Free Web NovelChapter 39: Vaela’s Waiting
Corrian slowly straightens, his jaw is locked so tightly I can see the muscles moving beneath his skin. Whatever was said between them, he didn’t like it.
The stranger opens the driver’s door, I hear movement in the hedges, hear Jax inhale, feel Ezra step closer.
The man ignores all of it.
He climbs out slowly, making no move toward any of us. Standing fully upright, he somehow looks even larger than he did sitting down. His eyes never leave mine. Not once. There is no aggression in them. No challenge. Just... sadness. Wonder. Hope.
He’s enormous. Bigger than most of the guys, not gym big, chiselled out of a mountain big. His dark hair hangs well past his shoulders, thick beard covers half his face. His features are weathered and rough, nature itself forgot to smooth the edges. There’s a wildness about him.
With a final look at me with glassy eyes, he places a hand over his heart and bows his head. A simple, ancient gesture.
All I can do is stare at a man I’ve never met but somehow know in my bones, I find myself unable to look away as the impossible certainty settles. freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
This man didn’t come here for the pack.
He came here for me.
The stranger remains where he is beside the car, one hand still resting over his heart, while five very large, very dangerous wolves stare at him, collectively deciding how difficult it would be to bury a body.
Unfortunately for them, my attention is fixed entirely on the man standing in front of me. My feet carry me forward a few tentative steps.
"Who are you?" The question’s lost beneath the pressure of the place, he hears it anyway.
A grin spreads beneath his beard. "Someone’s very interested in meeting you, pup."
I don’t know why my stomach flips. I don’t know why I scream yes internally, certainty blooming bright and undeniable.
Ezra growls. The sound rolls across the driveway like distant thunder. "She’s going nowhere with you."
The stranger doesn’t even look at him, he just gives the smallest nod, letting me know the decision has always belonged to me and nobody else.
My pulse kicks harder. Ezra radiates tension so fiercely I can feel it against my skin. I reach out and rest my hand against his shoulder, the muscle beneath my palm is rigid enough to feel painful.
"Ezra."
"No." His answer is immediate.
"Ezra."
Finally, he looks at me, fear openly painted across his face.
"You want me to stay here and trust you," I say softly, keeping my hand where it is. "Then you have to trust me too, okay?"
His jaw tightens. "She’s dangerous."
My heart latches onto the wrong part of that sentence. "She?"
A string that’s been sitting silent for a lifetime is plucked in my soul. I have no idea who this woman is. I don’t know why she wants to meet me or how this giant stranger knows her. But, I’m going.
"I’ll be fine, Ezra," I say softly, giving his shoulder a squeeze. "Promise."
For several long seconds neither of us moves. Around us the driveway remains silent. Eventually he exhales through his nose and takes a small step backward. The movement reluctant enough to make my chest ache.
I offer him a small smile before turning back to the stranger, walking slowly toward him. "I’m Frankie."
The grin hasn’t moved. "I know exactly who you are." He taps a hand against his chest. "Raulf."
As I reach him, I hold out my hand. The gesture feels absurdly human compared to everything else happening around us.
His gaze drops to it and he laughs, a warm booming sound. Enormous arms wrap round me as he envelopes me in a crushing bear hug. He’s enormous, the hug is enormous, my feelings are enormous.
The scent surrounding him is wild forest and moss, it reaches in and settles old hurts. Tears sting my eyes, hanging in his arms feels absurdly, painfully right.
When he finally lowers me back to the ground, he turns toward Corrian, all amusement fades from his expression. "I’ll keep her safe."
Corrian doesn’t answer, his eyes find mine instead, entire conversations live inside that look.
Be careful.
Come back.
Don’t run again.
Please.
I step toward him and take his hand. His fingers close around mine, gripping a little too tight, he needs the reassurance as much as I do.
"I’m coming back."
His gaze searches my face for several long seconds, looking for something only he can see. He nods, releases my hand and lets me go.
I look back at them one last time before climbing into the car. The fact that all five of them are trying very hard not to drag me bodily back into the house is growth, warmth spreads through me. I understand exactly what I’m looking at. They’re worried. Terrified, actually. Not because they think I’m weak. Because they care.
I smile at them despite the knot forming in my throat, then pull the car door shut behind me. The moment it clicks closed, the scent inside the vehicle isn’t anything I can properly explain. Earth and moss and woodsmoke and...family.
A memory I’ve forgotten, a song I knew before I was born. I lean back against the seat and inhale again, chasing the feeling. Whatever waits at the end of this journey, some hidden part of me already knows it.
The entire vehicle shifts alarmingly when Raulf climbs into the driver’s seat. I stare openly as the suspension groans beneath his weight. The man is monstrous. His shoulders fill the front of the vehicle. I genuinely have no idea how he’s fitting behind the steering wheel without violating several laws of physics. The sight is ridiculous enough that I almost laugh.
The engine rumbles to life beneath us, and as the car creeps back down the driveway, Raulf glances toward me. Whatever he sees makes his expression soften.
"Vaela’s been waiting for you."
