"I love you."
He'd said it countless times these past days, but every time, my heart trembled.
"I know," I whispered.
"What about you?" He asked, uncertainty flickering in his eyes. "Do you..."
"Guess." I gave him a sly smile, payback for "Charcoal Girl."
Kayden looked at me with resignation, sighing helplessly. He pulled me up from the ground, and we resumed our cuddling position.
"But there's something else..." I hesitated. "I don't know if I should tell you."
"Then tell me." He raised an eyebrow, clearly dissatisfied.
"I wasn't sure before." I was exasperated by his pettiness. "Thought it was just my imagination. But being back in the pack, my memories became clearer."
"That vampire scent you mentioned... I smelled it before. A long time ago."
"When?" Kayden's body tensed.
"Seven years ago." I bit my lip. "At the engagement ceremony. When I met Finn."
"He had this very faint... scent that didn't belong to a werewolf."
"Thinking back now..." I looked at Kayden. "That scent was like those vampires last night."
Kayden's eyes narrowed, thoughtful.
"Are you cer—"
Crack.
The sharp sound shattered the night's silence.
Nearby, someone had stepped on a branch.
Chapter Twenty-One
Kayden
My body tensed instantly, arm shooting out to shield Layla behind me. My other hand was already reaching for the silver-loaded pistol at my waist, thumb sliding over the safety.
"Who's there?"
My voice echoed through the forest, scattering roosting birds. The fireflies still danced. The lake still shimmered with moonlight. But the tenderness in the air had been torn apart, replaced by something dangerous and taut.
No response.
Only the whisper of wind through branches and the distant call of an owl.
But I could sense it—
Someone was there.
A heartbeat, suppressed but detectable. Breathing, controlled and deliberately slowed. And that scent—wolf.
Pack.
