CHAPTER 004

ODESSA:

I'm running through the forest, and I can hear Kade laughing somewhere ahead of me, his voice echoes through the trees. The sun is warm on my skin, and everything feels perfect and light and happy in a way that I haven't felt in so long.

"You can't catch me!" he calls out, and I can hear the teasing in his voice.

"That's what you think!" I shout back, pushing myself to run faster.

I break through the tree line and suddenly we're at the lake, the one where Kade first told me he loved me.

He's already in the water, swimming lazily on his back with a huge grin on his face. His dark hair is wet and plastered to his forehead, and he looks so young and carefree that my heart aches.

"Come on, the water's perfect," he says, splashing at me playfully.

I don't hesitate, running straight into the lake until I'm deep enough to swim over to him. He catches me around the waist and pulls me close, both of us laughing as we swim together.

"I love you," he says softly, brushing wet hair back from my face.

"I love you too," I whisper back.

He leans in and kisses me, soft and gentle and perfect, and I never want this moment to end. When he pulls back, he's smiling that smile that always made my knees weak.

"Be my Luna," he says. "Officially. I want everyone to know you're mine."

"Yes," I breathe out, feeling like my heart might burst from happiness. "Yes, of course yes."

He kisses me again, and I wrap my arms around his neck, holding him close, never wanting to let go….

I wake up with tears streaming down my face.

My pillows are completely soaked through and I'm gasping for air like I've been crying for hours, which I probably have been. The dream felt so real that for a moment I forgot Kade was gone, and now the reality of it crashes over me all over again and it hurts just as much as it did three days ago.

I press my face into the wet pillow and let myself cry for a few more minutes before I finally force myself to get up.

My eyes are swollen and red when I look in the mirror and I look absolutely terrible, but I don't have the energy to care. I pull on some clothes and head downstairs because I need coffee or tea or something to make this horrible ache in my chest feel less overwhelming.

The pack house is quiet and I'm grateful for it because I don't want to see anyone right now. I'm halfway down the stairs when I hear footsteps and then suddenly Damon appears at the bottom, clearly heading up.

We both freeze when we see each other.

He's shirtless and his hair is messy like he just woke up, and I hate that my wolf immediately perks up with interest. I can feel the mate bond pulling at me, trying to drag me toward him, and it takes everything in me to stay where I am on the stairs.

"Odessa," he says, and his voice sounds rougher than usual.

"Damon," I reply coldly, even though my heart is racing.

His eyes scan my face and I know he can see that I've been crying but he doesn't say anything about it. Instead he just stands there staring at me and I stare back, and the air between us feels charged with something I refuse to name.

My wolf is pushing at the surface, wanting me to go to him, to close the distance between us and touch him and it makes me sick. This is wrong…this is all so completely wrong, but my body doesn't seem to care about that.

"You look tired," he finally says.

"I wonder why," I snap back sarcastically.

Something flickers in his eyes but he doesn't respond.

We stand there for another awkward moment before I force myself to move, brushing past him on the stairs. My arm touches his as I go by and it feels like electricity shooting through my entire body. I hear him suck in a sharp breath and I know he felt it too.

I don't look back as I hurry down the rest of the stairs and into the kitchen.

Sarah finds me twenty minutes later, sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of tea that's gone cold because I forgot to drink it. She takes one look at my face and immediately pulls me into a hug.

"Rough night?" she asks gently.

"You could say that," I mumble into her shoulder.

"Come on, let's go for a walk. Fresh air will help."

I don't really want to but I also don't want to sit in this house where I might run into Damon again, so I agree. We head outside and start walking through the pack grounds, passing by pack members who are going about their morning routines.

Some of them wave at me sympathetically and others quickly look away like they don't know what to say.

"So," Sarah says carefully after we've been walking for a bit. "What do you think about everything that happened last night?"

"You mean Damon claiming the alpha position?" I ask bitterly.

"Yeah." She pauses. "I know it's complicated, but honestly Odessa, I think it might be good for the pack. We need a strong leader right now, especially with the Silverfangs still being a threat."

I stop walking and stare at her. "Are you serious right now?"

"I'm just saying—"n

"He abandoned us five years ago, Sarah. He left Kade to deal with everything alone and now he just waltzes back in and everyone's acting like that's okay?"

"I know you're upset—"

"Upset?" I laugh but there's no humor in it. "That's putting it mildly."

Sarah sighs. "Look, I'm not saying what he did back then was right. But he's here now and the pack needs stability. Elder Thomas wouldn't have accepted him if he didn't think Damon could protect us."

"I can't believe you're taking his side," I say, feeling betrayed.

"I'm not taking sides, I'm just trying to be practical. The Silverfangs killed Kade, Odessa. They could attack again at any moment. We need an alpha who can defend us."

I want to argue with her more, but I don't have the energy for it, so I just start walking again. Sarah follows beside me quietly, and we walk in silence for a while, heading toward the eastern border of our territory.

"I miss him," I finally say, my voice barely above a whisper.

"I know," Sarah says softly, squeezing my hand. "We all do."

We're almost to the border when I smell it.

Smoke.

Faint but definitely there, from somewhere up ahead. Sarah smells it too because her head snaps up and she looks at me with concern.

"Is something burning?" she asks.

Before I can answer, a beta comes running past us from the direction of the border, his eyes wide with panic.

"Intruders!" he shouts. "The Silverfangs are attacking the eastern border!"