Chapter 3 Threads of the Past

Morning sun broke through low clouds, turning the wet streets of Crescent Hollow into mirrors of pale gold. Kai Brennan watched from the window of Brennan's Books & Brews, the steam of his coffee rising like a spirit between him and the city outside.

His dreams had left him restless. The images of Lena-moonlit, wild, impossibly close-still clung to his thoughts. And beneath that longing beat a quieter, darker note: the memory of Talon's voice, sharp as a blade.

The pack hasn't forgotten you... neither has the blood in your veins.

Kai sipped his coffee, trying to drown out the words. But guilt, like the scent of wet earth, never fully washed away.

---

By nine, the bell above the shop door chimed, breaking the quiet. Lena stepped inside, arms wrapped around herself against the lingering morning chill. The coyote pup-Bandit, she'd named him-trotted obediently at her heels.

"Hey," she greeted, offering a smile that reached her tired eyes.

"Hey," Kai returned, softer than he meant to.

Bandit sniffed around the threshold before padding straight to Kai, pressing his warm body against Kai's leg. Lena blinked, surprised.

"He likes you," she noted.

Kai shrugged, bending to scratch behind the pup's ears. "Animals usually do."

She tilted her head, studying him with quiet curiosity. "You have a way with them."

"So do you," he pointed out.

Lena's gaze softened. "Maybe that's why Bandit found us both."

---

They settled into the morning routine-Kai brewing coffee and restocking shelves, Lena nursing a paper cup and gently untangling a snarl in Bandit's fur. Customers drifted in and out, but Kai's attention kept circling back to her.

She looked tired, but something in her posture was lighter today-like she'd decided to let herself breathe.

"I wanted to say thank you," she began quietly when the shop emptied around noon.

"For what?"

"For letting me stay the other night. And for... just being kind."

Kai shook his head. "You don't have to thank me for that."

"I do," she insisted. "You didn't have to let a soaked stranger into your life."

He opened his mouth to argue, but stopped.

Because the truth was, from the moment Lena had walked in, it hadn't felt like letting her in at all.

It felt inevitable.

---

Outside, the sky darkened with gathering clouds. The forecast called for rain, but Kai sensed something deeper in the shift of air pressure, the prickle along his skin. The wolf in him felt it too, pacing just beneath his ribs.

Storms, both skyborn and bloodborn, were coming.

---

Elliot arrived just after lunch, a grin plastered on his face and a bakery box balanced precariously under his arm.

"Guess what I found," he announced.

"Decent coffee?" Kai guessed.

"Better," Elliot said, flipping open the box to reveal a mess of warm apple fritters.

Lena laughed softly. "You're a hero."

"I do try," Elliot said, offering her the first piece.

They ate at the front counter, sugar dusting their fingers and conversation lightening the air. But between laughs and crumbs, Kai caught Lena glancing toward the windows, as if expecting someone-or something.

"You okay?" he asked when Elliot ducked into the stockroom.

"I've just been... feeling watched," she admitted, voice low. "I know it sounds paranoid."

Kai's jaw tightened. "By who?"

"I don't know," she said. "Probably nothing."

But Kai's instincts disagreed. The wolf pricked its ears, alert.

"Promise me," he said quietly, "if you see anything strange, you'll tell me."

She hesitated, then nodded. "I promise."

---

The afternoon dragged on, the city outside growing quieter under the threat of rain. At three, Lena gathered Bandit's leash.

"I should get going," she said. "Bandit has a vet check-up across town."

Kai wanted to ask her to stay. The words sat on his tongue, heavy and stupid.

Instead, he said, "Be careful."

She smiled, soft but sad. "Always."

As she stepped outside, Kai felt something tighten inside him, like a thread pulled taut. The wolf shifted again, uneasy.

And then she was gone, swallowed by the city streets.

---

Kai tried to focus on inventory, but restlessness gnawed at him. Numbers blurred on the page, the ticking clock grew loud. At last, he gave up.

He pulled out his phone, thumb hovering over Lena's contact. She'd only given it to him yesterday, in case "Bandit chewed through something important," she'd joked.

Instead of calling, he typed: Text me when you get home safe.

He hit send before he could think better of it.

---

Outside, the sky finally broke open, rain pattering against the windows in steady rhythm. Elliot, noticing Kai's distraction, raised an eyebrow.

"Waiting on someone?"

Kai shook his head, but Elliot grinned knowingly. "She's good for you, you know."

Kai bristled. "It's not like that."

"Right," Elliot teased. "Just coffee, coyote pups, and longing stares."

Kai glared, but the words left him raw. It can't be like that, he wanted to say. But instead he muttered, "It's complicated."

"It always is," Elliot said gently.

---

Hours passed.

No message came.

By closing, Kai's chest felt too tight to breathe. The wolf was restless now, fully awake and prowling behind his ribs. Images of Lena-hurt, lost, alone-flashed through his mind.

"I'm going out," he told Elliot, voice rougher than usual.

Elliot frowned. "You okay?"

"Just-lock up," Kai said, grabbing his coat.

The rain swallowed him whole the moment he stepped outside.

---

He walked fast, almost running, heart pounding in rhythm with the wolf's impatient growl.

Find her. Protect her.

The city's usual scents-oil, wet asphalt, human sweat-barely registered. Instead, he searched for her scent: wildflowers and cedar, something warm and soft beneath the rain.

His pulse hammered louder.

And then-he caught it.

A thread of familiarity, faint but true.

He followed.

---

The alley was narrow, choked with trash bins and shadow. At the far end, movement flickered-three figures, blurred by rain.

Kai ducked behind a dumpster, breath shallow.

One was Lena. Her coat was soaked through, Bandit growling low at her side.

The other two were strangers: men in dark clothes, blocking her path.

"Please," Lena's voice trembled, but her chin stayed lifted. "I don't want trouble."

"Funny," one man drawled, "neither do we. Just want to ask a few questions."

"About what?" she demanded.

"About you," the man sneered. "And what exactly you are."

---

Something inside Kai snapped.

Before the thought fully formed, he was moving.

---

The wolf broke free-not into full shift, but close: muscles tightening, senses sharpening, a guttural growl slipping from his throat.

He stepped into the alley, rain streaming off his hood, shadows clinging to his frame.

"Back off," he ordered, voice low and inhuman.

The men turned. The taller one smirked. "And who the hell are you?"

Kai didn't answer. He took another step, shoulders squared.

Bandit yipped, running to Kai's side.

The strangers exchanged a look-then one lunged, reaching for Lena.

Kai moved faster.

---

It was over in seconds.

A shove sent the first man crashing into the wall, breath knocked from his chest. The second swung a rusted pipe, but Kai caught his wrist mid-swing, eyes flashing gold in the dark.

"Don't," Kai growled, voice edged with something primal.

The man froze, eyes wide.

Kai let go, shoving him back. "Leave."

They hesitated-then ran, splashing through puddles until they vanished into the rain.

---

The alley fell silent except for the drum of rain on metal.

Lena stared at Kai, breath ragged, eyes wide.

"Kai..." she whispered.

He realized then: his hood had slipped back, hair plastered to his forehead, eyes still burning faint gold.

She'd seen.

All of it.

---

For a moment, neither of them moved.

Then Kai took a step closer, voice raw. "Are you hurt?"

She shook her head, but tears brimmed at the corners of her eyes. "Kai... what are you?"

He opened his mouth, closed it, chest heaving. Bandit pressed against her legs, whining softly.

Kai swallowed hard. "It's... complicated."

"Complicated?" she echoed, voice cracking.

He forced himself to meet her gaze, rain running down his face like sweat.

"I'm not just human, Lena," he said, voice barely above a whisper. "I'm... a werewolf."

---

The word hung in the air, sharp and impossible.

Lena blinked, lips parting. "A werewolf."

"Yes."

"And your eyes-just now-"

"Part of it," he admitted.

She swallowed, looking down at Bandit as if searching for grounding. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want to," he whispered, the truth heavy as stone. "Didn't want to scare you."

---

She lifted her gaze to his, wet lashes framing those bright, searching eyes.

"I'm not scared of you," she said softly. "I'm scared of what this means."

"So am I," he breathed.

They stood there, rain soaking them both, the city moving on around them as if nothing had changed.

But everything had.

---

Finally, Lena spoke, voice trembling but sure. "Let's get out of the rain."

Kai hesitated, heart thudding. "You still want to?"

"Yes," she whispered. "But after this... I think you owe me the truth."

He nodded, throat tight. "All of it."

---

Together, they walked out of the alley, Bandit trotting between them.

Kai's heart beat wild and terrified in his chest-but for the first time in years, the wolf inside him didn't feel like a curse.

It felt like something alive.

Something that might even be worth sharing.

---