Chapter 004

"You can't be gone forever, Lola." Adeoye's voice was like the deep rumble of thunder before a storm: calm yet forceful. As I stood at the boundary of the pack's domain, I could still hear the howl of wolves in the distance. Whether I liked it or not, the call and the pack were drawing me back. Adeoye was aware of it.

With a tense voice, I declared, "I'm not going back." I knew he was standing behind me without even having to see him; his presence was like a burden I couldn't get rid of. "I am unable to."

Unbeknownst to me, I had left behind a piece of who I was when I left—my house, my history, the pack that had previously meant the world to me. However, everything was different now. Even though Adeoye was a new presence, Declan had demolished that world for me, and in some ways, it made the old existence seem even more unattainable.

"You have no other option." He spoke in an uncompromising tone. "Lola, you are needed by the pack. You must have the pack.

It hurt to hear the word "need," as though he were calling me weak. of relying on other people. However, Declan was the one I couldn't face, not the pack. And I recalled the deep growl of his voice, like though it had been called up by my thoughts. The way he had treated me like I didn't exist.

I muttered, more to myself than to Adeoye, "I don't need him."

I could hear the sharpness in his voice as he stated, "What you need and what you want are two very different things." However, Lola, I'm not here to coerce you. I'm here to remind you that there are repercussions for what you do. Furthermore, fleeing doesn't make things better.

Even though his statements were accurate, it didn't make them any more bearable. I felt confined, torn between two realities. This weird new reality with Adeoye, a man who appeared to know me better than I did, and the world that used to be mine, with Declan and the pack.

When I eventually let the truth out, I remarked, "I don't want to face them." "I don't want to see him again."

There was a lull, and I could feel Adeoye's eyes on me, piercing as though he were trying to reach the core of my suffering. He whispered, "Then face something else." "Face your desires for yourself."

Then, with his words pressing down on my chest, I turned to face him. Instead, I found myself staring at him, caught between rage and something else. I wanted to say something acerbic, something that would make him move away. Something eerie. I didn't understand something.

At last, I turned away from him and headed into the pack's domain, saying, "Okay." I'm not doing it for him, though.

Adeoye yelled after me, his voice oddly soft, "Do it for you."

It wasn't as easy as simply walking back onto familiar territory to rejoin the pack. From the foul taste in my tongue to the agony in my chest, every part of me fought against it. But here I was, entering the center of everything. It was disturbingly silent in the region. It was obvious that the pack had missed having one of its own.

I could feel the pack's eyes on me as soon as I stepped through the door. I could feel their interest and unspoken condemnation. They were baffled by my departure. They were unaware of the suffering I had gone through. Now, however, none of that mattered. He and the pack were important.

Declan.

His tall body sliced through the crowd like a dagger as he emerged from the shadows. The world appeared to stop when our eyes met. Since he had left me and everything had fallen apart, I hadn't seen him. I was upset. I was shattered. However, seeing him once more? In a second, all of that anger and hurt boiled over.

His voice was gruff, like if he had been calling my name for hours. "Lola," he said. He looked at me with hesitation, as though he wasn't sure what to anticipate. As though he wasn't certain that he was still entitled to me.

I took a deep breath, attempting to control my feelings. Breaking in front of him was not something I could afford. Never again. Not after all the effort I had put into letting go of that version of myself. I stepped back, away from him, and spat, "Don't." "Don't even attempt to talk."

Declan's eyes flashed with a mix of frustration and shame, and his jaw tightened. "Lola, I know I hurt you. I am aware that I—

I interrupted, my voice rising in spite of myself, "You don't know anything." Declan, you broke me. You gave me the impression that I was your partner and everything. Then you... abandoned me. For her.

For a brief time, I noticed a glimmer of regret in his eyes as his face became a little pale. However, it was insufficient. Not for me. No more.

He stepped forward and murmured softly, "I didn't want to hurt you."

"So why did you?" I didn't mean for the words to sound harsh, but I was simply exhausted. I'm sick of acting. I'm sick of hiding.

Declan halted, taking a big breath that caused his chest to rise. I believed that I could have both. I was mistaken.

"You were wrong," I said again, but my tone faltered. "You were mistaken to believe that you could have it all. I wasn't a standby. Declan, I wasn't a consolation prize.

He was obviously suffering with the impact of what I had said, as he looked down. However, there was a change in his eyes that I couldn't quite identify when he finally looked me in the eye again. Did it involve guilt? Was it something more hazardous, though?

"I made things a mess," he said. "However, I've changed since I abandoned you."

I shook my head, my chest hurting, and whispered, "No." "You're not. I can't forget, though, because of that. Furthermore, it does not imply that I will return.

The words sat heavy and thick between us. However, I felt a hand grab my arm as I turned to go.

With my heart pounding, I turned to see Adeoye standing behind me with an unreadable face. He grounded me in place with a solid but not tight hold on my arm.

"You don't have to do this alone, Lola," he stated in a steady, low voice.

The words were nearly too much for me to take in as I stared up at him. But before I could say anything, Declan moved forward and spoke in a defiant tone.

Declan stated in a hard, possessive tone, "She doesn't need you."

The tension between the two of them was like electricity crackling in the air as I peered at them. One was filled with remorse, and the other was something darker and more self-assured. However, I was unsure of which of them I could rely on. Not both of them, if I was telling the truth.

"Lola, what are you going to do?" My thoughts were interrupted by Adeoye's voice, which brought me back to the here and now.

I was about to respond when a howl from a distance cut through the atmosphere, clear and harsh.

With a shiver down my spine, my heart skipped a beat. It was not a howl from the pack.

Something else was involved. Something hazardous.

What's the worst? It was drawing nearer.