Lucid

CHAPTER 14 - RED BRIDGE

The wind roared through the trees, whipping through my fur as I ran. The night was alive around me—shadows shifting, leaves whispering secrets to the wind—but none of it compared to the storm raging inside me.

I had to shift. I didn't have a choice.

The pain—the weight pressing against my ribs, clawing at my insides—it drove me here. To the only thing that made sense. To the one thing I shouldn't be chasing.

I followed my instincts, weaving through the hidden trails that cut through the forests of Blue Hawk. I barely noticed the ground beneath me, barely registered the bends in the path. My body moved on its own, leading me where my heart longed to be.

A small, empty street near the edge of town.

The street where he lived.

I slowed, slipping into the shadows at the treeline. My paws moved lightly, barely disturbing the fallen leaves, the twigs cracking in near silence. Stealth. Precision. Control. The advantages of my kind.

I should have turned back.

I should have never come here.

But there he was.

The second-story window, the only one still glowing in the dead of night.

Ethan sat at his desk, his head resting on his folded arms. Even from here, I could see the soft rise and fall of his breath, the way his silver eyes gazed out at the sky—unseeing, lost. The way the dim light cast shadows across his face, making him look...

Fragile.

Something twisted in my chest, something hot and unfamiliar.

I wanted—no, needed—to see him closer. To be near him.

The thought jolted me, and I let out a quiet growl, shaking my head. No. No, I can't let this happen.

This thing—this unnatural pull—wasn't supposed to exist. It went against everything. Against what the scholars taught, against what the packs believed.

And yet, here I was.

A wolf in the dead of night, lurking outside his house like some obsessed stalker.

Pathetic, Ayden. Just great.

I dug my claws into the dirt, trying to steady myself. But then—

A sharp ringing shattered the silence.

I dropped lower to the ground, ears twitching toward the window. His phone.

Ethan hesitated before answering.

"Celine?" His voice was quiet, almost... hollow.

I stiffened, straining to listen. Her voice was too muffled, barely a whisper through the phone.

Ethan ran a hand through his hair. "No, she hasn't talked to me since."

Hannah.

The accident had shaken everyone, but Hannah? She had vanished. Either holed up in her room or already halfway out of town. It wouldn't be the first time her family ran when things got tough.

"I can't tell you why, even if I wanted to," Ethan murmured. "You wouldn't understand."

If only he knew.

"I'm sorry, I have to go. Bye, Celine."

He hung up, dropping the phone onto the desk. His shoulders sank, his head falling back into his arms.