Chapter 10X
I didn’t expect the Stormbane Alpha to look like that. When Tony mentioned Alpha Callan, I imagined another overgrown, self–important male with too much muscle and too little patience.
But this wasn’t just some formal meeting, I was here because Tony sent me to ask Callan for help. He said if anyone could help us take down Alpha Zane, it was him Callan didn’t usually get involved unless blood ties were involved, but Tony swore he was the best choice. He wasn’t known for kindness–but for getting the job done. And that was enough ||
Now, I was facing a six feet of silence wrapped in scars, shadows, and a kind of restrained power that made the air feel heavier the moment he stepped into view.
He didn’t announce his arrival. No growl. No dramatic posture. Just emerged from the trees like he belonged to the damn forest- broad–shouldered, sharp jawed, and carrying the kind of stillness that wasn’t peaceful at all. His eyes found me and didn’t leave. They were a pale, cutting gray, not soft or curious, just… assessing. And intense. Too intense
My steps slowed. My wolf stimed–abrupt and sharp, as if she recognized something I didn’t. Something I didn’t want to.
The reaction was immediate, instinctive. And I hated it.
“Alpha Callan will meet you in the woods, at the border between our territories. Tony had said earlier, like he was casually sending me off to chat with a grizzly bear, Very reassuring
I had kept my expression neutral “Should I bow or curtsy? I didn’t bring a crown.“!!
Tony didn’t even crack a smile. That told me everything I needed to know.
Callan stopped in front of us, his posture loose but unreadable. He didn’t offer a hand. Didn’t speak. Just looked at me like he was trying to figure out what I was made of. I stared back, because I wasn’t some trembling pup. If he expected me to flinch under his stare, he was in for a disappointment
“You’re Quinn,” he said finally. His voice was deep and slightly rough, like he wasn’t used to using it unless it mattered.
“And you’re Callan.” I shrugged, fighting the heat that prickled across my chest. “I expected more snarling. Maybe a growl or two.”
His mouth twitched, just a little, like he was amused but refused to let it show. I hated how sharp that flicker of movement made my pulse skip. My wolf pressed up again, harder this time, and I clenched my jaw,2
No. Not happening
I wasn’t doing this again. I knew what it felt like to fall under the spell of someone strong, someone magnetic, someone who knew how to pull you close just to tear you apart. I didn’t believe in second chances. And I sure as hell didn’t believe in fated mates anymore.
But my body wasn’t listening The closer he stood, the more aware I became of everything. The way the wind curled around him, dragging his scent to me–smoke and pine and something darker underneath. The way his chest moved under that worn black shirt. How his scar caught the edge of the fading light like a line drawn by something vicious and intimate
I shifted my stance, needing distance, but I didn’t step back. I wouldn’t give him that satisfaction.
“You’ve been through hell,” he said in a low brow
I narrowed my eyes is that your idea of small talk?
He didn’t answer, but his presence was heavy, commanding, the kind that made it hard to breathe. My instincts were on edge, screaming to stay guarded. But beneath all that, something deeper stirred–scrnothing I didn’t want to admit.
Mate
Ibuned it had buned worse!
“Let’s get this cover with I muttered!
He didn’t move, but I saw his light gray eyes soften for a moment before it turned hard You’ll be staying in the easter cabin. It’s isolated. You won’t be disturbed,” he said. ”
My lips curled. “Didn’t realize i needed a babysitter“s
again.
not babysitting you Quinn, he said calmly, stepping just slightly closer. “But if you make yourself a problem, I will handle it That should ve pissed me off it should’ve made me throw back something biting and sarcastic E
ulse jumped. I titted my head up to look at him. “You always this charming, or do I get special treatment?)
Gul are yet” he replied I
something I couldn’t
slammed into my sense
straight into my bones before Lcould stop it. My wolf growled restless and loud, claws scraping shorp and sweet, like rain hitting scorched earth Underneath it was
rom it. I kept my expression
my body language
val. Sa didal need to know Not peti
who’d been backed bit
and leamed to bi
ead of beg
3:53 PM c c
beautiful in a way that wasn’t soft–fierce eyes, a defiant
sheer force of will
a defiant jaw, tension in every line of her body. Like a storm holding itself together by
Her scent stirred something in me I hadn’t felt in years. A need I didn’t welcome. The kind of pull that made men reckless.
I watched her eyes flicker to my mouth and then dart away just as fast, as if she hadn’t meant to look there. But I saw it. I felt it. The bond was touching her too, even if she didn’t recognize it for what it was
Good
She didn’t need to, because I wasn’t ready for this
I didn’t want a mate. Didn’t want the mess, the risk, the ache of losing something real. I’d already been there. Already watched someone I cared about bleed out because I was too slow too distracted. I couldn’t go through that again. Not even for someone like her.”
And yet, I couldn’t take my eyes off her.
She was a contradiction–guarded but not cold, angry but not broken. She looked at me like she didn’t give a damn about who I was. But her wolf was fighting it. I could sense it. She was trying to suppress something she didn’t understand yet. That made her dangerous. And addictive.
“You don’t trust anyone,” I said after she mocked the idea of hospitality. I said it like a statement, not a question.&
Her mouth twisted into something bitter. “You get a gold star“}
ave away. D
Didn’t challenge me, either. She was testing the
I didn’t push her, but I took a step closer, watching how she tensed. She didn’t move space between us, the crackle of it, the heat that wasn’t just from the fading sun.
wanted to touch her!
Not sexually. Not yet. I just want to touch her to see what it would do to both of us.
But I didn’t. Instead, I said what i had to, gave her the cabin assignment, and watched her turn on her heel like she couldn’t get away fast enough.
Still, I didn’t look away. I watched her go, every muscle in my body coiled, my wolf pacing with agitation just beneath the surface
She hadn’t recognized the bond. But she would. And when she did, I wasn’t sure who would break first.
