Souls Entwined

Chapter Two

Chapter Two
Elle's POV

Kaden's office had become a haven for me, where I could hide from the narrowed eyes and scrutinised stares. Sometimes, just being there gave me a sense of just doing something, working towards the eventual decision to become the person Kaden was waiting for.

I could see him most mornings through the windows as he stood, a tall figure swathed in dark clothes, pacing by the training fields. He liked to watch the trainees as they marched along to the demands of the old Gamma.

Rylan, the man he had selected to be his Beta, was always with him, standing to his right, a testament to his future position as an advisor and second in charge. While Kaden paced, Rylan took notes on an old clipboard, checking charts and noting improvements, constantly tracking the agility, skill and strength of those expected to protect the pack in an attack.

Jacobi was with them today, offering a trained eye to their analysis of the trainees. He was talking, gesturing towards the field of wolves. His hands moved erratically as he spoke, something I was familiar with after a decade of friendship, but now it hurt to be reminded of the familiarity between us, and I wished he would stop.

Kaden listened carefully, his head bobbing as he nodded to whatever Jacobi said. He would shake his head occasionally, and Jacobi would take a step back and dive into another long speech.

The conversation shifted to me. Kaden stilled, his eyes shifting to study me through the window. It was barely a glance before he turned back towards Jacobi, but it was enough.

Chills raced through my fingers, and I pulled away from the window. I had been caught, and I hated that. It was made ten times worse because I had no reason to be hiding out in here rather than being out there with him. I should have been listening to everything discussed and getting ready to take on that role.

Originally I had come in for a book. I had noticed it a few weeks ago while scouring the shelves in his office. It was a guide to the National Conference, and I had hoped to find it on the third shelf of the far wall where I'd last seen it. Except everything had been stripped from the shelves.

Everything in the office was gone. It had been packed into twelve boxes, stacked neatly beside the door. The room's emptiness was unsettling, and my steps echoed upon the wooden slats without anything to catch the sound. A sense of unease stirred in my chest.

All that remained was a heavy mahogany desk with a small stack of files. There were hardly as many as a week ago, and I wondered if he had packed them away. Over the past month, pack members filed their documents with him instead of his father. They did so because he was set to take leadership of the pack in the coming weeks, and it was their way of showing their support.

The dark wooden shelves, which had once been filled with books on Law and policies, binders filled with reports and past legal actions, and contracts between packs and letters of disputes, were now barren.

Pushed into the corner of the office, out of the way, was a brown couch. The old leather had weathered the years poorly and was stained and cracked. It had been Kaden's since childhood and fared well against a young boy. It should have been removed years ago and was scheduled for removal at least twice, but there was sentimental value in a gift from the deceased that made it impossible to part with.

It was one of the last things he had of his mothers.

I sat unblinkingly by the boxes, thinking of the change they represented. I told myself I had to be ready. Whether I liked it or not, a change was coming, and I couldn't let them down. I couldn't let him down.

Footsteps down the hallway brought my attention back to the window, and a strange relief flooded through me as I spied Jacobi and Rylan through the glassy pane. Kaden was nowhere to be seen.