Chapter 13 I felt the Spark with Him
Rue’s POV
“There is a sickness spreading,” he said gravely. “A virus that preys on our kind. It weakens wolves, stripping them of strength, leaving them fevered, unable to shift. It makes us human.” He paused.
“Even the most skilled healers and witches are powerless. My team and I are trying to find a cure, but so far it has been futile.”
My stomach knotted. “That sounds… impossible.”
“Impossible?” he smiled wryly ” Not anymore. Your hands have always held more than you realized. If it’s not much of a bother, I would love for you to join us.”
For a moment, I forgot how to breathe. I had come expecting only to apologize, I hadn’t imagined he would still see worth in me. And even suggest I join his team. With all his prominence in Blood Claw Pack.
“I am honoured but…” I whispered.
“No buts,” he said firmly. “You must join us.”
The weight of his words filled me with a fire I thought long gone. I clasped his hand, pressing it gently. “I won’t fail you this time.”
His eyes softened. “Then get to it then. There is heavy work ahead.”
As I left the ward, heart racing with a strange mix of fear, joy and anticipation, a familiar voice slithered into the
air.
“Well, well. Look who’s here. Trying to attach your tentacles to Blood Claws Shaman too?”
I turned to see Sora leaning against the wall, arms crossed. I began wondering why she was here, or how she even found me in this large hospital.
“Did you think the shaman would waste his time on you?” Sora sneered, stepping closer, her perfume almost suffocating. “Everyone knows you’re nothing but an Omega who got lucky. Aiden only married you because my father forced him to. You were never loved, Rue. You were just… convenient.”
I froze, my blood running cold-but she wasn’t done.
Sora’s smirk widened. “Even that fancy house you live in? It was meant for Haven. Everything you have-every title, it was meant for her. You were just filling the Luna’s seat until the real one came back.”
The air between us thickened. My jaw tightened, and I felt my wolf stir restlessly under my skin. “Careful, Sora,” I said quietly, my voice trembling with restrained power.
“Careful?” She laughed, eyes gleaming with malice. “You’re a weak abandoned woman, Rue. You think you scare me? You’re still that pathetic Omega who clawed her way into our family’s table. Without Aiden, you’re nothing.”
Something inside me snapped.
Before I realized what I was doing, my hand shot out, seizing her wrist in a swift motion. A flicker of heat flared beneath my palm-a shimmer of gold-magic crackling like fire along my skin.
Sora gasped, jerking as the warmth seared into her. “Ah-let go!” she hissed, trying to wrench free, but I held her gaze, unblinking.
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“Say what you will about me,” I said in a low tone, “but don’t ever mistake my silence for weakness.”
Her wrist smoked faintly as I released her. She stumbled back, clutching it, eyes wide with shock and fury.
“You burned me!” she spat.
I took a slow step forward, my aura flaring faintly with the remnants of power. “Then remember this burn the next time you try to spout insults,” I said coldly. “And you’re wrong, Sora-I don’t need Aiden’s name, or his pity..”
For the first time since I knew her, she looked at me not with disdain–but with fear.
I turned away, my voice calm and steady. “Now, if you’ll excuse me… some of us have better things to do than stalk people.”
The next day, I found myself standing in Percy’s office, the hum of his company buzzing around us. He introduced me to his colleagues with his usual confidence, though I caught the side glances, the whispers that they tried to hide.
“…she’s too young.”
“…She is but a pretty face, but can she actually work?”
“The new project is doomed if she’s leading it.”
Even after helping them develop a new tech invention that went on to receive an award, they still doubted.
Honestly, their words slid over me like oil on water. I’d been underestimated many times before. It no longer burned, I was used to it.
“Assign me the tasks,” I told Percy, ignoring the doubters. “I’ll handle them. You just focus on your role.’
Percy’s smile was somewhat proud “I knew I didn’t choose wrong.”
We spent the day reviewing plans and setting some goals. It took over two hours but the planning part was successful.
As we left together, the elevator shuddered suddenly. A wooden panel from above loosened, crashing down.
Percy moved fast, grabbing my arm and pulling me back against him just in time. The board splintered at our feet.
For a heartbeat, I was pressed against his chest, his heartbeat strong beneath my palm. Heat rushed to my cheeks as I stepped back quickly.
“Are you all right?” he asked, eyes searching mine.
“Yes,” I breathed, though my pulse told another story.
The elevator doors slid shut, and I couldn’t shake the thought: danger had brushed us, but it wasn’t the falling wood that left me nervous.
It was Percy.
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