Chapter 3 - Zane #2
She’s not hearing me, and she doesn’t want to.
“Those wolves weren’t doing random business. They’re organized and coordinated,” I tell her, forcing the point in front of her face now. “That auction wasn’t a one-off…it’s part of something bigger.”
Her eyes narrow. “Then they need to be taken out. I want to do it.”
I blink back at her, struggling to digest how naive that notion is. “You’re not serious.”
“I am. If you let me go, I’ll do exactly that.”
“What? No,” I counter with a shake of my head to dispel the idea. “No…you’re not just charging into something like that without real intel, or backup, or a plan.”
“I don’t need a plan to kill traitors,” Naia states confidently, chin lifted. “They took me. Some of them I recognized from my own pack, and some I have never seen before. Yeah, they’re working together, which is why I’m not just letting it go.”
“You have no idea what you’re doing,” I return, not bothering to sugarcoat it. “This isn’t just something you tear into because you were wronged. This takes time and coordination, not blind anger.”
“I don’t have time for coordination,” she bites back, showing me the fire in her that seems to have grown over the years.
It’s something that will likely get her killed if she doesn’t learn to channel it properly.
“I’m going back to Wraith Peak, and the sooner I get those bastards out of the way, the better. ”
That stops me in my tracks, and I hesitate while trying to piece it all together in my mind. Then, I shake my head. “No, you’re not.”
“I’m not asking. Stay out of it, Zane.”
“It’s not happening.”
I don’t know why, but the thought of her doing something so reckless, followed by something even more absurd, makes my pulse quicken as I refuse to back down. It’s completely insane.
Naia steps closer, invading my space like she’s daring me to push back and to break my calm exterior. “Rogue wolves aside, I need to get back to reaffirm my position in the pack. Those idiots grabbed me before I could.”
“And running straight back there will make any difference?”
She doesn’t hesitate. “Yes, because they need to be reminded of who I am and what I’m capable of.”
I scoff. “And when the others see you again, they’ll accept you, and you’ll fall back in line. You’ll pretend like none of this happened… like you weren’t just given the single most important opportunity of your life.”
“And what opportunity is that? To rot here with you?”
Clenching my jaw, I struggle to hold back my own anger. “To live differently. To live a life away from Wraith Peak and away from your brother. To escape the expectations you were always complaining about.”
Naia pauses long enough to know I hit another sore spot, but I don’t stop.
“We may not be from the same pack anymore, but I can smell it on you. Your status. You’re itching for the chance to earn your rightful place in a pack that clearly doesn’t value you, rather than living for yourself. You’ve been a pawn, and you’re far too quick to get back to it.”
Her gaze sharpens, and she barely holds back a low growl in her throat. “Careful.”
“You need to be careful,” I warn her, feeling the frustration mounting into something relentless. “From where I’m standing, it looks like you’re fighting to stay in a cage, Naia. It should’ve died along with your father.”
The explosive words settle between us, far too heavy for comfort, and she goes deadly still.
Briefly, I think she’s going to hit me, and for whatever reason, part of me almost wants her to, since it would at least break the tension. Instead, she looks at me with a kind of cold emptiness that leaves me feeling unsettled.
“And you think you’re better than that? You think following orders from men in uniform makes you any different—any better than me?”
“That’s not what I said.”
“You left,” Naia snaps, jabbing my chest. “You got out like you always wanted…good for you. Not all of us could just leave on a whim.”
“Maybe not,” I murmur, letting the words leave me without hesitation. “But you’re out now. That opportunity is happening around you right now.”
She stays quiet for a beat, and a series of thoughts I can’t read move through her eyes. “And what, now I should be nothing?”
“Nothing?” I echo, recognizing the fear hidden beneath it all. The pain of walking away from the very thing that was supposed to be stable in her life. With a slow exhale, I take a step back. “Hardly.”
Naia lets go of a soft, sad kind of laugh. “You don’t get it.”
“No, I don’t,” I admit, letting go of that anger, well aware that the turmoil happening inside her is worse than anything I could yell at her.
I truly can’t wrap my head around it…why she would voluntarily go back to that life. To the constant fight for approval from people who clearly don’t care enough to offer it in the first place.
Regardless of who might be leading the pack, I came from Wraith Peak. I know exactly what it’s like to endure the chaos and precarious hierarchy. The very structure of the pack can change on a whim, and often does.
The thought of her wanting exactly that stirs up something ugly in my chest.
I got out the first chance I could for my sake, and she’s looking at me like I’m in the wrong. Like I don’t know exactly what she’s talking about.
Maybe I won’t ever understand her thinking, but I do know I’m not letting her walk back into that hell without a fight, even if she hates me for it.