Chapter 3: Moving Into Shadows

The contract felt like it weighed a thousand pounds in my bag as I drove back to the small apartment I shared with Sarah.

I gripped the steering wheel so tightly my knuckles turned white. I had just sold three years of my life, and I couldn’t even tell if I felt relieved or terrified.

Probably both.

Sarah was waiting up when I got home, sitting on our worn couch with her arms crossed. One look at my face and she knew.

“You signed it.” It wasn’t a question.

“I signed it.”

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them again, tears were streaming down her face.

“I understand why you did it. I even think it’s probably what I would have done in your position. But that doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

I sat down beside her and pulled her into a hug. She clung to me like I was already gone.

“Three years,” I whispered. “Then I come back and we figure out what normal looks like.”

“What if you don’t come back? What if you…”

“Shhh…” I cautioned her immediately as I disengaged myself from her.

“That won’t happen.”

“How do you know?”

I didn’t have an answer for that. So I just held her until we both stopped crying.

The next morning, I started the process of packing up my life. I didn’t own much. Most of my clothes fit into two suitcases. Books, a laptop, some photos.

The apartment was furnished, so there was no furniture to worry about. Sarah would keep living here, closer to the hospital where she worked.

Dad’s treatment started in three days. Ethan had already wired the first payment to the hospital.

I checked my phone obsessively, still half expecting it to be some kind of cruel joke. But the money was real. The contract was real. This was actually happening.

Ethan sent a car for me on moving day. Not just any car, a sleek black town car with a driver in a suit. Sarah stood on the sidewalk and watched as the driver loaded my bags into the trunk.

“Call me every day,” she demanded. “I don’t care if Ethan doesn’t like it. Every single day, Noah.”

“I promise.”

“And if he hurts you, if he makes you feel like you’re nothing, you call me and I’ll come get you. Contract or no contract.”

I chuckled and hugged her one more time, breathing in her familiar scent.

“I love you.”

“I love you too. Please don’t forget who you are.”

I nodded and waved goodbye before getting into the car.

The drive to Ethan’s estate took forty minutes. Forty minutes of watching the city fade away and the forest grow thicker. The Thornton pack owned thousands of acres, a private kingdom hidden from human eyes.

The estate itself looked like something from a magazine. Modern architecture blended with natural wood and stone, huge windows overlooking the forest. It was beautiful and cold at the same time.

The butler from last night, whose name I learned was Martin, greeted me at the door. He was older, probably in his sixties, with kind eyes that reminded me of my grandfather.

“Welcome, Mr. Carter. Let me show you to your room.”

I followed him without a word. After a few minutes, we finally reached it.

My room turned out to be a suite bigger than my entire apartment. King-sized bed, private bathroom with a tub that could fit three people, a sitting area with a view of the forest.

Everything was decorated in neutral tones, expensive and impersonal.

“Alpha Ethan wants you to be comfortable,” Martin said. “If you need anything—anything at all—just let me know.”

“Thank you,” I managed.

He left me alone to unpack. I stood in the middle of the huge room feeling completely out of place. This wasn’t my world. These weren’t my things. This wasn’t my life.

I unpacked slowly, putting my clothes in a closet that could hold ten times what I owned.

My books looked ridiculous on the built-in shelves, a tiny collection in a space meant for a library. The photos I brought felt wrong here too, but I set them out anyway. Sarah, Dad, even one of Tommy from before the accident.

Looking at Tommy’s photo made my chest tight. Would Ethan want me to keep that picture out? Would it comfort him or hurt him to see it?

I was already second-guessing everything, trying to figure out what he would want, what would make this easier for him, when Sarah’s words echoed in my head.

“What if you disappear so completely that there is nothing left of you?”

I shoved the thought away, refusing to let it take root.

I needed to breathe. So I stripped out of my clothes, walked into the ridiculously luxurious bathroom, and turned on the shower. The hot water hit my skin like a punishment and a comfort at the same time. I stood under the spray until my muscles loosened and my mind quieted, if only a little.

After a few minutes, I walked out from the bathroom into the bedroom, wondering what the hell I was supposed to wear to dinner in a place like this. 

My usual jeans and hoodie suddenly felt laughable. I opened the closet again, staring at the few decent shirts I owned, trying to decide which one looked least pathetic.

A knock on the door interrupted my spiral.

“Come in.”

Ethan stepped inside, still wearing work clothes from whatever he did all day. Alpha business, pack politics, things I knew nothing about.

He froze just inside the doorway. For a split second his gaze dropped lower and landed unmistakably on the towel wrapped around my waist. His eyes lingered there longer than I expected, heat flooded my face instantly.

I moved my hands almost on instinct, one sliding down to cover myself, fingers splayed awkwardly over the towel as if that could hide anything.

Ethan suddenly swallowed hard, and jerked his eyes back to mine.

“You’re settled?” he asked, voice a little rougher than before.

“As much as I can be,” I replied, swallowing the lump in my throat.

He nodded, his eyes scanning the room. They landed on Tommy's photo and something flickered across his face. Pain, maybe. Or memory. Then it was gone, replaced by that blank mask he wore.

“We should discuss expectations,” he said. “The pack knows about our arrangement. They’ve been told it’s a practical solution to help stabilize my wolf. Some will accept it. Others will not.”

“Okay.”

“There will be pack functions you need to attend. Dinners, meetings, the full moon gatherings. You’ll need to stay close to me during those times. My wolf will be calmer with you nearby.”

The way he said it made me feel like a security blanket. A tool. Which, I guess, was exactly what I was.

“In private, you can do whatever you want. This suite is yours. I won’t intrude unless you invite me. But in public, we need to appear bonded.”

“Appear bonded,” I repeated. “What does that mean exactly?”

“Physical proximity. Casual touches. Responding to each other appropriately. Nothing beyond that unless absolutely necessary for appearances.”

So I was supposed to act like a mate without actually being one. Pretend at intimacy while maintaining complete emotional distance. That sounded healthy.

“I understand.”

“Good. Dinner is at seven. Martin will show you to the dining room.” He turned to leave, then paused at the door. “Noah.”

“Yes?”

“I know this isn’t ideal. But I appreciate you doing this. For what it’s worth.”

Then he was gone, leaving me alone in my golden cage.