Chapter 6

“Is there literally no one in this Pack who’s deaf to the rumours but you?” My words skittered, frayed and cracked like ice, every syllable jagged with frustration. “Do you act like you don’t hear them? They’re saying Iona died in that raid—your own daughter—and you still haven’t spit in the liar’s face!’

Nathaniel’s brow furrowed, slow and purposeful, like translating a foreign language. “You’ve brewed this storm over… gossip? Angie, listen. I go visit Yoan and his boy because his dad was —”

“Enough.” The word cleaved the air. “You have time for Hazel’s tears, for Yoan’s needs, but not a second to grieve your child? Tell me, Nathaniel — what father chooses a brother’s ghost over his daughter’s grave?”

He grew stiff, guilt solidifying into defiance. “What’s scary is Hazel’s mental state is fragile. Yoan’s drowning. Should I let them sink?”

“I’d make you take care whose blood sullies the water.”

“I went to Yoan because she was drowning,” Nathaniel replied, his voice cracking. “Her