For the first time—
Akira had no words.
The forest stretched endlessly around them, tall trees standing like silent witnesses beneath a fading sky. The wind moved softly through the leaves, carrying with it the faint scent of earth and distant water.
Yet—
None of that mattered.
Because the silence between them was heavier than anything the forest could offer.
They walked side by side.
Slowly.
Carefully.
No urgency drove their steps.
No danger chased behind them.
Only silence.
And something neither of them could explain.
Akira's gaze shifted.
Not ahead.
Not toward the path.
Toward her.
Lia.
Her steps were uneven, though she tried to hide it. Each movement held a slight hesitation, as if she was learning how to exist all over again.
Her balance faltered for only a fraction of a second before she corrected herself.
Still—
Akira noticed.
He noticed everything.
His eyes lingered longer than they should have.
"…What is this feeling…?"
The thought surfaced quietly.
Uninvited.
He frowned.
It wasn't fear.
Not caution.
Not instinct.
Something else.
Something unfamiliar.
Akira's chest felt tight.
But not from battle.
Not from tension.
Something deeper.
Something he couldn't name.
He had stood at the frontlines of war.
Faced enemies stronger than himself.
Watched blood spill and bodies fall without hesitation.
He had never faltered.
Never hesitated.
Never questioned himself.
As the Alpha of the White Wolves—
He wasn't allowed to.
Strength defined him.
Control shaped him.
And emotion?
Emotion had never had a place in his world.
Many had looked at him.
Desired him.
Admired him.
Women from different packs.
Daughters of powerful Alphas.
Even those who barely knew him.
They had all looked at him with something in their eyes.
Something he never returned.
Because he felt nothing.
Nothing at all.
Except—
His sister.
But that was different.
Protective.
Familial.
Not this.
This—
Was something else entirely.
His gaze shifted again, unconsciously tracing her.
From the damp strands of her hair clinging lightly to her neck…
To her eyes, calm yet distant…
To the uncertain rhythm of her steps.
"…Why her…?"
The question lingered.
Unanswered.
Meanwhile—
Lia was lost in a world of her own.
Her thoughts were far from the forest.
Far from Akira.
They were beneath the sea.
Her steps slowed.
Just slightly.
Her gaze lowered.
To her feet.
To her legs.
The two unfamiliar structures that now carried her weight.
"…Legs…"
Even thinking the word felt strange.
Unnatural.
She moved them again.
Carefully.
One step.
Then another.
They responded.
Obeyed.
But they didn't belong.
Not like her tail.
Not like the water.
Her chest tightened faintly.
"…The sea…"
The memory surfaced without warning.
The endless blue stretching beyond sight.
The cold embrace of water wrapping around her like a second skin.
The quiet, endless rhythm of the deep.
Her home.
Even if—
It never truly felt like one.
Her expression dimmed.
They had feared her.
Whispered behind her back.
Looked at her with suspicion.
A curse.
An omen.
Something unwanted.
She had never truly belonged.
Yet—
"…It is still my home…"
The realization hurt more than she expected.
Because no matter how she was treated—
The sea was where she came from.
Where she existed.
Where she understood the world.
Her steps slowed further.
"…Can I return…?"
The question echoed quietly.
Or had something changed?
Had crossing into this world—
Taken that away from her?
Her fingers curled slightly.
"…Am I meant to live here…?"
On land.
A place that felt foreign.
Unfamiliar.
A place where everything was different.
"…Or…"
Her breath caught slightly.
"…Am I meant to die here…?"
The thought lingered.
Dark.
Heavy.
She didn't notice—
That Akira had stopped thinking.
That his attention had fully returned to her.
His gaze dropped.
To her feet.
To her legs.
And suddenly—
The question he had been avoiding surfaced.
"…How…?"
His brows furrowed slightly.
"…How does a creature of the sea walk the land…?"
His voice broke the silence.
"Lia."
She looked up, slightly startled.
Pulled from her thoughts.
"Yes?"
Akira hesitated.
Just for a moment.
Then—
"How do you have legs?"
The question settled between them.
Lia blinked.
Confusion flickered across her face.
"I…"
Her gaze dropped again.
"I do not understand it myself…"
Her voice was soft.
Honest.
"When I woke…"
She paused.
"They were already there."
Akira watched her carefully.
There was no deception.
No hesitation.
Only truth.
Yet—
That truth made everything more uncertain.
"…Something changed her…"
His mind worked silently.
But before he could follow that thought further—
Something else caught his attention.
The cloth.
Wrapped around her body.
It wasn't from here.
Not from his pack.
Not from the forest.
Foreign.
His gaze darkened slightly.
"Where did you get that?"
Lia followed his gaze.
To the cloth.
"Oh…"
Her expression softened faintly.
"It was given to me."
Akira's eyes narrowed.
"By who?"
There was a pause.
Then—
"A hunter."
Silence.
The air shifted.
Subtle.
But undeniable.
Akira stilled.
"…A hunter?"
His voice dropped.
Lower.
Lia nodded gently.
"The one who helped me before… at the warehouse."
Her tone was calm.
Free of fear.
"And again… when I encountered the dark wolf."
Akira's jaw tightened.
"…He helped you… twice?"
"Yes."
Lia's gaze lowered slightly.
Thoughtful.
"I believe…"
She paused softly.
"…not all hunters are bad."
The words were simple.
But they struck deep.
Akira said nothing.
Yet something shifted inside him.
Unfamiliar.
Unwelcome.
His chest tightened again.
Stronger.
"…Why does that bother me…?"
He searched for reason.
Distrust?
Of course.
Hunters were enemies.
Killers.
Destroyers of packs.
They hunted his kind without mercy.
Yet—
"…He helped her…"
The thought refused to settle.
"…Why?"
His instincts rejected it.
But his emotions—
Did not.
Something darker stirred beneath the surface.
"…Is this… jealousy?"
The word felt wrong.
Foreign.
Akira frowned.
No.
That wasn't it.
It couldn't be.
But then—
Why did it feel this way?
Why did the thought of another man—
Helping her—
Not sit right with him?
He exhaled slowly.
"…This is unnecessary…"
He turned his gaze away.
Trying to regain control.
But the feeling lingered.
Beside him—
Lia noticed.
Not clearly.
But enough.
A shift.
A change.
"…Did I say something wrong…?"
She didn't ask.
But the question stayed with her.
The silence returned.
But this time—
It was heavier.
Filled with thoughts unspoken.
Feelings unnamed.
And something quietly growing—
Between them.