CHAPTER 5 Line in the Dirt

Morning came with motion.

Voices outside. Footsteps. The distant thud of something heavy hitting the ground over and over.

Lena stepped onto the back training field, the cool air biting her lungs in a way that felt sharp and clean. A wide clearing stretched behind the pack house, the earth worn smooth by years of combat drills.

Kael stood in the center, sleeves pushed up, demonstrating a movement to two younger wolves. Controlled. Precise. Power held on a leash.

Her stomach did a small, traitorous flip.

He noticed her instantly.

Always.

“Couldn’t sleep?” he asked as she approached.

“Your pack does sunrise fight club,” she said. “Hard to miss.”

A corner of his mouth lifted. He dismissed the others with a nod, and they scattered — though not without curious glances at her.

“You should start learning,” he said. “Control helps the noise quiet down.”

“The noise being my entire nervous system?” she asked.

“Exactly.”

He moved closer, slower than necessary. “I’ll guide you. You won’t shift fully. Just… feel where your balance changed.”

She nodded, trying to ignore how aware she was of the space between them.

“Feet apart,” he instructed gently.

She adjusted.

“Good. Now breathe in through your nose.”

She did — and immediately caught his scent. Cedar, smoke, wild air after rain. It wrapped around her senses, grounding and distracting all at once.

“Focus,” he murmured.

Easy for you to say.

He stepped behind her. Not touching.

Just close.

Her pulse stumbled anyway.

“Your center of gravity is lower now,” he said near her ear. “You’re stronger than you think. Don’t fight that.”

She shifted her weight experimentally — and wobbled.

His hands caught her hips on instinct.

Both of them froze.

The contact wasn’t explosive.

It was deep. Steady. Like something clicking into place that had been slightly off her whole life.

Her breath left slowly. “Okay… that feels unfairly stabilizing.”

A quiet huff of laughter behind her. “It’s not just you.”

For a moment neither moved.

The world narrowed to warmth, breath, heartbeat.

Then—

“Am I interrupting?”

The voice sliced clean through the moment.

They separated instantly.

Ronan stood at the edge of the clearing, arms crossed, expression unreadable. But his jaw was tight enough to crack stone.

“We’re training,” Kael said evenly.

“Looks intense,” Ronan replied.

Lena exhaled. “It was balance work, not whatever you’re imagining.”

His gaze flicked to her, softening just a fraction. “Didn’t say a word.”

Didn’t have to.

Kael stepped slightly in front of her — not blocking, but close enough that the gesture meant something.

Ronan noticed. Of course he did.

“We need to talk about patrol rotations,” Ronan said to Kael, voice all business now. “Rogues are pushing closer to the north ridge.”

“I’ll be there in a minute,” Kael answered.

A beat passed.

Ronan didn’t move.

His eyes shifted to Lena again. “You okay being out here?”

“Yes,” she said, more firmly than she felt. “I’m not glass.”

“I know,” he said quietly. “That’s what worries me.”

Kael’s posture tightened. “She’s under my protection.”

“And mine,” Ronan shot back before he could stop himself.

Silence fell heavy and immediate.

Lena looked between them. “Okay. Nope. We are not doing the weird territorial energy thing over me.”

Neither spoke.

Which told her everything.

“I’m standing right here,” she added. “You could try asking what I want.”

Ronan’s gaze dropped first. Kael’s followed a second later.

“I want to learn,” she said. “I want to not feel like the weakest person in the room. And I want both of you to stop acting like I’m a flag you’re planting.”

That hit.

Kael inclined his head slightly. “You’re right.”

Ronan exhaled through his nose. “Yeah. You are.”

But the tension didn’t leave.

It just shifted shape.

Because the truth sat there between all three of them now, undeniable:

This wasn’t just about protection.

Or pack politics.

Or fate.

It was about hearts moving in directions none of them could control anymore.

And sooner or later…

Someone’s was going to break.