And writing? The laptop sat on her desk like an accusation, its blank screen mocking every failed attempt to recapture the creative spark that had finally returned in Blackpine.
Her phone buzzed on the coffee table, Cosette’s name lighting up the screen for the third time that morning. Electra let it go to voicemail, just as she had every call for the past week. She’d managed exactly one conversation with her editor, a stilted exchange where she’d claimed to be fighting off a nasty flu and needed a few more days to recover.
“I’m fine,” she’d lied, her voice hoarse from disuse. “Just need to rest. The mountain air is... intense.”
Cosette had bought it, thankfully, though her parting words still echoed with uncomfortable clarity. “Don’t let that hot sheriff distract you from your writing, babe. I know his type—all brooding alpha energy and protective instincts. Total boyfriend material, but terrible for productivity.”
If only she knew.
Electra laughed, the sound sharp and brittle in the empty cabin. Cosette would lose her mind if she knew the truth. Her romance-obsessed editor would probably drive straight to Blackpine and demand to meet the “real-life Alpha hero” who’d swept her client into an actual paranormal romance.
The thought of revealing that wolf shifters and mate bonds were actually real to Cosette made Electra’s chest tighten with panic. Not because she didn’t trust her friend, but because she knew exactly what advice Cosette would give.“Are you insane?This is every romance reader’s dream! Accept the bond, claim your Alpha, and live happily ever after!”
Happily ever after.The concept felt as fictional now as it always had.
Real life didn’t work that way. Real life was messy and complicated and full of people who left when things got difficult. Real life was losing your parents at twelve and learning that loving someone meant opening yourself to devastating loss. Real life was watching your aunt struggle to raise a grieving child while maintaining her own career, and vowing never to become so dependent on another person that their absence could destroy you.
But what if it’s different this time?The treacherous thought whispered through her mind.What if the mate bond means?—
“No.” She spoke the word aloud, her voice cutting through the cabin’s oppressive silence. “Absolutely not. I am not going to start believing in fairy tales just because some gorgeous sheriff has nice eyes and protective instincts.”
Gorgeous.Even in her denial, she couldn’t lie about that. Rune was devastatingly attractive in a way that caused her pulse to skip and her skin to flush with awareness. The memory of his hand touching hers, the way his scent had wrapped around her like a living thing, the controlled power radiating from his tall frame?—
Her body responded with a familiar ache, the same restless hunger that had been building for seven days. It was getting worse, not better. Time and distance should have dulled whatever attraction existed between them, but instead, every hour away from him felt like torture.
This is ridiculous.
She pushed off the couch and began pacing the small living room, her bare feet silent on the hardwood floor.
You’re a grown woman, not some lovesick teenager. You don’t need a man to complete you. You’ve built an entire career on your own, survived everything life has thrown at you without depending on anyone else.
But even as she recited the familiar mantras of independence, her traitorous mind kept circling back to that night. The way Rune had positioned himself between her and the forest, his protective instincts overriding everything else. The careful respect in his voice when he’d promised not to force anything, to let her choose freely.
“The bond doesn’t override free will, Electra. It simply makes the choice more complicated.”
Complicated. That was the understatement of the century.
She caught her reflection in the window and winced. Dark circles shadowed her green eyes, and her usually vibrant complexion looked pale and drawn. Her dark hair hung limp around her shoulders, desperately in need of washing. She looked like exactly what she was—a woman coming apart at the seams.
This has to stop.The revelation hit her with crystal clarity.I can’t keep living in this limbo. Either I accept what Rune told me and figure out how to deal with it, or I run back to Hartford and pretend none of this ever happened.
The second option held obvious appeal. Pack up her things, call Cosette, and return to the safe predictability of her old life. She had enough savings to last several months while she figured out a new career path. Maybe she could transition into editing or try her hand at non-fiction. Anything that didn’t require the creative spark that seemed to have died the moment Rune walked out her door.
But that would mean giving up.The thought tasted bitter.Letting fear win. Again.
She’d spent her entire adult life building walls to protect herself from exactly this kind of emotional chaos. Casual relationships that never went too deep. Career success that fulfilled her need for control and independence. A carefully constructed life for the past two years where she called all the shots and never had to worry about someone else’s choices affecting her happiness.
And look how well that’s worked out.Thirty-five years old, successful but burned out, alone in a cabin because you can’t even trust yourself to write a simple romance novel anymore.
The shower beckoned, promising at least temporary relief from the spiral of her thoughts. Hot water and steam might not solve her existential crisis, but they’d at least make her feel human again.
Twenty minutes later, she emerged from the bathroom wrapped in a towel, her skin flushed pink from the heat. The spring weather had turned surprisingly warm, the sunlight streaming through the windows and making the cabin feel almost cheerful despite her mood.
She pulled on a sundress—soft yellow cotton that had always made her feel feminine and confident—and caught her reflection again. Better. Not great, but better.
“Now what?” she muttered to the empty room.
The question hung in the air as she moved to the window, staring out at the forest that had become both sanctuary and prison. Somewhere out there, Rune was going about his day—sheriff duties, pack responsibilities, the carefully controlled life he’d built around duty and protection. Did he think about her? Wonder if she’d made her decision? Or had he already written her off as another human too weak to handle the supernatural truth of his world?
