Serena sat alone in her room, staring at the wall opposite her bed.
Christine’s words from their conversation earlier that evening continued to echo in her mind.
You should not have expected him to change his mind overnight.
It was a simple statement, but Serena understood what it meant. Christine might have supported her, sympathised with her situation, and hoped she would reclaim her former place in Blackclaw, but she would not openly challenge Alpha Kaidan now that he had made his position clear.
She was still trying to decide what to do next when her phone vibrated.
An unfamiliar number appeared on the screen.
She frowned. She had received no warning that anyone intended to contact her, and she almost ignored the call. Then a message arrived.
I’m in Blackclaw. We need to talk.
Serena sat upright.
She read the message twice, her fingers tightening around the phone.
There was only one person who could send her a message like that after four years and expect her to understand immediately.
No.
He could not be here.
She opened the message thread and stared at the number, hoping she had mistaken it for someone else. But she knew the truth before she finished checking. She remembered the number, even though she had not seen it displayed on her screen in years.
Another message arrived.
I’m at the gate. Tell them to let me in.
Serena rose from the bed.
She had not expected to hear from him again, much less find him at Blackclaw’s entrance. Their lives had separated when she left the pack, and she had made certain that the distance between them remained. Whatever connection they had shared belonged to the past.
Yet he had found her.
She typed a reply.
Why are you here?
His response came almost immediately.
Because I need to speak to you.
Serena considered calling him, but she stopped herself. A conversation over the phone would not change the fact that he was already within Blackclaw’s reach, and refusing to see him would only make him more determined.
She sent one final message.
Wait. I’ll come to you.
Then she left her room.
She needed to find out why he had returned before anyone else discovered who he was and what connected them.
At the main gate, the patrol captain approached the vehicle that had just arrived.
The driver lowered his window and waited while the captain examined his identification. Everything appeared straightforward until the captain looked at the man’s face.
He paused. Something about the driver was familiar.
The captain studied him for another moment, searching his memory. He had served Blackclaw long enough to recognise many faces, but this was not someone he had seen around the pack regularly. The familiarity came from somewhere else, from a single occasion that had stayed buried in his memory for years.
"What is your business in Blackclaw?" he asked.
"I’m here to see someone."
"Who?"
"Serena Cole."
The captain’s expression changed slightly. "Miss Cole?"
"Yes."
The driver leaned back in his seat, seemingly impatient with the questions.
"Wait here," the captain said.
He stepped away from the vehicle and contacted the appropriate household authority. He reported that a visitor had arrived asking for Serena Cole.
A short while later, permission was given for him to enter the pack grounds.
As the vehicle moved away from the gate, the captain watched it go.
Serena waited near a side entrance to the main building.
She had chosen the spot because it was quiet and away from the rooms where members of the household gathered. She did not want the visitor walking through Blackclaw as though he belonged there, drawing attention to himself or asking questions that would reach Alpha Kaidan before she had a chance to speak to him.
When the vehicle stopped, the man stepped out.
For a moment, they simply looked at each other.
"You shouldn’t have come here," she said.
He shut the car door. "That’s your greeting?"
"What did you expect?"
"Perhaps an explanation of why you’ve been telling people you were kidnapped."
Serena’s face tightened. "Keep your voice down."
"So it’s true, then? That’s the story you’ve given them?"
"You don’t know what happened after I left."
"I know what happened when you left."
She glanced toward the building. "We’re not discussing this here."
"Fine. Where would you prefer?"
Serena pulled him to her room and shut the door behind him.
"What are you doing here?"
The man smirked. "I came because I’ve missed you."
Serena stared at him in disbelief.
"Don’t play games with me. Why are you here?"
His smirk widened.
"Still as impatient as ever."
"Answer me."
"I just did" he smiled.
"You’ve missed me?" she repeated. "After four years, you suddenly decide that you miss me enough to show up here without warning?"
"Would you have welcomed me if I’d warned you?"
"No. I wouldn’t have."
"Then I made the right decision."
She released his wrist and stepped away from him.
"You cannot simply come here whenever you feel like it. Do you have any idea what could happen if someone sees you?"
"I was allowed through the gate. Nobody stopped me.""That isn’t the point."
"Then tell me what the point is, Serena."
She folded her arms, struggling to contain her irritation. "The point is that I have a life here now, and you have no reason to be part of it."
His smile faded slightly. "A life here? Is that what you’re calling it?"
"Yes."
"With Alpha Kaidan?"
She did not answer. He glanced around the room before returning his attention to her.
"I heard you came back to Blackclaw." "Because of Alpha Kaidan."
Serena’s jaw tightened. "Because he could protect me."
The words escaped before she could soften them.
The man looked at her, and his expression became more serious.
"So that’s why you came back."
"You don’t know anything about my situation."
"I know enough. You needed protection, and you came to the one man you thought would give it to you."
Serena walked back toward him.
"Alpha Kaidan and I had a relationship long before you came into the picture. I knew he would listen to me."
"You expected him to listen because he believed you had suffered for four years."
"I did suffer."
"Did you really think you could disappear from everyone’s lives and never face the consequences?"
Serena swallowed. "You have no right to come here and threaten me."
"Threaten you?" He gave a quiet laugh. "I’m asking you a question, Serena. Do you honestly believe Blackclaw can keep you safe?"
She tried to hold his gaze, but the confidence she had carried into the room was beginning to slip. "Alpha Kaidan won’t allow anyone to harm me."
The man tilted his head. "Is that what you’re counting on?"
Serena said nothing. The man seemed to notice her hesitation.
"Perhaps you should have thought about that before coming back here."
"What do you want from me?" Serena asked.
"That’s something you should have considered before you ran."
"I didn’t run from you."
"Whatever helps you sleep at night."
He turned toward the door. Serena watched him, her heart beating faster. She wanted to tell him to leave and never return, but the words would not come as easily as she wanted. He opened the door, then paused and glanced over his shoulder. "I’ll be back."
Serena’s breath caught. He walked out before she could respond.
She hurried to the door and watched him disappear down the corridor. Only when he was out of sight did she close it and lean against it, trying to steady herself.
She had spent years convincing herself that returning to Blackclaw would give her a fresh start. Now the man she had hoped to leave behind had followed her there, and his warning had made one thing painfully clear.
She was not as far removed from her past as she had believed.