Kaia. 

It was a familiar voice this time, the same one from her nightmare with its intensely ingrained fury. If Kaia could have chosen a color for it, she'd pick red. A dark, raging red. The color of blood. 

Kaia, I want to tell you a story. But she didn't want to hear one. She knew she wouldn't like it. It wasn't like before, where she felt his rage as if it were her own. No, this time she only felt fear: deep, endless fear. It was the sort that you can't stop even if you tell yourself that it's irrational. It's instinct. 

Once, a man loved a woman very, very much. She was his world, you see. He gave her everything she'd ever wanted. 

He said 'everything' as if he were keeping a painful secret. 'Everything' was the most important gift he'd ever given. 

So, despite how it hurt him, he destroyed her. 

Ice shot through Kaia's veins even in her dream. She wondered if she'd be tossing and turning in real life or if she looked still, peaceful even. Would Kaleb look down at her and think she was anything close to ok? Or would he realize that no matter how calm she seemed on the outside, she wanted to scream inside her mind? She tried to break out, do anything to get away from this man. It is a terrible thing to realize that you are helpless, especially helpless within your own mind.

Such a pity. A shame. He thought he'd never see her again after that night. But he was wrong. Because a decade later, there she is standing in front of him. 

No. No, people don't come back from the dead. Kaia had wished that they did so many times in her life it was impossible to count. On her birthday every year. Whenever she recalled something her mom used to say. Whenever the anniversary came around, lumbering and reeking like a cruel beast. Whenever she heard the Scooby Doo theme song, even. 

Only, you see, it wasn't her. Not quite. She was different, but that smell. It was so similar. Then he realized... 

There are moments when you can feel realization like a force. It's not just a thought stuck in your head, cozily curling up in the darkness between your ears. No, this realization was something born in your skull, expanded by the millisecond until it's so big, so dense, so terrifying that it breaks free, shattering everything that you were before. Realization speeds through the entire body like ice, like nausea. All in a second. 

This pain was what Kaia felt. 

...It was her daughter, hidden all these years. Isobel, that sly woman. So he followed the girl, followed her without her knowing. Watched her, listened to her, touched her. 

His words echoed. Touched her. Touched. Touched.K In this little nightmare of a reality she was stuck in, darkness was all she could see. But oh, she could feel everything she didn't want to. Her skin crawled, bile rose, tears sprung up. 

Her mother. He'd killed her, this man. And he'd been there all along, watching her. New desperation possessed Kaia. She could only think of escape. Run as hard as you can into the darkness. Maybe you can get out. Hopefully, you'll see the light. Anything. 

So tell me, Kaia. Why are you lying here, vulnerable? 

Kaia froze. Her heart stopped beating. Her blood stood still. For a split second, she was nothing. 

All I would have to do, child, is reach out, and...snap. Your little lover here wouldn't even know what happened. He'd wake up and see you beside him, unseeing eyes. He'd break, wouldn't he? Just like I did...

The laugh that came next was soul shattering. It reverberated through Kaia, throughout her entire nightmare. Her mind was crumbling. She was going to go mad. "No," Kaia said quietly. Surprise struck her as she realized she could speak, her voice permeating the darkness. 

Don't worry, Kaia. I won't kill you. All the evil I've done was because I had no other choice. 

That was a lie. Kaia remembered how he'd felt about killing her from her nightmare when she'd been in his head rather than he in hers. He'd wanted to kill her. He'd relished it, had licked his lips and tasted blood. 

I would never kill you...but you're not the only defenseless one here. 

"I'll kill you first," Kaia growled. The sound was more animalistic that she'd thought herself capable. It was when Kaia was protecting Kaleb that she sounded like that. He meant enough to her that she would lower herself as far as she needed to keep him safe. 

Oh, poor girl. You're asleep, remember? There's not a thing you can do...

"You're enjoying this."

Yes, indeed. But I suppose I shouldn't say there's 'nothing' you can do, should I? There is one thing. 

Kaia simply waited. It sounded like this sick man was trying to make a deal of some sort with her. He had that telling tone in his voice, a concoction of smugness and delight. There was something he wanted from her, which meant she could outsmart him. 

Leave... 

The single word stood out against the silence around it like a festering sore. It brought with it a sticky feeling on Kaia's tongue and roiling nausea. Kaia could ask what it meant. Leave? Leave what? But Kaia already knew the answer to that question, and asking would only be putting off the inevitable. 

"I won't." There was a lengthy silence. When he spoke, he sounded mildly annoyed. 

Shall I kill him, then?

"Why are you doing this?" For revenge against Kaia's mother? But she was already dead. She would never know. 

Do you want your Alpha to die or will you leave him and save his entire Pack? 

"His entire Pack?" 

Make your choice. You don't belong there. 

The expression 'stuck between a rock and a hard place' didn't even begin to cover this situation. Leaving Kaleb was more than rocky, and wherever she'd be going was worse than a hard place. "And go where?" She honestly didn't want to go back to her house. Her dad was there. She wasn't ready for that, even if Cole was there as a buffer. 

Come to me. 

She'd been right: worse than a hard place. 

Kaia had never been a selfish person. She'd gone along with whatever her dad had asked of her, even if it meant growing up without close friends or any social life. It had never seemed strange that her dad hadn't trusted anyone. She should have known. 

Kaia had been blind for so long; maybe something subconscious had hidden the truth from her even as it sat fat and conspicuous in front of her eyes. This time, Kaia wasn't going to let that happen. She opened her eyes as wide as they could go and farther. 

Dull pain eclipsed her, a physical ache that seemed to leak out into the air around her in a dark cloud. When you open your eyes to see the truth, sometimes you wish you could close them again. Sometimes the reality is...well, it just is. And you can't get around it. 

She knew what she had to do. When she looked for it, an unfamiliar understanding found her. She had never tried to manage it before, but whatever abilities she had, she needed them now. When she called, they came. It was like coming back to a home she never knew she had.

A shining feather appeared in the darkness before her, burning and shimmering like a star. She reached out to it instinctively, and when it landed in the palm of her hand, it whispered to her. She knew things she could never have known and heard things she could never have heard. 

It told her that she should follow the path laid out before her. It was risky: too far in either direction, and she would fall into the chasm below. Faith was all that would keep her alive. 

"Fine."

You don't sound convincing, Kaia. 

"Fine!"

That's better. But know, Kaia, that if you do end up breaking your word...they'll all die. Everyone you know. Your father, your brother, your mate, your Pack. Remember that. And don't you dare try and tell anyone; I've been inside your head, Kaia dear. I'll know. 

But he wouldn't. Kaia would make sure of it. She had faith that she was strong enough to keep him out of her mind. 

Waking up was like coming up for air after you've nearly drowned. There's pain mixed in with the first few lungfuls of oxygen desperately gasped in. Hoarse coughs. Terror, a horror at realizing that you nearly died beneath the murky water. Fear that you've changed for the worse now that you've lived through it. And dread that you'll never be able to forget the feeling. 

It was still dark when Kaia snapped back into her body. She felt that man's presence all over her like poisonous spiders creeping slowly along her skin. So Kaia ran. The further she ran, the more spiders fell away. 

Her lungs were burning, and her legs were shaking as she whizzed past trees and patches of the underbrush. But she kept running because she couldn't think of anything else to do. She barely even registered the thud of paws or the shadow moving in the corner of her eye, not until it slammed into her and forced her to the ground, knocking the wind out of her. She was left jarred, staring at the sparkling snow in front of her. A weight eased off of her, and she heard half of a whimper. Something inside of her knew not to be afraid. 

When she was finally able to breathe again, she lifted her head and turned around. Kaleb was standing in front of her, still a wolf with his head lowered and his ears turned towards her. His eyes were a battleground as he tried his best to gauge what was happening in her head. All of the spiders were gone the second she saw him. She felt safe again, a little bit more like herself. Maybe the piece of her heart that Kaleb kept safe for her was what had brought Kaia back. 

Kaia wanted to tell him everything. The words were practically bursting from her. Maybe she'd feel better if she unloaded them onto Kaleb? But she couldn't. She didn't know if the man had been serious about his threat, about knowing everything she'd do or say. But it was too dangerous in these woods; he'd just been here. She could shield her thoughts, but she wasn't sure she could shield Kaleb's.

Kaia would have cried if she'd tried to speak. She could feel the sobs below the still surface of her composure, waiting to strike. One little ripple and a storm would follow, tears raining down before she could stop them. 

Her hands were shaking when she reached out and touched Kaleb's face. His fur was soft beneath her palm. He was warm. "I'm-" Kaia bit her lip, squeezing her eyes shut. When she opened them again, Kaleb was still on edge. His giant wolf muscles were still taut, and he was poised as if he was getting ready to fight anything and everything that was chasing her. 

"I had a nightmare," Kaia squeaked, inching closer to Kaleb. She pressed her body against his chest, letting his head hover over her shoulder. He lowered his head until it was pressed against her back, bringing her closer to him. It was the closest to an embrace he could offer her in this form. 

With her arms around him, Kaia could feel the growl rumble through his chest, vibrating against her body. Kaia hugged Kaleb tighter, "I'm ok." She wasn't, but she would be. More than anything, she felt guilty. 

Kaia wasn't sure what Kaleb was thinking, but she couldn't let him know the truth, couldn't tell him that the man had been here, had been about to kill him in his sleep, had threatened the Prowlers. She couldn't let him know what she was going to do about it. 

That filthy man was a threat. Kaia knew it. She had to tell Kaleb something but wasn't sure how she could go about it without giving her plan away.

When she peered into Kaleb's heart, the sheer amount of concern and anger for her sake was heartwarming. It was calming, and Kaia felt something release within her. She was crying only a second later, but not the sobs that she felt earlier. These were quiet tears, calm tears. She wasn't entirely sure what caused them. Dread? Sorrow? Love? 

Kaleb stepped forward, lowering himself and pushing Kaia down into the snow. He stood over her for a moment, looking down at her. The worry was still in his eyes, but they'd softened a bit now. He sighed and shook his head slightly. I don't get you. 

Kaia mustered a smile even as she kept crying. It was bittersweet. She reached up and slid her fingers along his muzzle and up between his eyes. She followed his fur to the tips of his ears and down again. Kaleb's eyes had closed, and he'd visibly relaxed now. Kaleb's heart was a rosy color. Kaia's was, too, deep down. But it was hidden behind a thick crust of blackish worry and shame. The contrast made her chest ache, and the tears come faster. Kaleb didn't know, and he wouldn't until he couldn't do a thing about it. "I love you," Kaia said quietly. 

Kaleb's eyes lazily opened. He still stood over her. He was her big bad wolf was protecting her from the big, dangerous world. It made her--however impossible it seemed--feel safe for just a moment. "That'll never change, Kaleb." 

It sounded more like a goodbye than Kaia had meant it to, but Kaleb showed no sign of noticing it. Maybe Kaia just heard a farewell because she knew that's what it was. 

She held Kaleb's head even as he leaned down and kissed her cheeks, his rough, warm tongue wiping away her tears. He slowly lay down beside her, his head above hers. His whiskers never stopped touching her face. 

And he kept his promise. He kissed Kaia until she fell asleep. 

The last thing she thought before she fell asleep was how badly she wished to see Kaleb as a man again. She to kiss him one last time before she left him. 

But, then again, one kiss would never be enough. 

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