Chapter 008\u00a0<\/p>\n
Theo\u2019s POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
The scent hit me before I saw her\u2013blood, silverroot, and fear.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Not fear from her\u2026 fear around her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The fear itself seemed to shrink around her. As if it knew, she wasn\u2019t afraid of death.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I followed the trail through the pines, my boots crushing dead leaves.\u00a0<\/p>\n
We had come searching for rogue tracks, but the moment that scent touched the wind, every instinct in me shifted.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Walking faster than my men. I searched for her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her faint, dying scent leading.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It led me to a cottage.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And then I saw her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kaia.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The strange woman whom I could never forget.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She saved my life, risking hers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her sad face haunted me for days.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lying in a cottage, pale as moonlight, her skin streaked with her blood and dirt.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Shivering with cold sweat.\u00a0<\/p>\n
One hand still clutched a dagger, the other pressed weakly to her ribs. She was shaking\u2013but goddess, she was alive.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I dropped to my knees beside her before my mind caught up with my body.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cKaia?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her lashes fluttered.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She looked up at me, dazed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For a heartbeat, recognition flickered across her face,maybe something else but she looked at me\u2013then she tried to push me away.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t\u2013touch me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her voice was a ghost of what I remembered.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I caught her wrist gently but firmly. \u201cYou\u2019re bleeding out. Save your pride for later.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been saving it all my life,\u201d she whispered, eyes glazing. \u201cDidn\u2019t help much. It didn\u2019t make a difference\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She slumped, her head falling forward.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Panic,a foreign, unwelcome thing\u2013flared in my chest. I tore open my jacket and wrapped it around her, pressing down on the wound.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cStay with me, Kaia.\u201d My tone came out harsher than I meant. \u201cThat\u2019s an order.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her lips twitched faintly. \u201cYou\u2019re not my Alpha\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d I said quietly, lifting her into my arms, \u201cbut I should have been.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The words slipped out before I could stop them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When I stood up, her blood stained my hands;warm, human, too fragile.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And for the first time in years, I felt something I hadn\u2019t since my mother\u2019s death.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fear.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/5\u00a0<\/p>\n
Successfully unlocked!\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 008\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fear of losing someone I wasn\u2019t supposed to care about.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Before I could say anything else, I saw light go out of her eyes and she stopped moving.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Unconscious. Cold. Bleeding.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Behind me, one of my men shouted, \u201cAlpha! We found the bodies of three rogues; dead, poisoned!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t answer. My attention stayed on the unconscious woman in my arms.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Who is she, really?\u00a0<\/p>\n
And why did the scent of betrayal and power cling to her like a curse?\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s return to the camp. She needs urgent attention\u201d I barked at my men, concern etched on my face.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cImmediately, your Grace.\u201d He agreed. \u201cLet\u2019s get moving\u201d I heard my Delta order.\u00a0<\/p>\n
With the stranger unconscious in my arms, we walked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Back to the camp.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As I carried her back toward camp, a mark on her shoulder caught my attention \u2013 a crescent within a crown.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Royal. Ancient.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I wasn\u2019t supposed to see that but her fallen dress exposed it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And then, its glow caught and fixed my attention on it for a minute longer than I intended.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Something that seems to bask in the moonlight.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Glowing. Dancing with joy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I could swear, it felt like it was glowing with happiness.\u00a0<\/p>\n
By the time we reached camp, she was fully covered in her blood.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her pulse was faint but steady; stubborn, like the woman herself\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLay her here,\u201d I ordered, clearing a cot inside the medic tent.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The healer, Seira, a sharp\u2013eyed older wolf with steady hands, moved fast, cutting away Kaia\u2019s blood\u2013soaked clothes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The gash on her shoulder was deep, claw marks, jagged and blackened by silverroot poison.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She must\u2019ve used it on her attackers, and the residue burned back through her own wound.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Clever\u2026 but reckless.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe did this to herself,\u201d Seira muttered, shaking her head. \u201cThis poison\u2013she mixed it. Twisted\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stepped closer. \u201cCan you heal her?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s lucky to be alive,\u201d Seira replied quietly. \u201cWhoever she is, she\u2019s survived something brutal.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Whoever she is.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That was the problem.\u00a0<\/p>\n
No one should\u2019ve survived rogue territory alone. Not without a wolf. And yet, the rogues we found were the ones lying dead.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I pulled a stool beside the cot, unable to walk away.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her face was smeared with dirt, but there was strength in it, a strange kind of defiance even in sleep.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I remembered the first time I saw her. Half\u2013conscious, half\u2013exhausted, still trying to fight for a stranger\u2019s life.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now, she was the one on the edge.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe called you by name, didn\u2019t she?\u201d Seira asked softly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d I said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s not from around here.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/5\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 008\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d I glanced toward the forest. \u201cAnd that\u2019s what worries me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Seira hesitated. \u201cAlpha Theo\u2026 her blood\u2013it\u2019s not pure rogue or pack. It\u2019s strong. Almost\u2026 old.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I froze. \u201cOld?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She nodded slowly. \u201cLike the bloodlines the royal houses used to have. Before they vanished.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
A chill crawled down my spine.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Royal blood. Lost blood.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And she was lying in my camp, injured.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Unconscious with a strange mark on her shoulder that I didn\u2019t know existed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cKeep this quiet,\u201d I said sharply. \u201cNo one outside this tent should know about that mark.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, Alpha.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I rose, gaze lingering on Kaia\u2019s sleeping form.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou saved me once,\u201d I murmured, voice low. \u201cNow you\u2019ve dropped into my world again\u2013bleeding, hunted, and wearing a mark that holds unknown secrets. Who are you,Kaia?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I turned to leave, but her voice, her weak and hoarse, stopped me cold.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou talk too much, Alpha.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She was awake. Barely.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her lips curved faintly, almost mocking, almost grateful.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I let out a slow breath, relief mixing with something far more dangerous.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cGood,\u201d I said. \u201cBecause I\u2019m not done asking questions.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I heard a commotion.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Outside, a messenger stumbled into camp, breathless.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAlpha\u2013the rogues we tracked\u2026 they bore Silvermoon\u2019s seal.\u201d My Beta Zane, came in.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m afraid we need to talk in private, Alpha Theo\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I looked back at Kaia. Her eyes had gone still.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She was falling in and out of consciousness.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Better, I can\u2019t have her hear things she doesn\u2019t need to know.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I took one long look at her. Then, dashed out with Zane.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In my private tent.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAlpha Theo,\u201d My Beta, Zane called.\u201cAre you sure this is a good idea? The Pack wouldn\u2019t like this very much\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I answered. Cold. \u201cThis is what I want. I don\u2019t care what the pack thinks\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBut,they have their reasons. We know the reasons. And it\u2019s valid\u201d Beta Zane says.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI know,and I understand their concerns but I can\u2019t abandon Kaia. She saved my life once,it\u2019s my turn now\u201c. I firmly replied.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zane sighed. Clearly holding back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Better. He wouldn\u2019t want to step on my tail.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zane\u2019s jaw clenched.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHow are you sure she isn\u2019t a spy? What if she\u2019s in cohort with the enemies? Would you risk the Pack\u2019s safety for a woman you barely know\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My gaze swept to him. Annoyed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Questioning my decision is not something I like very much.\u00a0<\/p>\n
3\/5\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 008\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWatch your mouth, Zane.\u201d I growled. Coldly. \u201cShe was dying,\u201dI calmly said. \u201cIf I\u2019d left her there, she wouldn\u2019t have survived the night. Would you have preferred that?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s not what I\u2019m saying.\u201d Zane\u2019s voice was steady, cautious. \u201cBut you don\u2019t know who she is.where she came from, what she\u2019s done. You found her half\u2013dead near rogue territory. For all we know, she could be one\u00a0<\/p>\n
of them.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t answer. Zane pressed on.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe camp is one thing. The men can grumble, but they\u2019ll follow orders. The pack, though\u2026\u201d He shook his head. \u201cThey won\u2019t understand why you\u2019d bring a stranger inside our borders. Not with tensions already this high.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My jaw tightened. \u201cShe\u2019s not a threat. I\u2019d have sensed it if she were.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat if she masked it? She knew, we would investigate her. She might\u2019ve masked her dangerous aura\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Beta Zane has a point but my heart disagrees.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t know what to say. To think.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s not a danger. She has no reason to\u201d I replied,looking away.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Beta Zane hesitated, then said quietly, \u201cMaybe. But sometimes danger doesn\u2019t come from the fangs we can see.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was barely breathing when I found her,\u201d I said. \u201cI couldn\u2019t just walk away.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Beta Zane sighed. \u201cThen we\u2019ll tend to her here. But until we know who she is, she doesn\u2019t set foot in the packlands.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t argue. But the muscle in my jaw twitched, betraying the thought I didn\u2019t plan to voice out.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you questioning my choices,Beta Zane?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve already made my choice.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI wouldn\u2019t dare, Alpha.\u201d Zane calmly said.\u201cI\u2019m just following protocols like we\u2019ve always done\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Protocols.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Yeah, right. I forgot protocols when Kaia is in question.\u00a0<\/p>\n
What\u2019s wrong with me?\u00a0<\/p>\n
I value protocols more than anything yet I can\u2019t seem to do the same with Kaia.\u00a0<\/p>\n
We both fell silent.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The silence lingered for a bit too long before I finally asked, \u201cDid you get anything off the body?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zane blinked. \u201cTh rogue?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I nodded. \u201cYou mentioned something earlier. A marking?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zane reached his pocket for something.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe found this on him.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
A broken pendant, shaped like a crescent moon.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My expression hardened. \u201cSilvermoon.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zane gave a grim nod. \u201cIt matches their seal. The old one, before the Alpha changed the crest. I had the tracker confirm it twice.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My face wrinkled.\u201dWhat the hell is a rogue doing with a Silvermoon insignia?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what I\u2019ve been asking myself,\u201d Zane said quietly. \u201cEither he stole it\u2026 or someone from Silvermoon gave it to him.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I folded my arms. \u201cIf that\u2019s true, it means the rogues aren\u2019t acting alone.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd bringing that girl here-\u201d Zane started, but I cut him off with a sharp look.\u00a0<\/p>\n
4\/5\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 008\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was bleeding out when I found her, not planning an ambush.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zane raised his hands. \u201cI\u2019m just saying, it\u2019s too neat. A dying stranger near a rogue with Silvermoon ties? Feels like a message, Theo. Or a trap.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThen we\u2019ll find out,\u201d he said quietly. \u201cWhether she\u2019s the warning\u2026 or the reason for it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSo,she\u2019s not coming with us,right?\u201d Zane eagerly asked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I barked. \u201cKaia is coming with us. and that\u2019s final\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I turned to leave.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If I left Kaia behind again. I don\u2019t think I will survive the nightmare.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I won\u2019t risk Kaia.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Even if I have to fight against my Beta and Pack for her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She\u2019s worth fighting for.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cedella is a passionate storyteller known for her bold romantic and spicy novels that keep readers hooked from the very first chapter. With a flair for crafting emotionally intense plots and unforgettable characters, she blends love, desire, and drama into every story she writes. Cedella\u2019s storytelling style is immersive and addictive\u2014perfect for fans of heated romances and heart-pounding twists.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Shadows Follow Lonely Minds \u2014 Christopher Harris 8 Chapter 008\u00a0 Theo\u2019s POV\u00a0 The scent hit me before I saw her\u2013blood, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[80],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27253","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-nightshade-heir-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27253","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27253"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27253\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27253"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27253"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27253"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}