Liam's POV

I knew something was wrong the moment Father walked through the door carrying a girl in his arms.

Blood covered her legs. Her head hung limply against his shoulder, and his coat was wrapped around her like he was trying to shield her from more than the cold.

Mother rushed forward immediately.

"What happened?"

"I found her in the woods," Father said. "Help me."

They carried her to the spare room while I followed behind, watching silently.

The girl didn't look older than me. She was unconscious, pale, and covered in bruises.

Still, something about her put me on edge.

Mother dipped a cloth into warm water and began cleaning the blood from her skin.

"Poor thing," she whispered.

Father stood nearby with his arms folded.

Neither of them seemed bothered by the fact that a stranger had appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the forest.

Well, I was.

"Who is she?" I asked.

Father shook his head.

"I don't know."

I stared at him.

"You brought home someone you don't know?"

His eyes lifted briefly.

"She was injured."

"That's not what I asked."

Mother sighed.

"Liam."

I pointed toward the bed.

"No, seriously. Look at her. People don't end up like this for no reason."

Father's expression hardened.

"And what would you have me do?"

I folded my arms.

"Leave her where I found her?" he asked.

"No."

"Then what?"

I opened my mouth but found no answer.

Because despite my suspicions, I knew I wouldn't have left her there either.

Father looked back at the unconscious girl.

"When I found her, she was bleeding and barely breathing. Whatever happened to her can wait until she's awake enough to explain it."

"Assuming she tells the truth."

The room grew quiet.

Mother placed the cloth aside and looked at me.

"Not everyone is your enemy, Liam."

I glanced at the stranger again.

Maybe not.

But people carried secrets.

And something told me this girl carried more than most.

Father pulled a blanket over her.

"She stays."

The finality in his voice ended the discussion.

I exhaled sharply and turned toward the door.

"Fine."

But as I left the room, I couldn't shake the feeling that bringing her into our house was going to change everything.

Three days later, I was skinning a lamb behind the barn when the crash came from inside the house.

Then another.

I dropped the knife immediately.

“What the hell?”

The noise sounded like half the house was coming apart.

I sprinted toward the cabin while Mother hurried in from the garden, dirt still clinging to her hands.

We reached the spare room at the same time.

The sight that greeted us stopped me in my tracks.

The girl was awake.

She stood in the middle of the wreckage, chest rising and falling rapidly. Broken plates littered the floor around her. A cupboard had been knocked over, and shards of glass glittered across the floorboards.

For someone who had been unconscious for three days, she had certainly recovered enough to destroy a room.

When she spotted us, she stumbled backward and snatched up a jagged piece of broken glass.

“Stay back!” she shouted. Her voice shook.

“Who are you people? Where am I?”

I slowly raised my hands.

“No one's going to hurt you,” I said. “Just put the glass down.”

“Don't come any closer!”

Her grip tightened around the glass.

“My family...” Her voice cracked. “They're all dead.”

Mother stepped forward carefully.

“You are still weak, child,” she said gently. “Sit down. We will talk. You have been sleeping for three days.”

The girl's eyes widened.

“We also have some questions for you,” I added.

The glass slipped from her fingers and shattered on the floor.

She slowly slid down the wall and pulled her knees against her chest.

Not long after, Father returned from his hunt.

He stepped into the room, looked at the destruction, then at the girl.

“You're awake,” he said. “And what happened here?”

“We heard noises from inside,” I answered. “We came in and found her like this. She was confused and panicked.”

Father nodded once before crouching in front of her.

“You're with the Croft family,” he said calmly. “My name is Edgar Croft, and that's my wife and son, Lily and Liam Croft. I found you in the woods three nights ago. You were running like something was chasing you. I called out, and you collapsed.”

The girl stared at him silently.

“If I may ask,” Father continued, “who are you, and what were you doing alone in the woods that late?”

“I shouldn't be here,” she whispered.

“I'm the daughter of the Alpha of the Blackwood Pack. A wolf murdered my family the night you found me. I ran because I thought I would be next.”

The room fell silent.

“If they come looking for me,” she continued quietly, “the packs will kill you too.”

I frowned.

“Packs?”

Before she could answer, Father spoke.

“They came yesterday.”

The girl immediately looked up.

“Wolves,” Father said. “Not normal ones. They were asking about a girl from the Blackwood Pack.”

She hugged her knees tighter.

Father exhaled and glanced toward the forest beyond the window.

“Then they shouldn't have come this far.”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“You're not in Blackwood territory anymore,” I answered.

Her expression tightened.

“Then whose territory am I in?”

Father's gaze remained fixed on the trees.

“This land belongs to the Ashen Ridge Pack.”

The room grew noticeably quieter.

“Their Alpha doesn't tolerate trespassers,” I said.

Mother lowered her voice.

“He doesn't tolerate anything.”

“If they come looking for me...” the girl said.

“They won't,” Father replied firmly.

She looked at him.

“Why?”

His jaw tightened.

“Because no pack crosses into Ashen Ridge territory without permission.”

His voice dropped lower.

“And no one leaves it without being allowed to.”

The girl turned toward the window.

Father remained silent for a moment before speaking again.

“If the Ashen Ridge Alpha knows you're here...”

He didn't finish. He didn't need to.

His silence said everything.