Chapter 7

Kat's POV

A few days passed by slowly. The only people I saw were the doctor and a couple of nurses who came to check on me or bring me food. They were nice, but they didn’t talk much. I didn’t mind at first because I was still tired and sore, but after a while, I started getting really bored.

Alpha Liam hadn’t come back to see me, not even once. I tried not to care, but a small part of me felt disappointed. I told myself it didn’t matter, but the truth was, I kept hoping he would walk through the door. Every time I heard footsteps in the hallway, my heart would skip a beat—only for it to be a nurse or someone else. Never him.

By the third day, I couldn’t take it anymore. I felt restless, like I was going to go crazy if I stayed in that hospital room any longer. So, I decided to take a walk.

The evening air was cool and fresh as I stepped outside. The sky had soft shades of orange and pink as the sun slowly began to set. I breathed in deeply, the clean air filling my lungs. It felt good to be out.

I didn’t really have a place in mind. I just started walking along a path that led away from the hospital. My feet moved on their own, and I let them. I passed a few buildings, some trees, and heard voices in the distance.

Eventually, I reached an open area. It was wide and covered in packed dirt, and I saw people there—men and women—moving around quickly, some throwing punches, some blocking, some shifting and sparring.

I stopped at the edge, watching quietly.

It didn’t take me long to figure it out—this was the training ground. The place where the pack trained to fight. I guessed most of them were warriors or maybe just regular pack members staying fit.

They were fast, strong, and confident. I watched, feeling a little out of place. I didn’t have a wolf. I didn’t have strength like them.

My eyes slowly scanned the training field as I stood quietly at the edge. There were quite a few wolves out there, both young and older pack members, sparring in pairs or going through drills. I wasn’t sure what drew me to the far end of the field until my gaze landed on him.

Alpha Liam.

He was standing in the middle of a small group of children, showing them how to hold a proper stance. His voice carried across the field, calm but firm. The kids looked up at him with admiration, copying his movements as best as they could. He bent down to help a little boy adjust his feet, and for a moment, a small smile tugged at his lips. It was the first time I’d ever seen him smile, and something in my chest fluttered.

He wasn’t wearing a shirt, and it made it hard not to stare. His muscles were well-defined, like every part of him had been carved from stone. The sun caught the sheen of sweat on his skin, and I could see the scars across his back and arms—evidence of the battles he had fought. He only wore a pair of faded jeans that hung low on his hips. I knew I should look away, but I didn’t.

Back in River Moon Pack, nudity was normal. When wolves shifted, their clothes ripped apart, so walking around shirtless—or even naked—wasn’t a big deal. I’d seen it all before. Dozens of times. But for some reason, seeing Alpha Liam like this felt different.

Maybe it was because he was my mate.

Or maybe it was because he didn’t know what he meant to me.

I didn’t have a wolf, so I had never joined the other pack members on runs or shifts. That meant no one had ever seen me without clothes, and I had always felt a little separate, a little left out. But in moments like this, I was grateful for that privacy.

As I stood there watching him, Alpha Liam suddenly stopped moving. His body went still, like a statue, and then he slowly straightened and turned his head—like he could feel my eyes on him.

Our eyes met.

His gaze found mine across the distance and locked in. He didn’t look away, and neither did I. His blue eyes were piercing, bright like a frozen lake, and they seemed to see everything. Even things I didn’t want anyone to see. My heart thudded in my chest, loud and fast, and for a second, I couldn’t breathe.

We just stared.

Neither of us moved.

Then, out of nowhere, someone stepped into the space between us.

A girl. Blonde. Tall. Beautiful. She looked around my age, maybe a little older. She walked right up to him and said something I couldn’t hear. Her body language was relaxed, confident, like she knew she belonged there—right beside him. She smiled up at him, her hand brushing his arm lightly.

And he turned to her.

Just like that, the moment between us was gone.

He said something back to her, and she laughed, tossing her long hair over her shoulder. They looked like they belonged together. Like they were already a couple. Seeing them like that—so close, so natural—made something twist deep in my stomach. A sharp, aching feeling I couldn’t quite explain.

I turned my head away quickly, not wanting to see anymore. My eyes stung, and my chest felt like something heavy had been dropped inside it. I tried to walk slowly, to act like everything was fine, like I wasn’t bothered—but I couldn’t. Every step I took made the ache in my chest worse. The farther I walked from the training field, the faster my legs moved, like I was trying to escape the weird emotions swirling inside me.

By the time I got close to the pack hospital, my feet were moving fast, almost like I was running without thinking. My breathing had gotten quick and shallow, and I didn’t even realize it until I reached the entrance.

I stepped inside and closed the door gently behind me. The quiet hit me all at once. No more sounds of laughter or training. No more voices. Just silence.

I leaned against the nearest wall, pressing my back to the cool surface as I tried to calm down. My hands were shaking a little, and I pressed them flat against my thighs to stop them. I didn’t want to cry, but my throat felt tight, and my eyes were watery. I blinked a few times, willing the tears not to fall.

I didn’t even know what had just happened between me and Alpha Liam. Was it even a thing? We’d only locked eyes for a few seconds. He didn’t say anything. He didn’t even come over. But still… it had felt like something important. Like something had passed between us.

Until that girl showed up.

She was so beautiful and confident, like she belonged at his side. And he hadn’t looked at me again after she came. He turned away. Just like that.

It felt like a quiet rejection. He didn’t say anything, but I didn’t need him to. His silence said enough. Like maybe he’d already chosen someone else. Maybe he didn’t want a mate. Or maybe he didn’t want me.

I didn’t know why it hurt so much. I didn’t even know him. I barely understood what I felt. But the ache in my chest was real. The sadness was real. And for a moment, I felt stupid for even caring.

I wiped at my eyes quickly and took a deep breath.

“I need to stop this,” I whispered to myself.

I needed to focus on getting better. On finding my mom. On staying strong. That was what mattered. Not some alpha who didn’t even want to acknowledge me.

Still, as I walked back to my hospital room, the sting in my heart didn’t go away.