Chapter 21: Splinters.

Kael came in from the porch just as the first strips of weak light slipped through the blinds. His boots tracked mud, his shoulders heavy with exhaustion, but his jaw was set like he’d swallowed a fight whole. He didn’t look at Riven right away.Mrs. Bea was already at the stove, her back straight, her hair pinned up neat like always. She moved slow, deliberate, the kettle clattering down with more force than needed. “You boys look like death warmed over,” she said without turning, voice steady but sharp.Ari was stretched out on the couch, shotgun leaning against his knee. His head lolled back, but his eyes were open, bloodshot and hollow. “I stayed up watching the treeline,” he muttered. “Swear I saw movement more than once.”“Paranoia,” Kael said flatly. He leaned against the counter, folding his arms, but his gaze flicked to the window as if to check for himself.“It ain’t paranoia if they were here,” Ari shot back.No one laughed.Riven hadn’t moved since Kael walked in. His eyes

Last Updated : 2025-08-21

Chapter 22: The walls have eyes.

The paper sat in the center of the kitchen table like it might explode.Two words, still damp, black ink bleeding into the fibers.Tick, tick.No one touched it now.The house groaned against the morning wind, wood creaking in its bones. It was supposed to be shelter. It felt like a trap.Kael leaned forward, palms flat on the table, his voice even but hard enough to cut through the tension. “Nobody leaves this room until we figure out how the hell that got inside.”Ari scoffed, shotgun still in hand, jaw tight. “What do you mean, how? Someone waltzed in while we were sleeping like it was nothing. That’s how.”“That’s not what I’m asking.” Kael’s eyes flicked to each of them, sharp and measuring. “I’m asking which one of us let it happen.”The silence that followed was thick, sticky, dangerous.Riven’s chest clenched. “Don’t—don’t start turning this into some witch hunt.”Kael didn’t look at him. “They don’t just walk past locks and alarms unless somebody helps them. Somebody here sli

Last Updated : 2025-08-21

Chapter 23: The ranch

Riven sat rigid in the passenger seat, his hand still curled tight around the burner phone. He’d been checking it obsessively the entire ride, screen lighting up his jawline in quick, nervous bursts. No new messages. No calls. Just silence.“Here,” Kael said, voice even but tight. “This is as close as we can risk driving.”Riven finally looked up, scanning the stretch of woods that opened into shadowy fields. “So this is it? The ranch?”Kael gave a single nod. “Mason’s family land. Old, secluded. They used to run cattle through here, but his father turned it into a fortress. Half the fences are rigged, and I’d bet money they’ve got cameras tucked in the trees.”Riven swallowed hard. “And Roman… he could be inside.”Kael’s gaze flicked toward him, unreadable in the dark. “That’s why we’re here.”The doors creaked open, loud against the oppressive hush. Ari, Harlow, and Jesse climbed out from the back, each bundled against the chill. Mrs. Bea had insisted on staying behind in town, clai

Last Updated : 2025-08-21

Chapter 24: Ashes between us

“You call that a plan?” Ari’s voice cracked through the hum of the tires. “Because from where I’m sitting, we almost died for nothing.”The SUV rattled down the forest road, headlights cutting through wet branches. Kael’s hands stayed steady on the wheel, jaw locked, eyes fixed ahead. Riven, hunched in the passenger seat, twisted toward Ari in the back.“Nothing?” His voice was sharp, frayed with exhaustion. “Roman’s jacket was there. His jacket, Ari. That means he’s alive.”Ari scoffed, rubbing blood from his temple with the back of his sleeve. “Or it means someone planted it there so you’d keep chasing ghosts.”Riven’s chest burned. He twisted back toward the windshield, fists clenching. The trees blurred by like black scars.“Enough,” Kael said quietly. Not loud, but it cut through the air like a blade.Silence dropped. The kind that presses on your chest and makes you sweat.No one spoke again until they hit the driveway.---Inside the safehouse, Bea was waiting at the kitchen ta

Last Updated : 2025-08-21

All Chapters of Call it love,Call it war: Chapter 21 - Chapter 24

Chapter 21: Splinters.

Chapter 22: The walls have eyes.

Chapter 23: The ranch

Chapter 24: Ashes between us