Chapter 7 THE PULL
It had been a week since the event Adam had decided to tag a “weird fever dream.”
Seven days of fever. Seven nights of strange dreams; all gold eyes, rough hands, and a voice whispering mine in the dark.
Adam told himself it was stress. A hallucination. A side effect of trauma. He told himself that a man claiming to be a werewolf Alpha was insanity; some fever dream brought on by exhaustion and fear.
And yet every time he closed his eyes, Kael was there.
Every time he woke up gasping for breath, his chest ached like something was missing.
The house hadn’t changed. The hate was still thick in the air. His father didn’t even look at him when he came downstairs that morning.
“Still alive?” the man muttered, setting his coffee mug down.
Adam ignored him..
“Don’t just stand there,” his father added sharply. “If you’re going to be useless, at least don’t be an eyesore.”
The words landed the way they always did; like old bruises pressed too hard.
Adam didn’t argue. He never did. He just grabbed his jacket and stepped outside into the early chill, telling himself he was free.
Free from Kael.
Free from whatever madness that was.
Free from everything.
But freedom didn’t stop the pain.
It started as a low burn in his chest, then spread upward; a pulse that beat too fast, too hard. His lungs tightened until he had to sit on the cold step and clutch his ribs.
“Panic attack,” he whispered, to no one. “It’s just another panic attack.”
But this has been his life for a week now.
He was growing weaker. Sleep never came easy. When it did, it brought images he couldn’t escape: Kael’s face, Kael’s voice, Kael’s breath against his neck. He’d wake up drenched, chest aching like something inside him was missing.
But at least he wasn’t alone anymore.
Drew had become a regular presence; showing up at the porch most evenings with that calm, easy smile and a paper cup of coffee that Adam had stopped refusing.
Since they met, he’d been around just enough to make Adam forget how empty the house felt.
Tonight was the same.
The sun had gone down, and the streetlights hummed faintly outside as Drew leaned against the porch railing, talking about nothing in particular; how the neighborhood dogs wouldn’t stop howling last night, how the old lady next door kept mistaking him for her son. His voice was smooth, steady, the kind that filled silence before it could swallow you.
Adam sat beside him, half-listening, nursing his coffee.
“You look a little better today,” Drew said after a while, glancing over. “Guess I’m good company after all.”
Adam gave a quiet laugh. “You talk too much to let me overthink.”
“That’s the point.” Drew smiled, brushing his thumb along the paper rim of his cup. “You’ve been through something… rough, huh?”
Adam’s throat tightened. “You could say that.”
Drew nodded like he already knew. “Well. Whatever it was, you’re here now. That counts for something.”
It was such a simple thing to say, but it landed heavy. Nobody had ever told Adam that before; not his father, not his mother, not anyone.
He didn’t realize he’d been staring until Drew’s voice softened again. “Hey. You okay?”
Adam blinked. “Yeah. Just tired.”
“Don't worry too much,” Drew said gently. “Tomorrow’ll be easier.”
Adam doubted that. But for now, with the night air cool and Drew’s voice quiet beside him, he allowed himself to believe it. Just for a little while, it felt safe.
And that, more than anything, was dangerous.
\---
Meanwhile, no distraction was working for Kael.
He hadn’t slept in three nights. His Beta had tried to keep him busy with council meetings, training, hunts… but nothing could quiet the constant throbbing in his chest. It wasn’t pain anymore. It was absence.
Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Adam looking pale, furious, and saying the words that shattered him: ‘I reject you.’
His wolf hadn’t forgiven him for walking away.
We should have stayed. We should have fought.
“Enough,” Kael growled to himself, pacing his room. His reflection in the mirror looked almost unfamiliar; eyes sunken, cheeks hollow, lips bloodless. His hands shook. His nose had bled twice today already.
When his Beta knocked again, Kael snapped. “Leave me.”
“You haven’t eaten, Alpha—”
“I said leave me!”
The door slammed before the man could answer.
Kael stumbled to his knees, gripping the edge of the bed. His breathing came ragged. The wolf’s voice filled his head, frantic and breaking.
He’s dying. You feel it, don’t you? Go to him.
Kael pressed his palms to his temples. “I can’t. He doesn’t want me.”
He needs you.
The voice was a growl, a plea, a command. Go.
When the next wave of pain hit; a stabbing ache that ripped through his ribcage, Kael stopped fighting. He grabbed his keys and staggered out, ignoring every call behind him. The forest blurred past as he ran, half in human form, half lost to instinct.
By the time he reached the city, he was functioning on nothing but desperation and the faint, lingering thread of the mate bond.
\---
The evening was quiet, painted in gold and shadow. Streetlights hummed faintly above the cracked pavement.
Adam sat on a wooden bench near the corner, a coffee in hand, trying to forget how heavy his body felt. Drew sat beside him, telling him about a film he’d seen, his voice calm and steady. Adam wasn’t really listening. He was watching the streetlight flicker.
“You ever think about leaving this place?” Drew asked.
“All the time,” Adam murmured.
“Then maybe you should,” Drew said. “You deserve better than—”
He stopped mid-sentence, his eyes narrowing. “Do you… hear that?”
The air shifted.
It was subtle at first; the faintest rustle, like the forest itself had exhaled. Then Adam felt the unmistakable pulse that wasn’t his heartbeat. The same pull he’d been trying to ignore all week.
And then Kael stepped out from between the shadows.
He looked nothing like the man Adam remembered. His face was pale, his shirt rumpled, his eyes hollow and wild. His chest heaved as if breathing hurt.
When his gaze met Adam’s, everything inside him went still.
“Adam,” Kael rasped. His voice was broken glass.
Drew rose immediately, moving to stand in front of Adam. “Who are you?”
Kael didn’t answer. His gaze dropped to where Drew’s hand brushed Adam’s arm, and something inside him snapped.
A growl tore through the air, low and animal, the kind that made the ground itself shiver. Drew froze. Adam jolted to his feet, heart pounding.
“Kael, stop,” he said quickly, stepping between them. “You can’t just show up like this—”
Kael’s breathing grew ragged. His wolf pushed forward, furious. Too close. Too close to what’s ours.
“Don’t,” Kael whispered, voice trembling. “Don’t touch him.”
“I said who the hell are you?” Drew snapped back, but his voice wavered now. His instincts screamed danger.
Kael took a single step closer. The air thickened, an invisible weight pressing down, Alpha dominance flooding the space like heat.
Drew gasped, stumbling backward. His knees buckled as the force hit him.
“Kael—!” Adam reached for him, but the second his hand brushed Kael’s sleeve, his body reacted violently. His legs gave out, the world tilting sideways as dizziness hit.
Kael’s eyes widened. “Adam?”
He caught him before he hit the ground. Adam’s skin was ice-cold, his breathing shallow. The pheromones were still heavy in the air, clinging to him like smoke. Kael tried to rein it in, but his control was shattered.
“Adam, hey, look at me,” he whispered, panic cracking his voice. “Open your eyes, sunshine. Please—please, just look at me.”
Adam’s lashes fluttered weakly. For a moment, Kael thought he might respond. But his pulse was faint, erratic. Too faint.
Kael’s own heart thudded painfully, his wolf whining helplessly inside him.
“No,” he whispered, shaking his head. “No, no, no.” His hands trembled as he cradled Adam closer, forehead pressed to his. “Don’t do this to me. Don’t leave me.”
The plea broke on the last word, raw and shaking.
Behind them, Drew stood frozen, watching the scene unfold, with his eyes glinting strangely under the flickering light.
Kael didn’t bother to look at him.
He only focused on Adam’s still face, and the dying thread of a bond that refused to let go.
“Please don’t leave me.”