THE BREEDER'S GAMBIT

CHAPTER NINE

The sound of my breath still echoed in my ears as I walked away from the circle of women, the last remnants of the fight still pulsing through my body.

My muscles were on fire, but the adrenaline was still coursing through my veins, sharp and exhilarating.

Behind me, the women whispered in low voices, their words a mixture of disbelief and something else—maybe respect, maybe disdain. I didn’t care.

They could think whatever they wanted. I had survived the fight, and that was all that mattered.

But it was Aiden’s eyes that haunted me. He had watched the entire thing, his gaze unwavering as I took on Mara and proved myself. I couldn’t read his expression. His face was a mask—calm, unreadable, as always. But there was something in his eyes that tugged at me, something that made my heart beat a little faster, despite myself.

I had expected his approval, maybe even a word of praise. But he had said nothing. Not even a nod.

And that silence was worse than anything.

I was still stewing in my thoughts when I heard his voice from behind me.

“You did well,”

Aiden said, his voice low and steady, cutting through the fog of my thoughts.

I froze for a second before turning to face him. His face remained impassive, but there was a flicker in his eyes that made my stomach do a strange flip.

“Is that it?”

I asked, my voice coming out sharper than I intended.

“Just ‘well’? No congratulations, no acknowledgment of the blood and sweat I put into this?”

His gaze softened, but his expression remained neutral.

“This isn’t about praise. It’s about proving you can handle this life.”

His tone was gentle, but there was something about it that made me bristle. “You didn’t need my approval. You already had it.”

I wanted to argue. I wanted to tell him that the fight had been more than just about survival. It had been about me standing on my own two feet. But something in his tone, something in his eyes, made me hesitate.

He didn’t look at me the way Mara did, like a competitor to be defeated. He looked at me as if I was... fragile. As if he didn’t want to break me.

The thought made my skin prickle, and I hated it. I wasn’t fragile. I wasn’t weak. But somehow, his kindness made me feel like I was.

It unsettled me in a way that was more dangerous than anything I had faced before.

Before I could say anything else, Aiden turned and began walking toward the training grounds. Without thinking, I followed.

There was something magnetic about him, something that drew me in, even though I knew I should keep my distance.

“You’re getting stronger,” he said after a long pause, his voice low and contemplative.

“But there’s more to this than just physical strength.”

I shot him a glance, wondering if I had heard him correctly.

“What do you mean?”

He stopped walking and turned to face me, his eyes intense, as if weighing my very soul.

“You’re still running from something. You can’t outrun it forever, Caitlyn.”

My breath caught in my throat. He wasn’t wrong. I had been running—running from my past, from the person I used to be, from the fear of becoming someone I couldn’t control.

But how did he know that?

“How do you know that?” I asked, my voice tight.

He didn’t answer right away. Instead, he took a step closer, his gaze never leaving mine.

There was a weight in the air now, an unspoken understanding between us, a tension that I couldn’t ignore.

“I see the way you move,” he said finally, his voice low, almost a whisper.

“The way you hesitate, like you’re afraid to truly fight, to truly let go. You hold back, Caitlyn. And you can’t win this fight without fully letting go.”

His words hit me harder than any blow Mara had delivered. He was right. I had been holding back, not just in my training, but in every aspect of my life.

I had been afraid to let go of the fear that had controlled me for so long.

“I’m not afraid,” I said, my voice a little too sharp. I was trying to convince myself more than him.

Aiden took another step closer, closing the distance between us until I could feel the heat radiating off his body.

His presence was overwhelming, and my heart began to beat faster, out of sync with my mind.

“You don’t have to be afraid,” he said quietly, his voice gentle.

“But you do need to trust me, Caitlyn. You can’t keep fighting this alone.”

I opened my mouth to respond, but the words died in my throat.

What was I supposed to say to that? I couldn’t trust him. Not fully. Not yet. And yet, something about him made me want to desperately.

Aiden reached out, his hand hovering in the air for a brief moment before it rested lightly on my shoulder.

The touch was simple, almost casual, but it sent a shiver through me, something electric and unsettling.

For a split second, I thought he might pull me into him. The thought sent a wave of heat through my body, and I had to fight the urge to step closer, to feel the heat of him against my skin.

But then he stepped back, his hand falling to his side.

“I’m not asking for your trust yet,” he said, his voice quiet but firm.

“But I want you to understand that you don’t have to do this alone.”

I nodded, though I wasn’t sure if I was agreeing with him or simply trying to shut down the feelings swirling inside of me.

There was something about him, something about the way he looked at me with that quiet understanding that made it harder to breathe.

And I hated it.

I hated that I was starting to feel something for him, something more than just the need for safety, more than just the desire to survive.

I hated that every time he looked at me, it felt like he could see straight through all my walls, all my masks.

But I couldn’t let him in. I couldn’t let myself be vulnerable again. Not with him.

“Fine,” I said finally, breaking the silence.

“I’ll stop holding back.”

Aiden gave me a small nod, his eyes softening just a fraction. “That’s all I need.”

Before I could respond, there was a sudden loud bang in the distance, followed by the unmistakable sound of running feet. The pack was on the move.

Without warning, Aiden’s expression shifted, his body going rigid as he turned toward the sound.

“Stay close,” he ordered, his voice low and commanding.

My heart skipped a beat. The tension in the air shifted, thickening as the pack prepared for something.

And I knew, deep down, that the real battle was just beginning.

To be continued...