Chapter 173
The air was cooler tonight, brushing against my bare arms as I stepped out into the dimly lit courtyard. The moon hung low and heavy, casting silver light across the cobblestones, and for once, the summit grounds felt quiet… peaceful, almost.
Anna had gone to bed early, still sore from today’s sparring session, and Tomas had disappeared with a group heading to the hot springs. I wasn’t ready to sleep yet—my thoughts were restless, my skin still buzzing from the intensity of the day.
That’s when I saw him. Alex.
He leaned against one of the old pillars lining the far garden path, his arms crossed, dark shirt clinging to the sculpted lines of his chest and arms. The shadows played across his features, highlighting the sharp angles of his jaw, the slight curve of his smirk when he noticed me watching.
“You always walk around alone at night?” His voice was low and smooth, like honey poured over gravel.
I lifted a brow. “Only when the air’s too heavy to breathe inside.”
He pushed off the pillar and began walking, not asking but silently inviting me to follow.
We wandered side by side in silence at first, our steps crunching over the gravel. The path led us to a more secluded part of the grounds, lanterns dimmer here, trees whispering secrets above us.
“You’re not like the others,” I said quietly.
His gaze flicked to me. “No?”
“There’s this… mystery around you. You’re quiet, but your silence says more than some people’s words.”
He chuckled, and damn it, that laugh—deep, effortless—stirred something in me. “Maybe I like being unreadable. Keeps things interesting.”
I gave him a sideways glance. “So what’s your story, Alex?”
He paused, then slowed his steps. “I’ve trained under four different Alphas. Moved between packs when alliances broke. My parents are gone—war took them. I’ve learned to survive without letting anyone too close.”
That hit harder than I expected. I looked ahead, unsure how to respond.
“But you,” he continued, “you walk like someone carrying more weight than you show.”
His words felt like a thread, pulling at seams I’d tried to keep stitched. “You don’t know me,” I said, softer than I meant to.
“No,” he agreed, “but I’d like to.”
We stopped beneath an archway covered in vines. The moonlight hit his face just right—eyes dark and unreadable, lips slightly parted as he looked at me. My heart stuttered. Something was shifting, and I didn’t know whether to lean in or pull away.
But before anything more could happen, a sharp voice tore through the moment like a blade.
“Astrid.”
I stiffened. My blood turned to ice.
Jeremiah.
He stood a few paces away, arms tight at his sides, eyes blazing. The kind of fire that didn’t warm—it burned.
Alex straightened. “Alpha.”
Jeremiah didn’t acknowledge him. His gaze was fixed entirely on me, and I could feel the heat of it pressing into my skin. I took a breath and stepped forward.
“Jeremiah, I—”
“Walk with me. Now.” His voice was low, barely restrained.
I hesitated. Alex looked at me, a flicker of concern in his expression. I nodded at him and followed Jeremiah down a narrow path lined with hedges, heart pounding with every step.
The moment we were alone, Jeremiah spun to face me.
“What the hell was that?”
“What?” I blinked, incredulous. “A walk? A conversation?”
“With him?” His voice cracked with something between anger and disbelief. “You’re mine.”
My breath caught. “You don’t get to say that. Not after everything—after ignoring me, walking around with her, acting like I don’t even exist—”
“I had to—”
“You don’t get to decide when to acknowledge me and when to disappear!” My voice trembled with fury. “I crossed countries to find you, and you’ve done nothing but treat me like a stranger.”
Jeremiah stepped closer. Too close. “Do you think this has been easy for me?” he growled. “Every time I see you with him—touching him, laughing—it drives me fucking insane.”
He was in my space now, our chests nearly touching, breath mingling in the cold night air.
“You abandoned me,” I whispered.
“No,” he said, voice low, rough. “I’ve been trying to protect you.”
“From what?”
“From me.”
The silence between us crackled. My chest rose and fell rapidly, and I could feel his heat, his anger, his want.
Jeremiah’s hand lifted, fingers brushing the side of my face. I hated how my body responded, leaning into the touch I didn’t want to crave.
“You’re playing with fire,” he said
It took everything in me to stay still, to not close the distance and give into that pull that had haunted me since the first time our eyes met.
His forehead pressed against mine. I could feel his restraint like a live wire between us. The tension was unbearable.
Then, without another word, he turned and walked away, the sound of his boots sharp against the stone.
Leaving me there—again.
But this time, something inside me didn’t shatter. It hardened.
I stood under the moonlight, breathing in the cold night air, my pulse still erratic. I didn’t need him to save me. I didn’t need his protection. What I needed… was to remember who the hell I was.
And I was done letting his silence define me.
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