ARDEN
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Everything felt too good to be true. And maybe it was. Still, I wanted to hold onto it–just a little longer.
When I opened my eyes, I found myself curled up against Cade’s chest, my cheek pressed to the steady rise and fall of his breathing. His arms were still wrapped around me, even in sleep. He looked so peaceful like this, his brows relaxed, lips slightly parted.
He hadn’t experienced a nightmare this time. A small smile flickered across my lips as I watched him. Was it selfish to hope this moment meant something? Whoever this “Honey” girl was–the one whose name had haunted his dreams–was it too much to believe he could forget her in my presence?
Something twisted in my chest. Maybe I didn’t want to know the answer.
I stayed there for a while, letting my fingers lightly brush the ridge of muscle on his arm, trailing softly, lazily over his skin. It felt dangerous, allowing myself to feel this much, but I couldn’t help it.
Then, slowly, his eyes fluttered open. When they finally landed on me, his smile appeared like an instinctive reaction, a warm greeting that made my breath catch.
“Hey, he murmured, his voice heavy with sleep.
“Hi,” I replied, feeling a surge of warmth.
“It’s still early,” I added, glancing at the still–dark windows. The sun had yet to rise, and I didn’t want to leave this moment just yet. My heart thundered in my chest, and I was terrified he could hear it.
I had never felt this way with Jaxon. So why… why did it feel like this for Cade? Why did I crave his closeness? Why did my chest ache when he looked at me like that?
There was no bond between us. And yet, my wolf purred inside me as like he was everything we’d ever needed.
He leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to my forehead. “You okay?” he asked.
I nodded quickly. “Yeah. Just thinking.”
He hummed softly, then shifted back a little, giving me space. “Do you want to go on a run?”
That question made my heart perk up. “Really?” I asked, unable to contain my excitement.
His grin widened, lighting up his entire face. “Yeah. I thought it’d be nice. We can spare a little time before we head back”
I scrambled to sit up, my eagerness bubbling over. He chuckled and followed right after, guiding me out of the cabin. The rain had finally stopped, but the world still glistened with dew. The grass bent gently under our paws, the air was cool, and the forest smelled fresh and inviting.
We dashed between trees, splashing through puddles, our bodies moving instinctively, harmonizing with nature. At one point, Cade bumped his head against mine and took off faster, challenging me to keep up.
1 growled playfully and sped up, chasing him through the vibrant greenery.
For a moment, Horgot everything–forgot Sienna, the cliff, the games, and all the heaviness weighing on my heart. I just felt free
We made it back to the cabin a while later, panting but brimming with energy. Cade shifted first behind a tree, grabbing the towel we had left out earlier. I waited and then shifted as well, quickly pulling on the same shirt and sweatpants from the night before. Thankfully, they were dry–thank the moon for that.
I stepped inside and began brushing back my hair with my fingers. But then Cade froze at the doorway. He was sniffing something in the air, his entire body stilling, muscles coiling tight.
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1:17 AM d
Chapter 70 Under The Cabin
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
He didn’t respond immediately. His nose twitched slightly, his head tilting and eyes narrowing as he focused.
“I think…” he said slowly, “there’s something under the cabin.”
My stomach dropped, a knot twisting inside me.
“What do you mean by that?”
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He looked around cautiously, and then crouched low to the floor near the kitchen corner, pressing a hand against the wood. “There’s a draft here. I can smell something.”
I stepped closer, my heartbeat quickening with every passing moment.
“We’re not alone?” I whispered, dread creeping in.
Cade shook his head. “It doesn’t smell like a person. But something’s definitely there.”
He reached beneath the cabinet, his fingers feeling along the edges until a soft click echoed through the silence.
Then, a small piece of the floor shifted. He pulled it open.
A trapdoor.
“What the hell,” I breathed, astonished.
Cade didn’t fully open it yet. He glanced back at me, his expression serious. “Stay behind me.”
I nodded earnestly, at a loss for the right words to say.
He opened the trapdoor slowly, and the scent hit me almost instantly. It was metallic, burnt, and tinged with something
rotten.
We both stared into the dark void below the cabin before we descended cautiously. Cade ensuring I was alright every step of the way.
“What is it?” I asked again, my heart pounding harder with each passing second.
Cade landed first, and he reached out his hand to help guide me carefully down from the rusty ladder. Compared to the cabin above, this space was unkempt and cluttered.
As i turned around, a small gasp escaped my lips.
Hiding in this hidden space was money. It wasn’t just a few scattered bills; it was stacks of cash that appeared untouched. “Why is there so much? Who owns this place?” I questioned.
“This doesn’t seem like an emergency stash,” Cade replied quietly, his brow furrowed.
I stepped closer, my stomach churning at the overwhelming scent. It was filthy, tainted with something that didn’t feel right- greed, violence, and secrecy. “Why would this be under a cabin in the middle of the woods?”
But then I turned
And that’s when I saw it.
A deeper passage, carved roughly into the earth behind the cellar–a tunnel that sloped downward like a den.
Cade noticed me staring “Stay here,” he said quietly, but I was already moving. Curiosity, or perhaps instinct, propelled me forward. The scent changed, but it still hung in the air, intertwined with that of the money.
My scream tore from my throat before I even realized it.
Three figures lay crumpled in the darkness, rotted and half–covered by soil and collapsed wood, skeletal hands reaching
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Chapter 70 Under The Cabin
1:17 AM
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toward each other.
Cade was instantly behind me, pulling me against his chest, holding me tight as I trembled uncontrollably.
“Don’t look,” he murmured against my hair. “Let’s get out of here.”
But I couldn’t move.
“No,” I whispered. “We need to see who they were.”
“Arden,” he said softly, with a hint of urgency, a warning in his tone.
“Just a little closer,” I insisted, looking up at him with wide, teary eyes. “We have to help them, Cade.”
His jaw clenched, but he nodded, helping me step over a beam, careful to avoid disturbing anything. My gaze drifted across the remains. There was something on one of them, a glint of metal among the bone and tattered cloth.
A necklace.
I reached forward, carefully lifting it. The chain was tarnished, but the pendant still shone faintly beneath the dirt–an intricate small gold crest.
“We should take it,” Cade muttered, eyeing it with suspicion. “For evidence.”
“Are we… are we going to report this?” I asked, my voice still shaky with disbelief.
He didn’t answer immediately. His eyes scanned the room again, sharper and more alert than before. A darkness lingered in his expression–one I hadn’t seen in a while. “First,” he said, “we need to know who this place belongs to.”
I nodded, but it seemed the question was answered soon when I noticed something: a word, carved on the concrete, etched deeply by what seemed like the nails of those trapped inside.
1 felt my heart break at the thought of their sheer desperation to escape. Whoever owned this cabin was one seriously messed–up individual.
“A-,” I muttered, making out the first letter with my keen vision.
Allen.
I turned to Cade, my eyes wide, and he looked back at me with curiosity.
“Mr. Winters,” I whispered, the realization washing over me.
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