soulmate or toxic love

The salty wind of Dreadmoor whipped against your sail, still draped over your shoulders, as Gavin held out his hand to help you out of the SUV. His grip was firm, almost hesitant, as if he were afraid of breaking something already cracked.

"You don't have to smile," he said simply, scrutinizing your impassive face. "I prefer your silence to a lie."

You didn't reply. The bond of companionship vibrated beneath your skin like a taut string, but your heart remained silent, buried under years of frost.

In the days that followed, Gavin didn't impose anything on you. He left the bed to yourself, sleeping in the armchair by the window, a hand always ready to intervene if you had a nightmare. He never asked where your thoughts wandered at night, when your gaze drifted towards the horizon, towards Mooncrest.

Meanwhile, in Mooncrest, Tanner refused to consummate his marriage. Liliana, furious, made numerous scenes, but he remained unmoved, haunted by the memory of your split lip, of your silence in the black car.

"I will find her again," he repeated to his reflection every night. "I will repair what I have broken."

A month passed. One morning, Gavin took you to the cliffs of Dreadmoor, where the pack used to hunt. He said nothing, simply sitting silently beside you, letting the wind speak for you.

“My mother used to say that a broken heart heals faster when you stop watching it,” he finally murmured. “I’m not asking you to love me, Y/N. I’m just asking you to sit next to me. We’ll see about the rest.”

For the first time in years, something stirred within you — not love, not yet, but a tiny crack in the ice.

Far away, a letter sealed with the seal of Mooncrest arrived at Dreadmoor, carried by an exhausted messenger.

Gavin read it, his jaw clenched, then slipped it into his pocket without a word.

The battle for hearts had barely begun.