Chapter 4 - Luke
Despite wanting to, I don’t sleep.
After putting together the payment and meeting the Wraith Peak shifters again, I sit in the living room and stare at the ceiling while the usual silence of the house settles around me, with the occasional creak of the wood beams reminding me of where I am.
Every time I close my eyes, I see the clearing again, along with the wolves, and Sera on her knees. I hear them refer to her as property, then I ask how much.
How much…like I had any right to purchase her.
It all sits wrong in my chest, unavoidable and now something I can’t take back.
I negotiated someone’s life, and while I did it with good intentions, that isn’t how I ever wanted to lead. Especially not when it comes to resorting to something so drastic just to de-escalate. But she had been so vulnerable and weak, like she couldn’t bear the thought of taking another step.
Rather than attacking his wolves and leaving Dawson the opportunity to twist the narrative into Coldreach aggression, I paid them.
They walked away with money and hunting rights, but if they’re blind enough to return home, I doubt they’ll risk bragging once their Alpha finds out they sold their target.
Everything about it was calculated and clean, yet that doesn’t erase the fact that I bought someone.
When I found them, those wolves were standing over her like it wasn’t just about retrieval. They had been chasing her, trying to get her back to Wraith Peak for one reason or another. Given how serious they looked, it’s a wonder they even accepted the bargain to begin with.
And seeing her like that, knowing just how worn down she was, that was enough to trigger something inside me.
It’s still very much alive in my chest, demanding that I keep her safe and away from anyone who might want to cause her harm, but that almost primal instinct feels too sudden to lean fully into.
I trust my instincts, as I’ve come to through my time in the military, but I won’t put blind faith into something so unpredictable, even if I can’t fully ignore it either.
By the time dawn fully breaks and more light pours in through the trees and into the house, I push myself out of the chair, well aware that I won’t be getting any rest.
Just down the hall, the guest room door remains mostly closed, and behind it, Sera continues to rest. From here, I can hear the sound of her steady breathing, feeling a strange kind of relief knowing she’s actually sleeping. At least one of us is rested, and I’m glad it’s her.
For a brief flicker, I consider closing the door all the way and locking it just to know she’s secure and safe, but I know how that would come across. I know how trapped that would make her feel, and I don’t need to make matters worse.
So I don’t.
After showering and getting dressed in clean clothes, I make my way to the kitchen, hoping to wake myself up a bit more. Though I barely make it to the coffee maker before I catch the sound of footsteps on the porch, followed by a knock soon after.
With a sigh, I head for the door and open it to find one of our younger wolves who will likely make it on the list of patrols soon enough. His expression is tight, as if he just witnessed something alarming.
My brows furrow. “Riley, what is it?”
He straightens his shoulders and gathers the words. “Dawson Voss was just seen coming from the North West border, and he’s coming to see you.”
I go perfectly still at that.
Already? That’s a faster turnaround than I expected…but maybe those shifters really were stupid enough to return. Better yet, Dawson might’ve met them halfway once they took too long.
That can’t be for nothing. For whatever reason, he wants her back, and I need to find out why.
“How many?”
“Just him.”
He’s alone. So he’s not looking for an outright war, or at least, he’s going to face me directly.
Good. Even if he might be angry or ready to make demands, he can try to fight me all he wants. My pack may be on the fence about some of my proposed changes, but at least my claim isn’t as shaky as his.
“Then I’ll see what he wants,” I tell him, gesturing to the house behind me. “I have a guest inside. Don’t let her leave the house, but don’t bother her either. She needs to rest.”
Riley gives me a perplexed look for a second, obviously curious, but he nods his understanding and stays by the porch even as I leave.
Before I can delay or give Dawson the chance to overstay his welcome, I head through the trees, catching his unfamiliar scent before long. It sticks out like something foreign, and his presence is enough to put me on edge.
Out of sight from the main parts of town, I find him standing in the very clearing where his wolves had Sera earlier in the night, examining a tree her scent still clings to. He knows she’s here without a doubt.
Despite being the odd one out here, Dawson stands there like he owns the place, unbothered and composed.
When he turns to face me, I catch the slightest stitch of wariness in his face, almost like he’s more worn out than he wants to let on.
It wouldn’t be surprising if he’s been defending his position more often lately.
And within it lies another interesting tell. He’s desperate.
It’s so subtle it would be easy to miss, but thanks to my experience, I see it despite his efforts to stifle it.
“Luke Rourke,” Dawson says smoothly, eyes narrowed just enough to be deliberate and scrutinizing. “Congratulations on your recent transition into power. You’ve wasted no time making moves already.”
“You don’t make the effort to arrange meetings for big life events, so just tell me why you’re here.”
A touch of amusement gleams in his eyes, like he’s surprised by my bluntness. “Alright, then. Let’s not waste time now either. I think you already know why I’m here.”
In a brief stretch of silence between us, I feel his anger simmering beneath the surface of his calm exterior. It isn’t a reckless thing, but loud enough for me to sense without needing to pry for it. For whatever reason, he needs her.
Of course, he’s talking about Sera. I won’t pretend to be ignorant.
“The woman crossed into your territory, but she belongs to us. In Wraith Peak.”
“She doesn’t belong to anyone,” I say, arms crossing.
“That didn’t stop you from purchasing her,” he retorts, eyes sharper now. “I caught those traitors before they could get far, and they’ll get what’s coming to them soon enough. But I’m letting my son handle that for now. In the meantime, I need her back.”
“As far as I’m concerned, the matter is settled. Your wolves were compensated, and she’s not going anywhere,” I tell him, not leaving room for persuasion.
Dawson’s expression hardens. “You interfered in internal pack matters, and she is nothing more than a wayward shifter to you. She’s under my authority.”
“She ran from your authority.”
Anger flares in his features, but he doesn’t act straight away, and that reveals even more to me.
Not surrounded by his pack, he isn’t performing for an audience here. Instead, he’s calculating the risks and weighing out what all of this could mean for him. After how badly he was humiliated by Caleb, he can’t risk another public confrontation. That’s why he’s here.
“You compensated wolves scheming behind my back, not me,” he says, as if the defense holds.
“They were representing you and your pack in the moment. If you want to contest the claim, then we can do so formally.”
He pauses at that, even more tense than he had been. We both know what that would mean, and just how messy it would get for him. He doesn’t want that.
When he hesitates further, I tilt my head slightly. “Why her?”
Something moves through his eyes, but he holds it back and clenches his jaw. “She fled.”
“That’s not a valid reason for crossing into my territory.”
The space around us grows stale in another out of drawn-out silence, then he breaks it with a sigh, feigning that this is beneath him. “You’re young, Luke. New. Don’t lose yourself in matters you don’t understand, and don’t need to.”
“Don’t patronize me,” I mutter, refusing to let him think I’m anything less than prepared.
He looks vaguely amused, but only briefly. “I’m just trying to spare you the complication.”
“I can manage.”
He doesn’t say anything, silently deliberating with himself as his jaw clenches harder.
I know he wants to attack more than anything. He’d like to be at the height of his influence and assert his dominance here and now. In an ideal world, Sera would already be in his possession without any unnecessary talk.
But things have changed. He isn’t the same unrestrained Alpha he once was before, and he already knows what challenging me right here, right now would do to him.
Instead, he shifts gears. “You don’t know what you’ve just brought into your pack.”
“Is that supposed to scare me?”
“It’s a warning,” Dawson corrects, looking so close to snapping despite everything. “And one you shouldn’t take lightly. She will destabilize you.”
Regardless of how confidently he tries to speak, I hear the slight hesitation in his words. It’s obvious enough to confirm there’s something he isn’t saying.
“If you’re concerned for my stability or the integrity of my pack, don’t be,” I say coolly, unflinching. “If I were you, I’d focus on the wolves still in Wraith Peak.”
Dawson sneers, held back by his rational thinking just enough to keep him in line, but he pulls away in concession. “This isn’t over.”
“No, it isn’t. If you return here unsanctioned, I will consider that a declaration.”
He studies me one last time, as if reassessing despite wanting to handle the situation now, then he pulls himself away and moves back toward the trees. Surprisingly, he doesn’t push or demand, but I recognize the tension winding his body up tight.
He’ll bide his time, and one way or another, he’ll be back. Which means whatever Sera is, or whatever she carries, is valuable enough to make him wait.