Chapter 11
Quinn’s POV
Three months under the Stormbane warriors wasn’t some training montage. It was blood, bruises, and breaking down every part of who I used to be, I trained until my fingers bled, until my arms felt like stone, until my legs gave out and my body collapsed against the frozen earth. They didn’t care who I was, and I didn’t want them to. They weren’t here to coddle me or care about my past. They were here to sharpen me into a weapon.
And I let them. No–1 begged for it. Because pain was easier than memory. Bruises were quieter than grief.
Now, I moved like a ghost through the trees, blades strapped to both thighs, my senses sharp as steel. My body was leaner and stronger. My emotions–numb, I didn’t feel things the way I used to I didn’t let myself.
Callan hadn’t said a word since that day in the forest. He just watched. Sometimes from the edge of the tract, other times from the shadows Always silent. Always there, I pretended not to notice.!!
But that night when the moon was low and my chest hurt more than u
usual–I couldn’t pretend anymore.
I didn’t sleep. I sat in the comer of the cabin, wrapped in one of the thick blankets, knees pulled to my chest as the silence pressed in. My throat burned, my eyes stung, and when the tears came, they weren’t soft. They tore through me. Raw. Uglier than I ever let anyone seek “Im sorry.” I whispered into the dark, again and again. “I’m sorry I let him touch me. I’m sorry I let him draw blood. I should’ve known. I should’ve stopped him.”
I pressed my hand flat against my.
ist my stomach, even though it was empty now. No heartbeat. No fluttering. Just silence.
“You deserved better. You didn’t even get a chance. And I–I should’ve known, I should’ve protected you.
My body trembled as I rocked forward, breath shallow and broken. I buried my face against my knees, shaking as the sobs stole what little strength I had left. In my mind, I saw mmy pup. Soft brown curls, eyes the color of mine, tiny fingers wrapped around mine. I imagined his laugh, the way he might’ve kicked when I sang, and the way he might’ve smelled like warm blankets and new life.
I imagined his first day of school, his tiny hand clutching mine with nervous excitement. I pictured his first shift under a full moon, his. bones shifting, his wolf finally rising. I saw the way his eyes might’ve lit up when he fell for someone for the first time, awkward and sweet And later, years from now, meeting his mate–the one who’d understand him the way I never could. All of it played out in my head like memones I’d never get to make. And it hit me, harder than any blow I’d taken in training: rd never get to see any of it. I lost all of it before it even began &
It was then that I looked up and saw the huge figure of Alpha Callan leaning in the doorway. He didn’t speak. Didn’t move. Just watched me quietly
I wiped at my cheeks quickly, swallowing down the last of the sounds I hadn’t meant to make.
“You here to watch me cry?” I snapped, standing too fast, my legs still shaky.
He didn’t flinch. “You don’t have to hide it,” he said, his voice too calm for how much heat was in his stare. “Weakness doesn’t make you
weak. It makes you human.”
I scoffed and crossed my arms, forcing my voice to stay steady. “Spare me the fortune–cookie wisdom. What’s yours then, Callan? Or are you too perfect for flaws?%
He took a step forward, slow and sure, like he wasn’t walking–he was bunting. “You want to know my weakness?”
I nodded once, defiant even as my breath hitched
Another step Now we were toe to toe, the heat from his body soaking into mine. “Are you sure? Because once you know it, you can use
wallowed hard “Try me
He raised a hand and cupped my jaw, his thumb grazing just under my chin with maddening care. It wasn’t sweet. It was possessive in the way that made every part of me tense–like I was being claimed without permission.
My body betrayed me. I didn’t flinch. I didn’t pull away. Heaned into it
His lips were close to my ear now his breath a hot trail down my neck. “My weakness.” His thumb pressed just a little harder)
would be fouching you like this and not finishing what i started.”I
A wave of heat flooded me My stomach clenched, my lips parted–but I said nothing
”
stap of cold wind blinked, caught between wanting to shove him and wanting to drag him back E nating control. “But I don’t have weaknesses,” he added, already halfway out the door
left behind, heart racing, breath unaven
