The Stranger By The Water

Chapter Three – The Stranger by the Water

Lucien's POV

The sky was already a warm gold as I made my way deeper into the woods, my boots sinking softly into the mossy ground. The trees were whispering about me, serene and still, but my heart was far from that.

I was supposed to be looking for Gerva leaves—a medicinal plant our healer had asked our pack to obtain. One of the puppies was running a fever, and she had said the leaves might be able to lower his body temperature.

That is the only reason I came out here.

Not to think about her. Not to feel this ache again.

But I did.

Every step I made, I remembered how my mate would smile. How she would hum when she brushed her hair in front of the window. How she disappeared into thin air.

Two years.

And yet, I looked for her face in each crowd. Still followed each whiff of scent that was like hers. Still carried her name as a wound I never wanted to heal.

Elara.

I closed my eyes for a moment, then compelled myself to move on.

"Just get the leaves," I told myself. "Then come back.".

Kairo, my wolf, was running in my head. He never slept. Not since we lost her.

I'm not sure if it was guilt… or the ache of missing her… but he would not forget.

Neither would I.

As I walked out to the edge of the creek, something made me stop. A scent. Soft. Distinct. Faint

And then I saw her.

A woman. She was kneeling by the river.

Her back was to me. Her shoulders were shaking like she was sobbing. But it wasn't just that.

It was her hair.

Dark. Long. Draping over her back just like Elara's used to.

My heart pounded in my chest.

No… It can't be…

I didn't think. I didn't breathe. I just acted.

"ELARA?" I screamed, my voice shaking.

She flinched but didn't lift her head.

I sprinted towards her, hoping… praying… Please let this be her…

But the moment she shifted her face, I stopped in my tracks.

It wasn't her.

My legs rooted me to the same position. I stared, watching my breath leave like a punch.

This was not Elara.

Some other random person.

I took a step back. My fists bunched.

Damn it.

Why in the world did I even believe it would be her?

I wanted to leave. Wanted to face the other direction and walk away from her like she wasn't there. Because she wasn't her. And I didn't have any more space in my chest for someone else.

But Kairo rumbled deep and low.

Stay.

"No," I whispered in my head. "We're not doing this."

Stay, he growled again, pushing harder. His voice in me was fierce. Angry. Guarded.

I shook my head. "She's not her."

But Kairo would not release me. My feet would not budge.

He clawed at my chest, rising like a tempest. I could feel him on my skin, feral and agitated.

She remained there—kneeling, crying. Her sobs were muffled now, but the pain in her body was clear. Her arms were wrapped around herself as if she was holding the broken fragments of her heart.

Kairo let out a low whine.

And I surrendered.

Not because I cared.

Not because I wanted to.

But because some part of me couldn't leave her like that.

I moved closer and stood a few feet behind her.

She didn't move. Didn't glance at me. Just wept into the silence.

"Are you going to stay down there forever?" I asked, my voice gruff.

She didn't answer.

I waited.

Still nothing.

Her hair had fallen in her face. Her hands were trembling in her lap. Her dress was torn at the hem, as if she had run through the forest. Her knees were scabbed. There was a new bruise on her arm.

I let out a soft sigh, rubbing a hand over my face.

"What are you doing here?" I knelt beside her. "It's getting dark."

She didn't say anything.

Her lips were white. Her eyes empty. She looked lost—like someone who had nothing left.

I tried again. "Where do you live?"

No answer.

"Your name is?"

Silence.

I should have left. She wasn't talking. She wasn't mine. She wasn't Elara.

But her eyes…

There was something there. Like a silent cry. A hurt too deep for words.

I couldn't put it into words.

She didn't have to speak. Her silence said it all.

I got up slowly.

Then knelt again, this time with purpose.

Slowly, I slipped one arm between her legs, the other around her waist. She tensed.

"No—" she breathed in a hoarse whisper.

"I'm not asking," I said softly.

She didn't fight. Didn't try to push me away. Just stared at me as if she couldn't quite believe that someone had touched her.

I rose, lifting her from the cold ground.

Her head dropped onto my shoulder, too exhausted to stay up.

And when I left the water with a woman I did not know. my name was whispered again in secret by Kairo.

She is not Elara.

But there is someone about her.

I did not know who she was.

But I knew one thing.

I could not leave her there.

Not now.