Chapter 30

Chapter 30

Kael POV

I stood across the street from Sera's building, watching the lights in what I'd learned was her fifteenth-floor apartment. She'd just gotten home, I'd followed her the whole way, keeping enough distance that she wouldn't spot me but close enough to intervene if anything threatened her.

The wolf in me was restless, pacing beneath my skin with protective instincts that bordered on obsession. Three days of watching her walk to and from work, learning her routines, memorizing the routes she took through downtown. Three days of telling myself this was about keeping her safe while knowing it was something darker and more complicated.

"You good, man?"

I turned to find Tommy, one of my mechanics, approaching with a bag of takeout and a curious expression. He lived a few blocks over and sometimes walked this route home from his girlfriend's place.

"Yeah, fine," I said, but even I could hear how unconvincing it sounded.

Tommy followed my gaze up to the apartment building. "You know someone who lives here?"

"Just passing through."

"Passing through while staring at a specific window for the past ten minutes?" He studied my face with growing concern. "Kael, what's going on? You've been weird all week."

The observation wasn't wrong. Ever since Sera had walked into my shop, I'd been operating on autopilot, going through the motions of work while my mind stayed fixed on her. The mechanics had noticed. Customers had noticed. Hell, even the stray cat that hung around the garage had been giving me strange looks.

"Nothing's going on."

"That's bullshit and we both know it." Tommy moved closer, lowering his voice. "Look, I don't know what you're dealing with, but standing outside someone's building at night? That's not a good look, man."

He was right. I was being a creep, justifying stalking behavior with supernatural instincts I didn't fully understand. But knowing it was wrong didn't make the compulsion any easier to resist.

"It's complicated," I said finally.

"Is this about that girl who came to the shop? The one with Bri Hale?"

My jaw tightened. Of course he'd noticed my reaction to Sera. I hadn't exactly been subtle about it.

"I just need to make sure she's safe."

"Safe from what?"

That was the question I couldn't answer. Safe from what? I had no evidence of any actual threat, just fragmented instincts and guilt I couldn't explain. The rational part of my brain knew I was being ridiculous. The wolf part insisted I was doing exactly what I was supposed to do.

"Forget it," I said, starting to walk away. "I'm going home."

"Kael." Tommy's voice stopped me. "Whatever this is, you need to get it under control. You're starting to scare me a little."

After Tommy left, I stood there for another few minutes, wrestling with conflicting impulses. I should go home. I should stop following Sera like some kind of predator stalking prey. I should focus on work and normal life and forget about the inexplicable connection I'd felt when our eyes met.

But even as I turned to leave, my gaze was drawn back to her window one last time. The lights were still on, and I could see her shadow moving behind the curtains. Safe. She was safe.

For tonight, anyway.

The walk back to my truck took me past Morrison's Automotive. The shop was dark, closed for the night, but I let myself in through the side door anyway. Work had always been my refuge, the place where things made sense and problems had mechanical solutions.

I spent the next two hours working on Bri's BMW, methodically replacing the transmission while trying not to think about the fact that fixing her car would give me an excuse to see Sera again.

Because Bri had mentioned on the phone that her friend would probably come with her to pick up the vehicle. She'd said it casually, like it was no big deal, but I'd seized on the information like it was precious intelligence.

Which made me exactly the kind of obsessive creep Tommy had been worried about.

Around midnight, I gave up on work and headed upstairs to the small apartment I kept above the shop. It was sparse—bed, couch, kitchen that barely qualified as functional—but it was mine, and more importantly, it was close to work.

Sleep didn't come easily. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Sera's face in that moment of recognition. The way she'd taken an involuntary step toward me before I'd forced myself to shut down the connection. The hurt in her eyes when I'd dismissed her so coldly.

I'd done it to protect her, though from what I still couldn't articulate. The fragmented memories that came with seeing her suggested I'd failed her before, that I'd let something terrible happen. Keeping my distance felt like the only way to prevent history from repeating itself.

But the wolf didn't care about logic or caution. It wanted to be close to her, to claim her, to make sure nothing could ever hurt her again.

The internal war was exhausting.

Sunday morning brought Bri's call about picking up her car. She'd asked if Monday afternoon worked, and I'd agreed despite knowing it would mean seeing Sera again.

"My friend Sera might come with me," Bri had said. "She helped me deal with the breakdown, so I want her there for the good news too."

The casual way she said Sera's name, like it was just a normal piece of information, had made my chest tight. I'd managed a professional response while my mind raced with anticipation and dread in equal measure.

Now it was Sunday evening, and I was back across from her building like a moth drawn to flame. I told myself I was just checking that she'd made it home safely from wherever she'd been. That this was normal protective behavior, not obsessive stalking.

But when Tommy's words echoed in my mind, "you need to get it under control" and I knew he was right. This wasn't sustainable. I couldn't spend my life watching Sera from shadows, following her home, memorizing her routines while pretending I didn't exist.

I needed to either walk away completely or figure out why every instinct I possessed insisted she was mine to protect.

And walking away was starting to feel impossible.

A flash of movement caught my attention. Sera had appeared at her window, standing there looking down at the street. For a moment, I could have sworn she was looking directly at me.

I stepped back into shadow, heart pounding with the irrational fear of being caught. When I looked again, she was gone, the curtains drawn against the night.

My phone buzzed with a text asking about a parts order. Normal life intruding on whatever supernatural drama I'd gotten tangled up in.

I forced myself to walk back to my truck, to drive home, to act like someone who had his shit together instead of someone unraveling over a woman he'd met once.

But as I lay in bed that night, I knew tomorrow would bring another day of watching, another day of fighting instincts I didn't understand, another day of…

My phone rang, shattering the quiet. Unknown number. I almost didn't answer, but something made me pick up.

"Yeah?"

A voice I didn't recognize spo

ke, male and carrying authority I couldn't place. "We need to talk about the girl you've been