The silence following Kaelan Draven's declaration of safety trembled, fragile, broken only by the storm of Nova's thoughts.
Safe—the word was foreign, like a seed struggling to root in the scorched soil of her mind. Kaelan, Alpha of the steelclaw Pack, had pulled her from the traffickers' cells, yet his strength still loomed like a storm-shield and threat in equal measure.
His golden eyes stripped away layers of fear, searching for something buried deep inside her. She felt like a spark before his tempest, fragile after years in chains.
"What's your name?" His voice was deep, rough-edged, a command wrapped in quiet authority.
"Nova," she whispered, her throat raw.
Her own name felt strange after months of silence, months of being branded only as omega-rare, coveted, disposable.
"Nova," Kaelan repeated it with a weight of possession, as if anchoring her existence in his world.
She met his gaze, trembling yet defiant, a flicker of challenge against the fear. "Why should I trust you?" she asked, voice sharp with suspicion. "After everything do I know this isn't just another trap?"
"Trust or not-that's your choice," Kaelan said, his gaze unshaken.
"But I dragged you out of that hell. That is a beginning."His presence was a storm, terrifying yet magnetic, a beacon amid her fractured reality.
He gestured toward the dark forest. "Come. The wind grows colder."
"Where?" Nova's voice was faint, her eyes lifting to the shadowed pines hiding unseen threats.
"To the pack's shelter," Kaelan replied, narrowing his eyes as though her situation were defiance. "You don't have the strength to stand here all night."
Jessa, one of her rescuers, stepped closer, her voice soft but edged with concern.
"Kaelan, she needs time. Don't push her."
"Time is a luxury we don't have""Kaelan said, cutting her a glance.
"She needs shelter, not comfort."
Nova hesitated, her gaze drifting to the looming mountains, their indifference a mirror of the cruelty of those who had captured her. Yet Kaelan's power was a shield she could not deny, even if it frightened her.
"And if they find me?" she asked, voice trembling. "Traffickers never stop hunting omegas."
"They won't have the chance," Kaelan replied, his voice like stone.
"I've seen to that."
Nova stumbled after him, feet clumsy on uneven ground. Each crack of a branch made her flinch, her senses dulled by abuse. Kaelan moved with the grace of a predator, muscles coiled beneath leather, a living force of nature.
Unease warred with fascination inside his strength highlighting her weakness, yet sparked something primal.
"What are you?" she asked, her voice shaking but curious as she struggled to keep up. "They call you Alpha, but what are you to me?"
"A man who keeps his word," Kaelan said without looking back. "The rest -you'll discover yourself."
A howl split the night, sharp and urgent.
Kaelan froze, head tilting, jaw clenched.
"What was that?" Nova gasped, her heart pounding, eyes scouring the dark.
"Traffickers?"
"No." Kaelan's voice dropped lower. "My pack. Trouble." Nova stumbled, her ankle snagging a root.
She cried out, but Kaelan's hand shot out, gripping her arm with terrifying strength, steadying her as though she weighed nothing. His golden eyes burned into hers, amber glinting like fire.
"Careful," he growled, his voice reverberating in her bones, his scent of pine and raw power overwhelming her senses.
"I didn't see," she stammered, her cheeks flushing at his touch—a warmth foreign after so many years.
"Then look where you step"" Kaelan said, releasing her slowly, his hand lingering a moment, leaving behind a ghost of heat. That touch sparked something dangerous, an attraction treacherous in its tenderness, betraying the ruins of her pain.
"Why did you do that?" she asked softly, eyes following his back.
"Why hold me up?"
"Because you needed to stand," Kaelan replied, his voice low, edged. "And because I want you to keep moving."
The path steepened, trees crowding out the starlight. Kaelan navigated with ease, his senses sharper than hers. Nova struggled, clumsy and weak, yet wonder stirred within her at his endurance.
A flicker of hope rose-could she ever regain such strength?
Rain thickened the air with its primal scent as Kaelan veered toward the mountainside. "Almost there," he said. "A cave. Shelter from the storm."
"Will it be safe?" Nova asked, her voice small, darkness recalling the cells she had known.
"Safer than the open," Kaelan answered, pulling aside ivy to reveal a narrow cleft.
"Go in."
Jessa slipped past him, her voice gentle.
"Rest, Nova. We'll stand guard."
The cave enveloped her, its shadows clean compared to her prison. Kaelan's eyes glimmered faintly, illuminating rough stone. "Rest," he said, softer now, settling near the entrance like a sentinel.
"What if I can't sleep?" Nova murmured, curling on the stone floor, her body wracked with pain.
"Then breathe," Kaelan replied, firm but quiet. "Even when your mind resists, your body needs it."
"You'll keep watch?" she whispered, her eyes fixed on his silhouette.
"Always," Kaelan said, his voice a vow, his gaze softening. Nova lay there, her thoughts a storm. kaelan—the predator, the savior, the enigma-wove himself into her mind, a force too strong to ignore.
Outside, howls echoed, reminding her of dangers yet to come. But in Kaelan's eyes, she had glimpsed something beyond dominance—a shadow like her own, and a spark of connection that both terrified and pulled her closer.
As sleep claimed her, that spark burned on a dangerous flame amid the cold ruins of her past, hinting at a future she was not ready for, yet could not resist.