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Elara pulls out of the driveway and heads for the woods, which aren’t far from her grandmother's house. She parks in the parking lot yet again, not wanting her car to just be hanging out next to the woods and walks over to wait for Kade. Her body is on fire with the idea of seeing him again and no matter what she does, she can't seem to shake it.
Get it together, Elara, she tells herself as she approaches the tree line.
Tucking herself just inside up against a tree, she senses nothing and no one. At least nothing human or wolf. Crossing her arms over her chest, she tries to be patient, but the longer he takes, the more nervous she becomes.
Elara paces on the edge of the forest as she waits for him…Kade. For someone who told him to stop stalking her and she wanted nothing to do with him, meetings with him are becoming increasingly commonplace.
Maybe it's time to admit that I still need him and I can't just push him away, she thinks as a tiny shift in the sounds coming from the forest alert her to Kade's approach. Elara didn't used to be able to notice such things, but now, as a wolf, all her senses are heightened. She can literally hear a pin drop, probably even in a loud and crowded room.
Kade comes into view. Dark hair and guarded eyes, shirtless, a pair of shorts hanging off his hips. Elara blushes, her eyes lingering on his chest a little too long for comfort. Despite the theatrics, he looks like he's part of the woods. Like he could have been born out of it, possibly living in it. Rugged and strong. Elara’s never seen him much anywhere else or with anyone else. He's the definition of a lone wolf. He must like it that way. Though, sometimes the way he follows Elara around and looks at her makes her wonder otherwise.
"It's interesting that you called on me this time," Kade smirks, leaning up against a tree opposite her.
"Well, I need to talk to you." She shakes her head, looking at the forest floor. All of her conviction is lost in telling him she needs him, but the message is there hanging between the two of them. Even if it goes unspoken.
“Well?” Kade asks, working an eyebrow and sticking his hands in his pockets.
Elara bites her lip, gaining her composure again before she speaks. “I just came from my grandmother's house. My mother sent me there when I asked about genealogy. I figured it was time to try to figure out who I descend from.” She shrugs, kicking around some dirt below her feet. “If I can.”
"Were you able to find anything out?" Kade pushes himself off the tree, his focus making her skin heat.
Elara shakes her head. "Not exactly, but she had all these stories. Stories about our family, one guy, in particular, someone named Colonel Hartford. He comes from England or somewhere over there. They used to have more on him and his family, but an entire library of family history was stolen years ago before my grandmother bought the house she lives in now."
Kade seems taken aback by the information, his eyes going a little wide. "Some odd things to steal. It sounds like a lead to me. Did she tell you anything of use at all?"
The excitement in his voice has Elara looking at him, allowing herself to indulge for the first time in a while. They're on the same side of things, even after everything he's done. She shouldn't see him as her enemy, but he has a funny way of showing that he's not. Again, she finds herself torn between sticking to her principles and starting over with Kade. Forgiving him.
"She said we descend from some special royal bloodline, but she doesn't remember which one. That's all I got. Do you think that's why I survived the turn?"
Kade steps closer, now only a foot away. It makes Elara’s heart pound in her chest. "I guess that would make sense. That could definitely be the reason why, but also that bloodline is why you were chosen in the first place. It’s the only way to defeat the enemies closing in on us."
Elara’s eyebrows shoot up, surprised Kade for the first time is going more in-depth about the whole thing. Maybe he’s done playing games with her.
"By enemies, do you mean the shifters?" she asks, remembering Denzel's explanation of them. Just the thought makes her shiver.
"Yes, the shifters are enemies, but they're only one arm of the darkness that threatens to bite at the wolf community. Pun intended." He flashes his teeth to get his point across. If it wasn't for the danger in his words, Elara would have just thought it was cute.
"So, there's more?" she whispers to herself.
"Elara, I can't stick around long, but please be careful around Denzel and the pack. Remember what I warned you." His eyes are pleading, and Elara's gut wrenches. Why does he always have to show up and disappear?
Elara frowns. She doesn’t want him to leave yet. She tells herself it’s because she wants more information. "Do you know what line you're descended from?"
He gives her a crooked grin. "Yeah, I figured it out.”
Elara waits, wondering if he’s going to tell her. So far, Kade’s drip fed her information, then promptly disappeared afterward.
He digs his hands a little deeper in his pockets, making his pecs flex. “I'm descended from Merlin."
10
Kade
The revelation leaves Elara's mouth hanging open. Kade hopes she's never put in a situation where she has to hide her feelings because they're written all over her face. They always have been. It's one of the reasons he enjoys watching her. On the one hand, he has to. He has to keep her safe. But before that, it was to see if she would survive the turn. And before that...
There's always been some kind of excuse. There probably always will be.
