THE GOLDEN EYES

Chapter 3

Caleb’s POV

I caught her before she hit the ground.

Her body went limp in my arms, fragile beneath the blood and torn sleeve.

Slowly, I lowered her carefully onto the ground beside the tree, making sure her injured shoulder didn’t hit the bark.

My eyes lingered on her face longer than they should have.

The second my hands left her, she winced weakly even unconscious.

My chest tightened unexpectedly.

What was she even doing out here?

Humans didn’t come this deep into the forest.

Not at night. Not alone.

Unless they were looking for something

or someone.

A low growl rumbled in my chest as I looked down at my hands.

My claws were still out.

One wrong movement would tear straight through her skin.

I stepped back instinctively, forcing slow breaths into my lungs.

Pain shot through me almost immediately.

My spine arched sharply as the shift began again, bones cracking beneath flesh.

A strained breath escaped me as fur slowly receded from my arms and chest.

The claws shortened next.

Agony burned through my hands as they reshaped, fingers replacing paws inch by inch.

I clenched my teeth hard enough to hurt.

Another c***k tore through the clearing as my legs finally straightened completely beneath me.

The wolf receded.

I looked at my hands again.

I was fully human now.

My gaze returned to the unconscious girl beneath the trees. Blood soaked through her shoulder, too much for a wound like that.

The rogue’s claws had cut deep.

I needed to help her.

Why?

I should’ve erased her memory and left her here.

That was the law.

The only one that mattered.

Humans could never know.

But she saw everything.

The shift.

The fight.

Me.

How she fought the spell was strange.

She hadn’t collapsed immediately.

What if she still remembered?

I wouldn’t have saved her if I’d known she’d witness the shift.

“I have to kill her.”

The words felt wrong the second they left my mouth.

But they were true.

If the pack found out about her, they wouldn’t hesitate.

Neither could I.

One quick movement.

That was all it would take.

My gaze dropped to her throat.

So fragile.

One snap.

One second.

And this entire night would disappear with her.

My jaw clenched.

Do it.

The beast inside me stirred in agreement.

Protect the pack.

Protect the secret.

I crouched slowly beside her, my hand

lifting toward her neck.

But the closer I got, the harder it became to move.

My fingers stopped inches away from her skin.

Why?

I had killed rogues before.

Humans too when the secret demanded it.

So why was this different?

A frustrated growl built in my chest.

“Damn it.”

I pulled my hand back sharply and rose to

my feet.

No.

I couldn’t do it.

I dragged a hand through my hair and turned away from her instead.

Fine.

Then I’d leave her here.

The wound alone would finish the job before sunrise.

No blood on my hands.

No broken law.

My expression hardened as I forced myself to walk.

The forest swallowed the sound of my footsteps.

A quiet, pained whimper within me.

I stopped.

My eyes shut tightly for a second.

Damn it.

Slowly, I looked back over my shoulder.

She still hadn’t moved.

Blood continued soaking into the ground beneath her.

I should leave.

I knew I should.

Instead, my feet turned back toward her on their own.

I stared down at her again, frustration twisting inside me.

“I saved you for a reason,” I muttered quietly.

The words surprised even me.

My gaze lingered on her unconscious face.

“And I’m not letting you die.”

At least she hadn’t seen my human face.

I crouched beside her and pulled the torn sleeve away from the wound. Blood still slipped steadily down her skin.

She needed treatment now.

I glanced toward the dark woods before rising quickly to my feet.

A blur of movement carried me between the trees.

The cold night air rushed against my skin as I searched through the undergrowth, grabbing thick silverleaf and blackroot from beside a fallen log.

Old remedies.

The kind pack healers used after hunts.

Within seconds, I was back beside her.

I crushed the leaves roughly between my palms until dark green liquid coated my hands.

“This is going to hurt,” I muttered, even though she couldn’t hear me.

Carefully, I pressed the mixture against the wound.

Her body jerked instantly.

A soft cry slipped from her lips.

My eyes lifted to her face.

Even unconscious, she was fighting.

Something about her stirred uneasily inside me.

Most humans froze when faced with fear.

She hadn’t.

She ran.

She fought.

And when she should’ve collapsed…

She looked directly at me.

At the monster.

And still tried to understand what she was seeing.

I wrapped the torn strip of fabric tighter around her shoulder before leaning back slightly.

Moonlight filtered through the trees above us, pale against her skin.

The scent of blood still lingered heavily in the air beneath the blood was something softer. Wildflowers.

I shouldn’t have noticed that.

A branch cracked somewhere deeper in the woods.

Instantly, my head snapped toward the sound.

The rogue wasn’t alone tonight.

Which meant others could come looking.

My expression hardened.

I needed to get her out of here now.

Before the pack found out.

Before my father sensed what happened here.

Before anyone discovered I broke the oldest law our kind had.

Carefully, I slid one arm beneath her knees and the other around her back.

She barely weighed anything.

A weak breath escaped her lips as I lifted her against my chest.

Her head fell lightly against my shoulder.

I stiffened instantly.

I shouldn’t have noticed how fragile she felt in my arms.

My eyes swept across the clearing once more before landing on the flashlight lying near the roots of a tree.

I bent down, grabbed it with my free hand, then turned toward the forest.

The scent trail was faint beneath the blood and dirt, but her scent was still there.

I followed it through the trees, moving quickly but carefully over the uneven ground with broken branches and leaves.

Small footprints pressed into the damp earth.

She’d come this way alone.

The thought sat wrong in my chest.

The deeper we moved through the woods, the more familiar the path became.

Then I saw the cabin.

Dim moonlight spilled across the old wooden porch.

My steps slowed.

No way.

My eyes narrowed slightly as recognition hit me.

“Mara”

The name left my mouth quietly.

The old bookstore owner’s cabin.

I hadn’t seen her in years.

Not since I was younger.

Memories flickered briefly through my mind.

A strange feeling settled in my chest as I stared at the cabin.

This girl belonged to Mara?

That explained the woods.

Maybe even why the veil struggled to erase her memory.

My jaw tightened.

I didn’t like that thought.

I climbed the porch steps quietly and pushed open the cabin door.

The scent of old books and burning cedar filled the air instantly.

I stepped inside carefully, keeping my movements silent.

The cabin was small but lived in.

A couch sat near the fireplace. Blankets were folded neatly across the armrest.

Candles burned low near the windows.

I walked over slowly and lowered her onto the sofa as gently as I could.

Even unconscious, she winced faintly when her shoulder shifted.

I pulled one of the blankets over her carefully, making sure it covered her completely.

Her face looked pale beneath the firelight.

I grabbed the small first-aid pack sitting near the shelf and placed it beside her before stepping back.

For a moment, I just stood there watching her.

The room felt too quiet. I should leave now.

But my feet refused to move.

Instead, I turned off the lantern near the couch and stepped back into the shadows near the window.

From there, I watched the slow rise and fall of her chest as the night dragged on.

Hours passed.

The forest outside slowly softened with the approach of dawn.

Pale light slipped through the curtains.

And then she moved.

A sharp breath tore from her lips as her body jerked violently against the couch.

“No!”

Her eyes flew open.

Fear flooded her face instantly.

Her breathing came fast as she looked around the cabin like she didn’t recognize where she was.

Her hand shot toward her shoulder and she gasped at the pain.

Fragments of the nightmare still clung to her expression.

The beast.

Golden eyes.

Blood.

Teeth.

I could see it all in the terror written across her face.

She squeezed her eyes shut briefly, shaking her head hard like she was trying to force the memories away.

“It wasn’t real…” she whispered breathlessly.

But the fear in her voice said she didn’t believe that.

From the shadows near the window, I stayed completely still.

Watching.

Listening.

And wondering one thing.

How much did she remember?