Chapter 2 — A Test of Trust

Lucian

The forest was restless. Lucian felt it in the air—a sharp, electric tension humming just beneath the surface, as if the land itself anticipated a storm. Shadowpine’s towering pines loomed like silent sentinels, their dark needles whispering in the faint breeze. The rogue pack was scattered among the shadows, motionless yet alert, their stillness the kind that came with waiting for their alpha to decide.

Lucian crouched low, his golden hazel eyes scanning the forest floor with practiced precision. The scent trail lingered in the crisp air—a faint, unfamiliar wolf’s scent laced with determination and defiance. It mingled with the damp richness of moss and pine, a reminder that this rogue woman—Terrie—wasn’t careless. Her movements, deliberate and calculated, left just enough trace for someone skilled to follow. She had unnerved him, not with her presence, but with her precision. She moved as if she belonged here.

The thought made his wolf bristle.

“She’s still out there,” Krystal said, her voice sharp, cutting through the quiet. She leaned against a tree, her amber eyes fixed on Lucian. Her posture was deceptively casual, but her hand hovered near the dagger strapped to her thigh. “You let her walk away, but that doesn’t mean she’s gone for good. Rogues like her always come back.”

Lucian didn’t look at her. His focus remained on the trail, on the faint impressions in the soil that spoke of Terrie’s steady steps. “She hasn’t crossed our borders again,” he responded, his voice low and firm. It carried the weight of command, but also something else—an edge of irritation. He didn’t need Krystal to voice what he already suspected.

Krystal’s mistrust was understandable. This was Shadowpine—a sanctuary earned through blood and vigilance. Outsiders weren’t welcome here, least of all someone like this rogue. But Krystal’s suspicion carried an undercurrent of something deeper, something personal. Lucian caught the tension in her voice, the way her eyes darted to the shadows as though searching for a specter of her past. He knew better than to press her now.

“She didn’t exactly look like a threat,” Max quipped, emerging from behind a thicket of underbrush. His sandy blond hair caught the faint light filtering through the canopy, and his ever-present smirk softened the tension in the air. “More like a stray trying to figure out if we’d kick her or feed her.”

Krystal shot him a glare sharp enough to cut stone. “That ‘stray’ was armed with a Moonsteel Dagger,” she snapped. “You don’t carry a weapon like that unless you’re prepared to use it.”

“She’s desperate,” Max replied, unruffled. He leaned casually against a boulder, one hand brushing a low-hanging pine branch. “And we’ve all been there. If she wanted to cause trouble, she would’ve done it already. Instead, she walked away.”

Lucian let their words fade into the background as he straightened, his senses tuned to the forest. Max wasn’t wrong, but he wasn’t entirely right, either. The moment Lucian had locked eyes with Terrie—those piercing green eyes that hid vulnerability behind steel—he’d felt it. A pull. A spark of recognition that sent his instincts screaming in ways he didn’t want to name.

His jaw tightened, and he shoved the thought aside with practiced ease. Whatever that pull was, it was dangerous. He didn’t have time for complications. His focus needed to remain on the pack—their survival, their safety, their unity. Terrie was—must be—a distraction, nothing more.

“She’ll be back,” Krystal muttered, her arms crossed. There was no doubt in her tone, only grim certainty. “No one wanders into Shadowpine unless they’re looking for something. She wants something from us.”

“Maybe she just wants to survive,” Max said, his casual tone belying a quiet sincerity. “Not everyone’s out to stab us in the back, Krystal. Some of us are just trying to keep breathing.”

Lucian exhaled slowly and turned to face them both. His golden eyes met Krystal’s glare head-on, unyielding. “It doesn’t matter what she wants,” he said evenly. “What matters is what she can offer.” He let the words hang in the air for a moment before continuing. “We don’t turn away potential allies without reason. If she’s desperate enough to come back, we’ll see if she’s worth the risk.”

Krystal’s jaw tightened, but she didn’t argue further. Max raised an eyebrow, his smirk returning. “Generous and pragmatic. Who knew you had it in you, boss?”

Lucian’s sharp look silenced him, though the corner of Max’s mouth twitched as if the humor was hard to suppress.

“Spread out,” Lucian ordered, his tone brooking no argument. “Keep to the perimeter and watch for signs of movement. If she returns, I want to know before she gets close.”

The pack moved swiftly, their figures merging with the shadows. Lucian stood still for a moment longer, his gaze sweeping the forest. Shadowpine was his domain, every tree and stone claimed and defended. Yet something about Terrie’s presence had unsettled him. It felt like a disruption—no, a fracture—in the delicate balance of control he had built.

He shook his head, forcing the thought away, and disappeared into the forest.

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Hours later, the sun had dipped below the horizon, casting the woods in shades of silver and gray. The moon hung heavy in the sky, its light a faint shimmer against the dense canopy. Lucian moved along the edge of a shallow stream, his senses sharp and attuned to every shift in the air. The pack patrolled nearby, their movements a part of the forest’s hush.

It was Krystal who spotted her first.

“Northwest quadrant,” came her voice through the pack link, sharp and certain. “She’s back.”

Lucian’s muscles coiled, his golden eyes narrowing as he turned toward the direction of her scent. The faint tang of wolf reached him—distinct and unmistakable. Terrie. She wasn’t hiding. She wasn’t afraid. And that alone made her dangerous.

He moved swiftly, his steps silent against the moss-covered ground. The forest seemed to hold its breath as he approached, and then she emerged from the shadows.

Terrie stepped into a patch of moonlight, her every movement deliberate. Her shoulders were squared, her stance carefully balanced even as her hand rested lightly on the hilt of the Moonsteel Dagger at her side. But it was her eyes—those piercing green eyes—that held his attention. They were unyielding, steady, and far too familiar.

“You’re persistent,” Lucian said, his voice cold and measured.

Terrie’s lips curved into a humorless smile. “And you’re predictable.”

The faintest flicker of amusement crossed his face before vanishing. She was bold to return after his rejection. Bold to stand her ground in the face of an alpha who owed her nothing. But boldness alone wasn’t enough to sway him.

“I told you,” he said, stepping closer, “we don’t take strays.”

Terrie didn’t flinch. “I’m not asking to be taken in. I’m offering something you can’t afford to ignore.”

Lucian’s gaze narrowed. “And what’s that?”

Her fingers brushed the edge of her dagger, though she didn’t draw it. The faint luminescence of the blade caught his eye, its glow under the moonlight a subtle reminder of her rogue identity. “Some threats leave no trail,” she said evenly, her voice calm but unwavering. “Unless you know where to look.”

Krystal emerged from the shadows, her amber eyes flashing with suspicion. “You think we can’t track threats on our own?”

Terrie’s gaze flicked to her, steady and defiant. “I think you can track what’s easy to find. But hunters? Rival packs? They don’t want to be found. I can find them before they find you.”

Lucian raised a hand, silencing Krystal’s response. His gaze remained locked on Terrie, his expression unreadable. His wolf stirred, uneasy yet drawn—an instinct he couldn’t fully suppress. She was a risk, but her confidence wasn’t empty. And the truth was, they needed allies more than he cared to admit.

“Prove it,” he said, his voice low and commanding. “There’s a rival group three clicks north. We’ve been watching their movements for days, but they’re careful. If you can find their camp, we’ll talk.”

Terrie’s lips quirked into a small, defiant smile. “Fair enough.”

Lucian stepped aside, letting her pass. His gaze lingered on her as she disappeared into the shadows, his instincts warring within him. She wasn’t just a complication. She was a threat—to his control, his pack, and perhaps something far more dangerous.

For now, he would let her prove herself.

But trust? That was something she wouldn’t earn so easily.