CHAPTER 6: The Wolves Beneath

My feet hurt. Actually, everything hurts. We'd been walking for hours, and I couldn't tell if it was day or night anymore. We were engulfed by the forest; a tangle of trees intertwined as though they were in an attempt to shut us off.

"Are we there yet?" I asked, wincing as my side throbbed where the knife had cut me.

Kieran glanced back. "Almost."

"You said that an hour ago."

He didn't answer. We just kept going like a machine of some sort. I wanted to punch him, but I didn't have the energy. The hoodie he'd given me smelled like him, pine and something wild that made my stomach flip.

The deeper we went, the weirder everything got. Moss glowed on the tree bark like tiny stars. Vines hung down like curtains, and I swear I could feel eyes watching us from the shadows.

"This place gives me the creeps," I muttered.

"It's supposed to."

"Great. So we're walking into a horror movie."

He stopped so suddenly I almost ran into him. "You want to go back?"

I looked at his face. Dark eyes, hard jaw, that stare that made me forget how to breathe."No."

"Then stop complaining."

Heat flashed through me. "I'm not complaining. I'm making conversation."

"There's a difference?"

“Yea, you are an ass," I said with a smile.

His mouth twitched. Nearly as if he wanted to smile back. "You're not wrong."

We started walking again, but something had shifted. The air felt different between us. Charged.

"Why did you come for me?" I asked after a while.

He was quiet for so long I thought he wouldn't answer. "Because you would have died."

"That's not what I meant."

"I know."

I grabbed his arm, making him stop. "You knew me before, didn't you? Before all this werewolf stuff happened."

He looked down at my hand on his arm. I should have let go, but I didn't. His skin was warm, and I could feel his pulse under my fingers.

"Some things are better left alone, Kaia."

"That's not an answer."

"It's the only one you're getting."

I wanted to shake him. Or maybe kiss him. Both thoughts scared me equally. "You're impossible."

"You're not ready for the truth."

"I just turned into a wolf and killed someone. I think I can handle whatever you're hiding."

He stepped closer. Near enough that I could see gold flecks in his dark eyes. "Pain doesn't make you ready. It just opens the door. What you do next decides if you survive."

My breath caught. "Then teach me."

Something flickered across his face. Surprise, maybe. Or something deeper. "I will."

The pledge was suspended between us like a bridge which neither of us was willing to cross first.

We walked in silence till we came to a wall of stone which was overgrown with moss and roots. It looked like the mountain had eaten whatever was supposed to be there.

"This is it?" I asked.

Kieran pressed his palm against the rock. Symbols lit up under his skin, golden and pulsing like a heartbeat. The stone shimmered and opened into a tunnel.

"Nope." I backed away. "I don't do caves."

"It's not a cave."

"It's dark and underground. That's a cave."

"You'll survive."

"Stop saying that."

He was already heading down. I cursed under my breath and followed.

The tunnel was narrow and damp, lit by more of that glowing moss. It fell into the rock, and wound itself like a serpent. I stayed close to Kieran, close enough to feel the heat coming off his body.

"Did you grow up down here?" I asked.

"No one grows up here. We just survive here."

Again that word. Survive. As though there was no other thing that mattered.

The tunnel opened into a huge underground chamber. My jaw dropped.

People. Dozens of them. Some sat around fires, and others rested against the walls. They all had the same thing in common, eyes that gleamed gold in the firelight.

"This is a lot," I whispered.

"They won't hurt you," Kieran said.

"How do you know?"

"Because I won't let them."

The way he said it made my chest tight. With intentionality. As though I were important to him.

A tall woman with dreadlocks walked over. She had the kind of presence that made everyone else step back. "You're Kaia."

"Word travels fast."

"We've been waiting for you."

I frowned. "Have we met?"

"No, but I know who you are. I'm Tyra. I keep this place running."

"Good job so far."

She laughed. "I like you already."

Kieran touched my shoulder. "She needs medical attention. Took a knife to the ribs."

"We've got someone for that." Tyra gestured for me to follow.

As I turned to go, Kieran caught my wrist. His fingers were warm and rough, and I felt that electric pulse again.

"Stay close," he said quietly. "Some of them won't trust you yet."

"But you do?"

He hesitated. "I trust what I've seen."

Something passed between us, under the surface like a running current.

"I'll try not to disappoint you," I said.

"Just try not to die."

Tyra led me through the chamber. People whispered as we passed.

"She's the one?"

"Doesn't look like much."

"Feels different, though."

I tried to ignore them, but my wolf stirred restlessly under my skin. She didn't like being watched. Neither did I.

The medical area was small but clean. A young guy with kind eyes patched me up without much conversation. He gave me fresh clothes, jeans that actually fit, a soft shirt, and a coat that smelled like fabric softener instead of blood.

I looked at myself in the mirror after changing. The girl staring back didn't look like the one from two days ago. She looked older, harder. As she had seen things she could not unsee..

Kieran was waiting when I came out. Arms crossed, leaning against the wall like he belonged there.

"You look less like you crawled out of the woods," he said.

"You look exactly the same."

"Was that a compliment?"

"Don't get used to it."

I started walking, and he fell into step beside me. It felt natural, easy. Leaving the impression of I did not need to do this alone.

He stopped at a small chamber cut into the wall. "This is yours. You'll be safe here."

I stepped inside. A bed, a lamp, stone walls. Uncomplicated, yet better than what I anticipated.

"Thank you," I said.

He nodded. "Rest while you can. Tomorrow will be harder."

"Why do I feel like you enjoy saying that?"

"I don't. But it's the truth."

I sat on the bed, suddenly exhausted. "Will you stay?"

He paused in the doorway. "If you need me to."

My wolf whispered, Stay. But I couldn't say it out loud. Not yet.

"I'll be fine," I said instead.

"I'll be nearby."

He started to leave, but I called his name. He turned back, and secondly, his defense was all off-guard.. I saw something raw in his eyes. Something that caused my heart to skip.

"I trust you too," I said.

He smiled then. A genuine smile which changed the whole of his face. "Get some rest, Kaia."

The door closed, and I was alone. But I could still feel him on the other side. Still feel that invisible thread pulling between us.

I lay down and closed my eyes, but sleep wouldn't come. My wolf was restless, pacing inside my chest. Something was wrong. I could smell it in the air, I could taste it with my tongue.

Somewhere in the darkness, a door opened. One which had better remained closed.

And footsteps echoed in the halls where no one should be walking.