Chapter 6 A knock in the dark

Zara

I didn't cry.

Not when I saw the blood. Not when I recognized the scent. And not even when I realized who left it.

It was nearly midnight.

I'd just stepped out of the shower, a towel wrapped around my head, my muscles sore from another day of pretending I belonged in a world that chewed me up and spit me out once already.

I felt it before I saw it.

That deep, cold ripple through the air. The kind of presence no wolf could mistake.

Pack.

Old pack.

Black Ridge.

I grabbed my blade and moved toward the door, quiet, barefoot, every nerve on fire.

I didn't open it right away. I listened.

Then-

Three knocks.

Slow.

Deliberate.

I knew that rhythm.

Kye.

I opened the door and stared at the man who once held my hands behind my back while the Alpha read my exile.

"Well, shit," he muttered. "It really is you."

---

He stepped inside like he still had permission to be in my life.

I let him.

Because if I slammed the door, I'd never get answers.

And I needed answers.

"You're supposed to be dead," he said, pacing.

I leaned against the wall, arms crossed. "Disappointed?"

He let out a bitter laugh. "No. Just surprised. Elin's gonna lose her damn mind."

"Elin always loses her mind when she's not the smartest person in the room."

His grin faded. "What are you doing here, Zara? In his company? Under a false name?"

"Gathering information."

"On what?"

"Everything."

He looked around the apartment like he expected to find bugs or hidden wires.

"You planning on killing him?" he asked, dead serious.

I didn't answer.

He shook his head. "You've changed."

"You haven't," I shot back. "You still follow orders without asking why."

"I followed the Alpha."

"You followed Elin," I snapped.

That hit.

He looked away. "She told us you were a threat. That you leaked intel to outsiders. That you'd-"

"She lied," I said flatly. "And you all ate it up like scraps."

Silence.

Then, softer, "We buried your scent markers. Said the bond was broken."

"Damian didn't even fight it."

Kye sighed. "He thought it was the only way to keep the pack safe."

"Yeah? Safe from me? I was seventeen!"

"You were powerful. More than you knew. That scared people."

I stared at him. "And now?"

He looked at me like he was seeing something else.

"Now you're terrifying."

---

Damian

Something was wrong.

I felt it in my gut. In my spine. In the way the moon pulled harder than usual that night, like it wanted to tell me something and didn't have the words.

I grabbed my jacket and keys, ignoring Lena's texts, ignoring everything except the scent trail I couldn't stop following.

Zara.

I didn't even know where she lived.

But somehow, I knew.

I ended up on the fourth floor of a walk-up in the East Village, standing in front of a door that smelled like pain and old magic.

I was about to knock when I heard voices.

I froze.

A man.

Pack.

I shoved the door open without thinking.

---

Zara didn't flinch when I stormed in.

But the guy?

He turned fast, hand already reaching for something at his waist.

I growled.

He froze.

"I should rip your throat out," I said, fangs flashing.

"Damian," Zara warned.

"No, let him try," I snarled, stepping forward. "Let him show me exactly how stupid Black Ridge still is."

Kye held up his hands. "Easy, Alpha. I'm not here to fight."

"Then why the hell are you in her apartment at midnight?"

He looked at Zara.

She didn't answer for him.

He turned back to me. "Because someone else from Black Ridge is coming."

That shut me up.

"What?"

"Elin knows. Not for sure, but... she suspects. She's digging. And she's not going to stop until she figures it out."

Zara's jaw tightened.

"She thinks if she exposes you, she'll take down Damian too. Two birds. One dagger."

"And what do you want?" I asked.

Kye hesitated. Then said, "I want to make things right."

I laughed. "Bit late for that."

He looked at Zara. "For what it's worth... I never wanted you gone. I just didn't know how to fight her back then."

She didn't say anything.

Just turned away, eyes wet but unblinking.

"Get out," I said coldly.

Kye nodded. Didn't argue. Just walked out.

And then it was just us.

---

Zara

"I didn't ask you to come," I said.

"I know."

"But you came anyway."

"I felt something was wrong."

I stared at him. "You felt me. That's the bond talking."

"Maybe," he said, stepping closer. "Or maybe it's because I still love you."

I laughed, bitter and low. "You don't know me anymore."

"I do. Maybe not who you've become, but I remember what's underneath. I remember how you always hide your hurt in sarcasm. How you crack your knuckles when you're anxious. How you-"

"Stop," I said.

He didn't.

"How you sing to yourself when you think no one's listening."

My throat closed.

"You don't get to say those things anymore."

He nodded. "Then tell me what I can say."

I swallowed hard.

"That I was wrong?" he offered. "That I should've fought for you?"

I didn't answer.

"I'm trying, Zara," he said, softer now.

And it broke something in me I didn't even know was still whole.

---

I walked to the window. Rain had started again. The city blurred.

Behind me, he didn't move.

"Do you want revenge?" he asked. "Or do you want peace?"

I turned.

"I want the truth," I said.

"Then I'll give it to you," he said. "But not tonight."

He paused.

And added, "Stay with me."

I blinked. "Excuse me?"

"I have a secure penthouse. No Black Ridge spies. No ambushes. Just... safety."

"And you?"

"I won't touch you unless you ask me to."

I stared at him for a long time.

Then finally, I nodded once.

"Just one night."