Chapter 121
Chapter 121: Peace
Rhea
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I don’t really sleep through the night even when the room they have provided is comfortable enough. I keep twisting and turning, and at one point I’m just sitting up straight, staring outside into oblivion. Not knowing where all this is leading too.
The ache in my chest grows from the bond that I have severed.
My wolf howls within me, quietly and painfully, mourning the bond we once had.
A part of me doesn’t think I’ll be able to get away from him, and that this is all a mistake. But a part of me knows there is no way I’m going back to him and letting him take away from me the very last of my essence that he has not already snatched from my being.
When the first rays of the sun come into my room from the window, and the light hits the walls and floors, I get up from the bed, unable to stay in there for any longer.
It’s best that I go into the house and speak to the people that have taken me in.
It’s a small walk from the barn to the house and I make it. When I knock on the door, the old woman, Ayla, opens it up and greets me.
“I hope you rested well.” She tells me while letting me in.
“As well as I could,” I sigh. “I hope I’m not imposing.”
“No, of course not,” She shakes her head and directs me to sit down across from her where she is drinking tea. “A Luna like you could not be imposing.”
“Luna?” I raise an eyebrow.
“Every wolf in the town could tell from the moment you stepped in here,” She takes a sip of her tea before speaking again. “The aura. The energy that you bring. We could never be mistaken. But then we got a bit confused when we heard that you’re from the BloodClaw pack. That pack has never had a Luna.”
I go still.
My fingers tighten around the fabric of the borrowed clothes I’m wearing. I try not to show but what’s the point? It seems
like she knows.
“I don’t understand-”
“We aren’t involved in the pack politics but we do keep track of packs,” She says with a shrug. “I can tell what you’re running from. There are stories of your alpha that have spread. He’s quite infamous for the beast he carries within himself. Is that why you’ve run?” She leans forward and places a hand on top of mine.
My eyes go wide with surprise.
She–she knows?
How does she know of Kael?
Or is it just that she knows about his wolf side, that’s ruthless and strong?
Perhaps, the latter.
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Chapter 121
I try to keep a calm front. I don’t want to seem completely helpless or show my confusion.
“My alpha and I had our differences and we parted ways.”
The words sound like a lie. They taste bitter in my tongue.
“That wouldn’t make you flee in the middle of the night. Now, would it?” She raises her brow.
She wants to know.
Or maybe she already does.
“Or is the reason you’ve fled from him is because of the stories of him are far truer than you have anticipated,” she continues.
I swallow hard.
“Yes,”
She narrows her eyes, considering, thinking. I can tell that.
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“I don’t want to impose myself,” I say after a moment of silence. “I’ll leave in a few days. I just need to find a safe location and something permanent and once I do, I’ll find a way to repay your hospitality.”
“You can stay here, find shelter here. We don’t associate ourselves with the pack or the council. No one comes here except for those who are already lost.” She tells me in a comforting tone.
I release a breath that I have been holding back.
“But-”
“There’s nothing to fear, child. We can always use another member in this pack. And a young soul like you would benefit all of us.” Her mouth stretches into a smile, not the evil kind.
A pack.
The word catches me off guard. For so long, I’ve only ever belonged to one pack–one that saw me as nothing, as a runt, as disposable. And after everything I went through with Aron, I don’t know if I can ever belong to one again.
But Ayla doesn’t say it like it’s a demand. She offers it like a choice. Like something I could take if I wanted.
I release a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.
“You don’t have to decide now,” Ayla continues, sensing my hesitation. “You’re tired. Rest for as long as you need. Stay for as long as you want.”
I nod, grateful, but something inside me still itches with unease. I won’t be able to stay here forever. It’s only a matter of time before Kael finds me. Before the Council catches wind of where I am.
I have to keep moving.
But for now, I simply say, “Thank you.”
For the rest of the day, I try to help Ayla with whatever that is that she needs, even if it is the smallest of things like g wood from outside or cleaning up the fireplace.
By nightfall, I find myself exhausted enough to go back into the barn that’s there for me. There’s a pile of blankets has been set in the corner for me, and I sink into them gratefully.
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Chapter 121
For a few moments, I allow myself to breathe.
No sounds of wolves outside my window.
No scent of him lingering in the air.
No fear of what’s waiting for me the moment I close my eyes.
It should bring comfort. It should make me feel safe.
But it doesn’t.
Something feels off.
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I roll onto my side, staring at the wooden beams overhead. My muscles ache from the day’s work, and my eyelids are heavy with exhaustion, but my body refuses to fully relax.
My wolf shifts restlessly inside me, ears perked.
She feels it too.
I tell myself it’s nothing. I tell myself I’m just being paranoid, that after everything, my mind is to expect danger even when there is none.
But then, suddenly, I begin to hear howls. Loud howls. My entire body locks up at the sound of that.
Aron.
It has to be him.
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AD
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