Chapter Two – Whispers of a Return

Tia’s cottage smelled like cinnamon and fresh bread. Always did. She swore it helped with her studies as an herbalist, but I suspected it was just her way of making her home feel warmer than the rest of the packhouse.

She plopped a steaming cup of tea in front of me and then flopped down across from me at her little round table. Her hair was braided back, messy from the day, and her eyes glimmered with the kind of mischief that always meant she had gossip to spill.

“You’re being quiet,” she said, tilting her head. “And don’t you dare tell me it’s nothing. I know that look. That’s your ‘the world just crashed on me but I’m going to pretend I’m fine’ face.”

I tried to smile, but it tugged weakly at the corner of my mouth. “I’m fine.”

“Liar.” She sipped her tea and watched me over the rim of her cup like a cat watching a mouse. “But we’ll circle back to that. First, I need to ask—have you seriously not heard the news?”

My brows drew together. “What news?”

Her eyes widened, and she smacked the table. “Oh my Goddess, Rhianna! Don’t tell me you’ve been walking around like the moon didn’t just fall out of the sky.”

I blinked at her. “Tia, what are you talking about?”

She leaned in, her voice dropping dramatically, as though someone might be listening through the walls. “Hardin Wolfe is coming back.”

The cup in my hands nearly slipped from my fingers. “What?”

“You heard me,” she said, her grin wide with both shock and excitement. “After all these years abroad, the infamous Hardin—the exile, the scandal, the obsession himself—is coming home.”

My chest tightened, memories crashing through me unbidden. Golden summers, running through the forest as children. Hardin’s shadow always at my side. His gaze—too sharp, too focused, even back then. The way he’d look at me like I was the only thing in the world worth looking at.

I swallowed hard. “That’s… impossible. He hasn’t set foot in this territory for years.”

“Exactly why everyone’s losing their minds about it.” Tia tucked her legs beneath her, practically bouncing in her seat. “The prodigal son returns! Some are calling it that. Others are saying it’s more like ‘the banished wolf crawling back.’ Either way—it’s happening. He’s on his way.”

I set my cup down carefully, my hands suddenly too shaky to hold it. “But why now? Why would he come back after all this time?”

“Don’t play dumb, Rhi,” Tia said, pointing her spoon at me like it was a weapon. “You know why.”

I shook my head too quickly. “No. Don’t say it.”

Her smile curved slow and knowing. “Because of you.”

My heart stuttered. “That’s ridiculous.”

“Is it?” she asked, arching a brow. “We all grew up together. Everyone saw the way he looked at you. Hardin Wolfe wasn’t obsessed with power, or with his father’s throne, or even with proving himself better than Sebastian. No. He was obsessed with you.”

Her words clung to me like smoke.

“Tia, that was years ago. We were kids—”

“Oh, please.” She rolled her eyes. “Don’t try to rewrite history. The way that boy followed you like a shadow? The way he glared at Sebastian whenever he touched you? Everyone knew. He didn’t even try to hide it.”

I pressed my lips together, my chest heavy. Hardin’s stare had haunted me, even after he left. Dark, sharp, full of something I never dared to name.

“He’s Sebastian’s brother,” I said firmly, though my voice wavered. “Whatever feelings he had—or thought he had—they don’t matter.”

Tia leaned back in her chair, folding her arms. “If you say so. But mark my words, Rhi. If he’s coming back, it’s not just for family dinners.”

I didn’t answer. I couldn’t.

Instead, I busied myself with my tea, pretending not to notice the way my hands trembled.

———

For a while, we sat in silence, the only sound the soft clink of our cups. Finally, Tia broke it.

“So… where’s Sebastian tonight?”

“Pack meeting,” I said automatically.

She hummed, unconvinced. “Pack meeting, huh?”

“Yes,” I said, lifting my chin.

“You’re sure it wasn’t a ‘private meeting’ with Brittany?”

I froze, my cup halfway to my lips. “What?”

Tia’s expression turned sharp. “Don’t tell me you haven’t heard those rumors. Half the pack’s been whispering about it for weeks. That your precious golden boy has been sneaking off with the elder’s daughter. Late-night runs, private dinners, all that.”

Heat crawled up my neck. “That’s not true.”

“Rhi…”

“It’s a rumor,” I snapped, then winced at my own tone. Softer, I added, “It’s just a rumor. Until I see something with my own eyes, it’s not real.”

Her gaze softened with pity that made my chest ache. “You don’t deserve this, you know. To sit here defending a man who doesn’t even look at you the way he used to.”

I flinched, my wolf whimpering faintly in agreement.

But I forced my shoulders back. “He’s my mate. That bond matters. Rumors don’t.”

Tia sighed, shaking her head. “You’re too loyal for your own good, Little Wolf.” She reached across the table and squeezed my hand. “Just promise me something. If you ever do catch him in the act—don’t you dare break alone. You come here. To me. We’ll burn his clothes together if we have to.”

That pulled a small laugh out of me, fragile but real. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

“Absolutely,” she said with a wicked grin. “I’ve always hated those pompous white shirts he wears.”

We both laughed then, and for a moment the weight on my chest eased. But when the laughter faded, silence fell again, heavy and telling.

I sipped my tea, staring into the amber liquid, and whispered the words I didn’t want to admit aloud.

“If the rumors are true… I don’t know what I’ll do.”

Tia’s grip on my hand tightened. “Then pray they’re not true. And if they are…” Her eyes burned with fierce loyalty. “Then remember you’re worth more than being someone’s second choice. Even if that someone is your mate.”

My throat burned as I blinked hard against the sting of tears.

A year left to live.

A mate who might already be slipping away.

And now the shadow of Hardin Wolfe returning to the place where it all began.

The storm was coming. I could feel it in my bones.