Chapter 4 The compound
DAVINA'S POV
The inside of the truck had this earthy, coppery smell that clung to the air.
I was pressed so tightly against the passenger door that the handle dug into my ribs, but I honestly didn’t care.
My hands were clamped between my knees, trying to hide the fact that they were shaking, but there was no way to hide my chattering teeth.
I just couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that the man sitting next to me shouldn’t exist, that a human being could just transform into a wolf.
None of this made sense, yet the blood on his shoulder and the dark stains on his knuckles were undeniably real.
Zane hadn’t said a word since he’d caught me in the rain and forced me back into the truck, he just drove like nothing had happened, like this was just another night and I was just his passenger, completely ignoring the fact that the last hour had shattered everything I thought I knew about the world.
“Where are you taking me?” I whispered, my voice sounding so thin it felt like it belonged to someone else entirely.
“To my territory,” he replied, in a low voice. “You’ll be safe there.”
“Safe?” I let out a sharp breath that was supposed to be a laugh but came out more like a gasp. “You just turned into a monster. You were ready to kill people out there.”
“I protected you.” He didn’t even glance my way. “And they aren’t just normal people, Davina.”
“You can’t do this,” I yelled. “You have no right to keep me here. Turn this truck around.”
Zane didn’t even blink, he just looked so calm. “I told you, you’re staying with me.”
I felt the anger rise so fast it almost choked me. “I’m not some stray dog you picked up off the street! I have a life, and you don’t get to decide where I go.”
“Your shop is very unsafe.” He replied, his voice flat and completely unbothered. “And if you go back there tonight, you’re dead. So make a choice, Davina.”
I glared at him, my chest heaving. The sheer arrogance in his tone made my blood boil.
I turned away, pressing my forehead against the cold glass of the window, trying to steady my racing thoughts.
You’re not going to let this happen again, I reminded myself.
You’re not going to sit quietly while a man dictates your life.
But the forest outside was dark and I had no phone and the last time I’d tried to run he’d caught me in a heartbeat without breaking a sweat.
I had exactly zero options and he knew it, which was probably why he wasn’t bothering to argue.
“What did Silver mean?” I asked quietly, breaking the tense silence. “In the clearing. What am I?”
Zane’s hands shifted slightly on the wheel, just enough to show me that my question made him uncomfortable.
“That’s not a conversation for tonight,” he said.
“Then when?”
“You’ll know when the time is right. But right now, you need to focus on being okay after what you just witnessed.”
“I’m fine,” I insisted, though I could feel the cracks in my facade.
He glanced at me, just for a moment, and whatever he saw made him look away without saying a word. That told me everything, I wasn’t as fine as I thought I was.
I pulled my knees to my chest and stared out at the trees, trying to gather my thoughts. Three months. I had spent three months building something in Silver Ridge, rebuilding my life one ordinary day at a time.
And just like that, it was all gone… swept away in an hour because, apparently, I had been a target before I even knew this world existed.
And what she is.
I didn’t know what I was but everyone else seemed to.
As we drove, the compound finally appeared through the trees.
I had braced myself for something dark and foreboding, something that matched the night, the clearing, and the wolves. Instead, I was greeted by warm lights twinkling across a valley, buildings connected by cozy covered walkways, and smoke lazily rising from chimneys.
It looked like a place where people actually lived… almost inviting, really. And that made it worse somehow.
As we got closer, the gates swung open. Two men stepped out from the shadows, watching the truck pass with eyes that caught the headlights in a way that made my stomach twist.
Zane parked in front of a large timber lodge and turned off the engine, but I didn’t move.
He came around to my side, opened the door, and stood there, waiting.
I looked at him, thinking about every reason I had not to get out of this truck. But then I glanced back at the gates that had already closed behind us, and I took a deep breath and climbed out anyway.
Zane led me up the steps to the lodge, and just as we reached the door, it swung open.
A woman stepped out… tall, dark-haired, and beautiful in a way that felt almost dangerous. Her green eyes were cold as she sized me up, like I was something she’d just scraped off her shoe.
“So,” she said, her voice dripping with disdain. “This is the human.”
Zane shifted slightly, positioning himself between us. “Davina, this is Aurelia. She’s my father’s head of security.”
Aurelia smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Welcome to Storm territory, Davina.” She stepped aside, gesturing for us to enter. “I hope you survive your stay.”
Before I could even wrap my head around what that meant, Zane’s hand rested gently on my lower back, guiding me inside.
The door closed behind us with a heavy thud, and somewhere deep within the lodge, I heard a howl.