The Woman Who Called Me Lily

 

We sat in awkward silence for a while, the sound of eating the only thing filling the space, cutlery clinking against porcelain in a room that suddenly felt too large for six people. Looking around, I noticed everyone looking down at their plates. I sighed inwardly, wondering if we'd ever get past this.

"Kyra, you're basically legendary in the werewolf community. How'd you get into fighting?" Leona asked, breaking the heavy silence.

Thank God for Leona. I don't think I could've survived another minute of that silence.

"Kyra's always been strong, for whatever reason. She got into fighting around twelve," Jay answered for me, glancing my way with a proud smile.

I didn't miss the way Kade's stormy blue eyes flicked between the two of us before he went back to eating.

"I love fighting. All of it," I said, struggling to put the feeling into words.

Leona grimaced. "Including all the injuries that come with it?"

I laughed, shaking my head. "Not that part. Though I don't usually let my opponent land many hits anyway."

"Wow. Confident," Julian said, smirking. "Irene's really good, though. One of the best warriors in this whole pack."

I nodded, ignoring the unease building in my chest. Jayden shot me a reassuring look, and I gave him a grateful smile back — again, catching Kade's eyes narrow slightly at the exchange.

Julian must've picked up on my nerves, because he added quickly, "Not trying to intimidate you or anything. Just don't want you underestimating her — she doesn't look like much, but that's the trap."

"People underestimate Kyra all the time," one of our pack members laughed. "She looks like a doll you'd be scared to break. Reality's the opposite."

"Irene's one of the best fighters I've had the honor of training."

The table went still. Everyone's attention snapped to Kade. First thing he says all dinner, and it's praise for my opponent?

"She's an extraordinary warrior. She deserves to win this fight," he went on, and my jaw dropped.

How does he say that? I'm sitting right next to him. His mate. The exact person Irene was about to fight. I'd expected some flicker of concern, at least.

Jay set his utensils down slowly, glaring at Kade. "Kyra deserves to win. She's never lost."

"Irene hasn't either," Kade replied, cool, not even bothering to look at him.

I shut my eyes briefly, trying to rein in the emotions climbing up my throat. Hurt. Betrayal, of all things — which was infuriating, because I hated feeling this weak, this exposed. Is there an off switch for this? Does he really feel nothing?

"Well. She hasn't met me yet," I cut in, before Jay could take it further.

Kade lifted his gaze slowly to meet mine. I held it, steady, making sure my dislike for him was unmistakable. No one gets to make me feel small. Not even you.

One of our pack members laughed awkwardly. "You talk about her pretty fondly. Almost sounds like she's your mate."

I choked on my food, and Jay half-stood in alarm. I caught the ghost of a smirk on Kade's face before I looked away. Once I'd convinced Jay I was fine, I went back to eating.

"Irene means a great deal to me," Kade said, smiling faintly to himself.

I glared at my plate, hating the jealousy twisting in my chest. Why? I don't even know this man. Fate had clearly messed up somewhere when it decided we were mates.

Wait — he didn't even deny it.

No one spoke for a while, until Leona broke the silence again. Bless her, truly.

"Alpha, I have a confession. About when you first got here."

Kade gestured for her to continue.

"You said you smelled strawberries and vanilla. I hadn't burned anything close to that scent. I'll pick some up, I guess," she said, brow furrowed.

Kade's expression flickered — just barely — before he smoothed it over. "Don't bother. Forget it."

A smug smile spread across my face. So it had been me. Interesting — that's how I smell to him. At least he had no idea what he smelled like to me. That would've been embarrassing.

A wicked idea crossed my mind.

"You must've really liked it, wanting it in your own room," I said, smirking, already enjoying myself.

He ignored the comment entirely. "You were eavesdropping."

Not a question. A statement.

I shrugged like it was nothing. "Sometimes. Can't help it."

"I should get you a strawberry-vanilla candle or something. You sounded like you were really into it," I pushed, watching his stone-cold expression crack, just slightly. Barely noticeable — unless you were looking. And I was.

Julian jumped in. "You should get him strawberry-vanilla ice cream instead. He's obsessed with that combo."

He loves that flavor combination? That's... cute.

I blinked, startled by my own thought. Did I just call him cute? Someone help me.

I asked Julian to repeat himself anyway, mostly to rub it in Kade's face. But before Julian could, Kade cut back in.

"Did anyone else notice a scent that didn't belong here?"

My eyes went wide. He's turning this around.

"Weirdly enough, yeah — Kyra kept saying she smelled chocolate and cinnamon the whole time we've been here. I never caught anything like that," one of my pack members answered, completely oblivious to the daggers I was mentally throwing at him. I avoided Kade's eyes.

Too late. I caught the smug smirk already forming on his face.

"Chocolate and cinnamon?" he repeated, letting out a low chuckle. I kept my eyes on my plate, playing it off, but I couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. I looked up to find two sets of eyes on me, clearly amused.

I tilted my head, confused. Julian and Leona broke eye contact, glancing between me and Kade.

Oh no. I scanned the table — they were the only other mated pair here besides, apparently, us. They'd have gone through the exact same thing we were going through now — the scent no one else could smell, the tension. It wasn't exactly subtle between us either.

Leona caught my eye and wiggled her eyebrows suggestively before glancing at Kade, giggling to herself. A few heads turned her way. Yep. She knew.

Kade paused his meal to run a hand through his black hair — something I'd noticed him doing more than once tonight.

"Since the length of our stay is up to you, could you let us know when we'll be heading back?" Jay asked, clearly uncomfortable with the power dynamic at play.

"Already looking to leave?" Julian teased, throwing an arm around Jay's shoulders.

"Haven't decided. Honestly haven't thought about it much," Kade said with a small shrug.

I let out a frustrated breath. Every Alpha I'd ever dealt with kept a tight schedule for guests — everyone eventually gets homesick, needs to get back to their own pack.

"You'll meet Irene tomorrow. We'll give you a tour of the training grounds too, if you want extra practice," Kobi said, reminding me he was still there. Quiet as ever.

"That sounds great!" I said, clapping my hands together.

As everyone finished up, I headed to the kitchen with my dishes, the tiled floor cool under my bare feet, the hallway dimmer now with the sun long gone behind the treeline outside.

"Wait for me!" Jay called through the mind link.

"Then hurry up," I replied.

I'd just started on the dish soap when I heard footsteps behind me.

"Jay, you'd better help. I always end up washing your dishes too," I complained, scrubbing a plate.

No response. I chuckled softly — good, he should feel guilty — and moved to the next plate, half-expecting him to sneak up and hug me from behind like usual, or start his ridiculous cleanup dance.

"What, no hug today? No dancing?" I laughed, closing my eyes and spinning in place, arms raised, suds dripping off my fingertips onto the tile.

"No hugs. No dancing. Not for you," a deep voice rumbled through the kitchen, and I froze.

I turned to find Kade leaning against the fridge, arms crossed, expression unreadable, watching me with that same cold precision. The overhead light caught the sharp line of his jaw, throwing half his face into shadow.

Oh no. Wasn't Jay coming? I glanced toward the door. Empty. What's taking him so long?

I sighed and turned back to the dishes, too distracted to register the shift in scent behind me.

"My bad — thought you were Jay."

Why did I even explain myself?

"Jay?"

Right. Everyone else calls him Jayden.

"So I take it hugging and dancing are a regular thing in your pack," he said, an eyebrow lifting.

"Not really. Just our thing," Jay cut in, strolling into the kitchen. He and Kade squared off silently, sizing each other up. I watched the cold tension crackle between them.

Kade broke first, turning back to me.

"Don't you know how to use a dishwasher?" he asked, condescending.

"Excuse me?" I shot back, narrowing my eyes.

"Don't tell me you don't know what one is," he said, the corner of his mouth twitching up. God, he looks—

I cut that thought off before it finished.

"I know what a dishwasher is and how to use one," I said through gritted teeth. "What, is there one hiding in this kitchen?"

"If you'd actually looked, you'd have saved yourself all that scrubbing."

Does he get off on making people feel stupid? I scanned the kitchen, cheeks warming with embarrassment, and still came up empty.

"Then where is it?" Jay demanded, voice rising.

Kade seemed entirely unbothered by Jay's tone as he pushed off the fridge and stopped right in front of me, close enough that I caught the cinnamon-and-chocolate scent rolling off him even over the dish soap.

He looked down at me, gaze intense, studying my face like he was seeing it for the first time. A lock of his hair slipped loose, falling near his eyes. My fingers itched with the sudden urge to fix it. What would it feel like, running my hand through that?

His jaw tightened, eyes hardening.

"Move."

I snapped back to reality, staring up at the rude, infuriatingly attractive Alpha in front of me. I crossed my arms, making no move to budge. He might be an Alpha, but manners exist for a reason. Was one polite word too much to ask?

"What's the magic word?" I asked, deliberately patronizing.

He stared back, thoroughly unimpressed. Jay, clearly done watching us circle each other, stepped between us, putting distance between me and Kade.

"The dishwasher's behind you, under the sink. That's why he wants you to move," Jay explained.

I stepped aside immediately, baffled at how I'd missed it. A cupboard door sat under the sink — apparently hiding a dishwasher this entire time.

Jay pulled it open to reveal exactly that. I huffed, already defending myself.

"It looks like a regular cupboard! How was I supposed to know a dishwasher was hiding behind it?"

"Every cupboard in this kitchen looks the same — she had no way of knowing. This is your house. She's a guest. The least you could've done was point it out, especially since you got here before she did," Jay said, backing me up.

Kade rolled his eyes and shrugged, which only made Jay angrier. I could tell he was fighting the urge to snap — any wrong move here could mean real consequences.

"You two don't need to clean. We have staff for that," Kade said, already heading out of the kitchen.

I watched him go, stunned. Why not mention that before I started scrubbing? Though — honestly, I probably would've washed them anyway. Still.

"Prick," Jay muttered over the mind link.

I sighed and finished rinsing and drying the last of the dishes, telling Jay I'd be fine on my own and to head to bed. Once I was done, I dried my hands and leaned back against the counter, the kitchen quiet now except for the low hum of the fridge and, somewhere beyond the window, the distant sound of wind moving through trees.

What a strange day.

"Lily?"

I startled at the voice. A middle-aged woman stood there in an apron, mop in hand, her eyes suddenly glassy, like grief had washed over her all at once.

I glanced behind me, checking if she meant someone else. No one there. I turned back to face her.

"Sorry — I'm not Lily," I said gently. A strange, sudden urge to protect her rose in my chest. My own what, exactly?

Her expression shifted — sadness, then confusion, then something like defeat.

"I know. I'm sorry. You just look so much like someone I knew. She's gone now. For sure," she said, shaking her head. I watched her, helpless, unsure what to do. She was mourning someone. Someone gone. Someone who'd died, maybe — or disappeared.

Then something else caught my attention. Her scent. Off, somehow. I breathed in deeper, trying to place what was wrong.

Her scent didn't match the pack's. Every pack shares a collective scent signature — a way of marking who belongs. Everyone here smelled like part of the same pack.

Except her.

"What pack are you from?" I asked, genuinely curious why a non-pack member would be working here.

Her eyes darted side to side, fear flashing across her face before she answered.

"I'm from here. The BlackShadowed Pack."

Surprised, I stepped closer, studying her. Something about her pulled at me — like I already knew her, like she was someone worth protecting. She flinched back a step.

"No, you're not."

"Yes, I am."

"Please — don't lie to me. I know you're not from this pack. Tell me why you're here. I can help."

My mind raced through possibilities. A non-pack member, working in the Alpha's own house, too afraid to admit where she was really from. That fear told me everything — she wasn't here by choice.

And what scared me more was how badly I wanted to protect her.

"What's your name?"

Silence.

"Are there others like you?"

Silence — but her head dipped in the smallest nod.

"Will I see you again tomorrow?"

A quick nod. That, apparently, was all she'd give me.

Who is Lily?