Chapter 036

The words cracked across the field like a whip.

Colin froze, his hand instantly falling away. My head snapped toward the sound, Darius. His tone was calm, but the look in his eyes made the air around us turn colder.

Colin stepped back at once, his voice low. “Alpha….I was just—”

“If you want to keep your fucking fingers Colin, let her fucking go,” Darius repeated, sharper this time.

Silence stretched. No one dared to move. Even Draven’s expression had gone still, unreadable.

I frowned, brushing dust from my hands. “What the hell is your problem?”

Darius turned that glare on me, dark and blistering. “My problem,” he said slowly, “is that I told you to see the healer, not prance around here playing soldier while men put their hands on you.”

The words stung, sharper than they should’ve. My pulse spiked, a mix of embarrassment and anger flooding through me.

“I wasn’t prancing,” I shot back. “And no one was putting their hands on me. It’s called training, in case you’ve forgotten.”

“Training?” He took a step closer, his voice low and clipped. “You can barely stand without flinching, and you think you’re ready to fight?”

I stiffened. “Maybe I’m trying to make sure I don’t have to rely on anyone next time.”

That made him pause. His jaw tightened, but his eyes softened for the briefest moment before the storm came right back. “You don’t get it, do you?” he muttered, almost under his breath. “You think you’re proving something, but you’re just putting yourself in danger again.”

I glared up at him. “You don’t get to decide that.”

“I do when you’re under my roof.”

The words hit like a spark. Heat rose in my chest before I could stop it. “Then maybe I shouldn’t be under your damn roof at all.”

The entire field went quiet again. Maris shifted uncomfortably beside me, glancing between us.

Darius’s nostrils flared, his composure slipping just enough for me to see the conflict underneath anger, frustration… and something else. Something that scared me more than his temper.

Draven finally exhaled, breaking the silence. “That’s enough, both of you,” he said evenly. “You’re drawing a crowd.”

Only then did I realize how many eyes were on us. Warriors, trainees, all pretending not to listen.

I swallowed hard and took a step back. “I’m done for the day anyway.”

Darius didn’t move as I turned away, his gaze following me the whole time.

But I could feel it, the tension, the unsaid words burning behind his clenched jaw.

And beneath my anger, I hated that a small, reckless part of me didn’t want him to look away.

My hands were still shaking by the time I made it past the training grounds.

Every whisper, every set of eyes on me—it all blurred together in a dizzy hum. I could still feel Darius’s voice echoing in my head. You can barely stand without flinching.

“I’m fine,” I muttered under my breath, though the ache in my ribs said otherwise.

By the time I reached the healer’s quarters, the scent of herbs and crushed roots filled my lungs. The room was quiet except for the soft trickle of water from a basin.

“Sit,” a woman’s voice said without looking up.

She was older, her silver hair braided tight, her eyes the same deep brown as the soil she worked with. Her name tag read Grace.

I lowered myself onto the stool, wincing. “I might’ve overdone it a little.”

She hummed, dipping a cloth into something that looked like melted gold. “You think?”

I stayed quiet as she dabbed at the bruises along my collarbone. The mixture stung at first, then cooled into something soothing.

“You’re Rain, aren’t you?” she asked after a while.

My head jerked up. “How do you—”

“Word travels fast in the summit,” she said, voice calm but firm. “Especially when three brothers who barely look at anyone else can’t seem to keep their eyes off one girl.”

I felt heat crawl up my neck. “It’s not like that.”

Her lips twitched. “I didn’t say it was. But that kind of attention… it breeds curiosity. And curiosity breeds fear.”

She met my gaze then sharp, almost knowing. “Be careful, child. Some wolves don’t take kindly to what they don’t understand.”

I swallowed. The reminder of the whispers, the talk of me being cursed, came rushing back. “You mean the rumors?”

“I mean the truth behind them,” Arielle said simply, wrapping a clean bandage around my wrist. “Even a lie, when spoken enough times, starts to sound like prophecy.”

The words settled heavy in the air.

When she finished, she pressed a small jar into my hand. “Twice a day. It’ll keep the swelling down. And stay out of the training ground until those ribs stop feeling like they’re on fire.”

“Got it,” I murmured, pushing to my feet.

As I stepped outside, the sunlight hit my face, too bright and too warm.

But beneath it all, I could still feel Darius’s anger burning somewhere behind me, sharp and alive.

And I hated that part of me wanted to see him again.

I headed in the direction of my room want to change out of the sweaty clothes.

“Why do you keep defying me!” he boomed the moment I stepped through the door.

The sound hit like a physical force, shaking through the quiet of the room. I froze, still clutching the little jar Arielle had given me. Darius stood near the window, his eyes a stormy shade of gold, jaw clenched tight.

“I’m not—”

“You are,” he cut me off, taking one long stride toward me. “You went against my orders. Again.”

I swallowed hard. “You don’t get to order me around, Darius.”

He stopped right in front of me, close enough that I had to tilt my head back to meet his eyes. His scent—pine, steel, something darker—crowded my senses.

“You’re injured,” he said, his tone dropping low. “You could barely stand, yet you thought it wise to go sparring with that fool again?”

“I needed to clear my head.”

His eyes flashed. “By letting another man put his hands on you?”

“That’s not what it was,” I snapped, the jar trembling in my grip. “You saw what happened out there. He was teaching me—”

“I don’t care what he was doing.” His voice came out rough, possessive, the air between us tightening like a wire. “He touched you.”

I let out a shaky laugh. “You’re being ridiculous.”

He leaned closer, until his breath brushed my cheek. “Maybe I am. But tell me, Rain…” His gaze drifted to my throat, the faint marks left by the earlier fight. “Did you like having his hands on you?”

The question burned through me, hot and reckless. I could hear my heartbeat pounding in my ears.

“I don’t owe you an answer,” I whispered.

His hand came up, slowly, deliberately and for a moment I thought he might grab me again. Instead, his fingers brushed the side of my face, tracing the edge of a fading bruise.

“Yes you do and don’t fucking say anything.” He cursed under his breath. “You bruise too easily,” he muttered, softer now. “And you heal too slow. That worries me more than you realize.”

I forced myself to look up at him, refusing to shrink away. “You’re not my keeper, Darius.”

Something flickered behind his eyes, something pained. “No,” he said quietly, his voice a dangerous whisper, “but I saved your life, Rain I am incapable of leaving you alone.”

He turned away before I could respond, running a hand through his hair. “You drive me insane, you know that?”

My throat felt tight. “Then stay away from me.”

He let out a low growl that made my stomach twist. “If it were that simple, I would’ve done it already.”

For a long second, we just stood there, close enough to feel each other’s anger, heat, confusion yet neither of us moved.

Then he exhaled, stepped back, and muttered, “Get some rest, Rain. I’ll have Clara send up some food to you. Your stomach has be growling since.”

The door shut behind him before I could think of what to say.

But even after he was gone, I could still feel his touch lingering on my skin.