Chapter 26 26
Jenna's POV
Fifteen minutes had never felt so much like an eternity.
The road blurred past us, trees melting into shadows as I pressed my foot against the accelerator. Silence filled the car like water filling a sinking ship—heavy, suffocating, pressing against my lungs until each breath felt deliberate.
I couldn't stop glancing at Caesar.
His chest rose and fell too quickly. His hands had finally stopped trembling, but they'd curled into fists against his thighs. The phone lay face down on his lap, and even though I couldn't see the screen anymore, the image was burned into my mind.
Someone has been watching our every move.
Behind me, Sean's forehead pressed against the window, his soft snores comforted me in ways I couldn't explain. He had no idea someone had marked and watched us.
And I needed to keep it that way.
My knuckles ached from gripping the steering wheel.
"Caesar." My voice barely rose above a whisper.
He said nothing. He stared out the window like the forest held secrets only he could read, his jaw working like he was chewing on words too dangerous to speak.
"Caesar." I said louder this time. "You're scaring me."
Finally, his eyes found mine.
He looked sharp at me but still unfocused. Like he was fighting a war inside his own head and losing.
"I don't mean to." The words scraped out of him. "I just… I need to think."
I wanted to tell him that shutting me out wouldn't help. That whatever nightmare was unfolding around us, we'd face it together. But I could already tell that he'd already built walls I couldn't climb.
A question clawed its way up my throat before I could stop it.
"That memory you had earlier… did it hurt?"
He went completely still.
For a heartbeat, I thought he wouldn't answer. Then he reached up and flipped down the sun visor, staring at his reflection in the small mirror.
"It didn't hurt," he said finally, his voice hollow. "It felt like I was drowning. Like someone shoved my head underwater and held it there until my lungs screamed for air. Like something else was inside me, dragging me backward into the dark."
“I feel so lost.”
My throat tightened at his words. I never expected Caesar would be so vulnerable in front of me.
I wanted to reach for him and pull him out of whatever abyss kept trying to swallow him whole. But the packhouse driveway appeared ahead, tall trees arching overhead like skeletal fingers, and I needed both hands to navigate the turn.
The car rolled to a stop.
Silence crashed down harder than before.
I killed the engine and turned toward him. "Caesar… talk to me."
His gaze stayed fixed on the dashboard, jaw clenched so tight I could see the muscle jump. Then, slowly, his eyes lifted to meet mine.
"That message was planned." Each words sending a fresh wave of chills down my spine. "Someone's been watching us. They waited for the perfect moment—right after the memory hit. Right when I was vulnerable."
"And you think it's someone from your pack."
He didn't respond.
He didn't need to I already know the answer.
Sean shifted in the backseat, mumbling something unintelligible. Caesar's head snapped toward him instantly, every muscle coiling like he expected an attack.
Something warm and painful twisted in my chest.
"What do we do?" I asked quietly.
Caesar drew in a breath that sounded like it hurt. "We stay inside. I need to talk to my father, but carefully. No rumors. No panic. And I don't want whoever's behind this knowing we're onto them."
His thumb traced the edge of his phone, over and over, like the repetition helped him think.
"Jenna." His voice dropped lower. "Don't tell anyone."
"I would never—"
"I know." He cut me off gently, but firmly. "But we don't know how deep this goes. Someone got close enough to take that photo. They're bold. And bold people usually have protection."
The weight in his tone made my stomach drop. This wasn't paranoia. This was survival instinct honed by years of being an Alpha's son.
"Okay," I whispered. "It stays between us."
Relief flickered across his face, brief as lightning.
I reached out, sliding my hand over his. His fingers closed around mine immediately—tight, almost crushing—like I was the only thing keeping him tethered to reality.
"You're not alone in this," I said softly.
His expression softened for half a second before hardening again, like showing vulnerability was a luxury he couldn't afford.
"We should get inside." The words came out clipped.
\---
The air outside hit cold and sharp as we climbed out of the car. Caesar moved to the backseat, lifting Sean with a gentleness that contradicted every tense line of his body. Sean's head lolled against Caesar's shoulder, still deep in sleep.
My throat constricted watching them.
The packhouse loomed ahead, all warm light and familiar smells. It should have felt like safety.
It didn't.
Caesar stepped closer as we crossed the threshold, his arm brushing mine. Then his voice came, low and urgent against my ear.
"Don't go anywhere alone today."
I looked up at him.
Fear wasn't an expression I'd ever seen on Caesar Greywood's face. Not until now. And it wasn't fear for himself—it was fear for us.
"Okay," I breathed.
His shoulders dropped half an inch, some invisible tension releasing.
But his eyes never stopped moving. Scanning. Searching. Every shadow became a threat. Every sound, a warning. This wasn't the confident future Alpha everyone else saw. This was someone carrying trauma he couldn't fully remember, trying to protect the people he loved while barely holding himself together.
"Are we home?" Sean's groggy voice broke the silence.
"Yeah," Caesar muttered, jaw tight. "We're home."
We moved down the hallway, my heartbeat too loud in my ears. Halfway through, Caesar stopped so abruptly I nearly collided with him.
"What's wrong?"
He lifted his head, nostrils flaring slightly. His eyes fixed on the staircase, narrowing like he'd caught a scent that didn't belong.
The silence stretched.
Then, so quietly I almost missed it: "Someone else was here."
My blood turned to ice.
"What do you mean someone was—"
"Recently." His voice had gone flat. Dangerous. "They just left."
Sean stirred in his arms, and Caesar's grip tightened protectively. My mind raced through possibilities, each one worse than the last.
"Maybe it was just—"
"No." He shook his head once, sharp. "I know every scent in this house. This one's different."
He shifted Sean's weight, handing him carefully to me. "Take him upstairs. Lock the door. Don't open it for anyone except me or my father."
"Caesar—"
"Now, Jenna."
The command in his voice left no room for argument.
I took Sean, his sleepy weight settling against me as Caesar turned toward the staircase. Every line of his body had gone predatory, alpha instincts overriding everything else.
"Wait." My voice cracked. "What are you going to do?"
He glanced back at me, and for one terrible moment, I saw the truth in his eyes.
He was going hunting.
"What I should've done the moment I got that message." His voice was cold steel. "Find out who wants me dead."