Chapter 6 What I can't run from
JAXON
I was going to avoid her, that was the plan. It had been three days since the football match, two days since the garden encounter and three days of restless sleep, broken thoughts, and my wolf pacing like a caged animal inside my chest.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw silver.
Every time I breathed, I smelled her. The bond didn’t weaken, it tightened.
And I was losing the fight, I told myself distance would help.
That if I stayed away long enough, the pull would fade, that I could pretend she didn’t exist and everything would go back to normal.
But the truth?
Nothing about me had been normal since the moment I saw her.
A sharp twist low in my gut. A pulse in my chest.
She was close, always too close, and on days when I didn't show up in class, I felt her on campus, just somewhere doing something.
I turned the corner and there she was, standing near the old courtyard, moonlight brushing against her skin.
She looked different tonight. Calmer, maybe. Stronger, and there was something brittle in the way she held herself, like she was bracing for impact.
She noticed me at the same time, her eyes lifted.
And everything inside me broke, she didn’t look away this time.
Neither did I.
For a moment, neither of us spoke, the silence stretched between us, heavy and electric. I could feel the bond humming, tugging, and demanding to be acknowledged.
I swallowed, deciding to drop the whole golden boy drama and follow my heart.“What's your name?”
“Huh?” her eyes widened.
“Your name” I asked again.
“My name is Lyra and yours?”.
“I'm Jaxon”
“Okay”
“Lyra.”
Her name felt dangerous on my tongue.
She stiffened, then exhaled slowly.
“Jaxon.”
Hearing my name in her voice hit harder than I expected. My wolf surged forward, restless, possessive, desperate. I clenched my jaw, fighting the urge to move closer.
“I’ve been trying to avoid you,” I admitted.
Her brows knit together. “Then why are you here?”
Because I can’t breathe without you, my body knows you before my mind does, because walking away feels like tearing myself apart.
But I didn’t say that.
Instead, I said, “Because I’m tired of lying to myself.”
She didn’t respond. Her gaze stayed locked on mine, searching, wary.
I took a step forward, she didn’t move.
Another step, still nothing.
The space between us shrank until I could feel her warmth, her energy buzzing against my skin. My heart was racing so fast it hurt.
“I’ve tried to ignore it,” I said quietly. “Tried to pretend this is nothing. Tried to convince myself it’ll pass.”
Her breath hitched.
“It hasn’t,” I continued. “It’s getting worse.”
Her fingers curled at her sides. “Then stop,” she said softly. “Before it gets worse.”
“I can’t.”
The word slipped out before I could stop it.
She flinched.
I forced myself to keep going. “I don’t know how else to say this. I don’t know what you are or why you feel like this to me, but I do know one thing.”
I met her eyes fully now.
“I’m done running.”
Her breath trembled. “Jaxon, please..s..”
“I feel it,” I said, voice low and raw. “Every time you’re near me. Every time you walk away.
It’s like something inside me wakes up when you’re around. I’ve fought it, denied it, tried to bury it, but it’s still here.”
I pressed a hand to my chest.
“You’re here.”
Her eyes shone faintly in the moonlight just like her skin did from underneath as if her bones were made of moon powder.
“You don’t even know me,” she whispered.
“I know enough,” I replied. “I know I’d burn the world before I let anything hurt you. I know I can’t stop thinking about you. I know my wolf knows you, even if I don’t understand why.”
Her lips parted, but no words came.
“I don’t know what this makes us,” I said.
“But I know what I feel.”I took one more step closer.“I love you.”
The words landed between us like thunder, the world seemed to freeze.
Her eyes widened, shock rippling across her face.
For a heartbeat, hope flickered there too quick and dangerous. Then it vanished.
She shook her head. “No.” the word was soft. But it cut deep.
“No?” I echoed, barely breathing.
“I can’t,” she said, stepping back. “You don’t understand what you’re saying.”
“I do,” I insisted. “I mean it. Every word.”
“You can’t,” she repeated, firmer now. “You don’t know what loving me costs.”
“I don’t care.”
“I do,” she snapped, pain flashing across her face. “I won’t do this. I won’t drag you into something you don’t understand.”
I reached for her instinctively, stopping myself inches away. “Then tell me. Let me decide.”
Her eyes glistened. “You don’t get it, Jaxon. People who get close to me.
they..you should be afraid of me”
“I’m not afraid.”
“You should be.”
The words came out sharp, trembling.
She took another step back, putting distance between us again. The bond strained, aching, screaming.
“I can’t love you,” she said quietly. “Not now. Maybe not ever.”
The words crushed something inside me.
My chest tightened, breath catching painfully. “Is that what you want?” I asked.
“Or what you think you have to do?” She didn’t answer.
That was answer enough.
I nodded slowly, forcing myself to stay still.
“Okay.”
Her eyes flickered, surprised.
“I won’t force you,” I said. “I won’t chase you if you don’t want me to.”
Relief and something like regret crossed her face.
“But don’t lie to yourself,” I added, voice low. “Because this..” I gestured between us. “This isn’t going away.”
She swallowed hard. “Goodbye, Jaxon.” she turned and walked away.
I didn’t follow.
I couldn’t, I stood there long after she disappeared, heart pounding, chest aching, wolf howling in fury and grief.
She had rejected me, for the very first time someone had rejected me, and that hurt...