Aftershock
Gabrielle POV
I don’t remember walking back.
One moment I’m staring into gold fire – into the kind of eyes that don’t belong on anyone real.
The next, the trees have thinned and the retreat lights are bleeding through the branches.
It should feel safe. Warm. Normal.
It doesn't.
My hands won’t stop shaking.
The path back to camp feels wrong under my feet, like every step away is a step in the wrong direction. The forest is watching me go. Marking me.
I keep expecting Connor to appear again, to slip out from behind a trunk with that easy smile and those too-close hands.
But there’s nothing, and no one.
Thank the goddess.
Leaves crunch beneath my trainers. My breath is ragged and loud in my ears.
Step away from her.
I swallow hard.
This time, I know it wasn’t a dream.
You don't dream a voice that settles in your bones.
I press a palm to my chest, as if I can physically hold my heart in place.
My necklace is warm like it’s been sitting in the sun.
Except there is no sun.
Just woodsmoke and cold air and the looming glow of the lodge.
People move between cabins in loose groups, laughing too loudly, like nothing is wrong.
Like danger isn't lurking.
Anyone with a braincell knows curfews and clipboards won't keep people safe.
As I step into the clearing, I can’t stop myself looking back toward the trees.
I can still feel him there.
Not physically – I’m not that delusional.
But something in me is still… tuned. My whole body is listening for a frequency I’ve never heard before and already can't forget.
I find our cabin on autopilot.
Cabin Twelve. Our names taped crookedly to the door.
GAbrIELLE STONE
TESSA HART
MARA WHITLOCK
Mara.
I hadn’t even thought about her yet, surprising given she’s the reason we’re in a three-person cabin in the first place.
I fumble with the handle.
I shoulder it open and slip inside.
The cabin smells like pine cleaner and old wood. Two bunks. One single bed. A narrow strip of carpet that’s more a suggestion than a floor covering. Suitcases half-unpacked.
Tess is there already, pacing like a caged animal.
The second she sees me, she stills.
“Gabi.”
Just my name. And that’s enough for something to crack open.
“I– ” My voice comes out thin. Wrong.
Tess crosses the cabin in two strides and grabs my shoulders. She looks me over, scanning like she’s counting limbs.
“Where were you?” she demands, her voice breaking as she grips me in a bone-crushing hug.
I blink fast, “Outside.”
“No shit.” Her grip tightens. “You bolted. You didn’t answer my texts. Mara said you looked like you were going to throw up and then Connor– ”
My stomach rolls.
“He followed me,” I manage.
Tess’s eyes go feral.
“I’m going to kill him,” a promise she says softly.
“I’m going to rip his throat out. The woods are perfect for hiding a body.”
A hysterical laugh claws its way up and turns into something closer to a sob.
Her expression changes instantly.
“Okay,” she says, quieter. “That was a joke... Mostly.”
My knees finally give out.
I sink onto the lower bunk, fingers closing around my necklace like it’s the only solid thing in the room.
Tess crouches in front of me, vibrating with contained rage.
“Tell me,” she says, voice low. “Tell me exactly what happened.”
My mouth is too dry.
“He said... they told him I’d run.”
Tess goes still.
“They,” she repeats.
I nod. My voice sticks.
Tess’s gaze flicks to the cabin door. “Mara,” she calls, “Lock the door!”
“I’m brushing my teeth,” Mara calls from the bathroom.
“I’ve got it,” Tess snaps.
I hear the click of the cheap bolt.
Mara appears in the doorway, foam at the corner of her mouth, eyes narrowing when she sees my face.
“Gabi?” she says, wiping her mouth quickly. “What happened?”
“I’m fine,” I say absently.
“You’re not.” They say together.
I swallow.
“He... ” I stop. Try again.
“He came up behind me. He touched me.”
Tess’s whole body jerks like she’s been hit.
“Where?”
“Tess,” Mara warns.
“My wrist,” I whisper. “My hair.”
My skin crawls just saying it.
“And he tried to– ” I can’t finish the sentence.
Tess exhales sharply, "He tried to kiss you."
It’s not a question.
I nod.
Humiliation radiates from me.
Mara mutters, “Oh my God.”
Tess shoots to her feet. “I’m going to– ”
“No.” My voice is louder than I expect. It slices the air.
She freezes.
“He didn’t get to,” I say, forcing my hands to still. "Because someone else was there.”
Mara’s eyes widen.
“Someone?” Tess repeats. “A teacher?”
I shake my head.
“A wolf.”
Tess’s gaze sharpens. “Who?”
I should lie.
But the truth is already branded into me.
“I don’t know his name,” I say. “Connor called him Alpha.”
Mara stops breathing.
"At the retreat?" she whispers.
Tess's eyes narrow, puzzle pieces clicking into place.
"And he saved you.'
“Yes.”
“And then what,” she presses.
“He didn’t touch me,” I blurt.
They both stop.
“He didn’t have to,” I add, quieter.
Because that’s the part my body won't forget. The way fear evaporated the moment he appeared.
Tess searches my face.
“Gabi,” she says quietly. "Was he the one from your dream?”
The question settles deep in my chest.
Because the terrifying part isn’t that I don’t know the answer.
It’s that my body already does.