Chapter 1

"Erin, don't be mad at Gavin."

Mia tried to sit up as she spoke.

"He's just too worried about me. My health has always been fragile. If it weren't for going to get my medicine, you wouldn't have ended up like this."

Gavin immediately eased her back against the pillows and tucked the blanket around her.

"Don't move. Your wolf still isn't stable."

He didn't look at me when he said it.

Leah poked her head out from under the blanket and pinched her nose in disgust.

"Mama Erin, you're so dirty."

I looked at the girl I had raised since she was little.

She was Gavin and Mia's daughter.

After Mia left Grey Ridge, I was the one who raised Leah.

The first time Leah's wolf ears appeared, I held her under the moonlight all night.

When she lost her first baby tooth, I helped her bury it beneath the oak tree in our backyard.

But now she clung to her birth mother's arm, shrinking away from me in disgust.

"Leah, is that any way to talk to your mother?"

Gavin's reprimand barely had any bite.

Then he finally turned to me.

"Did you change your clothes?"

I didn't answer. I turned to get my suitcase.

The snow-covered suitcase was wide open.

All the clothes inside were soaked through.

"I'm sorry, Erin." Mia looked apologetic. "Leah was looking for a toy earlier and accidentally knocked your suitcase over."

Gavin walked over and tossed his jacket into my arms.

"Wear this for now. We'll buy you something new when we get down the mountain."

My fingers trembled slightly.

Six months ago, Mia had shown up at our door with red-rimmed eyes, saying she'd been poisoned with wolfsbane and had nowhere else to go.

She said she only needed to stay a few days, just until her old injury stabilized.

Gavin had looked at me then and said she was Leah's birth mother, after all.

He said she was pitiful.

But a few days turned into months.

Her clothes found their way into our bedroom.

Her scent swallowed mine again.

Old photos of her and Gavin appeared in the living room.

I was his mate now, yet somehow I had become the intruder in Grey Ridge.

I went into the bedroom and changed into Gavin's oversized jacket.

Snowmelt kept dripping from my hair.

Soon, the jacket was soaked through too.

The door opened.

Gavin walked in, glanced at me, and pulled out a hair dryer.

"Come here."

"If you don't dry your hair, you'll have a headache tomorrow."

I hesitated for a moment, then sat down.

Warm air flowed through my hair.

His fingers threaded through the strands, gentle.

He used to dry my hair for me after every bath.

He used to say, "The skin behind your wolf ears hates being damp. Leave it wet too long and you'll get a headache."

He'd also said, "When we're old, I still want to dry your hair for you like this every day."

I blinked away the dampness gathering at the corners of my eyes.

"Get some sleep. We still have a long way to go tomorrow."

He turned off the hair dryer and patted my shoulder.

"Gavin."

He stopped and looked back at me.

"Do you remember why we came here?"

He froze for a moment.

Then frowned.

Then his face tightened. "Erin, how long are you going to keep this up? You saw how bad Mia's injury is. If her wolf loses control, this could turn deadly. You've always been stronger than she is. Stop making this harder than it needs to be."

He stepped forward and reached for the top of my head out of habit.

I tilted my head slightly, dodging his hand.

Gavin's hand froze in midair.

"She's Leah's mother. I'm only taking care of her for Leah. You understand that, don't you?"

I said nothing.

I only tightened my grip on the ultrasound photo in my pocket.

It was our unborn child.

Three months ago, we had promised to tuck the ultrasound photo beneath a moonstone at the pass.

To ask the Moon Goddess for her blessing.

So the child could find us again in the next life.

But he seemed to have forgotten all about it.

"Enough. I'll take you tomorrow, okay?"

He turned and headed for the door.

"Let me check if Leah's blanket is tucked in. Get some sleep."

I looked at the ultrasound photo in my hand.

Snowmelt had soaked it until the tiny outline blurred more by the second.