Chapter 3

Nyx

I should’ve run.

Everything in me screamed to run, to keep going until I collapsed or disappeared. That’s what survival had always looked like: movement, silence, solitude.

But I stayed.

Because when Caspian said, “I know what it’s like to be alone,” something inside me cracked open just wide enough to let the smallest piece of warmth in.

Now, I was curled beside a fire I didn’t build, watching the flames dance between us like they could burn away the silence.

He hadn’t touched me. He hadn’t even moved closer.

But the bond was there.

Faint. New. A hum beneath my skin where it used to be a burn. Not like with Kade—whose rejection had torn something from me. This felt… different.

Slower. Gentler. Almost like it was asking for permission.

He doesn’t know who you are, my wolf whispered.

Neither do I, I answered.

Caspian sat with one knee drawn up, forearm resting casually across it, like he was keeping himself anchored to the earth. His eyes glowed faintly amber in the firelight—Alpha eyes. But not the kind that commanded fear.

He looked like he had been feared once. Maybe still was.

And yet, he was careful with me. Like I was something he didn’t want to scare off.

Or break.

“I don’t trust you,” I said, just to break the silence.

He didn’t flinch. “Good. You shouldn’t.”

That surprised a huff of laughter out of me—bitter, but real. “You’re not exactly selling yourself as a trustworthy stranger.”

His mouth twitched. Not quite a smile, but close.

“I’m not a good man, Nyx. You won’t find any fairytales here.”

My gaze flicked to the scar running along the side of his throat—half-hidden beneath his collar, but deep. It looked like it had come from claws.

Or worse.

“Then why are you out here?” I asked. “What are you running from?”

His eyes flicked to mine.

For a long moment, he said nothing.

Then: “The past. Same as you.”

The fire popped between us, spitting embers into the night. I let the silence stretch this time, because I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear more. Not yet. I wasn’t ready to tell my story, either.

But my wolf paced inside me, restless.

She didn’t feel threatened by him. In fact, she felt something I hadn’t in a long time.

Safe.

Which made no sense at all.

I hugged my knees tighter, watching him from beneath my lashes. “You said you’re not from my pack. You weren’t sent by anyone?”

“No.” His voice was firm. “I wasn’t looking for anyone. And I definitely wasn’t looking for a mate.”

The word sliced through me like a blade.

Mate.

The word I’d wanted to hear from Kade. The one that had been used to destroy me.

I looked away, throat tightening. “You’re going to reject me too, then.”

He was silent for a long time.

Then he said something I didn’t expect.

“I should.”

I jerked my gaze back to him. My heart stopped.

“But I won’t,” he said quietly. “Not tonight.”

A rush of something I couldn’t name flooded me. Relief. Terror. Hope. Fury.

Don’t.

Don’t let this matter.

He’ll leave. They always do.

But then he added, “And not because I think you need saving, or because I expect anything from you. I’m staying because… I think the Moon put you in my path for a reason.”

His voice dropped lower.

“And I’ve stopped ignoring her.”

A shiver rippled down my spine.

For the first time in days, I didn’t feel like prey.

I felt… seen.

And it scared the hell out of me.

Later, after he rolled out a blanket and offered it to me without a word, I lay beneath the moonwillow branches, staring up through their silvery leaves.

I could feel him not far from me, his presence a solid weight against the air. His heartbeat was steady. Not fast. Not nervous.

Grounded.

He doesn’t look at you like you’re small, my wolf whispered.

No, I thought, he looks at me like I’m dangerous.

And for some reason… that felt more comforting than any apology.

As I drifted toward sleep, something stirred beneath my skin again—like the light from the glade had only gone dormant, not disappeared.

And when I opened my eyes for just a moment, I swore I saw it again:

A faint silver pulse in my palms. A quiet, ancient power curling back to life.

He hadn’t seen it.

But I had a feeling he would.

Eventually.

____________

Caspian

I didn’t sleep.

I told myself it was instinct—staying alert in unfamiliar territory, guarding against rogues or whatever else roamed these woods.

But the truth?

I didn’t sleep because she was too close.

Nyx lay curled beneath the moonwillow tree, her breathing steady now, but her scent… Gods, it clung to the air. Wild lavender, smoke, and something ancient. It stirred something in me I hadn’t felt in years.

Not just want. Not even need.

Recognition.

My wolf was on edge the entire night, pacing beneath my skin. Not because he was anxious.

Because he wanted her.

She’s ours, he growled, over and over like a mantra.

Claim her. Protect her. Keep her.

But I couldn’t.

I’d already lost one mate—and nearly lost myself with her.

This wasn’t a life I could offer anyone. Not even a second chance.

Especially not a girl with a target on her back and power leaking through her like moonlight through cracks in stone.

I’d seen it—just for a second, as she drifted toward sleep. A flicker of silver at her fingertips. Raw. Untamed. And definitely not omega energy.

She wasn’t what her pack thought she was. Not even close.

And now that power was waking up—here, with me.

Which meant trouble. The kind that didn’t go away quietly.

When the first light of dawn crept through the trees, I finally stood and stretched, rolling my neck until it cracked. My bones ached from staying still too long, but it was worth it.

She hadn’t moved all night. Hadn’t run.

Small wins.

Nyx stirred just as the fire burned low. She sat up slowly, blinking the sleep from her eyes, her dark hair tangled around her face.

And for one brief, gut-wrenching second, she looked soft.

Vulnerable.

Like the girl she should’ve been, if the world hadn’t tried to break her.

Then her gaze locked on me, and just like that, the steel returned.

“How long have you been watching me?” she asked, voice rough from sleep.

“Long enough to know you snore,” I lied.

Her eyes narrowed, but her lips twitched—almost a smile. Almost.

“Liar.”

I shrugged. “Guilty.”

She pulled the blanket tighter around her shoulders and looked away. “You stayed.”

“You thought I wouldn’t?”

“I didn’t think anything,” she said, too quickly.

But she had. I could see it now. She’d expected me to be like him.

Kade.

Whoever the bastard was, I already hated him. Not just because he’d rejected her, but because he’d made her expect everyone else to do the same.

I stepped closer, slow again, keeping my distance but making sure she could see me. “You’re not nothing, Nyx.”

Her jaw tightened.

“I didn’t say I was.”

“You didn’t have to.”

She turned sharply, eyes flashing, but before she could speak, her body tensed.

And then I felt it too.

A pulse in the air. Not a sound—more like a vibration, brushing against my skin like a static charge.

Magic.

It was coming from her.

Nyx looked down at her hands just as a faint shimmer flickered across her palms—there and gone in less than a heartbeat. She blinked, stunned.

“I—” she whispered, then closed her fists like she could hide it. “That’s new.”

“No,” I said quietly. “It’s not. You’ve just never seen it.”

She swallowed, her throat working hard. “What is it?”

“I don’t know. But I think… you’re starting to remember who you really are.”

Her eyes shot up to mine, wide with something between fear and hope.

Don’t give her false promises, my mind warned.

But my wolf already knew the truth.

She was more than just a second chance.

She was a mystery I couldn’t walk away from.

And maybe… maybe a redemption I didn’t deserve.