Eva’s muscles ached, sweat dripped down her face, and the edge of exhaustion tugged at her every movement. She was alone, as she had been for hours, practicing with unwavering determination. Each strike with the sword, each block, was a way to drown out the thoughts that plagued her mind. The weight of the pack, the prophecy, the twins—it all felt like it was closing in on her, and this was the only escape she had.
She swung her blade in a fluid arc, the steel slicing through the air with precision, her body moving like a well-oiled machine. Eva was Alpha, and she had to stay sharp. There was no room for weakness, no room for hesitation. Yet, the weight of the past, of Max, was always there—looming in the corners of her thoughts.
The sound of footsteps on the dirt broke her concentration. Eva spun around, ready to defend herself, but the moment she saw him, she froze.
Max stood there, leaning casually against one of the nearby posts. His presence was impossible to ignore, like gravity itself. He was dressed in his usual dark clothes, his eyes glinting with something unreadable in the moonlight. Without saying a word, he tossed her a blade.
“Alpha,” he said with a smirk, “at least hold it right.”
Eva caught the blade with practiced ease, but she wasn’t amused. She narrowed her eyes, walking toward him with deliberate steps. “What do you want, Max?”
He pushed himself off the post and stepped closer, his eyes scanning her face. “I want to see you fight, Eva. I want to see you remember who you are.” His tone was softer than she expected, but there was an edge to it, something that made her heart race despite herself.
“I’m not your problem anymore,” Eva said, raising the blade and taking a defensive stance. “You don’t get to come back into my life, Max. Not now.”
Max chuckled, the sound low and dark, and took a step forward. “Is that what you think? That I’m just here because someone else wants you?”
Eva’s breath hitched, but she quickly regained her composure. “Isn’t it? You’ve been gone for so long. Where were you when I needed you?”
He didn’t answer right away, but instead closed the distance between them, his movements fluid and calculated. Before she knew it, he was standing right in front of her, the tension between them palpable.
“I didn’t leave you, Eva,” Max said, his voice low. “I just didn’t know how to stay. I didn’t know how to be what you needed. I didn’t know how to be the man you deserved.”
Eva’s heart skipped a beat, and she gripped the hilt of the blade tighter, trying to hold onto the anger that had kept her strong. “You think you can come back in and fix everything? You think you can just pick up where we left off?”
Max’s eyes softened, and for a moment, she saw something in them that she hadn’t seen in so long—regret, longing, and a deep, raw emotion that she couldn’t name.
“I never stopped wanting you,” he said, his voice almost a whisper. “I just didn’t know how to want you right.”
Eva’s breath caught in her throat. His words pierced through the armor she had built around her heart, leaving her exposed in a way she hadn’t been in years. But she couldn’t let him in. She couldn’t let herself fall for him again, not with everything that was happening. Not with the pack, the prophecy, and everything else hanging in the balance.
Without warning, she shoved the blade back into its sheath and stepped away, putting space between them. “You don’t get to do this. You don’t get to show up now and act like I’m some kind of choice. You don’t get to waltz back in after everything that’s happened and pretend like things are simple.”
Max didn’t move, his gaze unwavering. “I’m not pretending. But you’re right about one thing—I don’t get to just walk in like nothing ever happened. And I don’t expect you to forget everything. But I want you to know that I’ve never stopped caring about you. I’ve never stopped fighting for you, even if you didn’t know it.”
Eva’s chest tightened, the words tugging at the pieces of her heart that she had buried so deep. She shook her head, her hands trembling slightly as she held them in front of her. “I don’t know what you want from me, Max. You can’t just come back into my life and expect things to be the same.”
He finally moved, his hand reaching out, his fingers brushing lightly against her arm. It wasn’t a touch of ownership or dominance. It was gentle, almost tender, like he was trying to remind her of something they had once shared.
“I don’t want things to be the same,” he said quietly. “I just want a chance to prove that I can be the man you need. I want to be there for you, Eva. Not just as some guy from your past, but as someone who can fight beside you. Someone who can stand by your side, no matter what happens.”
For a moment, Eva was frozen. She stared at him, her heart thundering in her chest, as the words she had been holding back threatened to spill over. The truth of it all was too much to bear. She had spent so much time pushing him away, trying to protect herself, but now, with him standing here, everything felt different. And she didn’t know what to do with the feelings swirling inside her.
She swallowed hard, taking a deep breath to steady herself. “I can’t, Max,” she whispered, her voice barely audible. “I can’t let you in again. Not when everything is falling apart. Not when I have to be the Alpha, the Chosen One, and I can’t afford distractions.”
Max’s face softened, a small, almost sad smile playing on his lips. “I’m not a distraction, Eva. I’m here because I want to help you fight what’s coming. Not because I want to fix everything, but because I care about you. And I’ll always care about you.”
Eva turned away, the weight of the decision heavy on her shoulders. She couldn’t face him anymore, not with the chaos in her heart. She couldn’t afford to let him back in, not when so much was at stake.
And yet, as she walked away, his words echoed in her mind, and for the first time in a long time, she wondered if she had made the right choice.
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