Chapter Three: Beneath the Skin, Between the Silence
By the time Rina reached the village, the sun was clawing its way over the trees, turning the mist to gold. Her legs ached, and her fingers trembled as she pushed open the healer's cottage door.
Maris looked up from grinding herbs. "What happened?"
Rina shook her head, brushing damp hair from her face. "Nothing. I—got lost."
Maris narrowed her eyes. She was too sharp for lies.
"You look like you've seen a ghost."
Rina gave her a brittle smile. "Maybe I did."
She escaped to the back room, where rows of herbs hung from beams and a pallet served as her bed. She sat down hard, her heart refusing to settle.
Mine.
Kael's voice haunted her like a memory that didn't belong.
She touched her chest, half-expecting to find something there—some mark, some proof. But there was only her heartbeat, fierce and erratic.
Kael was wrong.
He had to be.
Because if he wasn't…
She lay down and stared at the ceiling until sleep came and dragged her under like deep water.
Kael paced the forest ridge until the moon rose. No one challenged him—not even his own sentries. They knew the signs. The Alpha was hunting something, or someone, and best not to interrupt.
He couldn't understand it. The bond should've been impossible. He'd been warned his mate would be strong—someone with a wolf to match his. But Rina?
She had no wolf. No shift. Just soft hands and wide, mortal eyes.
But he'd felt it. The instant she turned and looked at him—
His soul had quieted.
And now, it was restless again.
He climbed the rock ledge above the pack lands and sat there, high above the trees, watching the lights from the cottages below. His eyes sought one in particular.
The healer's.
Was she thinking of him too?
Rina dreamt of firelight and fur. Of golden eyes and warm breath against her neck. She woke at dawn, her skin flushed, her lips parted in a silent moan.
She pressed her hands to her face.
This was madness.
She had to stay away from him.
But fate has a cruel sense of timing.
That afternoon, two warriors arrived at the healer's door. One was grim-faced. The other was bleeding from a jagged bite wound.
"Alpha Kael sent us," the first said. "He needs the healer. Now."
Maris frowned. "He knows I don't leave the village."
"He said bring the apprentice if you must. But he needs you."
Rina's heart turned cold. She didn't look at Maris.
"He knew I'd come," she whispered.
Maris nodded slowly, her gaze thoughtful. "Yes. He did."
And so, before the sun could set, Rina found herself on the back of a horse, heading deeper into the forest.
Toward him.