Cold

Chapter Twenty-one
Faelen’s POV
As I finished the last bite of bread, I felt a strange mix of relief and confusion. Hunter had been watching me the whole time, his expression unreadable, but now, he seemed to have lost interest.
He turned away, his eyes distant, as if I wasn’t even there anymore. “Take the plates with you and leave,” he ordered, his voice cold and distant.
I hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to make of the sudden change in his demeanor. But then I bowed lightly, as I had been taught to do, and gathered the plates.
My hands were still shaking, and I had to force myself to focus, to not drop anything. As I made my way to the door, my mind was racing, trying to understand what the hell had just happened.
Why had Hunter suddenly changed his mind? Why hadn’t he hurt me like he had last time?
I could still remember the cruelty in his eyes, the way he had taken pleasure in my humiliation. But today, he had been different. Distant, yes, but not cruel.
Not in the way I had come to expect from him.
I couldn’t help but wonder if it had something to do with Caleb. He had tried to stand up for me, and though he hadn’t succeeded, maybe his presence had made a difference.
Perhaps Hunter had decided to back off because of Caleb’s intervention. It was the only explanation that made any sense to me.
I glanced down at the handkerchief Caleb had given me, still clutched in my hand. It was soft, white, and smelled faintly of him.
The simple gesture, so kind and unexpected, had touched something deep inside me. Someone had actually cared enough to try to defend me. Someone had seen my tears and wanted to make them stop.
A small, invisible smile tugged at my lips as I walked down the hallway. Caleb was different from Hunter. He was gentle, considerate, and for the first time since I’d come to this pack, I felt a bit of hope.
Maybe not everyone here was as cruel as Hunter. Maybe I could find an ally in Caleb. But as much as I wanted to believe that, I couldn’t shake the feeling of fear in me.
Hunter had let me go today, but his behavior was unpredictable. He was like a storm, having the tendency to transform the atmosphere swiftly, and I had no idea when he would strike again.
And then also… there was that strange pull I felt towards him, something I couldn’t understand, and it frightened me. How could I be drawn to someone who seems to enjoy hurting me so much?
It didn’t make any sense.
I had heard stories about the mate bond, a powerful connection between two souls destined to be together. But that was just a legend, something I had never experienced, and certainly not something I expected to feel towards someone like Hunter.
Impossible.
Yet, when I was alone with him in that room, when his eyes met mine, there had been something… a spark, a connection… I don’t know what to call it, but I just knew that I could barely contain it. And there was no denying it too.
But there was no way Hunter could be my mate. The mere thought of it felt both foolish and thrilling at the same time. “Damn it!” why was I thinking about a mate bond with Hunter?!
He was cruel, heartless, everything I had been taught to despise. And yet, my heart beat faster when he was near, when he popped up in my mind… and truthfully, I found myself thinking about him more often, even when I didn’t want to.
I shook my head, trying to rid myself of these foolish thoughts. Hunter was my master and enemy, nothing more. I had to stay focused on my mission, on making my Alpha and my pack proud.
Whatever strange pull I felt towards him was just a distraction, I told myself, a weakness I couldn’t afford.
Still, as I made my way to the kitchen, I couldn’t help but glance back down the hallway, where I had left Hunter alone in his room. The image of him sitting there, distant and brooding, hung in my mind.
As I pushed open the kitchen door, my mind still clouded with the confusion of what had just happened with Hunter, I nearly collided with someone.
The plates I was carrying slipped from my grasp, clattering to the floor. My heart skipped a beat, and I immediately started apologizing, bending down to pick up the fallen plates.
“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to…” I began, but my words trailed off as I looked up and saw who it was.
Caleb.
Of all people, it had to be Caleb. My breath caught in my throat as I stared up at him. His expression was kind, just as it always was, and before I could even reach for the plates, he was already helping me gather them with gentle hands.
I was speechless.
“Are you alright?” he asked, his voice full of concern as he handed me the plates. He seemed to be scanning me, his eyes searching for any sign of injury. “Did he hurt you?”
The genuine worry in his voice made my chest tighten. After my parents, no one had ever cared about me like this before… certainly not since I came to Howle Wulf pack.
I opened my mouth to speak but found myself struggling to find the right words. “He… no,” I finally managed to say. “He didn’t hurt me.”
Caleb looked at me, clearly surprised. He didn’t say anything, but the confusion in his eyes said it all. I knew what he was thinking.
Anyone would have expected Hunter to humiliate me, maybe even worse. But instead, Hunter had done something completely out of character.
“He just… left the room,” I continued, still trying to make sense of it myself. “And when he came back, he offered me food. When I finished eating, he sent me away with the plates.”
Caleb’s eyebrows shot up, and for a moment, he looked almost as stunned as I felt. “That doesn’t sound like Hunter at all,” he muttered, almost to himself.
I nodded, still baffled. “I know. I was… I was just as surprised as you are.” I said.
For a moment, we both stood there in silence, the clattering sounds of the busy kitchen around us fading into the background. Then, Caleb seemed to shake off his shock, his expression turning serious.
“Listen,” he said, leaning in a little closer, his voice low. “I don’t know what got into him today, but don’t trust it. Hunter is still the same person. And don’t get your hopes up… he’s not done with you. You have to be careful around him, Faelen.”
There it was again… that name. He said it so softly, so gently, that it made my heart leap. I didn’t know what to say. Caleb’s warning echoed in my mind, ‘Get my hopes up?’ What did he mean by that?
I forced a small, grateful smile and nodded. “Thank you, Caleb. I’ll… I’ll be careful.”
He gave me a piercing look, as if he wanted to say more, but then he just nodded back and stepped aside to let me pass.
I hurried to the sink, trying to keep my hands steady as I placed the plates down. My mind was spinning, tangled in a net of thoughts and emotions that I just couldn’t seem to figure out.
Why was my life so complicated? I had arrived here on a mission, to spy on Howle Wulf pack, and report back to my master. But now, everything was different.
I was feeling an unnatural pull toward the cruel Alpha of this pack… Hunter, the man who was supposed to be my enemy. He was ruthless, horrible, and yet… damn it, he was handsome.
And then there was Caleb, his beta and closest friend, who was so kind to me, so protective. I shook my head, frustrated with myself. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be, I thought.
I was here for a purpose, and I had to stay focused. But how could I, when my heart and mind were pulling me in so many different directions?
It was becoming harder and harder to separate my feelings from my mission. And then there was the matter of the gold. I had to find a way to get word to my Alpha Zodd about what I had discovered.
It was vital information, something that could give my pack an advantage. But I had to be careful. I couldn’t afford to make any mistakes. I had been lucky that Hunter hadn’t caught me snooping in the woods.
If he had, I had no doubt that I’d be in the dungeon by now, or worse, put to death already. That is if he didn’t explore the many cruel ways of torturing me I knew he thought of first anyway.
As I left the kitchen, I told myself that I had to be smarter, more cautious. My life depended on it. There was too much at stake for me to let my emotions get in the way this.
No matter how complicated things got, I had to remember why I was here, and I would have to keep my distance from both Hunter and Caleb… my biggest distractions, no matter how difficult that might seem.