Chapter 46– Ella’s Awareness

(Ella’s POV)

The morning sunlight filtered through the cabin windows, casting soft golden streaks across the floor. I moved quietly, careful not to disturb the fragile rhythm of the house—or the fragile rhythm of my own thoughts. Even in the simplicity of routine, I could sense the tension hanging in the air, an invisible thread tightening around my chest. Something had shifted in Cole, subtle but unmistakable, and the bond beneath my skin pulsed with unease.

I brewed tea, the scent of chamomile filling the kitchen, attempting to anchor myself in doing ordinary things. But nothing ordinary remained. Not with the child growing inside me, not with the bond that had already pulled us together, and certainly not with the shadow that lingered between us: Sasha.

Shortly after, Cole entered. His movements were careful, it felt measured. His eyes flicked toward me, but within those eyes, there was hesitation which wasn’t present before. He smiled at me, but it looked fake. It was a practiced mask, one that I could recognize so well from years of navigating the pack’s subtle lies and half-truths.

“Morning,” I said softly, keeping my voice even, calm.

“Morning,” he replied, voice tight, the words clipped as though he were restraining them. It was obvious he was deliberately trying to avoid him as he pretended to be busy with the coffee pot.

The bond throbbed beneath my skin, subtle but insistent. I could feel his conflict, the guilt, the tension spiraling in ways he refused to acknowledge aloud. And deep down, I knew the reason for that. Sasha. In ways that were both tantalizing and toxic, her presence was still felt. Her influence has creep so deep into our fragile new reality.

I set the tea down, forcing myself to speak, to probe gently without revealing my full awareness. “You’ve been awfully quiet,” I said, letting my gaze linger on him, searching for cracks. “Is everything… alright?”

He paused, hand frozen mid-pour, and for a moment his mask faltered. A flicker of guilt crossed his features, and I caught it, it was a subtle twitch at the corner of his mouth, the tension in his jaw, the avoidance of my eyes. “Yeah… yeah, everything is perfect ,” he said, though the bond beneath my skin thrummed with warning.

I tilted my head slightly, unconvinced. “But you don’t sound like all is well.” My voice was soft, but firm. “Cole… if there’s something’s going on, or if someone is influencing you… I need to be aware. Not just for me, but for the baby also.”

He clenched the coffee pot so hard that his knuckles turned white. He briefly turned to meet my gaze, his eyes dark, conflicted, and I felt the bond flare with his internal struggle. The words he refuse to say, I could almost hear the words he refused to say,even as he tried his best to hide the truth, I could see it.

“I… I just…” He faltered, swallowing hard. “I’m… You need to worry yourself about me. I’m fine.”

I sighed, pressing a hand to my stomach. The life within me shifted slightly, a reminder of what is at stake, despite the secrets and lapses, a life still connected us together. “Cole… I don’t need perfect words. All I require is just honesty. I need you to be present, truly present, not just in body, but in heart and mind. When you are divided, I can feel it.”

His gaze dropped, and I could see the internal struggle etched across his features. I didn’t need him to admit it; the bond already made it clear. He had been pulled toward Sasha again, he had indulged in the temptation which he should have resisted. And that knowledge, even unspoken, gnawed at me.

“I… I can’t always control it,” he muttered finally, voice low, almost a whisper. “I… I faltered, and I…”

The bond pulsed sharply, and my chest tightened with a mixture of fear and frustration. “Cole…” I said softly, my hand hovering near his. “Then you have to put in more effort. For the sake of this innocent life growing within me. For us. You can’t keep spiraling between her and… us. You can’t keep hiding.”

He looked at me then, really looked, eyes dark with guilt and longing, and I felt a pang of both anger and pity. I knew he was struggling, but with everything at stake, his struggle was beginning to threaten everything that I had built, everything I had hoped for in this fragile bond.

“I know,” he said finally, voice strained. “I… I don’t want to hurt you. I don’t want to hurt the baby. I… I just…”

I took a cautious step closer, letting the bond guide my words, shaping them with care. “Then you have to choose. Choose us. Choose this life. Not her. Not the past. Not the temptation.”

He swallowed hard, gaze dropping to the floor, and for a long moment neither of us spoke. The bond pulsed beneath my skin, insistent, tugging at both of us, urging clarity, demanding honesty. And I felt the stirrings of hope amidst the tension—a fragile, tentative hope that he could see the truth, that he could choose the life we were creating together.

“You make it sound so simple,” he muttered finally, almost bitterly. “It’s… not. She… she tempts me, even now. And I… I feel… sometimes, I don’t think I can resist the feelings with me.”

I nodded, having an understanding of the weight of temptation, the way old patterns could pull even the strongest wolves into chaos. “I know it’s hard. But I believe you’re stronger than her pull. The bond… the child… me—if we stand together as a family, we’re stronger. All you have to do is remember this, when the shadows creep in.”

He ran a hand over his face, exhaling slowly. “I… I want to. I want to be better. For you. For the baby. I just…” He trailed off, voice breaking slightly, a flicker of desperation in his eyes. “I don’t want to falter again.”

“You won’t,” I said softly, letting the bond guide my reassurance. “If you try. Not if you choose to be present. I can feel you, Cole. Even when you falter, even when you hide… I can still feel you. But I can’t do this alone, you need to meet me halfway. We can’t build this together if one of us keeps turning away.”

He nodded slowly, jaw tight, a flicker of resolve sparking beneath the guilt. “I… I’ll try. I swear. I’ll… I’ll fight it. I won’t let her win, not anymore. I promise.”

“That’s all I ask of you. One step at a time. For now, just be present. With me. With us.”

He finally looked up, meeting my gaze with a mixture of shame and determination, and for the first time in days, I saw the flicker of a man striving to reclaim what he had almost lost. “I agree. One step at a time,” he repeated, voice low, and this time, there was sincerity there. “I… I’ll try, Ella. This time, I really will.”

The tension lingered, it was heavy but not insurmountable. I could feel the bond responding to his honesty, pulsing with tentative life, it was as though it also recognized the fragile thread of redemption that’s beginning to form between us.

I pressed a hand to my stomach again, feeling the gentle stir of life inside me, a quiet but powerful reminder that despite the shadows, despite the temptation, and despite the past, now we had something that’s worth fighting for.

And for now, that was enough.