Paranoia and Delusions

"What? Why?" The words tore from my throat, raw and desperate. Panic clawed its way up my chest, stealing the air from my lungs. "Is it because of the texts? Did I do something wrong? Was it something I said?"

My mind spun through every interaction we shared over the past forty-eight hours, searching for the fatal mistake that triggered this sudden rejection.

Torin shifted his weight on the edge of the mattress. He reached out, wrapping his large, warm hands over my trembling fingers. "Baby."

A familiar flutter ignited in my stomach at the pet name, but the dread remained anchored in my chest.

"Mating season is in two weeks," Torin said. His voice dropped to a low, serious timber. "I am next in line for Alpha. The pack borders are tense right now. If rogues or spies catch even a single whiff that you are my mate, you become a massive target. You might be in real danger. I think it’s best we keep our distance. Just for now."

I stared at him. I swallowed hard as his logic pierced through my initial panic. If he waited to declare me as his mate during the official mating season, I would be untouchable. He would be the official Alpha by then. Kidnapping an Alpha’s claimed mate meant an automatic declaration of war. But right now? Before the ceremony? I was unprotected. He couldn't guarantee my safety against a coordinated attack.

His paranoia wasn't born out of nowhere. Everyone in the pack knew his family history. His parents mated before the official season. Rogue wolves ambushed them and kidnapped his mother while she was pregnant with him. The trauma of that event still dictated his every move.

"Fine," I grumbled. My shoulders slumped as the fight drained out of me. "But I don't like this."

"Thanks, babe." He leaned in and wrapped his arms around me. He pulled me flush against his solid chest. The hug lasted far longer than our usual embraces. His grip was tight, bordering on desperate, burying his face in the crook of my neck.

"Babe?" I tapped his back, letting out a nervous, breathless laugh. "Someone would think you're trying to escape with the way you're holding me."

I meant it as a joke, but his body remained rigid. He didn't laugh.

He pulled back, keeping his hands firmly on my shoulders. "I won't be around for these next few weeks. Make sure you take good care of yourself. We can't have you catching a cold before the choosing day."

I forced a smile and pressed a quick peck to his cheek. His jaw was clenched tight. We always tried to save ourselves for when the mating bond was finalized, avoiding anything provocative, but the physical distance he was imposing felt wider than any self-restraint.

"Do you want to stay the night?" I offered. I already knew the answer.

"You know I can't, love," he murmured.

I sighed, pulling my knees to my chest. Ever since I was a little girl, I had dreamed of finding my mate. I obsessed over the idea. Once, the pack doctor told me that some wolves go their entire lives without meeting their fated mate, and I cried in my room for a whole day. Now I had Torin, but I was forced to stay away from him.

"Fine," I said, lifting my chin. "But just because we aren't hanging out doesn't mean you get to ignore me. You still have to talk to me. If you can't be seen with me, you can at least text me when no one is looking. I am going to be greedy about this."

Torin hesitated. The look on his face told me he preferred total radio silence for safety, but I wasn't backing down. He reached out and touched my cheek, his thumb brushing over my skin like he was memorizing my features.

"I can't wait until you get your wolf," he said softly. "We'll be able to talk through the mind link all we want. No limits."

I offered him a tight smile, though his words sent a fresh wave of insecurity crashing over me. Most kids shifted at thirteen. Some shifted even earlier. Then there was me. We went to the pack doctor years ago to figure out what was wrong. He explained I possessed a rare, less dominant wolf. It laid dormant inside me. It could only be awakened by the presence and claim of a dominant mate. It frustrated me, but there was nothing I could do to force the shift.

"You know, once I can mind link, I'm going to be your biggest pest," I teased, flashing him a devilish grin.

A genuine chuckle slipped past his lips, easing the tension in the room.

A heavy yawn escaped me, catching me off guard.

Torin caught the cue. "You need to rest. You have school tomorrow." He leaned in, the rich scent of cedar and fresh body wash washing over me, and pressed a lingering kiss to my forehead. "Good night, bambi."

He stood up and walked out the door. He left behind the lingering trace of his cologne and an empty, hollow ache in my chest.

I woke up the next morning with my heart feeling like lead. The absence of his morning text was a physical weight.

"No use missing him now," I muttered to my empty room, tossing the blankets aside. "Just look forward to three weeks from now."

It felt like a breakup, but I shoved that thought down. I understood his paranoia. I had to endure this.

I grabbed my phone from the nightstand and hit Sabrina's contact. She picked up on the third ring.

"What!" she snapped. Her voice was raspy with sleep and deep irritation.

I rolled my eyes, already used to her attitude. Sabrina was never a morning person. "I was thinking, can I catch a ride with you today?"

"Sure. Now leave me alone," she muttered, and the line went dead.

Knowing her lazy habits, she was just going to toss me the keys and make me drive anyway. I grabbed my bag and headed downstairs, bracing myself for the long weeks ahead.

The second week was absolute hell.

True to his word, Torin vanished from my daily life. I saw him less and less. When I did catch a glimpse of him across the pack grounds, he was always surrounded by warriors or elders, looking stressed and busy. The crushing boredom mixed with an anxious longing that made my skin itch.

I sat on the plush leather sofa in the pack house common area, scrolling mindlessly through my phone. Sabrina lounged on the armchair across from me, filing her nails with zero interest in the world around her.

"Hey, did you hear the gossip?" I asked, tossing my phone onto the cushion next to me. "The daughter of an Alpha from the neighboring pack is coming to visit."

Sabrina didn't even look up from her emery board. "Yay. Great." She blew on her fingertips, rolling her eyes.

"You're right, everything is so boring around here," I groaned. I let my head fall back against the sofa cushions, staring at the ceiling fan spinning above. The room felt like a cage. I craved action. I craved Torin. "How about we go sneak up on Torin? Just to see what he's doing. We don't have to talk to him."

Sabrina's demeanor flipped in an instant. The lazy, bored girl vanished, replaced by someone rigid and aggressive.

"Hell no!" she snapped, sitting bolt upright.

I flinched, taken aback by the sudden venom in her tone.

"Torin specifically told me to keep you away from him," she said, her eyes narrowing into cold slits. "You know how important this is to him. Do not mess this up."

I let out a sad, heavy sigh. I understood the rules, but her reaction felt extreme. Sabrina was my best friend, yet lately, it felt like she was going out of her way to act as Torin's personal warden. Her strict, almost angry enforcement of his boundaries rubbed me the wrong way. A subtle suspicion gnawed at the back of my mind. Why did she care so much about keeping us apart? I brushed the thought away. The stress of the upcoming ceremony was getting to everyone.

"Just one more week," I muttered under my breath, staring at the floorboards.

Heavy footsteps echoed in the hallway. A second later, Silas strolled into the common area.

He gave us both a stiff nod. "Morning."

"Morning," we mumbled in unison.

I had never been close to Silas. He was the mean kid growing up. Now, as an adult, he carried a dark, unapproachable aura. He never smiled. He shared a similar commanding presence to Torin, but while Torin's authority felt protective, Silas's felt cold and sharp.

He walked past the sofas, grabbed a bottle of water from the mini-fridge in the corner, and walked right back out without another word.

I kept my mouth shut until his footsteps faded down the hall. I had nothing to say to him. But Sabrina? Her reaction was a completely different story.

If Silas had stopped to have a personal conversation with her, she probably would have passed out on the rug. She had been harboring a massive, obsessive crush on him for years.

Sabrina tracked his every movement. Once he was gone, she let out a breathless sigh, a dreamy smile taking over her face.

I raised an eyebrow, leaning forward. "You know he has a serious girl, right?" I felt the need to inject some reality into her fantasy.

Everyone knew the rumors. Silas was practically in love with a girl from the neighboring pack. Their history went back to when they were fifteen. The entire pack was placing bets that she was his fated mate, just waiting for the official season to confirm it.

Sabrina stopped filing her nails. She looked up at me, her eyes gleaming with a delusional, unshakable optimism.

"Yeah?" she said, her voice dripping with sudden, eerie excitement. "But guess what."

She leaned back into the armchair, resting her head against the cushion. She smiled into thin air, a wide, confident grin that sent a strange chill down my spine.

"A lot can change in a week."