Chapter 6

Chapter

Six

Destin

M y cabin sat nestled against the trees, its logs darkened by years, storms, and seasons. It looked solid. Sturdy. Almost like it had sprung out of the ground one day. Truthfully, it almost had.

Autumn pressed close, the air sharp and dry with the promise of frost, though winter hadn't yet sunk its claws in. The forest shifted around me, the steady hum of life preparing for the cold months ahead. Everything followed instinct out here—hunt, store, survive. I belonged in it, moving through the motions like any other creature carving out its place.

My axe waited on the stump where I'd been about to use it when the alphas came for me. My traps had worked on two of them. Not the third. Rage flashed through me at the memory, and I grabbed it.

The rhythm of the swing came easy. A brutal, repetitive thud against the wood. Logs split beneath the blade, the scent of sap rising on the air. My muscles burned with the strain—good pain. Pain that reminded me I was alive, here, free. Not stuck lapping up my own blood off of concrete.

I stacked up the firewood beside the cabin, neat and solid. A fortress against the coming cold. Every log added was one step closer to making it through the season, one less reason to leave the safety of this place. I made my world simple. Keep warm, keep fed, help others. Anything more was trouble.

Each swing sent a jolt through my arms, and memories rode the edge of every impact. Not the warehouse, not the alphas with their twisted grins. No. It was older than that. Wolves breaking beneath an alpha's gaze, bones snapping when submission didn't come fast enough. The pack. My pack.

Seeing Kael again opened up a lock box of memories that I thought I'd long since buried. The past clawed at me, and I swung harder, splitting the log clean in two. The crack of wood echoed through the clearing.

The wind kicked up, threading between the trees and pulling at my jacket. The air whispered of the cold waiting just over the ridge. I shivered once, not from the chill but from the thought of being caught unprepared. I only had a few hours, and then I needed to start on my rounds. I didn't have weeks to give, but that was what the northern alphas had stolen from me.

I pulled the axe free from the stump, wiping sweat from my brow as the sun dipped low, sending shadows stretching long across the clearing. I balanced a log on my shoulder and headed back toward the cabin.

Another flash. Lava Forks. The disappointment in my old alpha's eyes. The ground rumbling beneath my feet. It didn't matter how many years passed, that sensation of being completely and utterly powerless stayed with me, biting deeper every time I remembered.

My wolf stirred, restless inside me. He wasn't used to sitting back, but I had my task list for the week. Reinforce the cabin walls. Fix the roof where a branch had dropped a few weeks prior. Traps—check the traps. Always the traps. Everything had to be ready before the snow came, before the mountain locked us in for good.

My wolf didn't care about roofs or firewood. His needs were simpler. Eat, sleep, fight. Mate. That last one lingered longer than it should have. I'd always met my needs—found what I required when the urge struck, but I'd never taken a mate. Never wanted one. It was easier that way. Cleaner.

A low growl rumbled inside me, and I pushed my wolf back. No, I hissed. He was singularly obsessed with Lana. The woman in black. He'd noticed her right away—too much fire, too much fight. Dangerous. He liked that. Wanted to know what she'd taste like, how her skin would feel under his teeth.

I shifted the log on my shoulder, jaw tightening. He couldn't think past the fact that she smelled different—wild. Strong. Like she didn't belong to anyone. I exhaled, my jeans tightening as I threw the log down. Not helpful , I grunted.

And then the wind shifted, and her scent whispered through the trees. I ground my teeth. If this was another memory?—

No. Another scent. Kael's.

My senses heightened, taking in every shift in the air, every twitch of a branch. I felt the thud of paws on damp earth, the soft scrape of claws against roots. They came in wolf form, bodies low and quick. Kael. He didn't belong here, not anymore. He'd made his choice to leave and now to be a pack wolf.

He'd brought his mate and the woman in black. She smelled like rain on dry earth. My wolf whimpered.

When they stopped just beyond the tree line, they shifted. The crack of bone, the slide of muscle beneath skin. Years in the woods had dulled the spectacle for me. Shifting wasn't something to gawk at. It was just survival. But I had a difficult time convincing my eyes to stay on the wood pile knowing she was there in the trees.

Kael emerged first, his shoulders tense. His mate followed, pulling on a jacket and rubbing her arms against the chill. The other woman appeared last, moving with a confidence that scraped against my senses. Her steps were sure, her stance strong. She didn't seem to care about the cold. Her breath drifted in clouds, but she stood still as stone, eyes scanning the clearing like she belonged here. My wolf stirred—too interested, too aware of her presence. I moved back to the chopping block.

Kael stepped forward, gaze cautious. "Took a while to find you up here. I forgot how far back this place is."

I shrugged. Isolation was the point. Kael knew that, which meant he was saying that for his mate's benefit. He was probably trying to impress her. Avoiding talking about the truth we both knew. That this had been his home. He'd always planned on staying a lone wolf just like me.

I turned back toward the axe embedded in the stump. They could say their piece, and then they could leave.

Kael's eyes drifted to the traps scattered along the edge of the clearing. "Still using the same tricks."

I nodded. "They work."

He chuckled. "Only if you don't know they're there."

His mate turned in a circle. "You grew up here?"

I stiffened, then balanced a log and swung the axe harder than necessary. A few moments later, Kael and his mate stood next to me. "This is Callista." He gestured toward her, and she grinned like she hadn't spent a day of her life suffering. "And this is Lana."

I gave them both a nod—enough acknowledgment to be polite, not enough to invite conversation—and returned to my work.

Kael picked up a log and stacked it next to my block. He didn't ask. Just worked. I leveled him with a stare, waving him off with a quick jerk of my hand. "I don't need your help."

Kael walked to the scrap pile and hoisted another log without missing a beat. "I know."

His mate moved to join him, but Kael stopped her with a glance. "Stay back. It's cold. No reason to?—"

She shook him off, sorting through the pile to find a solid piece. Lana stopped on the opposite side, far enough back that she wouldn't be hit with flying wood, then gathered the pieces I split and carried them to the stack behind us. I glowered at the three of them.

"What's the problem?" she asked. "You don't want help, or you don't want help from she-wolves?"

I grunted. Let her believe whatever the hell she wanted to about me. Her animosity would only make things easier for me. I swung my axe, and as she bent to collect the pieces, her scent moved like a wave, wrapping around me.

I jerked my chin toward the shed. "The kindling needs moving."

Lana's eyes flashed. "Fine." She set the pieces on the stack, then stalked across the yard.

I swung. I split. Kael and Callista moved wood until the sun had dipped far below the trees, and I was covered in sweat.

Kael wiped his hand on his jeans, and his breath fogged in the cooling air. "Think that's enough?"

I gave a curt nod, jerking my chin toward the cabin. "There's food inside."

Kael raised an eyebrow. "You mean you aren't a total misanthrope?"

The corner of my mouth twitched, but I shoved the reaction down. "Don't get used to it."

The scent of meat and woodsmoke clung to the cabin, wrapping tight in the warm air that settled over the hearth. I hadn't planned on visitors, but I had plenty of stored vegetables in my root cellar to expand the stew I'd started earlier that morning.

The fire crackled, snapping with small bursts of flame as I stirred the pot. Meat and roots, simple food I could trust. My wolf preferred it that way.

"You need help serving?" Kael's voice cut through the silence, too casual. Too much like he belonged here.

I shook my head. "I've got it."

I spooned the stew into bowls, the earthy smell rising with the steam. Kael was already moving, his presence loud and close. I handed one off with a grunt, avoiding his gaze. He handed it to his mate, then came back for his. I couldn't tell if I was glad for him.

Lana took her bowl without a word, but as her finger brushed mine, she flinched, nearly sloshing the broth over the lip of the dish. She pursed her lips and retreated faster than a rabbit sensing a wolf.

Kael dug into his bowl without ceremony, spoon scraping loudly against the ceramic. Callista—his mate—tore bread into pieces and dipped them into the stew, her expression soft with contentment.

Lana swirled her spoon in the broth, her dark eyes flicking between the three of us. She took a sip, slow and deliberate. "This is good," she said, her tone guarded.

Callista nodded, mouth full of bread. "Better than good. You've got skills, Destin."

I hunched my shoulders, turning my focus to the stew in my own bowl. "It's just food." Words felt clunky in my mouth, too human. Too much effort.

Kael scoffed. "He's always been a good cook."

"You made this?" Lana dipped her bread into the stew, chewing slowly.

I nodded once. The air between us felt strange, off-balance. It was time to get this over with. I scraped my chair back from the table, the sound sharp against the quiet. "You didn't come here to rate my cooking. What do you want?"

I didn't need to ask the question. They'd already started this conversation outside of my cell. They were disillusioned if they thought they were going to give me a few days and catch me in a better moment.

Kael set his spoon down, his expression sobering. "I wanted to make sure you were good."

"I'm good." I folded my arms across my chest.

Kael glanced up with a look that said, can you stop being an asshole for five seconds?

I sent one back that said, probably not. He knew me better than anyone. He knew I wouldn't like him bringing people here even if he trusted them.

"Great. Well. Thanks for dinner." Kael slurped down the last of his stew, then pushed his chair back.

Lana put out a hand and stopped him. "Uh, no." She turned to me, her eyes flashing. "You were like a father to him. He risked his life to free you from that hell hole, and you're going to sit here and pretend?—"

"Lana." Kael blew out a breath.

"You might have respect for him, but I don't," she snapped. "You haven't even said thank you."

I clenched my jaw. "Thank you."

She rolled her eyes and stood. "Maybe there's more than one reason you live alone in the woods."

The growl came unbidden, curling up from my chest. I stood, fists clenched at my sides. "You don't know me."

Lana whirled, still holding her bowl. "I think I know enough." She stalked to the kitchen counter, rinsed her bowl and set it in the sink. Kael and his mate sat stock still across from me.

The itch to run clawed at me, instinct pulling me toward the door, toward the safety of solitude. Kael stood, his hand raised in some kind of peace offering. "We just want to understand, Destin. If you know something?—"

"You're a coward." Lana charged back to the table, staring me straight in the eyes. "You can't even hear him out. You sit here in your cabin in the woods not giving a shit what happens to anyone past your damn perimeter?—"

" I care. " My voice echoed off the walls, and the cabin stilled. My wolf surged, teeth bared in my mind.

Lana's eyes locked with mine, fierce and unwavering. "Then prove it."

I stepped toward her, my wolf prowling just beneath the surface. "You have no idea what I do for the wolves in my territory. You know nothing of the suffering they've endured?—"

She stepped forward, stabbing a finger into my chest. "I lost my brother. Watched him die while I stood there, helpless. I work with kids daily whose brains and bodies bind them in a prison worse than the one we just kindly removed you from." Her words hit like claws raking across my ribs. She wasn't backing down, and my wolf didn't know what to do with that. "So don't talk to me about suffering."

Lana's chest rose and fell with shallow breaths, and then she turned and stormed out the door. The slam reverberated in the silence.

Kael's gaze weighed heavy, but I shoved away from the table, the need to move overwhelming. I was out the door before I realized it, the cold air sharp against my skin.

Lana's figure cut through the clearing, her steps fast and deliberate, and my wolf lunged forward, driving me after her. "Lana!" The word ripped from my throat, but she kept going, her dark hair catching the wind.

Then a sharp sting cut against the skin of my neck. I grunted and stumbled back, searching for whatever had snapped against me, but the sensation didn't lessen. It only burned hotter the more I moved.

When I looked up, Lana was there in front of me. "I recommend you hold still. Unless you don't want to be able to shift for the foreseeable future."