Morning light slipped through the trees like liquid gold, spilling across the forest floor and brushing the edges of my little cabin.
For once, I woke before the birds.
I lay still for several seconds, staring at the wooden ceiling above me.
My first thought wasn't the Blood Moon.
It wasn't the bond.
It wasn't even Keiran.
It was the strange pulse I'd felt beneath the forest floor the night before.
It had stayed with me in my dreams, faint and almost impossible to describe. Not a sound. Not a voice. Just a feeling that something was there.
Waiting.
Watching.
I pressed a hand against my chest.
Nothing.
Just my heartbeat.
"Probably nothing," I whispered.
My wolf stirred.
You don't believe that.
I sighed.
"No."
I sat up.
"Unfortunately."
The cabin was quiet as I dressed. Outside, the forest was already waking. Birds called from the branches, and somewhere in the distance, I could hear the faint sounds of the pack beginning its morning routine.
Silvercrest never truly slept.
There was always someone training.
Someone patrolling.
Someone cooking.
Someone gossiping.
Someone watching.
Especially lately.
I didn't need anyone to tell me that people were still talking.
I could feel it.
When I walked through the pack grounds, conversations seemed to lower themselves whenever I approached. Sometimes I caught pieces.
Sometimes I didn't.
But I knew.
The story had changed.
At first, I had been the forgotten girl who somehow found her mate.
Then I had become the rejected girl who ran away before the rejection could even happen.
Now...
I wasn't entirely sure what I was.
A curiosity, perhaps.
A rumor.
A question no one knew how to answer.
I had survived.
That seemed to bother people more than anything.
A rejected mate was supposed to disappear quietly.
Heal.
Submit.
Keep her head down.
Become someone no one had to think about.
But I hadn't.
I kept waking up.
I kept working.
I kept training alone when I had the chance.
I kept walking through the pack grounds with my head held high, even when my chest still hurt.
I didn't do it to prove anything.
At least, I told myself I didn't.
I simply didn't know how to stop living.
By the time I reached Lysandra's garden, the sun was already climbing higher.
The healer was waiting for me with several baskets lined up beside the herb beds.
She pointed at them.
"You're late."
I looked at the sun.
"It's barely morning."
"It's morning enough."
I smiled faintly.
"What do you need?"
She handed me a list.
"Gather the moonleaf from the eastern garden, sort the dried sage, and take the fresh wolfsbane to the training grounds."
I stared at her.
"The training grounds?"
She gave me a look.
"Yes, Elara. The training grounds."
I took the basket.
"Do you enjoy making me uncomfortable?"
"Immensely."
I rolled my eyes.
"You're terrible."
"And you're still here."
"Unfortunately."
She smiled.
"Go."
I headed toward the eastern garden first.
I gathered the herbs carefully, checking each stem before placing it into the basket.
The work was calming.
Simple.
Something I could control.
Unlike everything else.
I didn't notice the pair of wolves watching me from the far side of the training grounds.
But they noticed me.
Keiran had been standing near the edge of the field, arms crossed over his chest as he watched the warriors train.
His attention should have been on the sparring match happening in front of him.
It wasn't.
Callen noticed.
Of course he did.
Callen noticed everything.
He leaned against the wooden railing beside Keiran, following his friend's line of sight.
There was a long silence.
Then Callen said casually,
"So..."
Keiran didn't look at him.
"No."
Callen blinked.
"I haven't even asked anything."
"You were going to."
"I was."
Keiran sighed.
"Don't."
Callen's mouth curved into a grin.
"You know, for someone who supposedly doesn't care, you're remarkably interested in where she is."
Keiran's jaw tightened.
"I was looking at the garden."
"The garden is over there."
"I know."
"And Elara is standing in it."
Silence.
Callen's grin widened.
"Interesting."
Keiran finally looked at him.
"You're annoying."
"I've been told."
"Frequently."
"By you, mostly."
Keiran shook his head and looked away.
Across the field, I was still gathering herbs, completely unaware of their conversation.
I crouched beside one of the beds and carefully cut a few stems.
The morning breeze caught my hair, pulling loose strands across my face.
I brushed them away.
Keiran's eyes followed the movement.
Callen noticed that too.
He whistled softly.
"So..."
Keiran groaned.
"Callen."
"Are you going to reject her?"
Keiran's expression hardened.
"I don't want to talk about this."
Callen shrugged.
"Fine."
A beat passed.
"So, are you going to reject her?"
Keiran stared at him.
"I just said I don't want to talk about it."
"I know."
"Then stop asking."
"I thought repetition might help."
"It won't."
"You sure?"
"Yes."
Callen nodded thoughtfully.
"All right."
Another silence.
Then—
"Are you going to reject her?"
Keiran closed his eyes.
"Moon help me."
Callen laughed.
"What? I'm just trying to understand the situation."
"There is nothing to understand."
"Really?"
"Really."
Callen glanced toward me again.
"Because from where I'm standing, there seems to be quite a lot to understand."
Keiran didn't answer.
Callen folded his arms.
"You haven't rejected her."
Keiran's jaw flexed.
"I haven't spoken to her."
"Exactly."
"Because she ran."
"Because she was scared."
Keiran looked at him.
Callen shrugged.
"Can you blame her?"
Keiran's expression shifted.
Only slightly.
"No."
Callen caught it.
"There."
"What?"
"That."
Keiran frowned.
"That what?"
"You care."
"I don't."
"You absolutely do."
"I don't."
Callen grinned.
"You know, you're terrible at lying."
"I'm not lying."
"Then answer the question."
Keiran went quiet.
Callen waited.
Eventually, Keiran muttered,
"I don't know."
Callen's teasing expression faded slightly.
That was the first honest answer he'd gotten.
"You don't know whether you want to reject her?"
Keiran looked toward the field.
"I don't know what I want."
Callen studied him.
"That's new."
"Shut up."
"I'm serious."
"So am I."
Callen nodded.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Across the field, I lifted the basket and started toward the training grounds.
Keiran immediately noticed.
His posture changed.
Callen looked at him.
"Oh."
Keiran said nothing.
"She's coming here."
"I can see that."
"Are you going to talk to her?"
Keiran's eyes remained fixed on me.
"I don't know."
Callen smiled.
"You're very decisive today."
Keiran ignored him.
I approached the healer's tent with my basket held tightly in both hands.
My heart had already begun beating faster.
I hadn't expected him to be here.
I knew he trained almost every morning.
I knew that.
But knowing something and seeing it were completely different.
I kept my gaze lowered.
I could feel him.
Even from across the field.
My wolf stirred immediately.
Him.
I swallowed.
Not again.
I didn't want that longing.
I didn't want the pull.
I didn't want my wolf remembering something my mind was trying desperately to forget.
Our mate.
"Don't," I whispered.
My wolf whined softly.
I walked faster.
I could feel someone's eyes on me.
I refused to look.
If I looked at Keiran, I'd have to wonder again.
Did he reject me?
Would he reject me?
Was he waiting for me to come back?
Was he relieved that I had disappeared?
I couldn't handle the questions.
So I kept walking.
I reached the healer's tent.
I placed the basket down.
Then I turned around.
I almost made it.
Almost.
"Elara."
My entire body froze.
Callen.
Not Keiran.
I turned.
Callen stood nearby, smiling faintly.
"Morning."
"Good morning, Alpha."
He looked at the basket.
"Lysandra?"
I nodded.
"She needed the herbs delivered."
"Of course."
His eyes flicked toward Keiran.
Then back to me.
"How are you?"
"I'm fine."
Callen raised an eyebrow.
"You always say that."
"It's usually true."
"Usually?"
I smiled faintly.
"Sometimes."
He chuckled.
Then his expression softened.
"I'm glad you're here."
I looked at him.
"Why?"
"Because hiding doesn't suit you."
My smile faded slightly.
"I wasn't hiding."
"No?"
"No."
Callen glanced toward the field.
"Good."
I followed his gaze accidentally.
Keiran was there.
Our eyes almost met.
My wolf surged.
I immediately looked away.
"I should go."
Callen nodded.
"All right."
I turned.
But before I could leave, he called after me.
"Elara."
I looked back.
"Don't assume you know what someone is going to say before they say it."
My heart tightened.
He knew.
Of course he knew.
I forced a small smile.
"I'll try."
Then I left.
Behind me, Callen watched until I disappeared between the trees.
He turned back toward Keiran.
Keiran was still staring at the path I'd taken.
Callen walked over.
"So."
Keiran sighed.
"No."
"I didn't say anything."
"You were about to."
"I was."
Callen smiled.
"You know, I think I'm starting to understand."
Keiran looked at him.
"What?"
"You don't want to reject her."
Keiran's expression darkened.
"I never said that."
"You didn't have to."
Keiran looked away.
Callen's voice became quieter.
"Then what are you afraid of?"
Keiran didn't answer.
For the first time, Callen didn't tease him.
He simply stood beside his friend.
The training field continued around them.
Warriors shouted.
Weapons struck.
The morning sun climbed higher.
And somewhere beyond the field, I continued walking through the forest, still believing that Keiran had rejected me.
Still afraid to learn the truth.
Neither of us knew what the other was thinking.
And perhaps that was the cruelest part.
The bond had brought us together.
Fear had kept us apart.
But fate...
Fate had never been particularly patient.
And somewhere deep beneath Silvercrest, that strange pulse moved again.
Waiting.
Listening.
Growing stronger.
I didn't know it yet.
Neither did Keiran.
But the distance between us was no longer empty.
Something had begun filling it.
Something neither of us could see.
Something that had been waiting far longer than either of us realized.