Chapter 4: Hot Spring
1238 Words
ELIAS
It had been a tiring first day.
Ridiculously tiring, actually.
Rowan didn’t even pretend to sugarcoat it. He just clapped a hand on my shoulder this morning and declared, “You’re heading the clearing operations.”
And because the entire city of Montrose was still technically in a state of recovery, it meant we were out from dawn to late evening to get things done as fast as possible.
By noon, I genuinely couldn’t tell if I was a visiting Alpha or some newly discovered celebrity. People kept touching my arm, thanking me, offering me food, hugging me, even crying when they saw me.
I was beginning to suspect Rowan had plastered my face around the city somehow. That was exactly the kind of quiet menace he was capable of.
Meanwhile, the man himself already had his mate, his kid, and a bed waiting. He could actually go home and rest. I wasn’t jealous. Alright, maybe a little.
By the time night fell, my vision had begun to blur at the edges from exhaustion. My head throbbed. My back ached. My glasses, too, were shattered this morning when some well-meaning wizard hugged me too hard.
It was a horrible combination.
“It’s late, Alpha,” one of the locals said apologetically. “Your men are still finishing the debris clearing. Do you want to head back first?”
“No,” I muttered. “If I sit down now, I’ll pass out and never wake up.”
Another local, a wiry man with kind eyes, chuckled lightly. “A good soak would help, you know. We have a hot spring a bit away from here. It’s isolated and clean because the travel is quite tedious.”
A hot spring.
Oh, that sounded like heaven.
“Oh?” I said, rubbing the back of my neck. “That sounds exactly like what I need.”
They immediately perked up. “Do you want us to lead you there, Alpha?”
“No need,” I said, lifting a hand. “Just tell me the directions. I’ll go alone.”
They gave me a nervous look. “It’s dark, though.”
“That’s fine. I’ll be back in an hour.”
“We’ll follow after we clean this up, Alpha.”
I nodded, lips pressed together, and waved them off so they’d stop fretting.
Then I turned and began walking, repeating the directions in my mind.
Right at the old oak.
Down the sloping path until the second fork.
Left toward the sound of running water.
Keep going until the steam becomes visible.
My shoes crunched against the dirt path. The forest was quiet, and I would’ve appreciated the peacefulness if my vision weren’t dancing in and out of focus. Night walks were usually nothing for me. I had perfect night vision.
Usually.
However, today everything was slightly doubled and annoyingly fuzzy at the edges. The shattered glasses were absolutely part of the problem.
I sighed and massaged the bridge of my nose, mentally cursing every stone I tripped over and every stupid branch that grazed my shoulder.
Then… something strange drifted into the air.
A scent.
Sweet. Soft. Like fruit and milk. Something… very distinctly pleasant.
I slowed.
“What is that?” I murmured.
It smelled delicious, not in a predatory sense—but in a comforting, tempting way.
I inhaled again without meaning to. Just then, my feet moved on their own.
I walked absentmindedly, following that scent until the ground softened and I heard the gentle bubbling of the hot spring ahead.
But even through the haze of exhaustion, something in me tightened.
I wasn’t alone.
I stopped a few steps short of the water, eyes narrowing.
Just then, a voice, soft, sweet, and a little shaky broke through the silence.
“Who’s there?”
The voice was unmistakably feminine. Despite her question, I stepped forward, and through the faint moonlight, I caught the shape of someone submerged in the water with only her head peeking through.
I was right.
It was a woman. She had dark hair clinging to her shoulders and a slim frame. However, I couldn’t make out her features due to the darkness and my blurred vision.
She flinched when I moved.
“Don’t come closer!” she blurted.
I paused. It wasn’t because she sounded threatening, but instead, because she sounded startled and defensive. It felt like she was a cornered rabbit who’d bite if it had to.
My brow furrowed. “Why not? Do you own this stream?”
She went still, as though I’d asked the most incomprehensible question in the world. There was a moment of silence. To be fair, it was a ridiculous question. However, there was an instinct awakened inside me, wanting to tease this woman.
“…who are you?” she asked, suspicious. “You don’t smell like a witch.”
I took another step forward.
She stepped back again.
That was when I realized that the soft, sweet scent was coming from her.
I stared, confused.
“Stop following,” she said, sounding exasperated.
“Why?” I asked, and I couldn’t deny it. I was starting to find her annoyance… fun. Something about her bluntness, her completely unpolished honesty, was oddly refreshing.
“Because I said so.”
“That’s not a reason.”
“Do you always talk this much?” she asked.
“Do you always complain this much?” I countered.
There was a splash, and I realized she’d slapped the water in frustration.
“That’s it,” she said. “Just—just stay there.”
“I don’t think I will.”
Before she could protest again, I removed my shirt and slipped into the spring. The heat surged through my muscles instantly, loosening every rigid spot. I groaned under my breath.
“You,” she muttered. “I said not to.”
“I didn’t hear that,” I said casually.
“You are quite rude,” she said softly, her voice suddenly shaky again.
“There’s no sign here that no one else can enter this stream,” I replied, sinking deeper into the water.
She sputtered, shaking her head. “I cannot believe this.”
I still couldn’t see her face—only the outline of her mouth. Her lips were a soft color, catching the bit of moonlight that managed to slip through the trees. Everything else was blur and shadow, which only annoyed me more. I hated not seeing clearly.
Then suddenly, she spoke again.
“Wait,” she whispered. “You… you’re a werewolf.”
“Yes,” I said simply.
She stiffened even more. “I have to go.”
Before I could respond, she turned too quickly in the water, and her foot slipped on one of the slick stones. I saw the motion too late.
“Careful, ” I reached out.
She fell forward, straight into my arms.
Her body hit mine. My hands instinctively caught her, one around her waist, the other—
Wait.
That wasn’t right.
It took me a few seconds before I realized my other hand had landed somewhere it absolutely shouldn’t have.
Her breast.
I froze.
She froze.
My eyes widened in horror.
WHACK!
She smacked me in the head so hard my vision, already terrible, exploded into white sparks.
“p*****t!” she exclaimed, her voice echoing across the spring.
- Writer
