Chapter 4 The Weight of What’s Coming
Sable’s POV
“I can't believe you're leaving me?”
Liora walked into my room picking up the map I had laid out on the floor. I lunged for the door and shut it.
“Could you say that any louder?”
“Oh, I’m sorry.” She lowered her voice to an exaggerated whisper. “I can't believe you're leaving me? No one's even here.”
I snatched the map from her hands.
“I’m beginning to regret telling you.”
“You didn’t tell me. I walked in on you stuffing a bag in your floorboard. .”
“I'm going to need you to start announcing your arrivals.”
“That won't be happening.”
Liora dropped onto my bed. We’d been best friends since we were pups. She knew every scar on my body, every embarrassing childhood story, and exactly how to make me laugh when I wanted to strangle someone. She's my best friend, my sister.
She looked at the open bag beside my wardrobe.
“Can I convince you to change your mind?”
“No.”
“What about Kier?”
My hands stilled.
“No, and don't go running your mouth to him.”
Her expression changed.
“Oh, Sable.”
“Don’t.”
“He’s going to be devastated.”
I folded the map and tucked it beneath my mattress.
“Kier will be fine.”
“You don’t believe that.”
I turned toward her. Liora’s chestnut hair had escaped its braid. She pushed it behind her ear, watching me with an expression that made me feel almost regretful.
“I’m not just asking you to stay,” she said. “Did you think about what happens to the people you leave?”
The words landed harder than I expected.
“Every day.”
“Then why are you doing this? Why are you doing this to Kier? You should tell him.”
I couldn't tell Kier because he would look at me the way he had in the training ring, as though I were the only person standing in a crowd of hundreds. And I wasn’t sure I could walk away from that.
“I just can’t,” I whispered.
Liora studied me for a long moment. Then she reached for my hand.
“Okay.”
I blinked.
“Okay?”
“I think your plan is insane. I think you’re going to miss me terribly. And I think you should pack enough underwear.”
A laugh escaped me.
“But if you need to go, I’ll help you.”
My throat tightened.
“You will?”
“Obviously. Someone has to make sure you don’t spend your entire escape fund on knives.”
I threw my arms around her and she hugged me back.
“Just promise you’ll tell me when you’re safe.”
“I promise.”
"I'm going to miss you so much."
"I wish you could come with me."
"Me too, but who's going to replace the weights in Jaxon's weight vest with cotton and convince him he’s finally getting stronger? That man’s ego is a full-time responsibility, Sable. I can’t just abandon my duties.”
A knock sounded at the door and we sprang apart.
“Sable?”
Kier.
Liora’s eyes widened. I shoved the bag beneath my bed.
“Coming!”
I opened the door just enough to see him. Kier leaned against the frame, freshly showered, his dark hair still damp.
“Am I interrupting something?”
“No,” Liora answered behind me.
“Yes,” I said at the same time.
His eyebrow rose. Liora slipped past me, kissed my cheek, and flashed Kier a smile.
“She’s all yours.”
I glared at her as she winked and disappeared down the hallway. Kier and I watched her go.
“What was that about?”
“Nothing.”
“Interesting. You both look like you hiding something.”
“Maybe we were discussing how annoying you are.”
“That’s a long conversation.”
I stepped into the hallway and pulled my door shut behind me.
“What do you want, Blane?”
He held up two mugs.
“Peace offering.”
I sniffed. Hot chocolate with cinnamon, my favorite.
“Are you bribing me?”
“Is it working?”
I took a mug.
“Depends on what you want.”
We walked toward the rear balcony overlooking the river. The evening air was cool, and the last sunlight caught the treetops in streaks of gold. For a while, neither of us spoke. Kier leaned against the railing beside me.
“Still celebrating your victory?”
“I was considering having a statue commissioned.”
“Make sure they get my good side.”
“It's a statue of me loser?”
He nudged my shoulder and I nudged him back. Then his expression grew serious.
“You disappeared after my mother called you upstairs.”
My fingers tightened around the mug.
“Did I?”
“She didn’t upset you, did she?”
“No.”
“Good.”
He looked toward the river.
“She worries about you.”
“She worries about everyone.”
“Not like she worries about you.”
I glanced at him.
Kier’s face softened. “She always wanted a daughter.”
“I know.”
“Sometimes I think she likes you more than me.”
“Sometimes?”
He laughed and I smiled into my drink.
Then he said, “Whatever she told you, you can talk to me about it.”
My smile faded.
“Kier…”
He turned toward me.
“What?”
I could tell him right now. I could explain everything, and maybe he’d understand. Maybe he’d even help.
“Nothing.”
He watched me for another moment, then he nodded.
“All right.”
A gust of wind swept across the balcony and I shivered. Kier immediately pulled off his jacket and draped it over my shoulders.
“You’ll freeze.”
“I’m a wolf.”
“A stubborn wolf.”
I slipped my arms into the sleeves. The jacket was warm and it smelled like him. Cedar, rain, and something distinctly Kier that I could never put into words. I pulled it tighter. JJ His gaze dropped to the jacket, then returned to my face.
“You know,” he said, “when we’re older, things are going to change.”
My pulse quickened.
“What things?”
“My father will step down eventually. I’ll have responsibilities I don’t have now.”
“You already have responsibilities.”
“Not the same ones.”
He rested his forearms on the railing.
“Everyone seems to have my entire life planned. Where I’ll live. What I'll do. Who I’ll become.”
I stared at him. For the first time, I wondered whether being the future Alpha frightened him as much as being the mated frightened me.
“What would you do if you could choose?” I asked.
Kier looked at me.
“Anything?”
“Anything?”
He considered it. “Leave for a while. See the world without guards following me. Find out whether people like me when they don’t know my name.”
I hadn’t expected that.
“Would you really leave Black Pine?”
“For a little while,” he smiled faintly. “I’d come home eventually.”
Home, the word lodged in my chest.
“Would you?” he asked.
“Would I what?”
“Come home?”
The river rushed below us. I looked down at the jacket wrapped around my shoulders.
“I don’t know.”
Kier went still. When I finally looked up, he was watching me with an expression I couldn’t read. Then he reached out and gently tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear.
“Whatever happens, Sable,” he said, “I hope you find what you’re looking for.”
My throat tightened. He had no idea how much those words meant or how badly I wanted to tell him. Instead, I stepped closer and rested my head against his shoulder.
Kier didn’t move. His hand found mine against the railing and I let him hold it.
For the first time since I’d started planning my escape, I wondered whether leaving Black Pine would be the hardest part or if leaving Kier was.
