Chapter 8: Protecting in Shadows

A month had passed.

Aiden crouched on a low-hanging branch, cloaked in the heavy shadows of dusk. His black hoodie blended into the dark of the woods. Golden light from the town flickered faintly through the trees—but he didn't move. Didn't blink.

Below, Evelyn's house sat quiet.

Safe.

Because he was here.

The pack didn't know. They thought he'd stopped caring. They thought he'd moved on—tamed, obedient under Theron's rule. But when the threats started, when whispers turned to action, Aiden had made his choice.

They would never touch her.

The first time, it was a pair of scouts—young, stupid. Aiden had met them near the edge of town. He didn't kill them. Just left enough blood on the ground to send a message.

The second time, they sent a tracker.

That one didn't return.

Now the attempts had slowed. Not stopped. Just quieter, cleverer.

But so was he.

Aiden shifted his weight, his wolf eyes glowing faintly as he scanned the street. The wind shifted. His nose twitched.

Nothing tonight.

Still, he stayed. Just in case.

He hadn't spoken to Evelyn since the last time she'd screamed at him. Since she'd laughed—broken—when he told her he loved her. He knew she hated him. Thought he was just another wild thing pretending to be tame.

But love wasn't about being loved back.

Not for wolves.

Not for him.

He leaned his head against the bark. The cold wind whispered through the branches, and his eyes slid shut.

Theron had warned him.

"If you go back to her, Aiden, they'll see it as betrayal."

He didn't answer then. He wouldn't now. Because even if it was betrayal...He would keep her safe.From them.From himself.Even if she never knew.

Aiden stiffened. The hair on the back of his neck rose.

He sat up fully, no longer slouched in lazy watchfulness. In an instant, the black hoodie slipped off his shoulders as he shifted—not fully—just enough. Nails sharpened, pupils narrowed, breath steadied. Human form, but every nerve lit up with wolf instinct.

Something had shifted in the bushes.

It wasn't the wind. It was deliberate. Careful.His breath stilled.

Then—Out from the shadows stepped a white wolf.Silent. Graceful. Powerful.

Theron.

The moonlight kissed his white coat, making him glow unnaturally. His steps made no sound as he approached, eyes gleaming like polished silver. He didn't speak. He didn't need to.

Aiden dropped from the branch.

He landed in a crouch, tense, halfway between fight and flight. His throat tightened as he stood upright, shoulders drawn back in challenge—but his tail, even in this half-shifted state, betrayed his unease with a twitch.

"You've been following me," Aiden said, voice low.

The white wolf didn't shift, but his head tilted in acknowledgement. He stepped closer, each movement deliberate, like a king walking through his court.

"I told you to stay away from her," Theron's voice came not from his mouth, but somewhere deeper—resonating in Aiden's chest like the echo of a drum.

Aiden growled softly. "She's not part of your pack. She doesn't follow your rules."

"She's part of your heart," Theron replied, the words cool and cutting, "which makes her my concern."

Aiden took a step back, eyes narrowed. "I'm not letting anyone hurt her."

A pause. The trees seemed to lean in, listening.

Then, without warning, the white wolf shifted—fur receding, limbs lengthening, the raw magic of it stirring the leaves around him. And there stood Theron, barefoot, half-dressed, the moonlight giving his pale skin an ethereal sheen. His silver-white hair tumbled down his back, eyes still glowing faintly.

"I know," he said simply. "That's why I'm here."

Aiden blinked. "What?" Theron approached, steps quiet, stopping just short of touching him. "You think you've been the only one watching over her?"

Aiden's breath hitched.

"I've been cleaning up your messes, Aiden," Theron continued. "Redirecting the scouts. Spinning lies for your alphas. Holding back the ones who want to punish you for breaking rank."

"Why?" Aiden asked hoarsely. "Why help me?"

Theron's voice softened—not with warmth, but something older. "Because sometimes the moon makes mistakes... and sometimes it lets them play out for a reason."

Aiden couldn't answer. His throat was tight.

Theron reached out, not quite touching, but close—so close Aiden could feel the magic humming off his skin. "You can't protect her alone. Not forever."

"I have to," Aiden whispered.

"No," Theron said. "You don't."

And in the silence that followed, the moon above cast its light through the leaves, silvering them like frost—and Aiden realized just how many shadows had been watching with him all along.

The tension between Aiden and Theron crackled, a silent energy in the cool night air. Neither moved, both standing at the edge of something too big to name.

And then— "Aiden?"

The voice shattered everything. Aiden jerked around, panic blooming in his chest. Theron didn't move, his expression unreadable.

Evelyn stood just beyond the fence of her backyard, porch light casting a warm yellow glow behind her. Her hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail, arms wrapped around herself like armor. She took a few slow steps forward, eyes locked on Aiden—and then Theron.

She froze.

Her gaze darted between the two of them. Her nose wrinkled slightly as if catching a scent she didn't understand—or didn't want to. "What's going on?"

"Evelyn, it's not—" Aiden began, voice already cracking with panic.

"I knew it." Her voice rose suddenly, cutting through the quiet like a blade. "You left me—for him?"

"What? No—what?" Aiden stepped forward, hands out in desperation.

She looked right at Theron then. "You're the reason he changed. You're the reason he stopped coming to see me. You're the reason he stood there and told me the bond meant more than me!""I didn't—" Aiden tried, but she wouldn't let him.

"You just wanted to play the victim, didn't you?" Her voice trembled now, hurt flashing beneath the fury. "I waited for you. I trusted you. And this whole time—this whole time you were sneaking around behind my back with him?!"

"It's not like that," Aiden pleaded, voice barely more than a whisper.

Evelyn laughed, sharp and disbelieving. "Don't lie to me, Aiden. I'm not stupid. I saw the way you looked at him just now."

Theron didn't speak. He didn't move. His silver eyes just watched her quietly, unreadably. Aiden turned toward him like a storm building between them.

"Say something," Aiden snapped at Theron. "Tell her it's not like that." Theron tilted his head slowly. "Would she believe me if I did?"

Aiden turned back to Evelyn, voice breaking. "I came here to protect you. I—I chose you.""But you didn't stay with me." Evelyn's voice finally cracked. "And now I see why."

Silence stretched long between the three of them. Then Evelyn stepped back toward the porch, blinking back furious tears. "I don't care what your bond says. You broke mine." She turned away, her voice one last bitter whisper.

"Both of you—stay the hell away from me."

The door slammed shut behind her.

And Aiden stood there, breathless, throat tight, watching the light in her kitchen flick off one by one.

The night suddenly felt colder.

Theron finally spoke, voice quiet. "She'll come to understand."

Aiden's fists clenched. "You don't know her."

"I know you," Theron replied. "And that's why I'm still here."

Aiden didn't answer. He just stood there in her backyard, heart split between the past and the impossible pull of something new.