Chapter 21

Cora's POV

Morning comes quietly in Frostbite.

The air is crisp, sharp with pine and earth, and the training grounds are still damp with dew when Eric calls a break. My muscles ache in the good way now, the earned way. Sweat slicks my skin, my heart pounding steady and strong in my chest. I never thought I’d love the burn this much, but here I am, breathing hard and smiling despite myself.

Eric watches me with that look again. Pride. Approval. Something warmer beneath it.

“You’re improving fast,” he says, handing me a bottle of water. “Your balance is better. You’re not hesitating anymore.”

I take it, fingers brushing his, and that familiar spark jumps between us. I swallow, forcing my eyes away before I overthink it. “I stopped doubting myself,” I say honestly. “Turns out that helps.”

His lips curve, just slightly. “It does.”

We walk toward the edge of the field together, my wolf calm and content beneath my skin. She likes him. Trusts him. That alone still feels surreal.

That’s when I sense it.

The air shifts......thickens. My wolf stiffens, ears pricking, hackles rising.

I don’t need to look to know.

But I do anyway.

Cain stands near the main path, already half turned toward the gates. His father is a few steps ahead, deep in conversation with another warrior. Cain looks… different. Tired. Worn. His shoulders are rigid, his jaw tight, and when his eyes find mine.

Something fractures.

My steps slow. My chest tightens.....not with longing, not with pain, but with something colder. Final.

Eric notices instantly. He follows my gaze, his posture changing subtly, shifting closer without touching me.

“Do you want to go inside?” he asks quietly.

“No,” I say. My voice surprises me with its steadiness. “I’m not running.”

Cain breaks away from the path.

He walks toward us with determined strides, like a man who knows he’s about to lose something and refuses to go quietly. My wolf growls low, warning, but I keep her leashed. I won’t let him see her react.

Not anymore.

Eric steps half a pace in front of me.

Cain stops a few feet away.

“Cora,” he says.

Just my name. Nothing else. And still, it irritates me.

“What do you want?” I ask.

His gaze flicks to Eric, then back to me. “I need to talk to you. Alone.”

“No,” Eric says calmly.

Cain’s eyes harden. “This doesn’t concern you.”

“It does,” Eric replies, unflinching. “You’re on my territory. And she’s under my protection.”

Cain’s fists clench. “She’s my mate.”

The words hit the air like a slap.

I don’t move. Don’t flinch. Don’t feel the bond scream, because it doesn’t.

Eric turns his head slightly, just enough to look at Cain fully. His voice is steady. Deadly calm.

“She was your mate,” he corrects. “You rejected her. You lost that right.”

Silence stretches tight and dangerous.

Cain looks at me then, really looks, like he’s searching for something......... pain, doubt, weakness.

He finds none.

“You don’t get to rewrite the past,” I say. “You made your choice. I accepted it.”

His breath stutters. “You didn’t have to......”

“Yes,” I cut in. “I did.”

His eyes flicker, desperation cracking through his control. “Everything I did was for the pack. You know that. My father.....”

“I don’t care,” I say, and this time there’s no shaking. “You chose duty over me. Over us. I chose myself.”

Eric’s presence at my side is solid. Unmoving.

Cain takes a step forward.

Eric steps too.

“That’s close enough,” Eric says, voice dropping. His wolf pushes to the surface, I can feel it, powerful and restrained, a silent threat.

Cain’s lips curl. “So this is how it is? You replace me already?”

I laugh then. A sharp, humorless sound. “You didn’t leave anything to replace.”

That finally does it.

Cain’s control snaps. “You belong to me!”

Eric moves faster than I can blink. He’s suddenly between us fully, chest squared, eyes blazing.

“She doesn’t belong to anyone,” he says. “Least of all you.”

A heavy presence slams into the clearing.

“Cain.”

Derek’s voice is iron.

He strides toward us, eyes flicking over the scene, assessing, calculating. When his gaze lands on me, there’s no warmth there. No regret.

Only recognition.

“Enough,” Derek says. “We’re leaving.”

Cain looks torn, his jaw clenched so tight I think it might crack. “Father.....”

“I said enough.” Derek’s eyes sharpen. “You’ve done enough damage already.”

He turns to Eric, nodding stiffly. “We’ll proceed with council matters through formal channels.”

Eric inclines his head slightly. “That would be best.”

Cain looks at me one last time.

I meet his gaze without flinching.

Then I turn away.

The gates close behind them not long after.

Only when they’re gone do I realize my hands are shaking.

Eric notices immediately.

“Hey,” he says softly, turning toward me. “You okay?”

I nod. Then shake my head. Then laugh weakly. “I thought it would hurt more.”

He studies me. “And?”

“It doesn’t,” I say slowly. “Not like before.”

Something in his expression eases. Pride again. Relief.

“You handled that well,” he says.

“I had help,” I admit.

He doesn’t deny it.

He searches my gaze and smiles. Reassured by what he sees. "Don't let him bother you. Everything will be fine Cora"

I smile too "Yes. I know that now" My stomach grumbles and I groan in embarrassment.

He laughs "Breakfast?"

"Yes!!! I'm starving"

He nudges me playfully. "You greedy wolf"

I giggle and smack him playfully "I'm a growing woman"

He looks me up and down. "You're already grown" He says suggestively and wiggles his brows.

This side of him was one I'd never seen before and it seemed like something Hannah would do. That made it funnier.

He grabs my hand "Let's go feed the growing woman" I smack him again, smiling.

As we walk back toward the house, the pack resumes around us, training, laughter, life moving forward. And for the first time, when I think of Cain, there’s no ache in my chest.

Only distance.

And peace.