CHAPTER 55

Night settled softly over the mountains. Most of the pack had gone to bed; the steady hum of conversation in the great hall had faded to distant murmurs. I found myself on the back terrace. The twins were asleep inside, and the stars were sharp above the dark treeline.

“Couldn’t sleep?”

I didn’t jump this time when Killian’s voice came from the doorway. He carried two mugs, sending the smell of cocoa drifting between us.

“I haven’t slept properly in weeks,” I admitted, taking the mug he offered. Our fingers brushed in a tiny, accidental motion that was enough to send a ripple up my spine.

I frowned at my reaction for a second but quickly masked it.

He sat beside me on the stone bench. For a while, we just listened to the night: the wind in the pines, the faint sound of a wolf calling somewhere far off.

“Do you miss it?” he asked finally.

“What?”

“Home. The feeling, the people… everything.”

I stared into the dark chocolate swirling in my mug. “Sometimes I think I miss the idea of it