His Killer, His Mate

CHAPTER 4 - Caged Instincts

Sable

Sleep doesn’t come. Not a single wink. Every time I close my eyes, something shifts inside me, something sharp and unsettled, like my wolf is pacing just beneath my skin with nowhere to go.

I sit up again.

For the third time.

Or maybe the fifth.

I’ve stopped counting.

The room feels smaller tonight.

Not physically. Nothing has changed. Same walls. Same door. Same faint scent of unfamiliar wood and wolves that don’t belong to me anymore.

But it feels… tighter.

Like it’s closing in.

My fingers curl into the sheets before I force them to loosen.

“This is nothing,” I murmur.

A lie.

My wolf doesn’t even bother responding this time.

She’s been restless since yesterday. Since they let me out. Since I saw the way the pack looked at me not like a stranger, not like an enemy.

Like something volatile and dangerous.

I swing my legs over the edge of the bed and stand.

The floor is cold under my feet, grounding in a way I need.

I pace.

Once.

Twice.

Then I stop.

Because pacing won’t fix this.

Waiting won’t fix this and sitting here like they expect me to?

Definitely won’t fix anything either.

My eyes flick to the door.

Locked.

Of course.

I stare at it for a long moment.

Then I move.

The handle is cold under my fingers as I twist it not expecting anything, not really.

It clicks.

Unlocked.

I freeze.

Slowly, carefully, I open it just enough to peek through.

The hallway is empty.

Quiet.

Too quiet.

A trap?

Maybe.

Probably.

I don’t care.

I step out anyway.

The air hits me differently this time. Cooler. Sharper. Carrying the distant sounds of movement deeper in the house.

I don’t go far.

Just down the hall.

Just enough to feel like I’m not suffocating but even that feels like too much because the moment I take a second step...

“Out of your room without permission.”

His voice cuts through the silence like a blade.

I don’t flinch.

I don’t turn immediately either.

I take one more step.

Then another.

Only then do I glance over my shoulder.

The Beta stands at the end of the hall, arms crossed, expression carved from stone.

Of course.

“Didn’t realize I needed a written invitation to breathe, Preston” I reply.

His gaze doesn’t shift.

“You were told to stay inside.”

“I was told a lot of things,” I say lightly. “Doesn’t mean I listen.”

A pause.

Then he moves.

Slow. Measured steps.

Closing the distance between us.

My wolf lifts her head instantly.

Alert.

Ready.

Good.

Because I’m done pretending I’m not.

“You think this is a game?” he says.

I tilt my head slightly. “Do you?”

Something flickers in his eyes then.

Not anger.

Something sharper.

“You haven’t changed,” he says.

“And you’re exactly as boring as I remember,” I shoot back.

That does it.

He stops a few steps away from me, his presence heavy, controlled but there’s tension in it now. Tight. Restrained.

“You’re in no position to question me,” he says.

“And you’re in no position to tell me what to do.”

His jaw tightens.

“Everything about you is a risk.”

I smile.

Slow. Deliberate.

“Then why bring me back?”

Silence.

Not empty.

Loaded.

His eyes search mine like he’s trying to find something.

Or confirm something.

“I’m not the one you should be asking,” he says finally.

Something in my chest shifts.

I ignore it.

“Then maybe you should stop acting like you’re in charge.”

His wolf pushes forward then.

I feel it.

Not a shift.

But pressure.

Power.

Dominance.

Trying to force mine back.

My spine straightens instantly.

My wolf rises to meet it.

No.

I don’t back down.

I don’t look away.

“You’re pushing,” I say quietly.

“So are you.”

We both pause.

“I’m not the one here pretending nothing happened.”

That lands.

Harder than I expect.

My fingers twitch at my side.

“You don’t know anything about what happened,” I snap.

His expression doesn’t change.

“I know enough.”

“Then say it,” I challenge. “Go on. Say what you think you know.”

He steps closer.

Too close.

“You broke something that wasn’t supposed to be broken,” he says, voice low. “And now you’re standing here like it won’t catch up to you.”

My wolf snarls.

Loud.

Unrestrained.

My control slips for a second.

Just one.

But it’s enough because the next thing I know, I’ve moved.

Fast.

Closing the distance between us.

My hand fisting in his shirt, shoving him back a step before he can react.

“Careful,” I warn, my voice no longer calm.

His reaction is instant.

One second he’s still.

The next, his grip is on my wrist, tight and unyielding as he shoves me back against the wall.

The impact is sharp.

Grounding.

My breath catches, but I don’t break eye contact.

Not for a second.

“Or what?” he challenges.

My heart is pounding now.

Not from fear.

From adrenaline.

From the fight clawing its way up my throat.

“Try me,” I say.

For a moment, it almost happens.

The shift.

The snap.

The loss of control.

I see it in his eyes.

He sees it in mine and for a split second, everything balances on the edge of something dangerous, then, he lets go.

Just like that.

Steps back.

Control snapping back into place like it was never gone.

“Get back to your room,” he says flatly.

Like nothing just happened.

Like we didn’t almost tear into each other in the middle of the hallway.

I stare at him for a second longer.

Breathing heavy.

Heart still racing.

Then I push off the wall.

“Next time,” I say quietly, “don’t touch me.”

His gaze hardens.

“Next time,” he replies, “don’t give me a reason to.”

We hold each other’s stare for one more second.

Then I turn.

And walk away.

By the time I get back to my room, the adrenaline is fading.

Fast.

Too fast.

Leaving something else behind.

Something heavier.

I shut the door behind me and lean against it, closing my eyes briefly.

My chest rises and falls slower now.

But my mind?

Still racing.

He knows something.

Not everything.

But enough to talk like that.

To look at me like that.

I push away from the door and move further into the room, running a hand through my hair.

This isn’t random.

None of this is.

They didn’t bring me back just to lock me up.

They’re waiting.

For something.

Or someone.

The fact that I don't know which unsettles me so much.

My jaw tightens.

I need to get out.

Not later.

Not eventually.

Now.

A sound outside the door pulls me from my thoughts.

Voices.

Low.

Close.

I move quietly, stepping closer, pressing just enough to hear without being obvious.

“…you’re switching with him tonight?”

“Yeah. Xavier’s out on an errand.”

A pause.

“Think she’ll try anything?”

A quiet chuckle.

“She can try.”

Another voice, more serious this time.

“Don’t mess it up. Alpha wants her untouched.”

Silence.

Then footsteps.

Fading.

I step back slowly.

My mind is already moving.

Xavier isn’t guarding tonight.

Someone new.

Someone less familiar.

Less careful.

A mistake.

My opportunity.

I glance at the door again.

Then at the window.

Then back.

My wolf stirs.

Awake.

Focused.

Ready.

A slow breath leaves my lips.

“They think I’ll wait,” I murmur.

A mistake.

Because I don’t wait.

I survive.

I move.

I sit on the edge of the bed, eyes fixed on the door.

Waiting.

Planning.

Timing.

And when the night finally settles deep enough, my decision is already made.

Tonight…

I'll leave.