Chapter 6: Eyes Like Gold
1000 Words
Alice barely slept.
Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the black wolf.
The way it had appeared out of nowhere.
The way it had protected her.
The way those golden eyes had stared at her.
Familiar eyes.
Impossible eyes.
Jake's eyes.
The thought sounded insane.
Completely ridiculous.
And yet she couldn't shake it.
By morning, she had convinced herself she was imagining things.
Mostly.
Jake knew he was in trouble the moment he walked into school.
Alice was waiting for him.
Not literally.
She was standing at her locker talking to another student.
But the second her eyes landed on him, she froze.
Then she started walking toward him.
Purposefully.
Determined.
Jake immediately knew she had questions.
Questions he couldn't answer.
At least not honestly.
"Morning," he said carefully.
Alice crossed her arms.
"We need to talk."
Definitely trouble.
Jake glanced around the hallway.
Everyone seemed to be pretending not to watch.
Which meant everyone was absolutely watching.
"About?"
Alice stared at him.
"Yesterday."
His stomach tightened.
"I don't know what you mean."
"Liar."
Jake almost smiled.
She looked adorable when she was angry.
Which was probably not the appropriate reaction.
Alice stepped closer.
Her eyes narrowed.
"Something attacked me."
Jake's wolf growled.
The memory alone made him furious.
"Are you okay?"
The concern slipped out before he could stop it.
Alice blinked.
For a moment, her anger softened.
Then she remembered herself.
"That's not the point."
"It kind of is."
"The point is that nobody believes me."
Jake remained silent.
"The teachers said it was a dog."
"It definitely wasn't a dog."
Relief flashed through her expression.
"Thank you."
Jake couldn't help smiling.
Alice pointed a finger at him.
"And stop doing that."
"Doing what?"
"Looking at me like I'm not crazy."
His smile widened.
"Maybe you're not."
For a second, neither of them spoke.
The hallway noise faded into the background.
Jake found himself staring at her again.
At the way the morning sunlight caught in her hair.
At the faint freckles across her nose.
At the determination in her eyes.
His mate.
The realization still hit him every time.
Alice shifted nervously.
"You're doing it again."
"What?"
"Staring."
Jake chuckled.
"Sorry."
The word sounded sincere.
Which somehow made it worse.
Because Alice's heart immediately betrayed her.
Savannah watched the interaction from across the hall.
Every day, things got worse.
Jake wasn't supposed to look at Alice like that.
He wasn't supposed to care.
He certainly wasn't supposed to be falling in love.
Yet here they were.
The bond was growing.
Strengthening.
Soon it would become impossible to break.
Unless she acted first.
Savannah smiled.
She already had a plan.
That afternoon, Alice headed to the library.
She needed normal.
Books were normal.
Research was normal.
Werewolves were not normal.
She froze.
The mythology book she'd been reading sat open on her favorite table.
She definitely hadn't left it open.
Slowly, Alice approached.
A folded piece of paper rested between the pages.
Confused, she picked it up.
The note contained only four words.
You're asking dangerous questions.
Alice's blood ran cold.
She spun around.
The library was empty.
No one.
Nothing.
Yet someone had clearly been there.
Watching.
Waiting.
Her hands trembled slightly.
Who would leave this?
And why?
Jake arrived at football practice already irritated.
The note had crossed a line.
He knew Savannah was involved.
Maybe not directly.
But somehow.
His instincts screamed it.
The problem was proving it.
"You're distracted."
Jake looked up.
His father stood near the field.
Alpha Hunter.
Pack leader.
Jake's expression darkened.
"You heard about yesterday."
It wasn't a question.
His father nodded.
"The rogue shouldn't have gotten that close."
"No."
"Yet he did."
Jake clenched his fists.
"Someone helped him."
"Maybe."
Jake frowned.
"Maybe?"
His father studied him carefully.
Then asked the question Jake had been dreading.
"How attached are you?"
Jake immediately knew who he meant.
Alice.
His mate.
His future.
His everything.
Jake swallowed.
His father sighed.
"That attached."
The answer was obvious.
Jake looked away.
"I'm not rejecting her."
The words came out harsher than intended.
His father remained silent.
Then, surprisingly, he smiled.
"I didn't ask you to."
Jake blinked.
"What?"
Alpha Hunter folded his arms.
"A mate is a gift from the Moon Goddess."
Relief flooded Jake's chest.
"But—"
Of course there was a but.
"Protecting her won't be easy."
Jake already knew that.
Because someone out there wanted Alice.
And not for good reasons.
That evening, Alice sat at her desk staring at the mysterious note.
Her notebook lay open beside it.
Pages filled with observations.
Questions.
Connections.
A pattern was emerging.
Wolves.
Moon symbols.
Ancient bloodlines.
Strange dreams.
Jake.
Everything somehow led back to Jake.
The realization made her stomach twist.
Not because she was afraid.
Because she trusted him.
Which was ridiculous.
She barely knew him.
Yet deep down, something told her Jake would never hurt her.
A sudden knock echoed downstairs.
Alice glanced at the clock.
Nearly ten o'clock.
Who would visit this late?
Voices drifted through the house.
One belonged to Evelyn.
The other...
Male.
Deep.
Familiar.
Alice's heart stopped.
Jake.
Before she could think better of it, she slipped into the hallway.
Carefully moving toward the stairs.
She stopped just before reaching the bottom.
Hidden from view.
Listening.
"...she can't know yet," Jake was saying.
"I know," Evelyn replied.
Alice's breath caught.
Know what?
"We're running out of time."
Evelyn sighed heavily.
"I've been running from this conversation for eighteen years."
Eighteen years.
Alice's age.
Fear crawled up her spine.
Jake's voice lowered.
"She's in danger."
Danger?
Evelyn was quiet for several seconds.
Then she said the one sentence that changed everything.
"The truth was always going to find her."
Alice's heart hammered.
What truth?
Before she could hear more, a floorboard creaked beneath her foot.
The conversation downstairs stopped instantly.
Silence.
Complete silence.
Then Jake's voice called out.
"Alice?"
Her stomach dropped.
Because she had a feeling her life was about to change forever.
- Writer
