Shadows and Snares
2068 Words
Amara
There’s a certain kind of silence that feels like waiting. Like the earth itself is holding its breath.
That was how the clinic felt this morning.
Even the walls seemed tense.
I moved through it like I always did—measured steps, precise hands, voice calm even when my mind wasn’t. The sunrise cast slanted gold light across the wooden floors, and I soaked in the warmth like a starving thing.
Because inside, I was unraveling.
Last night, Lucian had nearly kissed me.
And I’d wanted it.
I’d wanted him.
The terrifying thing wasn’t that I was drawn to him—it was that I didn’t feel afraid.
With Daniel, there had always been a simmering dread underneath the bond. I didn’t recognize it at first. I thought that was just what love felt like. That maybe omegas were supposed to hurt to be loved.
Lucian didn’t make me hurt.
He made me ache.
And that was somehow worse.
The door opened behind me. I didn’t turn. I didn’t need to.
“Back already?” I said, grabbing a roll of bandages off the shelf.
“I didn’t leave,” came Lucian’s low voice.
Of course not.
I turned slowly to face him, and gods, he looked like a sin I hadn’t decided whether to commit.
“Should I get you a key?” I asked coolly.
He smirked. “Would that make things easier?”
“No,” I said, walking past him toward the back exam room. “Nothing about you makes anything easier.”
He followed.
Of course he did.
“Daniel came to me last night,” he said suddenly, tone shifting to something darker.
I froze, turning to face him again. “Why?”
“Said he wants to help. Claimed Marcus is working with the rogues. Said he wants to expose him.”
My heart stuttered. “You believed him?”
“No.”
I blinked. “Then why are you telling me?”
“Because I want you to be careful.”
“You think I don’t already know that?”
His eyes flared. “Amara—”
“No. You don’t get to act like you’re the only one protecting me. I’ve been surviving longer than you’ve been watching.”
He stepped closer, and I didn’t retreat.
“I’m not trying to smother you,” he said. “I’m trying to make sure no one ever touches you like he did. Not again.”
And there it was—the sincerity.
It punched through my walls before I could stop it.
“I don’t know how to trust you,” I whispered.
He was so close now I could feel the heat rolling off his chest.
“You don’t have to trust me yet,” he said. “Just keep letting me stay close.”
Then his hand came up—not touching me, just hovering by my jaw, like he wanted to but was waiting for permission.
“I hate that I want you,” I said, voice trembling.
His breath hitched, jaw tight. “Don’t you think I’m in hell, too?”
That was it. That was the moment where I could have kissed him.
Could have closed the distance.
Could have started falling.
But I didn’t.
Instead, I turned away before I slipped completely.
And his silence behind me was heavier than anything he could’ve said.
Lucian
The moment she turned away from me, I felt it—like a door slamming in my chest.
I hadn’t moved to stop her.
Not because I didn’t want to.
But because I wanted her to know that she could say no and I’d still be here.
That I wasn’t like him.
I stood there for a while, alone in the quiet hum of the clinic, letting her footsteps fade into the back room. I listened to the soft clatter of metal trays, the rustle of shelves, the steady rhythm of her trying to pretend she hadn’t nearly kissed me.
I didn’t follow this time.
I couldn’t.
Because one wrong move, one wrong word, and I’d become exactly what she feared.
Still, every fiber of my body screamed for me to go to her.
Touch her.
Claim her.
Protect her.
Instead, I left the clinic.
The outside air felt colder than it should have, the wind laced with the scent of pine, faint smoke… and something else.
Something wrong.
I found Idris near the eastern ridge, watching a pair of scouts practice drills. He raised a brow as I approached.
“You look like someone just punched your wolf in the face.”
“She’s fighting it,” I said simply.
His expression softened. “Still?”
“She wants me. She won’t let herself have me.”
“Sounds like hell.”
“It is.”
He offered me a water flask. I ignored it.
“She’s starting to let me in,” I said, quieter this time. “Just barely. And now Daniel’s sniffing around like a vulture.”
“I’ve been watching him. He’s good. Too good.”
“Too confident for a traitor who thinks I bought his lie.”
Idris nodded. “You want me to push him?”
“No,” I said. “Let him think I’m buying in. Let him get comfortable. The longer the leash, the harder the snap when it tightens.”
“And Marcus?”
“He won’t move unless he thinks he has something to gain—or something to lose.”
Idris gave me a look. “You’re using Amara.”
“No,” I said sharply. “They are. I’m just making sure I know how.”
Idris was quiet for a moment. Then he nodded once. “We’ll keep her close.”
“I already planned to,” I said. “She’s not going anywhere.”
I looked back toward the clinic, where I knew she was still working. Still trying to forget the moment we’d shared. Still pretending she wasn’t cracking apart inside.
And all I could think was how much more dangerous it was to want someone for who they are—not just what fate told you they should be.
Because I didn’t want Amara because of the bond.
I wanted her because every day, she made me want to earn her.
And the wolves scheming behind my back had no idea just how far I’d go to protect what was mine.
Amara
I didn’t know what scared me more—how much I wanted to kiss Lucian… or how close I’d been to actually doing it.
I’d been on the edge, one breath away, and part of me had been ready to fall. Not because of the bond, but because of him. The way he looked at me like I was something sacred. The way he touched me like I’d break but still wanted to know how I was put together.
I hated it.
And I hated how safe it made me feel.
That was dangerous.
Safety was always followed by loss.
That’s why I threw myself into work. Bandages, wounds, medicine—simple, predictable things. I kept my hands moving so my thoughts wouldn’t spiral.
“Hey.”
Lena’s voice broke through the silence. She stood in the doorway holding a basket of fresh herbs, her braid a little messy, her cheeks flushed from patrol training.
“There’s someone outside,” she said quietly. “I think you should see this.”
My stomach dropped.
I followed her out the side door of the clinic.
Daniel was standing near the edge of the trees, talking to one of the warriors.
But it was the look he gave me—the smile—that made my blood go cold.
It wasn’t warm.
It wasn’t friendly.
It was too smooth. Too rehearsed. A predator’s grin dressed in civility.
He walked toward us like he’d been waiting for me to see him.
“Amara,” he greeted, voice pleasant, calm, almost warm.
Almost.
Lena moved subtly, placing herself half a step ahead of me.
Smart girl.
“I came to check on you,” Daniel said. “Things have been tense lately. I wanted to be sure you’re safe.”
I stared at him, saying nothing.
“I know we ended badly,” he went on, eyes too steady. “But that doesn’t mean I want harm to come to you.”
“Then leave,” I said flatly.
A flicker passed through his eyes—anger, resentment—but it vanished under a practiced smile.
“I’m trying to do the right thing, Amara,” he said softly. “I’ve even spoken to Lucian. We’re on the same side now.”
That chilled me deeper than the breeze slipping through the trees.
“He said that?” Lena asked, skeptical.
Daniel nodded. “We both want Marcus out. We want peace.”
I didn’t believe a single word.
But I forced myself to smile—tight, cold, and hollow. “Thanks for your concern. But I’m fine.”
He gave a mock bow and walked off, whistling as he went.
As soon as he was out of earshot, Lena hissed, “Okay, what the actual hell was that?”
“He’s trying too hard,” I said, arms crossed. “Something’s wrong.”
Lena glanced back toward the trees. “I saw movement out there earlier. I thought it was one of ours, but…”
“But it might not be.”
We looked at each other, silent.
Then Lena said, “You need to tell Lucian.”
I shook my head. “If I tell him every time I feel like the world’s closing in, he’ll never stop hovering.”
“He wants to protect you.”
“I know. That’s what scares me.”
Lucian
When Daniel left my quarters that night, he walked out with the arrogance of a man who thought he was winning.
He thought he’d sold me on his loyalty. Thought he’d fooled me with that calm voice and polished lies.
But I’d been raised in war, not courts. I knew the difference between a man trying to earn redemption—and one pretending to.
Daniel reeked of the latter.
I watched him walk across the courtyard from my window, then turned back to the small pile of reports on my desk. Rogue sightings. Border weaknesses. Supply movement. All of them starting to circle the same point:
Red River’s eastern edge.
He was helping them. That much was obvious.
But what made my blood turn cold was this: he was trying to pull her into it.
He’d spoken to her today. Idris had already reported it. Saw it from the trees, just out of sight. Heard enough to know Daniel was playing the concern card now—pretending to be the reformed protector.
I slammed my fist down on the desk, rattling the inkpot.
He was trying to reinsert himself into her world. Gain proximity. Stir up old wounds. Remind her of the bond they’d once shared—one he’d severed without remorse.
He didn’t want her back.
He wanted to make her his pawn again.
Not happening.
I turned and left the room, meeting Idris at the edge of the northern patrol ring.
“I need something,” I said.
He fell into step beside me. “Name it.”
“A tail on Daniel. Discreet. Someone fast, silent, and ruthless if needed.”
He didn’t ask questions. “You want him dead or exposed?”
“Neither. Not yet.”
I looked out over the forest as the wind shifted, bringing the scent of approaching danger.
“I want him confident. I want him to think I believe every word he says. Let him get comfortable. Let him lead me right to Marcus.”
“And Amara?”
I didn’t answer right away.
Because this was where it became complicated.
This was where strategy bled into instinct. Where her name wasn’t just a weakness—it was the trigger to everything I was about to do.
“I’ll protect her without smothering her,” I said finally. “But if they try to use her again… if they so much as breathe her name in the wrong way…”
I turned to Idris.
“I won’t just kill them. I’ll erase them.”
- Writer
