002

LAIA

Around me, the chatter swells, laughter, songs, parents cheering, friends shouting as they celebrate their children and mates. 

Their happiness mocks me.

While they feast, I wait. Arms wrapped around myself, I stand on the outskirts of the party, half consumed by the dark. That’s what I’ve always done. Living in the Pack as charity since our parents died means I eat last, always on the sidelines, hoping there’s enough left to keep Liam and me going.

Wolves who accidentally stumble into my corner, lose their smiles, and walk around me leaving a wide distance between us.

The elders left the celebration long ago. One long look from Cael and any of them who’d looked at me at all, left without saying a word.

Cael… The agonizing pain I feel is like a knife stabbing right into my chest. My heart won't stop thrumming, each beat a cruel reminder that the pain is still there and here to stay.

A useless thing. The heart is the most useless organ of all. I should rip it out and destroy it right in front of me, just to end this ache.

Soon, the long-awaited moment is here. The celebration is over, and even the young wolves who always party the longest drift back to their houses.

I’ve been scanning the tables. What’s left staring at me is a single mostly-empty pot of noodles.

I walk down to it, sink onto the ground, and scrape the bottom clean, coaxing the last bits into my container. I brush off the dirt and wet yellow grass from the container and sigh at myself. I couldn’t stand in line for the Moon Ritual holding a food container, could I? So it went under a bush and now Liam is going to wrinkle his nose if he notices it. 

The meat is gone. The vegetables are gone. Even the dessert is gone. All that’s left are scraps. I don’t have time to mourn for a mate who can’t be mine, I need to feed Liam.

I wish there was some meat left. Liam needs protein.

“Laia?” A familiar voice startles me. I turn, and there he is, Cael, standing way too close, his face carrying emotions I can’t even name.

Heat floods my cheeks. I want to disappear into the earth, my hands shaking almost enough to drop the precious food.. Of all the moments for him to catch me, it has to be while I’m scraping the bottom of a pot for scraps.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

And yet… my chest tightens. One word from him, one step closer, and my whole body betrays me.

Get a grip, Laia. This is the same damn man who threatened me to lie. I can’t suddenly be imagining laughing in his arms as he peppers my face with small kisses, his own smile vibrant…..

A groan and a shuffle from the dark of the forest… Probably one of the newly mated couples that didn’t even make it to their houses.

I shake my head like a wet dog dislodging the fantasy, and focus on my task of getting those last 3 noodles stuck to the bottom. This is not enough to feed Liam and me, and have leftovers.

“About earlier-” he starts, his blue eyes locking onto mine. For a second, I forget how to breathe. Then he finishes, voice low, “-meet me by the weeping willow. Two a.m.”

It isn’t a request. It’s a command.

Without answering, I stomp my way past him and walk home fuming. Liam is curled on his small bed, snoring quietly. I sigh and cover his skinny shoulders with the old blanket.

I shouldn’t go. I shouldn’t fucking see him again. But you know how curiosity keeps nagging at you, until resistance feels pointless?

I’ve lost count of the what if scenarios I've pictured in my head. What if he finally tells me why he forced me to lie? What if he wants to explain? What if, goddess help me, he wants me back?

Yeah, right. Delulu much? With Lysandra hanging off his arm, that door isn’t just closed, it’s locked, barred, and wrapped in thorns. I still remember their engagement feast. Liam got to eat a blueberry scone that day. I submitted my university application to 4 more colleges. Cael kissed Lysandra and laughed into her mouth when she said something.

And yet, by the last “what if”, I realize my feet are already moving. It’s 1:55 when I reach the weeping willow.

Waiting five minutes won’t kill me… right?

I pace, counting steps like they’ll calm me down. For fuck’s sake.

Out of the shadows, a figure appears. My lungs betray me, exhaling the breath I didn’t even realize I was holding.

“Hi…” The word comes out of his mouth with his breath curling into the winter air. So quiet, almost a whisper in the dark forest. My mind blanks, and all I can do is stare. He actually came. It’s just the two of us now, and suddenly I don’t know what to do with my hands, my eyes, my entire existence.

“Hey…” My reply is so feeble I want to punch myself. Fuck. This isn’t how it was supposed to be. I wasn’t supposed to lose my guard, I wasn't supposed to stand here gawking.

The bond coils tight around me, eating me alive, and I swear he feels it too. It’s in his eyes.

Cael was never the type to say much. He threatens and prefers silence, hides his emotions behind that hard exterior. But now? It’s written all over him, stamped in the way he grits his molars, curls his fists, swallows like he’s choking back words.

The silence stretches between us. And I can’t think of a single damn thing to say. 

I can't bring myself to tell him to look me in the face and tell me why he asked me to lie...

A howl splits the inside of my head. I close my eyes against the crushing headache=, and try to take small breaths. His scent envelops me, warm and masculine mixed in with the winter smells of the woods.

One step. Two steps. I move back, my heart pounding so hard it feels like it might crack my ribs. What’s happening? What’s...

My spine slams against the tree, no space left to retreat. “What’s going on? I...”

I don’t even finish, he is right in front of me, crowding me. His finger brushes my lips, silencing me.

“Fuck…” His voice is rough, low, dangerous. “I hate how much I think about you. I’ve been trying, trying so fucking hard, to keep you out of my head. But you’re everywhere. Your scent, your skin… these lips…” His gaze drops to my mouth. “All I can think about is what it would feel like to…”

His words scorch my skin. His breath ghosts across my face, and my eyes flutter shut on instinct. Goddess help me, I want to tell him I feel it too, the pull, the bond, the fire burning between us.

“No, I...” The protest dies in my throat as his mouth brushes against mine, cutting me off, silencing every thought. He pins me against the tree, his thigh finding its way to press between mine, lips claiming.

Cael is kissing me. Cael is kissing me. This isn’t a dream.

My eyes squeeze tighter. Somehow, my fingers tangled in his hair, pulling him closer, hungrier. His kiss is fire, and my body answers with flames of its own, wild, reckless, desperate. His tongue licks at the seam of my lips, demanding entrance, and I…

The sudden snap of a twig yanks us back to reality. In a heartbeat, his body leaves mine letting the cold air rush at my face. My heart rockets into my throat.

Lysandra.

She’s standing there, eyes blazing, fire, jealousy, fury, all tangled in one venomous stare. Panting I try to focus on reality and not the fact that Cael’s hand is wrapped around my wrist. She’s not alone. Beta and Gamma, her baby brothers, tower over her like two pillars on each side. I hate these guys. Her freaking minions.

Oh, fuck me sideways. This is cheating, isn’t it? She just caught her fiancé with me. Of all people. And Lysandra is the last person in this Pack I’d ever want to piss off.

Cael moves, stepping in front of me like a shield. Maybe it’s to protect me, maybe it’s instinct, but it only makes my stomach knot tighter.

“Take him away,” Lysandra orders coolly. She doesn’t even move a step closer. I have to give it to her, she’s an Ice Queen. The girl has Cael on a tight leash, even I know that.

At once, two pairs of arms seize Cael. He snarls like a wild animal, teeth gritted, eyes locked on me as though letting go of me might kill him. It takes both of them to drag him back, his growls tearing through the night. 

When he opens his mouth and I am hoping he’ll command them to stop, Lysandra puts her delicate hand on his cheek and whispers intimately, as if they are alone, “Remember us…” She smiles at him like he’s her whole world. His wild eyes dart to me for a second, before she speaks again, “Remember to control your beast around her. You could even harm her right now, in this state. Or worse - me. Let them take you away.” She leans in and kisses him leaving pink lip gloss in the corner of his mouth. “I’ll be there soon. I promise.”

I stand among the dark trees watching this scene, with too many waring emotions to even know what the fuck I am supposed to feel. And then they are gone.

I'm left alone with the devil herself, I'm expecting several acts of punishment, a slap, whipping, or maybe any form of hard punishment from her. Instead, she simply plucks a leaf from the skirt of her silk dress, her face smooth, her voice as cool as ice.

“Let me make some things clear…” she says, her predator’s smile flashing in the moonlight.