chapter 6

I let out a long, shaky breath. “Fine. I’ll go.”

***

I can’t believe I’m doing this.

Driving back to Starfire Hollow feels like stepping into a nightmare I thought I’d escaped. The road stretches ahead, winding through the mountains, and each passing mile makes my heart sink further. Penny sits quietly in her car seat, watching the trees go by, blissfully unaware of the mess we’re heading into. At least one of us is calm.

The pack compound looms on the horizon. It’s a sprawling settlement that somehow manages to look both ancient and perfectly in place in the middle of the city. It’s built like an old Spanish fortress, with high, white-washed walls and red-tiled roofs. The contrast between the compound and the modern surroundings that surrounds it has always struck me as strange—a relic of another time, hidden in plain sight. But now, looking at it through my daughter’s eyes, it feels even more surreal.

I pull the car up to the gate, my pulse racing as I lower the window to show the guard my ID. His eyes widen when he recognizes me—no doubt shocked to see the outcast and accused witch returning after three years with a child in tow. He says nothing, though. Just nods and waves me through after a glance at a list of authorized visitors.

The second we’re inside, nostalgia crashes over me like a wave. Every corner, every cobblestone walkway, every archway feels like a reminder of what I left behind. What I was forced to leave behind.

“Where are we, Mama?” Penny’s voice pulls me out of my spiraling thoughts. She looks around wide-eyed, taking in the towering walls and the lush greenery that spills over the walkways.

“This is where Mama used to live,” I explain, glancing at her in the rearview mirror. “Where… where I grew up.”

Her eyes widen even more, as if the place is too big for her to wrap her little mind around.

I park the car near the central square, where the old chapel stands like the heart of the compound. Alec is already there, waiting. It’s been too long since I laid eyes on my brother, and seeing him now—looking into those familiar brown eyeslighting up when he spots us—makes my throat tighten with emotions I thought I’d long buried.

He doesn’t waste a second. As soon as I step out of the car and pull Penny from her car seat, he’s there, pulling me into a hug so tight it knocks the air out of me. “Jade,” he murmurs against my hair. “God, it’s good to see you.”

Tears sting my eyes, but I blink them back. “You too.”

Alec pulls back just enough to look down at Penny, who’s hiding behind my leg, peeking out at him with wide eyes. His expression softens, and he crouches down to her level, smiling in that warm, brotherly way I remember so well.

“And who is this?” he asks, his voice light and playful.

Penny looks up at me, uncertain, but I nod, encouraging her. “It’s okay, sweetie. This is Uncle Alec, remember? It’s been a while, I know.”

She beams at the word “uncle.” After a beat, she steps forward, squishing her wolf to her chest. “I’m Penny.”

Alec’s smile broadens. “Well, Penny, it’s very nice to meet you. I’ve heard so much about you.”

She giggles, and just like that, she’s charmed. Alec’s always been good with kids.

“Come on,” Alec says, standing up and holding out his hand to her. “Let me show you around. There’s a lot to see.”

I watch as Penny takes his hand without a second thought, and her little legs scramble to keep up with his longer strides as they head down the street. For a moment, I just stand there, rooted to the spot, watching them go. Alec’s laugh echoes off the old stone walls, and I can see Penny pointing at the arches and the ivy-covered walkways. She’s so enamored with this place.

It’s like no time has passed. Like the three years of pain and exile never happened.

But then I hear the sound of footsteps behind me, heavy and deliberate, and the moment shatters.

Damien.

I turn slowly, bracing myself for whatever fresh hell he’s about to spring on me. He stands a few feet away, watching me with those stormy gray eyes. The fire from before, the desperation to bring me back, is gone. Replaced by something colder, more disingenuous that sends a shiver down my spine.

“We need to talk,” he says.

I swallow hard. Well, I try to. My throat is suddenly so dry, it feels like I’ve been chewing on cotton. “About what?”

His gaze flickers toward Alec and Penny in the distance before settling back on me. “About us.”

My stomach twists. “There is no ‘us,’ Damien.”

“There will be.” His words are quiet but laced with finality, and I hate the way my heart lurches at the sound of them. “I wasn’t lying when I said you’re important to the pack. You are. And there’s a ritual—”

“A ritual?” I cut in, blinking in confusion.

Damien’s eyes darken, and when he speaks again, his voice is steady, practiced, as if he’s been rehearsing this for years. “We’re going to participate in the mating ritual. You’ll become my mate.”

The air around me freezes.

For a long moment, I can’t breathe. I can’t move. The world tilts beneath my feet, and all I can hear is my ownheartbeat pounding in my ears. His words hit me like a punch to the gut, knocking the wind out of me.

Mate?

He can’t be serious.

I stare at him, my mind reeling, trying to process the full weight of what he just said. A mating ritual. To him. The man who banished me from my home, from my family, from everything I knew—and now he wants to claim me? Like none of that ever happened? Like I’m just supposed to go along with it?

Damien’s face remains impassive, but there’s a tension in his stance, like he’s daring me to challenge him.

I don’t even know where to start.