Chapter 29
The message must have reached Silverclaw faster than I expected.
Nathan arrived by dusk.
I was in the garden again, this time helping Liora pluck the petals off her favorite flowers for “magic wolf potions” that were really just puddles of mud.
Kael sat under the tree nearby, his eyes closed, his head tilted toward the sun. His wounds were healing fast now. His strength is returning.
So was mine-just in a different way.
The gate opened behind us.
I didn’t look up.
But I felt him.
Liora saw him first. She squinted, whispered, “Is that the grumpy one?”
I snorted. “Unfortunately.”
He walked in like he still owned the world, his shoulders squared, wearing that same too-clean uniform he always thought made him important.
But something was different now.
His pride was cracked.
His eyes searched the clearing.
And they found me-laughing. Dirty with garden dust. Twigs in my hair. Hands in Liora’s as we spun barefoot in the grass.
And Kael watched me like I’d strung the stars just for him.
Nathan froze.
He waited for me to stand, to walk over and greet him.
But I didn’t.
I kept spinning Liora until we collapsed in the grass, breathless with laughter.
And that was when he realized, I wasn’t coming.
He stormed forward anyway.
Nathan stopped a few paces away, his eyes narrowing.
“I didn’t come all this way to be ignored,” he snapped.
Liora stood behind me, her arms wrapped around my leg. I straightened slowly and walked over to Kael.
Nathan’s jaw tightened.
“You’re different,” he said finally. “Everyone keeps saying that. But you’re not. You’re just hiding behind them now instead of fire.”
I didn’t blink. “And you’re still blaming everyone else for what you never became.”
4:21 pm &
He flinched.
And I knew I’d hit something.
He looked at Kael, then back at me. “This is what you choose? Him? After everything?”
I took Liora’s hand again, gently.
“I chose peace,” I said. “He just happens to be part of it.”
Nathan stepped closer. “You should’ve met me at the gate.”
“No,” I said quietly. “You should’ve met me halfway years ago. And you never did.”
His hands curled into fists. “You think you’re above me now?”
“I think I don’t need to stand under you anymore.”
Nathan glared at me and turned walking away.
Kael moved beside me, his shoulder brushing mine. “You okay?”
I nodded.
Liora tugged my hand. “Can we go make more portion now?”
I smiled. “Lets make a thousand.”
*****
Next morning
The dining room felt too full, even with half the chairs empty.
Nathan sat three seats away from me, across the table. Barely touching his food.
I didn’t look at him.
I buttered toast for Liora, wiped syrup from her chin, and laughed at one of Kael’s groggy. half-mumbled jokes about wolf pups being morning monsters.
Not once did I speak Nathan’s name.
He wasn’t mine to care for anymore.
“Do you want more fruit?” I asked Liora.
She nodded, mouth full. “The red ones!”
I passed her the bowl. “Only because you’re cute.”
She grinned.
Kael leaned toward me, his voice low. “He’s boiling over.”
I didn’t glance at Nathan. “Let him.”
Kael chuckled under his breath. “This is getting fun to watch.”
“I’m not doing it for fun.”
“I know,” Kael said. “That’s what makes it hurt more.”
Across the table, Nathan pushed his plate aside.
It scraped louder than necessary.
No one said anything.
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Not even Alpha Jareth, who usually barked at table manners like they were sacred.
I cut Liora’s food into smaller bites. “Chew slowly this time.”
“I am!”
“You’re inhaling it, sweetheart.”
Liora rolled her eyes like only a five-year-old could.
Nathan stared.
Like if he glared hard enough, I’d look up but I didn’t.
Later that morning, Liora tripped running down the corridor. She scraped her knee on the stone floor and burst into loud, messy sobs.
I was already on my feet before the sound fully reached me.
By the time I got to her, she was curled into a ball, tears.streaking her cheeks.
“I’m okay,” she sniffled. “It just stings.”
“I know, baby,” I murmured, scooping her into my arms. “Let’s go fix it.”
I carried her into the infirmary, setting her on the counter like she was made of glass. The healer handed me bandages because insisted on treating her myself.
Liora always wanted me to do it.
I cleaned the scrape carefully, whispering nonsense stories about warrior wolves and flower crowns until she stopped crying.
“You’re brave,” I said, kissing her forehead.
She beamed.
And behind me, Nathan watched.
I didn’t speak to him.
Didn’t even acknowledge he was standing there.
The next morning, he came limping into the courtyard.
His arm was wrapped tight. A fresh gash across his bicep.
I didn’t react.
Alpha Jareth raised an eyebrow. “What happened to you?” “Training injury,” Nathan said too quickly.
I could hear it in his voice-he was waiting for me to ask.
But I didn’t.
******
By the third day, Nathan couldn’t bear it anymore. He started showing up everywhere.
At the training fields. Near the garden. In the hallway outside my quarters, pretending he “got turned around.”
He stopped trying to be subtle.
One afternoon, I found Kael sharpening blades in the armory. I stepped in, and Nathan was
already there
