d tried to put distance between himself and the cabin.
It hadn’t worked.
The bond dragged him back like a hook through bone.
He could feel her inside.
Alive.
Steady.
Not afraid.
That unsettled him more than panic would have.
Through the open kitchen window, he caught the scent of garlic. Tomato. Fresh bread.
And her.
Human.
Warm.
Infuriating.
His wolf pressed forward again.
Go to her.
Nick’s jaw tightened.
“No,” he muttered.
But he didn’t leave.
Inside the cabin, Linda felt the pull again.
Stronger now.
Like someone had stepped closer.
She paused mid-chop.
Her friends noticed immediately.
“He’s there,” Talia said quietly.
Linda inhaled slowly.
Then she set the knife down.
“Good,” she said.
Mira blinked. “Linda—”
“It’s his problem,” she repeated calmly. “Not mine.”
And she walked toward the door.
Not to chase.
Not to beg.
Just to stand on the porch of her rented cabin and breathe the same air.
If he wanted to fight fate—
He could do it from a distance.
But she wasn’t running.
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