Don't Touch Me

Chapter 3

The metal bites into my wrists as I sit on the bed, chains rattling. My hands won’t stop shaking.

Kade’s voice keeps replaying in my head. What did you do to him?

The problem? I don’t know.

I’ve been touched before—accidentally, briefly—and nothing ever happened. No wolves lost their beasts because of me. But with Marcus… that contact burned. His skin against mine. That strange pull inside me like something alive and hungry.

“This is impossible,” I whisper to the empty room. “That’s not how this works.”

The moon outside gleams through the barred window, taunting me. I’ve never been able to shift, never felt the pulse of a wolf inside. I’m the broken one. But tonight, Marcus became something worse—human all because of me.

I taste salt. I didn’t even know I was crying.

Then I heard footsteps approaching.

The pack house has gone silent, yet those steps echo closer. Heavy. Determined.

The lock clicks. My stomach knots.

The door swings open.

Kade fills the doorway, framed by the torchlight. His shirt is bloodstained, hair disheveled, eyes cold enough to freeze the air.

I can’t breathe.

“Marcus is stable,” he says flatly, walking in. “Physically.”

I already know what’s next.

“But his wolf,” he continues, pausing like the words choke him, “is gone. Completely erased.”

I stare at him, frozen.

He steps closer—three strides, maybe less. The air feels charged, dangerous.

“You’re going to tell me everything.” His tone could slice steel. “What you are. What you can do. And how the hell you destroyed my Beta’s wolf.”

“I didn’t—”

“Don’t.” His hand snaps out, gripping my chin through the sleeve covering my jaw. He doesn’t let skin touch. Smart man. “You’re going to fix it.”

“I don’t even know if I can—”

“You will.” Each word is a command. “Because if you can’t, you won’t live to see sunrise.”

He releases me like I burned him and steps back, shaking his hand slightly. “So start talking.”

He drags the chair from the desk, spins it around, and straddles it backward, arms crossed over the backrest. His stare pins me like a knife to the wall.

“And Sera,” he adds, voice dropping lower, “if you lie or hold back, I’ll know. And I’ll make you regret it.”

I swallow hard and nod.

“Good. Now—start at the beginning.”

My throat tightens. “The beginning?”

He tilts his head. “Don’t play stupid.”

I inhale shakily, trying to find my voice. “It started at my third Lunar Awakening ceremony.”

“Third?” His brow lifts. “You failed twice?”

“Yes.” My voice is barely a whisper.

“Then say it louder. I don’t like cowards.”

“Yes,” I repeat, sharper this time. “I failed twice.”

He leans forward. “Why?”

“Because whatever I am, I’m not like you,” I say. “The moon never answers me. That night, my father made sure everyone saw it. He dragged me in front of the pack and called me a disgrace.”

Kade studies me silently, jaw ticking.

“So what changed?”

“I ran,” I say simply. “I wanted to disappear. But I felt… something. Like a second heartbeat that wasn’t mine.”

“Inside you?”

“Yes. But it wasn’t a wolf. It was something darker.”

He lets out a humorless laugh. “You’re saying you have a monster inside you?”

I meet his eyes. “You tell me. You’ve seen what it does.”

His smile fades instantly. “Don’t get smart with me.”

“I’m not.” My voice cracks. “I didn’t mean to hurt him.”

“Intent doesn’t matter,” he snaps. “Results do. My Beta is wolf-less because of you.”

“I don’t even know how it happened!”

“Then think!” His fist slams against the chair’s back. “What did you feel when you touched him?”

I close my eyes, forcing the memory. “A pull. Like something inside me woke up and—fed.”

Kade’s nostrils flare. “Fed on what?”

“I don’t know! His energy, maybe? His wolf?”

He stands abruptly, pacing like a caged beast. “So you’re saying you ate his wolf?”

“That’s not what I—”

“Then what is it, Sera?!”

“I said I don’t know!”

Silence. Only our breathing fills the room.

Then his voice drops again, colder. “If I thought killing you would give Marcus his wolf back, I’d have done it already.”

“Then why haven’t you?”

He stops pacing and turns toward me. “Because you’re the only lead I’ve got.”

I hold his gaze, trembling. “So I’m your prisoner now.”

“Until you fix this,” he says.

“And if I can’t?”

His jaw tightens. “Then you’re just a mistake I’ll erase.”

I laugh bitterly. “You think I haven’t heard that before?”

His eyes flash gold for a second. “You talk too much.”

“Then stop asking questions.”

He steps forward again, closer than before. “You’ve got a mouth on you for someone in chains.”

“Maybe because I’ve already been through worse,” I shot back.

“Doubtful.” His hand moves—fast. He slams his palm beside my face on the wall, making me flinch. “You have no idea what I’m capable of.”

“Then show me.”

The challenge slips out before I can stop it.

His pupils dilate, jaw tightening. For a heartbeat, I think he might. But then he exhales sharply and steps back. “You really don’t value your life, do you?”

“I value the truth,” I say. “And you’re not going to find it by threatening me.”

“Careful,” he warns. “You’re in no position to lecture me.”

“Then stop pretending this is about Marcus. You’re scared.”

That hits. He freezes.

“I’m what?”

“Scared,” I repeat quietly. “Because if I can do that to your Beta, you’re wondering what I could do to you.”

For a moment, he just stares. Then—without warning—he grabs the chain connecting my wrists and yanks me to my feet. The metal digs into my skin.

“You think this is a game?” he growls, voice low and dangerous.

“No.” My heart hammers. “But maybe you should stop treating me like I’m the only threat here.”

He jerks me closer until I can feel the heat of his breath. “You are the only threat here.”

“Then why haven’t you killed me?” I whisper.

His grip tightens, then loosens. He shoves me back down on the bed. “Because I don’t understand you yet.”

“And that scares you.”

He doesn’t deny it.

For a long, tense moment, we just stare at each other. The silence is suffocating.

Finally, he mutters, “Get some rest. We start again at dawn.”

He turns toward the door.

“Kade,” I say softly.

He stops. Doesn’t turn around.

“If I’m the reason Marcus lost his wolf… what happens when I lose control again?”

He looks back at me then, eyes dark and unreadable.

“Then,” he says, “I’ll put you down myself.”

The door slams behind him, echoing through the empty hall.

I stare at the chains cutting into my wrists. The moonlight hits them just right—and for a moment, I swear they hum.

The metal warms under my skin.

Then, faintly, something whispers inside my mind.

Hungry.

I freeze, my breath stuck in my throat.

The chains glow faintly red.

And somewhere down the hall—someone screams.