Chapter 21
By the time I returned to Stormbane Pack, I felt completely wrecked.
My body ached with every step. Cuts and bruises covered my arms, and a sharp pain lingered in my ribs. Ever since I lost my wolf, healing had been slow. Almost human. I didn’t like it I felt exposed and weak,
But it wasn’t just my body that felt broken. I hadn’t found Callan. I had no idea where he’d gone or what he was doing. The forest had swallowed him whole. And even after everything I saw, everything I survived, I came back with nothing.
When I stepped inside the packhouse, I didn’t expect anything. But there he was…
Callan stood near the stairs, his back to me, talking to Jalen. His usual aura filled the room, calm but commanding. I stopped in my tracks. Something inside me lit up. It was stupid, but I felt relieved. Happy, even. Just seeing him again made my chest feel less tight…
I walked toward him, trying not to show how bad I was hurting. “Hi” I said. I was excited to tell him about the healer encounters and the discovery of my ability
He turned, and the moment our eyes met, he didn’t look calm at all.
“Where the fuck have you been? he shouted.
Jalen flinched, stepping back. Callan’s voice echoed across the halls
“I almost ripped the forest apart looking for you,” he growled. “You could’ve been dead
I swallowed hard. “I was just worried,” I said, my voice faltering as i blinked, caught off guard by the heat in his tone. “You weren’t home for days I just wanted to know what happened to you.“)
He let out a short, bitter laugh. “And who gave you orders to do that?” he snapped. “Do you even have the right to worry about me?” Thai hit harder than it should have.
I didn’t even realize I was crying until I felt the tears slipping down my face. Jalen turned away, pretending not to notice. Maybe he was trying to be polite. Maybe he just felt awkward
“I’m sorry.” I whispered. My voice broke on the words.
I didn’t wait for a response. I tumed and went straight to my room, shut the door behind me, and let myself fall apart.
The tears kept coming, and I hated it. I promised myself I wouldn’t cry anymore. Not after Zane. Not after everything. I was done being that girl. So why now?
Callan hadn’t even hurt me. Not really. Not like the others did. But his words hit deep.
Maybe it was because I knew I disappointed him. But why should I care?%
And why did it hurt so much?
Callan’s POVE
The second I found out Quinn new all the way down to fucking Silverclaw by herself, I nearly lost IL No I did lose t
What the hell was she thinking? That pack nearly tore her apart, left her for dead, and now goddamnr. family reunion? Alone? No backup? No plan? Just vibes and trauma?!
she decides
go strolling back in like it’s a
That’s my mate Charging into a death trap because she’s got a grudge and no sense of self–preservation.
I was ready to tear through every tree in the south to get her back. Hell, I almost did.!!
But then my wolf spoke up Calm Steady Like he hadn’t been pacing in my head for days.
“She’s our mate. She’s strong. Even without her woll She survived that place once, she’ll do it again. There’s power in her, more than she
knows Maybe more than us “..
Type
to hand out compliments, especially not to anyone who bled. But I
cast part made me stop More than us? My woll wasn’t the t nodded i didn’t like it. Didn’t agree with it. But I nodded. Because if I kept pacing like a madman, I’d shift and go feral So in
instead, I
deep int
the woods and took it all out on every rogue, beast, and unlucky creature that crossed couldn’t tell her the truth That she was mine. That the bond between us wasn’t just a flicker. It was a damn wildfire cursed. Thats the part that no one knew I
my path it wasn’t just frustration.
would fall on her too. I couldn’t do that I’d rather be silent than see her suffer again t actually happy. Believed, even. My first words were. Where is she? But Jalen wouldn’t meet my e in look for you “a
He said.
Not out loud i went right back into the forest | started to drop, and then I came back to Stormbane feeling like a failure 1 letumad bruted beat
an idiot, thinking Fd find her I didn’t I almost lost my damn mind all over again i
I searched and kept
sushed it open 1
154 PM c
“She went into the woods to look for you”
I panicked, but I didn’t show it. Not out loud. I went right back into the forest like an idiot, thinking Td find her. I didn’t. I searched and kept searching until the sun started to drop, and then I came back to Stormbane feeling like a failure
And when she finally returned, bruised, beaten, I almost lost my damn mind all over again!
Now I stood outside her room, staring at the door like it owed me answers. Eventually, I pushed it open
She was asleep.
Curled up under the blanket, arms tight around her body. Her face looked calm, but I saw the wet streaks on her cheeks. Tears Even in sleep.
My wolf whimpered. “Do something.”
So I walked over Slowly.
I sat at the edge of the bed and reached out, brushing my fingers along her arm. Just a touch. Nothing more
She sighed in her sleep, body relaxing just slightly. And then I felt a warmth pulsed from my palm into her skin, and in seconds, her wounds faded. Bruises disappeared. Cuts sealed.}
