“Good,” Luke says, standing up straight again. “We need to head back, and you should consider doing the same.”
As much as I don’t want to cut the time short, something in me knows this isn’t something I can set aside for later. If anyone threatens my pack, directly or otherwise, it’s my job now to use whatever force necessary to keep them safe.
“Today was our last day anyway. We’ll head back soon.”
“We brought a second vehicle to make the trip back easier,” Jack says, already moving backwards to the door. “We’ll wait for you there.”
With a nod of confirmation, I watch as the three of them file out, leaving me alone in the cabin.
Whether it’s dread, irritation, or both, it simmers in my chest. My inner wolf is restless from it all, and thanks to the minuscule progress I’ve made with Lila over the last few days, I don’t feel nearly ready to confront what’s waiting for me back home.
Dragging a hand down my face, I take another breath and head for the back door.
I find Lila sitting on the edge of the porch, knees pulled to her chest, while she stares out into the forest. She doesn’t look up as I step out.
“Hey,” I say softly, leaving a suitable space between us. “They’re gone now.”
“So we’re going back?”
The cabin wall wasn’t thick enough to keep her from hearing us, and obviously, she managed to catch the conversation. She could probably feel my reaction to the update, too.
“Yeah. We’ll make the drive as soon as you’re ready.”
At that, Lila’s shoulders drop with a subtle relief, but the tension lingers still in her spine. Knowing that she’d rather not be stuck in this confined space with me anymore stings, but I can’t hold it against her. It has been a lot for both of us, and I imagine she misses Astrid.
“Alright… let’s get this over with then.”
More than anything, I want to reach out and put a supportive hand on her back, to reassure her that I’ll always protect her and Astrid, and to tell her that the pack will learn to accept her with time.
But after last night and the way she forced that space between us, I can’t bring myself to touch her yet. Not when she clearly doesn’t want it.
Instead, we head inside and pack in silence, and before long, we get into the Jeep waiting for us.
The drive is just as tense and quiet, but I don’t push to fill it.
All the while, my mind stays on Wraith Peak and the very fact that they want something from Lila and Astrid. I don’t know what it is, or why it’s happening, but I’m going to find out.
And if anyone tries to take them from me, they won’t survive it.
Chapter 13 - Lila
Being back in Caleb’s house is disorienting, to say the least.
I didn’t spend enough time in it before to gain any real sense of familiarity with the place, but it’s warm and far bigger than anything I’ve lived in before. And now, I feel small and caught between two versions of myself: the girl he rejected, and the woman he forced into a bond.
My emotions have been a mess to begin with, but so long as the bond hums between us, that confusing tangle only gets worse.
With him gone now, off checking the perimeter with his friends, I can breathe a bit easier, but not by much.
Being in the cabin with him was its own battle, but now, I have to face everything else. The pack and their judgement, the Wraith Peak wolves, and doing everything in my power to keep Astrid’s magic from spilling out again.
The others might’ve approved of the bond after Caleb proved just how serious he was about it, but that didn’t have much to do with me. It was more about him finally becoming Alpha and stepping into the role just like they’ve wanted for some time.
And now, I have to deal with their eyes on me, unable to run from it as I did before.
I hate this… and I hate how easily my defences crumble when he looks at me. I hate how the bond makes everything sharper and impossible to ignore. More than anything else, I hate how I’m expected to submit to him now. I have to obey andbe the Alpha’s mate in every visible way, since that’s what the pack demands.
He spent years tormenting me with the others and making sure I knew my place. Now, I’m supposed to kneel to him.
