Chapter 10
Kaelen braced his hands on the cabin’s worn wooden floor, his breathing rough as the shift tore through him. Bones cracked, muscles contorted, and fur gave way to skin. The change was always brutal, but tonight it was different. Tonight, it didn’t feel like punishment. It felt like freedom.
Macy’s voice still echoed inside his head, steady and certain: You are not a monster. You are Kaelen.
For years, he had lived shackled by that single word.
..monster. It had been hurled at him as a child, whispered behind his back as an adult, and etched into his bones until he believed it.
But she hadn’t flinched. She hadn’t recoiled.
Macy had touched him, even held him. Wrapped her arms around the very thing he hated most about himself and called it him. ..not monster.
Kaelen sat back on his heels, running a hand over his face. The sting in his throat wasn’t from the shift this time. It was something far more dangerous. Something Macy had given him in a single breath.
Hope.
He dragged on the pair of jeans he’d left folded in the bathroom, the fabric rough against his skin. Once dressed, he strode to the door and swung it open, the cool edge of dawn cooling his hot flesh.
She was there, sitting at the picnic table, elbows braced, with her chin resting on her fists.
Her eyes were closed, her lips curved faintly as though she was lost in some dream.
The early light kissed her hair, and for a moment, Kaelen just stood in the doorway, drinking her in.
She was beautiful not only on the outside, but also on the inside, where it truly mattered.
The beast inside him rumbled with a contentment he had never known, and Kaelen realized with sharp clarity what Macy had done for him tonight. She had accepted his other half and, in doing so, she had given him back a piece of himself he thought was gone forever.
His chest tightened, and his jaw clenched as he stepped down onto the grass, each stride silent but sure. He didn’t want to wake her. He only wanted to be close. To feel that steady calm that only she seemed able to summon from the chaos inside him.
Kaelen eased down onto the bench beside her, the wood creaking under his weight. For a moment, he just sat there, his arm resting on his thigh, watching the way her chin perched on her fists, her lashes brushing against her cheeks as she drifted half-asleep.
Macy stirred, her eyes fluttering open slowly. She blinked once, then a smile touched her lips as she saw him next to her.
“You’re back,” she whispered, her voice soft and drowsy.
He didn’t answer right away. Instead, Kaelen lifted a hand, hesitating only for a breath before letting his knuckles graze her cheek the same way his Werewolf had done. Her skin warmed under his touch.
“You feel the same,” he murmured, his voice rough but steady. “Him. Me. There’s no difference to you, is there?”
Macy leaned into his hand, her smile deepening. “None,” she said simply. “Because there isn’t one.”
For the first time in longer than he could remember, Kaelen let himself believe her—but the need to understand ate at him. “Why?”
“Why?” Macy repeated, frowning as she lifted her chin from her hands to face him fully. “Because everyone deserves to be happy, Kaelen.”
“I agree,” he said slowly, shaking his head, “but that’s not what I mean.” His jaw clenched as he searched for the right words. “The first time you saw me, I was raging. Everyone else feared me. Yet you stood against them… for me. Why?”
Macy sighed, her gaze breaking away from his. He felt the loss of her eyes like a blow. Damn, he was falling hard for this woman, and it wasn’t good. He couldn’t let it happen. He didn’t even know how long he’d be here.
“Because I know the Crows,” she said at last with a shrug, her voice clipped.
“They condemn before they even bother with the truth. My father was meant to be the next Alpha of our Murder until Jack Crow accused him of stealing. There was no proof. My father wasn’t a thief, but they still believed Jack.
They followed his word, and he now sits as Alpha.
I don’t trust him. I don’t trust anyone he puts in control. ”
Kaelen stayed quiet, giving her room. Every instinct screamed to pull her into his arms, but he kept still, watching her gather her thoughts.
“I spent years trying to prove my father innocent, even after Jack took the Alpha seat, but it didn’t matter.
The mark stuck. Because of Jack’s word, my family was outcast, but still forced to give half of everything we earned.
Half,” her lips curled into a sneer, “always half. And then, when my parents were killed in a car crash, Davey, the owner of Shift Faced, my boss, my friend, took me in. Gave me this cabin. Gave me safety. Until one of my own took his life out of greed.”
Her voice softened, the sharp edges breaking into sorrow. “I don’t trust my Alpha, but I can’t leave. I don’t have the means. This cabin…it’s as far as I can go.”
Finally, she turned to him, and the sadness in her eyes nearly gutted him.
“Why were you there yesterday?” Kaelen asked, though he already suspected, anger tightening his gut like a vice.
“To pay my share,” she said simply, her shrug heavy with resignation. “It’s the way.”
“It’s bullshit,” Kaelen growled, shaking his head hard. “Do they give you anything for it? Offer you protection?”
Macy snorted, her bitter laugh cutting deep. “No. They don’t.”
Kaelen cursed low, his eyes narrowing as anger surged.
He dragged in a steadying breath before leaning closer, his voice rough but softer now.
“I’m sorry about your parents. And about your friend.
” He reached out, his large hand enveloping hers, giving a gentle squeeze. “Do you have anyone else? Any family?”
“No,” Macy said, though she returned the squeeze, her voice steady despite the tremor in her chin. “But I’ve got a few good friends. I’m fine. I’m tough.” She forced a brave smile, but it wavered at the edges.
“You’re many things,” Kaelen said, his tone low, his gaze unwavering, “and tough is only one of them.”
Her chuckle slipped out, but he caught the pain behind it.
“What?” he asked.
“Add loudmouth, opinionated, and pain in the ass to that list,” Macy teased with a shrug, though her eyes glimmered with something raw. “Figured I’d save you the trouble.”
Kaelen’s hand moved before he thought, his palm cupping her chin, urging her to meet his eyes. “Beautiful. Brave. Loyal. That’s what I see.”
And then he gave in. Slowly, he leaned close, brushing his lips against hers.
Her mouth was soft, warm, and when he slid his hand to cradle the back of her head, tangling in her hair, it was like a dam breaking inside him.
His Werewolf roared, his pulse thundered, and for the first time in too long, he let go of the fight and simply felt.
Macy deepened the kiss with a hungry little sound, sliding closer until she straddled his lap. Her body pressed against his, heat flaring between them, her hands buried in his hair. His arm locked around her lower back, keeping her flush against him, every inch of her testing his control.
He wanted her—hell, he ached for her—but Kaelen forced himself to tear his mouth from hers, breathing hard.
“Macy…” His voice was low, husky, not even his own.
He stole one more kiss, unable to resist the taste of her, but when she tried to kiss him again, he pulled back, though every muscle screamed against it.
“Take me inside, Kaelen,” she whispered, her voice pleading.
The words damn near broke him. He stood quickly, setting her down, making no attempt to hide the bulge pressing against his pants.
“No.” The single word was rough, sharp, and nearly tore him in half.
“Macy, I don’t even know if I’m staying here.
I shouldn’t have—” His words faltered when hurt flickered across her face.
“Shouldn’t have what?” she asked, her voice quiet but sharp as glass. “Kissed me?”
Kaelen raked a hand through his hair, his chest rising and falling as if he’d just run miles. “Macy… I have nothing to offer you. Nothing, except trouble. That’s all I am—trouble waiting to happen.”
Macy blinked at him, stunned into silence for only a heartbeat before her chin lifted stubbornly. “Trouble?” she scoffed, her eyes flashing. “That’s seriously what you think you are? Some curse walking around in ripped jeans and a broody scowl?”
“Among other things,” He added, disgusted with himself that he had let it get this far. He knew from experience that he wasn’t good for anyone, and dammit, she deserved someone better than him.
“I swear if you say the word monster, I’m going to scream,” she warned him, her eyes blazing hot. She was actually even more beautiful when she was mad.
“Listen, Macy,” Kaelen tried to bring down the heated conversation before it turned into a war because she was looking ready to stab him with something.
“No, you listened to me. Never has anyone offered to chop firewood for me, but you come here and do it. That may seem like nothing to most, but to me...well...it’s everything.
A monster would not do that. Only a man with honor and respect.
And you…” Her voice cracked, but she pushed through it, her gaze locking on his with burning intensity.
“You kissed me like I wasn’t some broken Crow girl trying to hold herself together. You kissed me like I mattered.”
Kaelen swallowed hard, her words slicing through every wall he’d ever built. “Macy…”
“No.” She jabbed her finger lightly into his chest, her lips trembling with fury and something deeper.
“Don’t stand there and tell me you’re nothing but trouble when every single thing you’ve done since you walked into my life proves the opposite.
You think I don’t see it? That part of you that wants more, even if you’re too damn stubborn to admit it? ”
Her words were a punch to the gut, and he had no defense because—damn it—she was right.
Yet, he knew his time here was limited. He knew this because it was a fact that anywhere he tried to settle down, he had been run off because of what he was.
..a fucking monster. Whether she would admit that or not, it was a fact that he had been living his whole life.
He knew how this world worked, and unfortunately, he would never belong in her world.