I stepped outside, needing to get away from the buzz of voices, clinking glasses, and suffocating memories. The air was cool—sharper than I expected—and the full moon cast a pale silver glow over the landscape. The breeze lifted my hair and brought with it the crisp scent of pine and distant firewood. I closed my eyes for a moment, breathing it in, letting the stillness help me recenter myself.I glanced around, my senses alert. I hadn’t survived everything I’d gone through without learning to always be aware of my surroundings. So when footsteps approached, slow and steady, I wasn’t surprised to find Matthias stepping into the moonlight behind me.Of course.I almost sighed out loud. Of course he’d follow me. What does he want from me? I turned to face him, lifting my chin. I kept my voice level, polished—like it hadn’t been sharpened by years of disappointment. “What the hell do you want, Matthias? Why are you so interested in talking to me now?”I didn’t raise my voice. I didn’t n
I hadn’t expected to see Matthias or Nerissa so soon. Honestly, a month felt too soon. Far too soon. But I was handling it… or at least convincing myself I was. The numbness had given way to purpose, and purpose had been good for me.Cassiel had officially given me the position of Inter-Pack Consultant on Female Health & Livelihood—a title I wore with pride. The former person in charge was an elderly omega woman who left me bundles of notes to follow on and made me promise to call her if I ever got overwhelmed. It wasn’t just a job. Cassiel had done his research on me so he could select the perfect job.It was something I’d earned through years of quiet work behind the scenes—drafting policies, creating programs, mentoring women both poor and privileged. Now, I had the platform to do it on a regional scale. Cassiel had backed me entirely. More than backed me.He claimed I was the best person for the job, even when I argued he was paying me too much. Every time I brought it up, he’d sc
After what felt like hours of Nerissa fussing—about her hair, her dress, the possible gossip, and her nerves—I finally ushered her out of the house. She was jittery, complaining about the event non-stop as she double-checked her earrings, asked for a mirror a third time, and switched shoes at the door. I held back a sigh and bit down my frustration. There was no use snapping right now. I’d arranged for a driver to take us to Cassiel’s territory, not because I needed the luxury, but because I needed the time to think. The drive was long, and I didn’t trust myself to focus on the road. But I didn’t get to think. Not really. Because no matter how much I tried to focus on the impending meeting—the pack threat, the council's call, the pressure to present myself as a capable alpha—all my mind could circle back to was Aurielle. She’d consumed my thoughts in a way I couldn’t explain. Not in the fiery, obsessive way I used to feel about Nerissa. This was... heavy. Constant. Quiet and pers
/ONE MONTH LATER/Nerissa was pacing again.Her heels clicked against the floor in an uneven rhythm that grated on my already frayed nerves. She looked elegant, her hair swept into a tight bun, dress pressed to perfection, but the constant movement gave away her anxiety. Her fingers twisted the corner of her shawl over and over again.I sat in the leather armchair by the window, watching her with a blank expression. She was nervous—understandably so. This was our first official event together since everything changed.Since the divorce.The process had moved faster than expected. Much faster. I’d been told divorces between high-ranking wolves could take months, sometimes years, to finalize if contested. But Aurielle hadn’t fought it. Hadn’t argued. She’d simply shown up to the council meeting when summoned about four days after she left, stood beside me in silence, and signed the documents the same day.We said our piece—what little there was to say. She remained cold, almost mechanic
I stayed curled up in bed for a few more minutes, staring at the ceiling, tracing invisible shapes in the air with my eyes. My body was heavy—worn down from days of grief and silence, but something inside me stirred. A whisper that I couldn’t let the numbness win. That I had to start somewhere.I sat up slowly and instinctively touched my stomach, the way I’d been doing for the past few weeks. That simple gesture had once brought me comfort, like I was bonding with the small life growing inside me. But now, it only twisted a blade deeper into the hollow space where hope used to live.My hand fell away, trembling.I swallowed the lump in my throat and glanced around the room.And froze.This wasn’t how it looked before. The last time I was here, the entire place was bare, with echoes of empty rooms and blank walls. But now—now it looked lived in, thoughtfully put together.I slid my legs over the side of the bed and stood, padding barefoot across the room. The space was warm and inviti
I called Cassiel during the cab ride. The pack blurred past the window, but I barely noticed it. My thoughts were too loud. They questioned everything, and a stupid part of me had tried to cling to the guilty look on Matthias’s face.But I’m not that pitiful.“I packed up,” I told him quietly, my voice barely above a whisper. “I need the key to the house.”He didn’t hesitate. “I’ll bring it to you myself.”“No, Cassiel,” I said quickly, almost too quickly. “You’ve done enough. You have work, a council seat, and a whole pack to manage. I don’t want you leaving more responsibilities behind just because of me.”He insisted, his tone gentle but firm. “It’s not a burden, Aurielle. I’ll be there.”The ride stretched on, long and still. My body ached. My head throbbed. I didn’t want to go straight to the gated community—some part of me just wanted to sit in silence somewhere, nowhere. But I didn’t have anywhere else to go.We arrived at the tall iron gates that enclosed the community. The dr