novelraw What Was Left Unsaid:
What Was Left Unsaid:
[POV: Cole]
I saw her before she saw me.
A flicker of movement against the moonlit trees—nervous pacing, arms folded tightly across her chest, head down, then up, scanning the woods like she wasn’t sure whether to stay or flee. My breath caught.
Aria. I barely believed my luck. I’d come here on nothing but a fragile thread of hope, a desperate instinct—and she was here. Waiting.
For me.
She froze when she noticed my approach, but then her whole posture softened. That smile—the small one she tried to hide—tugged at the corners of her mouth.
“I wasn’t sure you’d come,” she said as I stepped into the clearing.
“I almost didn’t,” I admitted, walking closer. “But I’m glad I did.”
Her gaze flickered, unsure. “I wanted to ask you something. Something important. But—” she hesitated—“you go first. You look like you’re about to burst.”
I nodded, jaw tightening. “I have to tell you something. And it can’t wait.”
Her shoulders straightened. “Alright.”
I opened my mouth… and froze. How could I explain what I’d done?
That in a moment of weakness, a stupid blur of pride and bitterness, I’d spilled everything to Dayana. Her shifting. Her power. Her mark. Her place in Crimson Fang.
That I was the one who gave Dayana the pieces she needed to put her plan into motion.
I couldn’t. Not without shattering what fragile trust Aria still had in me.
So I lied. Just a little.
“Dayana found out,” I said carefully. “Through the bond between our wolves. Rau… through his link with Gale, her wolf, he let something slip.”
Aria’s brows drew together. “What is it?”
“That I’d seen you. That you were alive. And safe. That you’d… found a place.” I met her eyes. “And now Dayana—along with your parents—they’re planning to track you down. To bring you back.”
Her face went pale. “Why?”
“I don’t know exactly,” I admitted. “She said she wants to ‘finish something.’ Whatever it is… it’s not good.”
Aria didn’t speak right away. Her lips pressed into a thin line, then parted on a breath.
“So I’m a problem again.”
“No.” I stepped forward. “You’re not. You’re just a threat to the version of reality they’ve built for themselves. You were always stronger than they wanted you to be.”
Her jaw clenched, and for a moment, I saw a flicker of something fierce in her eyes.
“Well, if they come for me, they won’t find the same girl they abandoned. Let them try.” Her voice was low. Steady. Sure.
I almost smiled.
“I’m not sure when we’ll be able to meet again,” I said, a knot tightening in my throat. “I don’t want to lead them to you. Even by accident.”
“I get it.” She looked up at me, softer now. “And… it’s not your fault. You can’t control your wolf’s connection to hers after all.”
Her forgiveness hit harder than her anger ever could. Because I knew damn well—that was exactly my fault.
“Still,” I murmured. “I’m sorry.”
We stood in silence for a long moment, the breeze shifting between us. Then she looked at me again, something hesitant in her eyes.
“Actually,” she said, “I do have a question.”
I blinked. “Yeah?”
“What…” She chewed her bottom lip. “What are pheromones? And how do you control them?”
I blinked, taken completely off guard. “Pheromones?”
“Yes. Someone keep telling me I need to ‘handle’ mine,” she said, scowling. “It sounds like nonsense.”
“Well…” I rubbed the back of my neck, trying not to grin. “It’s not exactly nonsense. Pheromones are a scent shifters give off—usually when we’re attracted to someone. It’s… mostly instinctual. A way of drawing in a mate.”
She stared at me. “You’re telling me people can just smell when someone’s—interested?”
“Basically,” I said with a shrug. “It’s not fully conscious. And not everyone can pick up on it. But it’s usually… strong. Hard to ignore.”
She groaned. “That explains so much.”
She started muttering under her breath, things like “stupid nature” and “useless wolf hormones,” but I barely heard her.
Because I could smell it. Just a faint trace—but unmistakable. That scent I’d noticed for years. Pine and snowdrops.
It was her pheromones. And that changed everything.
I took a step closer, gently. Carefully. My hands lifted and cradled her face before I realized what I was doing. Her eyes went wide, but she didn’t pull away.
“Aria,” I whispered, heart hammering. “Do you still love me?”
Her lips parted. Her eyes shimmered with confusion and something deeper—something fragile.
“What?” she breathed. But before she could say anything more—before my heart could rise or break—we both froze.
A rustle. Then a low growl.
I turned.
Standing at the edge of the clearing, shoulders tense, eyes ablaze, was Alpha Hayden.
And he was furious.