Kano's War

Chapter 30

****hasn't been edited yet****

I froze and stared at him, not knowing how to respond. He stared at me and then blinked. I pulled my hands to myself slowly, feeling embarrassed.

He grabbed my hands quickly and gave each of my knuckles a small kiss, "You don't have to say it back. Just know that I do." He said quickly, sensing my hesitation.

I felt horrible.

Instead of saying something I just remained quiet and turned around to my stuff. I grabbed my bag and hoisted it around me. "Um... I'm ready to go." I said softly as I made my way to the door. He followed me.

He coughed, "Hati and Bali are ready to leave as well." We made our way out the door and back to the main level. I saw my mother, as well as my Father there as well.

"We're leaving before it gets dark." I said quickly. My Father went to me quickly.

"You left the pack?" He asked. He didn't seemed concerned, but more surprised.

"Yes?" I said, looking behind him and noticing that Hati and Bali were both ready. I motion towards the door.

My Father didn't say anything. He just watched us gather by the door. It seemed a lot of the pack had left when I went up stairs. I saw a smile suddenly make its way up on my Father's face, "I'm proud of you."

I felt my lip twitch and rolled my eyes. Why would I care about my Father suddenly being "proud" of me.

"Let me take you guys to the edge of the territory."

We followed my Father and mother to the edge of the territory. When we got there, I couldn't help but notice that I hadn't seen Aries. He was probably doing some Alpha duties and couldn't see us off.

"We're here."

My father's voice was calm as he stopped at the invisible line where our territory ended. The air felt thicker here, like the land itself knew we were about to step away from home. My mother stood silently beside him, eyes scanning each of us as if memorizing our faces in case something happened.

I gave her a small nod, and she returned it. That was our language—silent, but understood.

Kano shifted first, his wolf tall and powerful beside me. Hati followed, shaking out his coat, and Bali moved beside her brother, brushing up against his side.

I hesitated a moment longer.

Part of me still felt sore from what Kano had said.

"I love you."

It replayed in my head on loop, and I hated how I couldn't give him the same words—not yet. Not when everything inside me still felt fragile, like the ground was barely holding me up.

But I shifted anyway.

My wolf brushed past my father's legs, and I felt his fingers graze my fur like a quiet goodbye. He didn't say anything else—not "stay safe," not "come back soon." He knew better. I hated goodbyes, even if my Father annoyed me to death.

We ran.

It wasn't immediate speed. It was a steady build, a climb into rhythm. Our wolves fell into formation—Kano and I side by side, Bali and Hati just behind us. Trees blurred past, and the scent of our home slowly thinned with every mile we pushed forward.