Chapter 101: Danger in my Dreams
The fortress walls seemed to close in on Isla, the weight of her dream pressing against her ribs like a vice. The sensation of Vincent’s presence still clung to her skin, an unseen hand reaching across the distance. She sat rigid against Damian’s chest, feeling the steady thrum of his heart beneath her palm.
“You’re shaking,” he murmured, pressing his lips to her temple.
“I know,” she whispered.
Damian’s grip tightened around her, possessive, protective. “We’ll get Brienne back.”
Isla closed her eyes. It’s more than that, she wanted to say. Vincent had her friend, yes, but something else was happening. Something she didn’t understand and the way her body felt heavier, the exhaustion pressing in like a creeping tide, she knew it wasn’t just the pregnancy.
Lucia stood at the edge of the war room, watching Rohen. He was pacing, tension radiating off him like a storm waiting to break.
“You think this is a trap,” she murmured.
Rohen stopped. Turned, hid gaze, dark and sharp, pinned her in place. “Of course it’s a trap.”
Lucia lifted her chin. “Then we’ll walk into it.”
A muscle in his jaw ticked. “You say that like you want to die.”
She took a slow step forward. “I say that like I refuse to let them take another person from me.”
His breath hitched, and for the first time, his mask of cold indifference cracked. Just a little.
“You still think like one of them,” he said quietly.
Lucia frowned. “What?”
“The packs. The established rules of our world.” Rohen moved toward her, slow and deliberate. “You still believe in the lines between us, in the rules they force on you.” He stopped just a breath away. “You think I don’t feel the weight of this? Of what it means to go after Brienne?”
Lucia swallowed hard. “Then why are you hesitating?”
His fingers ghosted along her wrist, the briefest touch. “Because the moment I go after her, I put you at risk.”
Lucia’s breath caught. He was so close now. So close that if she leaned just an inch forward, their lips would brush.
“You don’t have to protect me,” she whispered, her voice barely audible over the sound of her own heartbeat. She hated how vulnerable she sounded, how much she meant those words.
Rohen’s eyes burned into hers, dark and stormy, filled with something raw, something untamed. “That’s where you’re wrong,” he said, voice low, firm, and heavy with emotion.
For a heartbeat, it seemed like he might give in, might cross that fragile line between what they were and what they could be. But then, just like that, he stepped back, his presence retreating even though he was still in the same room. The space he left behind felt colder, hollow, as if he’d taken something vital with him.
Lucia stood frozen in the soft glow of candlelight, her pulse thundering in her ears. Her hands curled into fists at her sides, trying to ground herself, trying to stop the tremble in her fingers. Her heart was racing as if it might leap out of her chest.
She hadn’t meant to fall for him. Rohen was danger wrapped in quiet power, a leader shaped by pain and survival. She had told herself again and again to stay guarded, to keep the distance intact. But that line had blurred long ago, even though her many years of experience preceded her… now, all she could feel was the way he had looked at her, like she was the only person in the world who mattered. That look had undone her.
Her breath caught again, this time with realization. She wasn’t just drawn to him, she was already entangled. Hot, passionate, and addictive, these feelings had crept in like a slow-burning fire, and now they roared inside her, demanding more.
But he had pulled away. Not because he didn’t want her but rather, because he did…too much.
Maybe that terrified him just as much as it terrified her.
Meanwhile, Alaine swore under her breath as she slammed her hands against the wooden training post. The impact sent vibrations up her arms, but she barely felt it.
She felt him instead.
Leo.
Watching her.
Again.
She turned, chest heaving. “You don’t have anything better to do?”
Leo leaned against the doorway, arms crossed, expression maddeningly unreadable. “No.”
Alaine scowled. “You’re insufferable.”
He smirked. “You’re just mad you kissed me.”
Her stomach clenched. “That was a mistake.”
Leo pushed off the wall, closing the distance between them with slow, measured steps. “Liar.”
She stiffened as he stopped mere inches from her, his presence overwhelming. His scent, smoke and pine, wrapped around her senses, making it impossible to think.
“You want this just as much as I do,” he murmured, tilting his head. “But you’re scared.”
Alaine’s pulse thundered.
His hand lifted, fingers tracing the edge of her jaw, and oh god help her, she leaned into it.
“Tell me to leave,” he whispered.
She couldn’t.
So when he kissed her again, slow and deep, with a hunger that sent fire licking down her spine, Alaine didn’t fight it this time. She indulged into his warmth and kissed him back.
Isla barely registered Damian’s arms around her as the dizziness hit her full force. The world tilted. Her body swayed, the edges of her vision darkening.
“Isla!?” Damian’s voice was sharp with panic.
She barely heard him.
Something was definitely wrong. Pain lanced through her abdomen, sharp and unrelenting, stealing her breath and just before the darkness swallowed her whole, a voice, soft and distant, whispered in her mind.
You don’t understand what you carry, child.
Then everything went black.