Chapter 18- On Read
540 Words
Mikaela stared at her phone until the screen dimmed.
She’d already typed the message three times. Deleted it twice.
Finally, she sent it.
Mikaela:
I know it’s not your fault.
The typing indicator appeared.
Then vanished.
Minutes passed.
Her wolf shifted restlessly, pressing against her ribs.
Finally—
Rhys:
K.
The single letter felt heavier than silence.
Mikaela swallowed and typed again.
Mikaela:
They forced you. I see that now. I told Ronan I’m not giving up on us.
No response.
She waited.
Ten minutes. Twenty.
Her phone buzzed.
Rhys:
You shouldn’t say things like that.
Her fingers shook.
Mikaela:
Why? Because it scares them? Or because it scares you?
The message sat unread.
She placed the phone face down, pressing her palm to her chest as the bond stirred—quiet but steady, like it was listening.
When the reply finally came, it was hours later.
Rhys:
This isn’t about fear.
Her throat tightened.
Mikaela:
Then tell me what it’s about.
No answer.
She fell asleep with the phone in her hand.
Rhys read her messages long after he should have slept.
The camp was quiet, his warriors resting, the moon high and unforgiving. Every word she sent pulled at him, each one a reminder of what he was choosing not to reach for.
Mikaela:
I stood up to Ronan today.
The bond flared.
Rhys clenched his jaw, pain blooming sharp and sudden.
Mikaela:
He tried to tell me you abandoned me. I told him he was wrong.
His chest tightened.
She didn’t know how much strength that took. How dangerous that was.
His phone buzzed again.
Mikaela:
I’m not asking you to fight your pack.
Another pause.
Then—
Mikaela:
I’m just asking you not to shut me out.
Rhys exhaled slowly and typed.
Rhys:
You’re making this harder.
Across the distance, Mikaela closed her eyes, pressing her forehead to the cool window.
Mikaela:
I know.
She waited.
Nothing.
Rhys stared at the screen, the bond pulsing with her quiet resolve—stronger now, steadier. Not desperate. Not begging.
That scared him more than anything.
If he let her in, even a little, it wouldn’t stop.
He saw it too clearly: Kael’s disappointment. The council’s backlash. A fractured Red Moon. A future where his happiness cost everyone else their stability.
He typed—
I miss you.
Then deleted it.
Typed again—
This bond isn’t sustainable.
Sent.
Mikaela’s reply came quickly this time.
Mikaela:
Neither is pretending it doesn’t exist.
Rhys closed his eyes.
He could feel her now—not pain, not panic—but something fiercer.
Hope.
And hope was dangerous.
Rhys:
You deserve someone who can choose you.
Her reply was immediate.
Mikaela:
I already did.
The bond surged, warm and defiant.
Rhys turned his phone face down, fists clenched as if holding the bond itself at bay.
Choosing her wouldn’t just cost him his future.
It would cost him his pack.
And as Alpha-in-training, he’d been raised to believe that was a price no leader had the right to pay.
He stared into the dark long after the screen went black, knowing one terrible truth:
The longer he resisted her, the more the bond was teaching him what he was truly afraid to lose.
- Writer
