Chapter 16 Internal Threat
DAVINA'S POV
The compound at night was a different place entirely.
During the day it had a rhythm to it, boots on gravel, voices crossing the yard, the distant clang of something metal from the equipment shed.But as night fell, everything seemed to retreat into itself, leaving behind a quieter, more watchful atmosphere.
The path lights cast warm amber pools along the walkways, while the spaces in between were cloaked in thick darkness, the kind that reminded you that the creatures living here didn’t rely on light the way we humans did.
I tucked my hands into my jacket pockets and kept my gaze straight ahead.
The main lodge loomed at the top of a gentle rise, its upper windows still glowing and smoke curling lazily from the far chimney. Around it the compound breathed its nighttime breath, a wolf crossing the far yard without looking my way, two voices somewhere behind the family quarters dropping into a murmur, the treeline rustling with something that was moving through it too deliberately to be just wind.
A week ago, that last detail would have sent a chill down my spine.
Now, I merely noted it and kept walking.
I wasn’t quite sure when that shift had happened, probably the moment I reconsidered what I considered alarming. I tucked that thought away for later, once I’d sorted through everything else swirling in my mind.
I was nearly at the lodge steps when a voice stopped me.
“Out late.”
Aurelia stepped out from the shadow of the covered walkway beside the lodge, moving smoothly like someone who had been waiting and decided it was time to make her presence known. She was still in her training clothes, her dark hair pulled back, and she looked at me across the short distance between us with those green eyes that always looked like they had never once held anything warm.
“Library,” I replied, continuing on my way.
“Of course.” She said, suddenly walking beside me and matching my pace effortlessly. “He mentioned it to you, didn’t he? Very thoughtful of him.”
But I didn’t respond to her, because I honestly didn't have the time or energy to engage her.
“He has a knack for that,” she continued, her tone almost conversational, almost pleasant, which somehow felt worse than outright hostility. “He finds out what someone needs and points them in the right direction. It’s one of the things that makes him a good Alpha.” She paused just long enough for her words to settle in. “It’s also how he manages those he feels responsible for.”
I stopped at the base of the steps and turned to face her.
She halted too, tilting her head slightly, and crossing her arms over her chest.
She paused too, tilting her head slightly and folding her arms across her chest.
“Just say what you really want to say,” I urged her.
I could see something shift behind her eyes. “I want you to understand your situation clearly,” she replied. “You’ve been here for a week, training with him, sharing meals at his table, and I think you’re starting to confuse obligation with something more.” she said, her tone steady, almost like she was talking to someone who just wasn’t getting it, and she was trying to be patient. “He brought you here because you were a problem that landed in his territory, and Zane Storm doesn’t leave problems unsolved. Don't mistake that for affection or interest, that’s just who he is.”
"I didn’t ask for your take on things," I shot back.
"No," she agreed, "but you’re getting it anyway."
I turned back toward the steps, but what happened next happened so fast
Her hand grabbed a fistful of my hair from behind, yanking my head back so sharply that my whole body jerked with it. The gasp that escaped me was pure reflex, and pure shock. After everything that had happened over the last week, I hadn’t seen this coming, not here.
She pulled me against her and leaned in close, her mouth brushing my ear.
"Let me be very clear," she said, and her voice had transformed completely. The measured patience was gone, replaced by something intense that had clearly been simmering beneath the surface for a while. "You are in this compound because he allowed it. You eat at that table because he allowed it. You breathe this air because he hasn’t decided otherwise." Her grip tightened just enough to remind me of how much stronger she was. But do not for one second make the mistake of thinking that any of that means something. Do not look at him the way you have been looking at him. Do not let him look at you the way he has been looking at you and believe that it's real.”
My hands instinctively wrapped around her wrist, but I wasn’t trying to pull away. I stayed still, because something deep down was telling me to wait, and to breathe, to avoid making this worse by fighting back.
"Zane has a path," she said, each word carefully chosen. "He’s got a pack to lead, a legacy to uphold, and a Luna position that rightfully belongs to someone who has fought for it, bled for it, and stood by this pack through challenges you can’t even begin to imagine." Her warm breath brushed against my ear. "That person is not you, it will never be you! And if you’re smart, you’ll remember that every single day you’re here." With that, she let me go.
I stumbled forward a bit, catching myself on the railing as my heart raced in my chest. My eyes were burning, but I refused to cry, not here, not where she could see.
I heard her step back.
"Enjoy the library," she said, her tone suddenly pleasant again, as she smiled and walked away.
I stood there for a couple of seconds, my hand gripping the railing, my breath uneven, and the back of my scalp still stinging.
I straightened up and walked up the steps, not daring to look back at her.
As soon as I stepped inside the lodge, the warmth hit me. The dying fire in the great hearth cast a soft, copper light across the empty hall. I stood just inside the door, leaning against it for a moment, allowing myself to shake for a few seconds.
Then I stepped away from the door and headed toward the staircase.
She thought she was destined to be his Luna… she had no idea.
And somehow, for some reasons, that made her more dangerous than even the man that was already trying to get his hands on me.