Chapter 3 A friend

“You sure you’re okay?” he asked. “You’re shaking.”

I looked down and realized he was right. My hands were trembling. “I’m fine,” I lied again.

“Alright. But if you need anything, you know I’m here for you.”Fred’s voice was soft, almost hesitant.

For a moment, I couldn’t speak. My throat felt tight, my chest heavier with every breath. All the air I’d been holding in since I ran from Darius finally broke free as a shaky sob. Before I could stop myself, I stepped forward and buried myself in Fred’s arms.

He didn’t question it. Didn’t pull back or demand an explanation. He just held me. Strong, warm, steady. His scent, steady and earthy, cedarwood, rain, and faint metallic undertones wrapped around me like an anchor. It’s comforting, familiar, like the woods after a storm. For the first time that night, I let my guard slip.

I felt so small in that moment, so stupidly fragile. I wasn’t supposed to be. I was supposed to be untouchable, the girl who’d survived death, rejection, and years of hiding from packs who would tear me apart if they knew what I really was. But right now? I was just a broken thing trembling in the arms of someone too kind to let me fall.

When I finally stepped back, wiping at my eyes, he gave me that soft smile of his, the one that always managed to make the world feel a little less cruel.

“Come on,” he said. “You need a drink.”

I hesitated, but he added, “My treat. You look like you could use one.”

He wasn’t wrong. My body still buzzed with adrenaline, my mind spinning between confusion and anger and something dangerously close to longing. So, I nodded.

“Yeah,” I murmured. “I could use a drink.”

The pub wasn’t far. It sat on the corner of Mason Street, glowing warm and golden against the cold night. I’d spent enough time there to know every creak of the wooden floorboards, every hum of laughter that filled its walls. Fred’s father owned it, a kind man who’d taken me in when I was desperate for work. He never asked too many questions, just handed me an apron and said, “Don’t make me regret hiring a hybrid.”

That job had saved me more than once.

When we walked in, the old man looked up from behind the counter and grinned. “Evenin’, Lyra. Fred. You two look like trouble.”

Fred laughed. “She’s the trouble. I’m just the chaperone.”

I smiled faintly and slid onto one of the stools. Fred’s father poured me a drink without asking what I wanted, he knew my usual. Whiskey, light ice. Something that burned enough to make me feel alive.

The pub was nearly empty, save for a few regulars in the back. I took a long sip, the burn spreading through my chest like fire, and let myself breathe for the first time all night.

Fred watched me quietly for a while. His eyes always had this gentleness in them that made me uncomfortable sometimes. Wolves were rarely gentle, not with me. But Fred was different. Maybe that’s why I liked being around him.

After two drinks, my head felt light. The world softened at the edges. Fred kept the conversation easy, talking about work, college, and the new renovations his dad was planning for the pub. I laughed a few times, though it didn’t quite reach my eyes.

When we finally left, the city had gone quiet again. The streets shimmered faintly with the remnants of rain.

He walked me home without saying much, his hands shoved into his pockets, our steps echoing in rhythm. When we reached my building, he stopped. I turned to face him.

“You sure you’re okay?” he asked softly.

I nodded, but he didn’t look convinced.

Then, without warning, he pulled me into another hug. This one was different, tighter, lingering. His voice came out low, almost rough against my hair. “I mean it, Lyra. If you ever need anything, if something’s wrong… You can come to me. Always.”

That warmth spread through me again, fragile and dangerous. I smiled against his chest. “What would I do without you, Fred?”

He chuckled, but when I looked up, his expression wasn’t playful anymore. It was serious. Intense. His gaze dropped to my lips.

I froze.

Before I could react, he leaned in, closing the space between us. Instinct kicked in, sharp and panicked. I turned my head just in time, and his lips brushed my cheek instead.

“Fred—”

He pulled back immediately, his jaw tense, his eyes flickering with something like embarrassment. “Sorry. I just—damn it, Lyra, I can’t keep pretending I don’t feel this.”

My stomach twisted. “Fred…”

“I love you.” The words came out raw. He ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. “I’ve loved you since college. I wanted to tell you a hundred times, but I didn’t want to scare you off.”

My heart thudded painfully. I didn’t know what to say.

He kept going, voice trembling but determined. “I want you to be my chosen mate.”

The world seemed to stop.

“Your… what?”

“My chosen mate,” he repeated, softer this time. “You don’t have to be my fated one, Lyra. I don’t care about that. I just want you.”

I swallowed hard, my hands curling into fists. “Fred, you don’t mean that. What happens when you meet your true mate? When that bond hits you, you’ll regret this.”

“I’ll reject her,” he said without hesitation.

“Fred!” I hissed, stepping back. “You can’t just say that. A mate is a blessing.”

He laughed bitterly. “A blessing? Maybe for others. But I’ve already made my choice.”

“You’re not thinking clearly,” I said, my voice breaking. “You know what I am.”

His eyes softened. “Yeah. I do. And I don’t care.”

I shook my head. “You should.”

His silence told me he already knew what I meant. His mother was a traditional wolf, strict, proud, and ruthless when it came to pack bloodlines. If she ever found out her son wanted a hybrid, one who couldn’t even shift, she’d lose her mind. The pack would disown him. He’d be cast out, marked rogue, hunted.

“I don’t care what they think,” Fred said again, stubbornly. “I love you, Lyra.”

“And I care,” I said quietly. “You don’t understand what that life would mean. You’d lose everything. Your family, your status, your pack. I won’t be the reason you throw it all away.”

He stared at me, pain flickering across his face. “You talk like you don’t deserve love.”

I smiled weakly. “Maybe I don’t. Not the kind you’re offering.”

He looked like he wanted to argue, but I reached up and pressed a kiss to his cheek, stopping him.

“You’re a good man, Fred,” I whispered. “And you’ll make someone really happy one day. But it can’t be me.”

For a long moment, he didn’t move. Then he nodded slowly, forcing a small smile. “Good night, Lyra.”

“Good night,” I whispered back, stepping toward my building.

I unlocked the door to my condo and slipped inside. The place was dim and cold, the walls cracked, the ceiling leaking slightly from last week’s storm. But it was mine. My sanctuary.

As I leaned against the door, the tears I’d held back finally came.

Fred’s confession had shaken me more than I wanted to admit. I didn’t deserve his kindness, his love. He saw me as something worth saving, but he didn’t know the truth — what I really was. If he did, he’d run as far as he could.

And worse than that…

Even as I thought about him, my heart betrayed me again. It wasn’t Fred’s face I saw behind my closed eyes.

It was Darius Kade’s. I had to leave this city.

His voice, his stare, that haunting pull that shouldn’t exist.

“Damn you,” I whispered to the darkness. “Stay out of my head.”

And no matter how far I ran…

I knew Darius would find me again.