Chapter 15: Broken Bonds

"Silver, you know why I'm mad at you." My eyes filled with tears as I glanced briefly at Ylfa, who seemed surprised by my outburst. With a mix of anger and hurt, I turned on my heels and walked away from Silver, not caring where I went as long as it was away from him.

"Red... Wait!" I heard him shout after me, but I didn't listen. My feet carried me into a nearby glade, the moonlight filtering through the leaves above casting dappled shadows on the ground beneath me. The soft rustle of the leaves and the distant hoot of an owl did little to calm the storm inside me.

"Are you mad about the kiss?" Silver's voice came from behind me, his footsteps crunching on the forest floor as he followed me. "Because that wasn't me... Ylfa kissed me out of the blue. I wasn't kissing her back."

"Maybe not," I replied, my voice thick with anger and sadness, "but you weren't stopping her either."

"Seriously?" I could hear the disbelief in his voice. "So I can't kiss you but I can't kiss anyone else either?"

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Was he really trying to turn this around on me? The anger bubbled up inside me, mingling with the jealousy and hurt that had been festering ever since I saw him with Ylfa.

I stopped abruptly and turned to face Silver, my anger momentarily overshadowing my hurt. His eyebrows were furrowed, his jaw clenched as he stared at me in a mix of shock and annoyance. "That's not why I'm mad," I lied, my voice trembling despite my best efforts.

"Then what is it?" Silver growled, frustration seeping into his tone as he closed the distance between us, his body now only inches from mine.

My heart raced as I took a step back, avoiding the heat radiating off him. I looked him straight in the eyes, feeling a sudden surge of courage. "You opened up to her." My voice was bold, but I couldn't stop the heat that rose to my cheeks. "You chose to trust her and not me."

Silver's expression softened, and he whispered, "It's not like that..."

"Isn't it?" I continued, my voice growing louder and more unsteady with each word. "I heard you telling Ylfa about your parents abandoning you, and how it affected you. I asked you the same thing, Silver! I told you about my own messed-up family and my dad dying, and yet you couldn't trust me enough to share your story... Instead, you chose to tell everything to a woman you just met!"

My breathing was uneven as I finished my outburst, my chest heaving with the weight of my emotions. Silver hesitated for a moment before responding, searching my eyes for understanding. "Red, I didn't mean to hurt you. It wasn't about trust."

"Is it because I'm not a werewolf?" I asked Silver, my voice trembling. Perhaps that was the reason he couldn't open up to me - because I was a Hood, a werewolf hunter. He hesitated, his eyes searching mine before he finally spoke.

"It's not that... It's..." He mumbled, averting his gaze and frowning, clearly troubled. "The thing is, I'm not worried about what she thinks of me... but I worry about the way you perceive me," he confessed, turning back to look at me. His eyes were filled with something that resembled fear.

"I... I didn't want to appear weak," Silver admitted. There was such tenderness and shyness in his words that my heart ached, and I almost felt compelled to kiss him. Instead, I placed a hand on his face, feeling the rough stubble beneath my fingertips.

"You're not weak," I whispered, my voice barely audible. Time seemed to stand still as I caressed his face, watching as he rubbed his chin against my palm like a dog seeking affection. Under the moonlight, he looked more handsome and tender than ever, and I found myself losing my breath just looking at him.

His yellow eyes met mine, and for a moment, all our anger and frustration evaporated, replaced by a shared understanding. The world around us faded away, leaving only the two of us standing there, our hearts pounding in unison.

Our moment of connection was suddenly broken as a rush of wind whipped through the glade, sending my hair flying into my face. I brushed it away with an exasperated huff.

"Come on, let's sit down for a bit," I suggested, plopping down on the soft grass and gesturing for Silver to join me. He hesitated for a second before lowering himself to the ground beside me, his muscular frame casting long shadows in the moonlight.

"Tell me about yourself, then," I urged him, genuinely curious despite our earlier argument. "You know so much about me, but I barely know anything about you."

Silver sighed, running a hand through his soft, silver hair. "Alright," he agreed, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "I don't really remember anything about my parents. They abandoned me when I was just a baby because I was a burden to them, or at least that's what I was told. They died sometime after that, apparently. Skol, the leader of the Ironfang Clan, took me in and raised me. He's strict, and not the most loving person, but he accepted me when no one else would."

He paused for a moment, his yellow eyes distant as he recalled his past. "Silver werewolves are outcasts because other werewolves fear us. We're often cast aside by the Clans and forced to live in solitude. Most werewolves believe that we eat other werewolves, which is as untrue as the fact that werewolves eat people."

A pang of regret hit me as I remembered accusing Silver of eating people. I could see the hurt in his eyes as he gave me a knowing look. "I'm sorry," I murmured, feeling ashamed of my earlier assumption. "I shouldn't have said that."

He shrugged, but I could tell my apology meant something to him. "It's fine. We all make mistakes."

As we sat there, side by side in the moonlit glade, I couldn't help but feel a newfound sense of closeness with Silver.

"Anyway," Silver continued, his voice softening as he gazed at the trees surrounding us, "I grew up in this forest. This place was my playground for a big part of my childhood." He absentmindedly plucked at the grass beneath him before continuing, "Then Skol decided to move the Clan to the Fontainebleau forest, and our pack grew quite a lot... Not that I made any friends. Other werewolves were always scared and mistrustful."

He turned to me, his yellow eyes meeting mine with an intensity that sent shivers down my spine. "But Skol kept me by his side," he said, shifting closer so our shoulders pressed together in a friendly manner. "See? I trust you."

The sincerity in his voice disarmed me, and I couldn't help but smile despite my lingering unease. But as I looked into his eyes, a question burned inside me, demanding to be asked. My heart raced as I braced myself for the answer.

"Silver... How many people have you killed?" I blurted out, unable to contain my curiosity any longer.

His face remained impassive, but the pain in his eyes was unmistakable. "I killed a man once," he admitted quietly, his voice heavy with regret. "It was self-defense, but I think about it every single day..."

To my surprise, relief washed over me. "Thank you," I whispered, placing my hand on his and giving it a reassuring squeeze. "I thought it would be... more."

The somber moment hung between us, as if suspended in the moonlit air. We were both scarred, both haunted by our pasts, and yet there we were – a werewolf and a Hood, baring our souls to one another. In that instant, I realized that perhaps our connection went far deeper than just raw sexual attraction, and the thought both thrilled and terrified me.

Silver's grin was a sad one as he removed his hand from mine. "I bit a little girl as a cub," he said, his voice tinged with hurt and sarcasm. "But I did it because she was eating poisonous flowers. I hope that doesn't count."

Neither of us spoke for a while, the silence settling over us like a heavy blanket. The glade around us was eerie, the scent of damp earth and fresh pine filled my nostrils, and the gentle rustling of leaves above us whispered through the night. I could see the sadness etched into Silver's features, his eyes downcast and filled with unspoken pain.

Finally, he stood up, breaking the quiet. "We should get going while the moon shines so brightly," he suggested, his voice low. I agreed and followed suit, standing to leave the haven of the glade behind us.

As we walked back toward the cabin, Silver broke the silence once more. "So, are you okay with me kissing other people?" he asked, a mix of playfulness and something else I couldn't quite identify coloring his tone. "Given that you can't be with me because I'm a werewolf and all that?"

"Right," I replied, trying to keep my voice steady. "Do whatever you want."

He continued, pressing the issue further. "So you can go back to kissing your boyfriend Adriano?"

My annoyance flared at his remark. "I already told you, Adriano is not my boyfriend," I snapped, feeling the heat rise in my cheeks.

The conversation had taken a turn I hadn't anticipated, and I found myself struggling with my own emotions as we navigated the dark forest together. I didn't want Silver kissing anyone else, but what right did I have to tell him what to do? He was a werewolf, and I was a Hood. Our worlds were never meant to collide.

"Who's your boyfriend, then?" Silver asked, his voice low as we continued walking through the forest.

"I guess Gabriel," I admitted, feeling a coldness run through my veins. Had I really just told him about Gabriel? What the fuck was wrong with me?

"Oh, so you do have a boyfriend..." Silver replied, and I couldn't see his face, only his muscled back as I trailed behind him. Was he mad? It was impossible to tell by his voice alone.

"Wait," I said quickly, trying to fix the situation. "It's not exactly like that. See, it's complicated... He asked me to marry him but I haven't said yes." The words came tumbling out of my mouth, and when I realized what I just said it was already too late. Fuck. Fuck! Shut up! Why the hell did I keep talking?

"I see. So it's quite serious then," Silver spat, his tone turning colder. Yes, he was definitely angry. I watched as his body tensed and he started walking faster in front of me.

"No, Silver..." I rushed towards him, my arm extended, desperate to make him understand. But then Silver turned around to face me. The intensity of his gaze took my breath away; it was like staring into twin flames that burned with both fury and sorrow.

"It's ok. I understand," he snarled. "Someone like me is not boyfriend material. I'm just good for some casual, wild sex in the forest, and then tossed aside. Got it." With that, he turned around abruptly and walked away so fast I couldn't catch up to him.

"Wait...!" I called out, but Silver was already gone, swallowed by the shadows.

"Fuck!" My thoughts spiraled into chaos as I stood there, feeling lost and alone. He was right though – Silver was a werewolf, and I was a Hood, a werewolf hunter. We could never be together. How would we even see each other? Where would we live?

Our relationship had no future, no future at all... It was just sex, raw sexual attraction. But then... Why did I care so much? Why did jealousy claw at my insides every time I thought of him with someone else? And why couldn't I stop thinking about what he would say, do, or think?

I couldn't be in love with a werewolf.

Could I?

The night air grew cooler as I wandered aimlessly, my mind consumed by conflicting emotions. Even though I knew it was impossible, I couldn't deny the truth any longer: I was falling for Silver. And that realization scared me more than any werewolf ever could.

As I continued walking, the sound of rustling leaves and distant hoots of owls accompanied my racing thoughts. Torn between desire and duty, I found myself questioning everything I believed in, everything I had been taught.

Could I really allow myself to fall in love with a werewolf? Was it worth the risk, knowing the dangers that lay ahead for both of us? Or was I just setting myself up for heartbreak and disappointment?

Lost in my thoughts, I didn't notice the thorny branches reaching out to scrape my arms and legs. The sting of pain barely registered as a distraction from the turmoil raging within me.

"Damn it! Why does this have to be so complicated?" I cursed under my breath, angrily swiping at the tears that threatened to fall.

But in the end, there was no easy answer – only the undeniable truth that Silver had burrowed his way into my heart, whether I liked it or not. And as much as I wished I could turn back time and prevent our paths from ever crossing, I knew deep down that I wouldn't trade our moments together for anything.

Even if it meant loving a werewolf.