Chapter Six - Rumors in the Wind (Kael )

The wind carried whispers long before Kael’s scouts returned.

It wound through the trees at night, carrying scents half-familiar, almost too faint to trust. His wolf prowled restlessly beneath his skin, nose lifted, ears pricked, certain they belonged to her.

But Kael knew better than to trust instincts alone. Instincts made fools of Alphas. Facts, evidence, those kept packs alive.

So he sent his spies into the human towns, men who moved like shadows and came back with fragments of stories.

A waitress too fast to be believed. A cracked counter no one could explain. A stranger knocked unconscious in an alley who swore his attacker was “barely human.”

Each rumor was tinder, feeding the fire already blazing in Kael’s chest.

She’s here.

By the third night, Elias cornered him in the war room, maps spread across the long oak table.

“You’re chasing phantoms,” Elias said bluntly.

Kael’s jaw tightened. “Not phantoms. Her.”

Elias slammed his palm on the table, frustration flashing in his eyes. “Do you even hear yourself? You’re Alpha. The pack depends on you. And you’re running off after a woman who made it clear she wanted nothing to do with you.”

The words cut sharper than claws. Kael forced his voice steady. “She carries my blood. Our heir. That alone makes her the pack’s concern.”

Elias blinked, startled. The revelation hit like a stone dropped into still water. Ripples of shock widened in his gaze. “You’re sure?”

Kael’s silence was answer enough. The bond had told him. The wolf inside him had howled it.

Elias exhaled heavily, dragging a hand through his hair. “Then this isn’t just about you anymore. If she’s out there, she won’t be safe. Not from rival packs. Not from hunters. Not from us, if the council thinks she abandoned you with your heir in her belly.”

Kael’s claws pricked his palms. “Then we find her first.”

The next morning, more reports trickled in. Wolves had been sighted near the outskirts of the human town, strangers, lean and hungry, sniffing for prey. Not Kael’s men, but rogues drifting like carrion crows on the edge of civilization.

The rumors reached Aria too.

Kael didn’t need to see her to know. The bond carried it, her pulse quickening in fear, her wolf stirring restlessly beneath her skin. It brushed against his soul in uneasy fragments, the thread between them tightening like a noose.

She knew danger was circling. She knew eyes were turning toward her.

And she knew, as surely as he did, that their paths were drawing closer with every passing day.

Kael rode out with two scouts at his side, following the faintest trails along the river. Pawprints half-hidden in mud, scents carried faintly on the breeze. Every trace stirred recognition. Not hers, never hers, but enough to circle her.

The rogues were sniffing around. Testing ground that didn’t belong to them.

Kael crouched, running a claw along the print of a wolf’s pad. Fresh. Within hours. His wolf snarled low. Too close. Too close to her.

“Alpha?” one scout asked.

Kael straightened, eyes burning gold. “They’re circling prey. We drive them off before they find it.”

The scouts exchanged a glance but didn’t question. They followed as Kael cut deeper into the woods, his senses locked on the path ahead.

Every step brought him closer. Not just to rogues, but to her.

That night, Kael made camp on the ridge overlooking the human town. Lights twinkled below, warm and fragile, unaware of the predators circling their borders.

Kael stood apart from his men, gaze locked on the streets. Somewhere down there, Aria was hiding. Somewhere, she was sleeping, or pacing, or clutching her belly, or fighting the same restless dreams that tormented him.

The bond tugged, pulling tight across the distance, threading his chest with fire. He felt her fear, her determination, her exhaustion. She felt him too, he knew she did.

They could deny it to themselves, but not to the bond.

Soon, his wolf whispered. Soon, we take her back.

Kael clenched his fists. He wanted to storm into town, tear down every wall between them, and drag her into his arms where she belonged. But he couldn’t, not yet. If he frightened her now, she’d run deeper. If the rogues struck first, she’d be caught in their jaws.

He had to be careful. He had to be patient.

And patience had never been Kael’s strength.

By dawn, the wind carried new scents, wolves, faint but closing. The rogues were moving faster. His men stirred, sensing it too.

“They’ll reach the town by nightfall,” one scout said grimly.

Kael’s wolf lunged against his skin, furious. He couldn’t let them get there first. Couldn’t let them sniff out what was his.

His eyes blazed gold as he bared his teeth. “Then we hunt at dawn.”

Far below, Aria stood at her window, staring into the same dawn. Her hand pressed protectively over her belly. Rumors of wolves had reached her ears from townsfolk too curious for their own good. And though they thought little of it, just wild animals near the river, she knew better.

Her wolf blood whispered danger.

Her heart whispered his name.

And across the distance, Kael whispered back without words, their bond carrying a promise as sharp as a blade.

I’m coming.