Chapter 6

CHAPTER SIX

T he air between them crackled, heavy with words unsaid and emotions too raw to be tamed. Rochelle's eyes locked on Caleb’s, her mind spinning. She had never seen him like this before. His normally calm and steady demeanor had fractured, revealing a storm underneath that she hadn’t known existed. And now, that storm was aimed at her.

"You have to decide. It’s either the job or me."

The job or him. It wasn’t a question. It wasn’t a negotiation. It was an ultimatum. A line in the sand that he had drawn without warning. Now she stood on the edge, unsure of what to do next.

Rochelle opened her mouth to respond, but nothing came out. Heat rose in her chest, a mixture of anger and panic swirling together in a dizzying rush. Caleb’s gaze bore into hers, unyielding, fierce. There was no softness there now. None of the warmth she was used to. His wolf was close to the surface. She felt the beast simmering just beneath the skin.

“You can’t ask me to choose.” But even as she said it, she knew that wasn’t true. He was asking her to choose.

“I’m not asking you. I’m telling you. This is it, Rochelle. You can’t have both. You either take that promotion and leave, or you stay here. With me. With the pack. But you can’t keep running. Not anymore.”

The job meant everything to her—her career, her independence, her freedom. She had worked so hard to get to this point, to prove that she could make something of herself outside of the pack’s expectations, outside of the bond that had tied her to Caleb since they were young.

But Caleb wasn’t just some passing phase. He was a constant, always there, always watching, always waiting. And now he was pushing her—pushing her to make a choice she wasn’t ready to make. She felt the pull of the bond in her chest, the undeniable connection that linked them, even when she tried to ignore it. But she couldn’t let it define her. Not now. Not when she was so close to achieving everything she had dreamed of.

“I…” She hesitated, the words catching in her throat as a thousand thoughts raced through her mind. This isn’t fair , she wanted to scream. You can’t make me choose .

But Caleb’s eyes were burning with an intensity she had never seen before, and the air between them felt too thick to breathe.

“I deserve more than to be your second choice," he said. "I’ve waited for you. I’ve followed you. I’ve let you live your life the way you wanted because I thought… I thought eventually you’d come to me. But now… I can’t keep doing this. Not if you’re going to walk away.”

“I never asked you to wait for me.”

“No, you didn’t. But I did anyway. And now I’m done.”

What was she supposed to say? That she wasn’t sure? That she needed time? That she didn’t want to lose him, but she didn’t want to give up her dreams either?

Caleb didn’t wait for her answer. His body tensed, his shoulders tight as he looked at her, his expression hardening once more. “That’s what I thought.”

Before she could even process what was happening, he turned on his heel and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him. The sound echoed through the small space, reverberating in the silence that followed.

Rochelle stood there, the weight of his ultimatum pressing down on her like a vise, making it hard to breathe. The room suddenly felt too small, too suffocating, and she couldn’t move. Couldn’t think.

Tears burned at the edges of her vision. She blinked them away, refusing to let them fall. She wouldn’t cry. She wouldn’t let him see her like this, even if he wasn’t here to witness it. She had to be strong. She had to prove that she could make her own choices, that she wasn’t just some pawn in the bond that tied them together.

But deep down, beneath the anger, beneath the defiance, something else stirred. Something deeper.

The bond.

It pulsed inside her, aching, raw. And for the first time, Rochelle wasn’t sure if walking away would give her the freedom she craved—or if it would leave her more lost than she had ever been.

Caleb had always been her constant, her rock. No matter how much she pushed, no matter how much space she claimed for herself, he was always steady, always patient. He never raised his voice, never showed anger. His emotions were a deep well. But tonight, that calm had shattered, and the force of his anger had hit her like a hurricane.

Rochelle's pulse pounded in her ears. She could hear her own breathing—sharp, uneven—and beneath that, the soft creak of the floorboards as she shifted her weight. The only sound in the room was the soft rustle of the curtains as a faint breeze slipped through the open window. The scent of the woods lingered, earthy and familiar, mixed with the faintest hint of Caleb’s scent—pine, musk, and wildness.

Her hands trembled as she pressed her fingers to her lips, as if trying to hold in the emotions swirling inside her. She wasn’t scared. She knew Caleb would never hurt her. Not physically. Not in any way that would make her feel unsafe. But his anger—his words—had cut through her, leaving her raw and exposed.

Rochelle’s chest tightened as the weight of it settled on her. The bond. The thing she had fought against for so long, denying it because she needed her independence, her freedom. She needed to make her own choices, to live her life without being tied to anyone else. And Caleb had always respected that—or so she thought.

But tonight, he had let her see the truth. He had let her see just how much her distance, her stubbornness, had hurt him. And it hurt her to know it.

Why did it have to be like this? She had simply assumed that Caleb would follow her. He always had, after all. He found her every full moon, no matter where she was. He’d rearranged his life around hers for years without ever asking for more.

She had assumed too much, hadn’t she? She had assumed that Caleb’s patience was endless, that he’d always wait for her, always come to her. That he’d never ask for anything more than what she was willing to give. But now…

Now he was asking. No—demanding.

Rochelle’s shock began to fade, and in its place, anger simmered. The heat of it rose in her chest, igniting a stubborn flame. She was not going to let him dictate her life. She was not going to be boxed into the bond, no matter how strong it was. No matter how much it tugged at her, deep inside, making her feel things she didn’t want to feel.

She punched her foot into her clothing. She jammed her shirt over her head. She kicked into her shoes.

How dare he think he could demand this from her? How dare he storm out like that, like she was supposed to just fall in line because of some bond? She had a career, a future she’d worked for, and she wasn’t going to let anyone take that from her. Not even Caleb.

She was leaving. She was taking that promotion, and she wasn’t going to let anyone—not even her fated mate—stop her from living her life on her terms.

Caleb didn’t own her. The bond didn’t own her.

She was leaving. She had to leave. She had to show him that she could live her own life without the bond pulling her in.

But as she stepped toward the door, her hand hovering over the handle, she hesitated.

For the first time, the thought of leaving didn’t feel like freedom.

It felt like a loss.