Chapter 20 - Rafael
The drive into Rosecreek feels longer than usual this morning, each familiar landmark weighted with memory and meaning. Fresh snow blankets the pavements alongside the main road, turning the world clean and white, but beneath that pristine surface, I know our town is bleeding.
The bakery where Percy taught me to appreciate fresh sourdough still has boards over one window from the last attack. The clinic where Maisie usually works such long hours stands dark and quiet, its usual bustle silenced by recent threats.
I pass the lake where Bigby first showed me the eastern border of the pack’s territory, its surface frozen now, gray in the winter light. Attlefolk is a dark lump against the sky on the other side. The coffee shop Byron and Olivia love, now serving as an impromptu meeting spot for increased community patrols. The park where pack kids play, currently empty save for pristine snow, monitored by cameras Byron installed last week. Each sight strikes like a physical blow—all these pieces of home I never meant to collect, all these people I never meant to love.
The pack center looms ahead, its windows gleaming in the pale morning sun. Construction crews have mostly finished repairing the damage from previous attacks, but if you know where to look, you can still see the scars—fresh mortar here, new glass there, a constant reminder of how fragile our safety is.
Thalia wasn’t invited to this meeting—core team only—but her absence feels like a wound in my chest. The bond stretches between us, muted by distance but still alive with her pain, her anger, her confusion. Last night's confrontation replays in my mind, a broken tape.
Could have, she said. Past tense. She believes it’s already too late to ever love me again.
The meeting room on the second floor is already occupied when I arrive, tension thick in the air. Aris stands at the head of the table, his usual commanding presence somehow diminished by exhaustion. His eyes are bloodshot with sleep deprivation. His beard needs trimming.
Despite this, he holds his usual quiet authority. At his shoulder, Bigby studies a map spread across the table, his massive frame taut with worry.
Percy paces by the window, perpetually unable to keep still. Ado sits beside his mate, face grim as Keira types furiously on her laptop, while Byron peers over her other shoulder, murmuring.
"Three more packs have aligned against us," Aris says without preamble as I take my seat. "The situation is worse than we thought. They're mobilizing. And they all have one connection."
"The Smoke?" I ask, though I already know the answer.
Keira nods grimly. "Whatever we did, it’s royally pissed them off.”
"Let them come," Percy pipes up, but there's trepidation beneath his bravado. "We've handled worse."
"Have we?" Byron looks up from his laptop, his daughter cooing softly against his neck. "The Haverwoods were one pack. This is different. They're coordinated, patient. They're squeezing us from all sides. Our people are scared to let their kids outside.”
Aris spreads photos across the table—satellite imagery, surveillance shots, intelligence reports. Each one shows another piece of the noose tightening around our territory.
"We're running out of options," he says quietly. "And allies."
The meeting drags on, strategies proposed and discarded, plans made and unmade. Through it all, I watch my packmates—my family—grapple with the weight of our situation. Percy's usual humor falls flat. Ado seems even more withdrawn than normal, which is saying a lot. When Byron has to leave early to return to Olivia and Carmen, no one begrudges him the time with his family.
"We'll reconvene tomorrow," Aris says finally, his voice heavy with things unsaid. "Keep your patrols tight. Trust no one outside the pack."
As the others file out, his hand falls on my shoulder. "Stay a moment."
I sink back into my chair, already knowing what's coming. Through the glass plating across one side of the room, I watch Percy and Ado head downstairs, en route to their patrol, shoulders set in readiness for the winter wind. Keira disappears in the direction of her office, probably to chase down more leads.
"You were right about there being a leak," Aris says once we're alone. "Someone's been feeding information to our enemies. The question is, who?"
The weight of his gaze settles on me like a physical thing.
"You had suspicions about Thalia. Strong ones. Yet now she's your mate."
"It's complicated," I manage, but the words taste hollow.
"Uncomplicate it." There's no anger in his voice, but Alpha power thrums beneath the surface, impossible to ignore. "I've given you space, Rafael. Trusted your judgment. But we're running out of time for secrets."
The truth rises in my throat like bile. "She was working for the Smoke. Is working for them. But not by choice."
Aris goes very still. Outside, snow begins to fall again, soft and relentless.
I break. I tell him everything—Maia's desperate call, the ultimatum I gave Thalia, the trap I built around her to keep her safe. The burden lightens slightly with each word, but shame takes its place.
"You should have come to me," Aris says when I finish. He doesn't raise his voice, but disappointment colors his tone. "We could have found another way."
"There wasn't time," I protest, but it sounds weak even to my own ears.
"There's always time for trust, Rafael." He moves to the window, watching the snow fall over his territory—our territory. "Running a pack isn't just about strength or strategy. It's about communication.”
"The last time I trusted someone—"
"You’ve been betrayed before." Now he does look at me, his eyes sharp. "Half of us have been, Rafael. It’s painful. No one will deny you that. But you can't let one person's actions poison everything that comes after. The pack needs you whole, and it needs you present, truthful, and open."
"I'm not broken," I snap, but Aris just raises an eyebrow.
"You took a desperate situation and tried to handle it alone, just like you handle everything alone. And now your mate—a woman you clearly care for—thinks you forced this bond out of cruelty rather than love."
The words hit like punches. "I was trying to protect her. Both of them."
"By becoming exactly what she feared? Another person taking away her choices?" Aris sighs, running a hand through his graying hair. "It’s all they’ve ever done to her, it sounds like. The pack works because we trust each other, Rafael. Because we share our burdens. What you did... I understand why. But don't ever keep something like this from me again."
Alpha power fills the room, pressing against my skin like static electricity. It was not threatening, but it reminded me of my place in this hierarchy, this family.
"I won't," I promise quietly.
"Good." Aris's expression softens slightly. "Because we're going to need everyone working together to survive what's coming. No more lone wolves."
I think of Thalia, alone at the safehouse, with her guilt and fear. Of Maia in her cell, waiting for salvation. Of all the secrets still locked in my chest, poisoning everything they touch.
"I don't know how to fix this," I admit.
"Start with honesty," Aris suggests. "With her, and with yourself. The rest will follow. I’ll meet with her soon. We’ll find some way to move on from the fact that she’s been…" He grimaces, and for a moment, Aris truly does look dangerous. “She’s exceedingly lucky no one in the pack has been hurt by the Smoke’s attempts on my life.”
Outside, Rosecreek continues its winter slumber, unaware of the storms gathering on its borders. I watch Percy and Ado make their rounds, checking in with shopkeepers, greeting residents. Aris emerges from the pack center beside me, heading to check on Linnea and the kids.
All these people I've sworn to protect. All these lives intertwined with mine.
"We'll get through this," Aris says, reading my thoughts as always. "Together. As a pack should. And it’ll be a lesson learned.”
I nod, but uncertainty lingers. Trust feels like a luxury we can't afford, yet Aris insists it's the only thing that will save us.
As I drive back toward the safehouse, toward Thalia, his words echo in my mind. Start with honesty.
It’s an impossible task. I don’t know where to start.
***
That night, I approached Thalia.
I don’t know what my intentions are. They’re a mystery even to me. But I know I have to talk to her. Have to find some way to break the quiet between us, to explain, to be honest, like Aris said.
However, when I find her seated on the edge of her bed, staring out of the window into a gathering blizzard, the sight of her shocks me silent. Thalia is strikingly beautiful there against the sky, hands folded in her lap, eyes cast out into the gloom. Sad, but gorgeous. I feel her melancholy radiating from her in waves.
I want to hold her. Want to explain everything, promise I’ll love her forever, promise never to take away her choice ever again.
But when she looks over her shoulder at me, something bright and electric surges between us, an impossibly strong force.
Thalia wants me, I realize. She wants me desperately. She wants me to make her forget. To blow her mind until she can erase the pain of what I’ve done to her from it, even if for just a moment.
We don’t speak. I approach her slowly, as if to give her time to change her mind—but Thalia has other ideas.
She stands and kisses me hard, body pressed up against mine, hands already wrestling with my sweater, trying to get it over my head.
I respond to her urgency, pulling my sweater off as she tugs at it. All at once, there is no tranquility between us anymore, only raw want. Our hands roam with primal desire, desperate for each other's touch. I cup her face, claiming her lips in a rough kiss as she works at my belt, nipping at her bottom lip. Soon, we're both naked, and our skin is hot with need.
I lay Thalia down on her bed, admiring her body with hungry eyes. Her chest rises and falls rapidly, her nipples standing at attention. I trail teasing kisses down her throat, relishing in the soft gasps that escape her lips. My tongue circles around one nipple before moving to the other, causing her to arch her back and moan loudly, hands in my hair.
Making my way down her body, I worship every inch of her soft skin with my hands and mouth. When I finally settle between her thighs, she can barely contain herself. My tongue dances over her most sensitive spots, driving her wild. Her fingers tangle in my hair as she begs for more.
When she wraps her legs around me, I know she needs me inside of her. Rubbing circles over her clit with my thumb, I align myself with her entrance and enter her.
We both gasp at the intense sensation. I start with slow and deep thrusts, our bodies moving together in perfect harmony. It isn’t like last time—it’s not rough and possessive but softer, loving, and gentle. Thalia wraps her arms around my neck, pulling me closer as I ravage her, and I suck a bruise into the side of her throat, sinking my teeth into the tender skin there. I can feel every inch of her warmth enveloping me, igniting a fire within me that cannot be contained.
For a moment, our eyes lock as we find a rhythm that sends us both into ecstasy. The passion between us speaks volumes without any words needed.
With every thrust, I pick up the pace and drive into Thalia harder and harder. She meets me with equal fervor, her nails digging into my back, head tossed back. Her inner muscles clench around me as she nears the peak of pleasure.
"Rafael," she gasps out my name, pushing me further towards the edge.
I capture her lips in a fierce kiss as she finally comes to climax, her body trembling with release. The feeling of her pulsing around me is too much to handle, and I follow her into pure bliss with a guttural groan.
We stay intertwined for what feels like an eternity, our bodies still quivering with pleasure. I brush Thalia's hair back from her glistening forehead, admiring the flushed and beautiful mess that she is. Her eyes flutter open to meet mine, hazy with pleasure, and we pretend, for a moment, that we’re a normal couple. That we can love one another.