LOGINThat morning did not settle back into normal the way I had hoped it would.
Even after Selena stopped trembling and her breathing steadied, something fragile remained in the air around us. The kind of tension that lingered long after the storm had passed. I stayed kneeling beside the bed longer than necessary, watching her carefully, memorizing the rhythm of her breathing like it was the only thing keeping my own steady.
Kane had not moved from her side.
His small hand rem
That morning did not settle back into normal the way I had hoped it would.Even after Selena stopped trembling and her breathing steadied, something fragile remained in the air around us. The kind of tension that lingered long after the storm had passed. I stayed kneeling beside the bed longer than necessary, watching her carefully, memorizing the rhythm of her breathing like it was the only thing keeping my own steady.Kane had not moved from her side.His small hand remained wrapped tightly around hers, his fingers curled protectively like he believed letting go would somehow cause her to fall apart again. I watched him carefully, noticing how his shoulders remained stiff despite the calm settling into the room. Yesterday had shaken him physically. Today had shaken him differently.Emotionally.That frightened me more.“Can I stay here today?” Selena whispered suddenly, her voice hoarse from crying.She looked at Sienna
The next morning did not begin gently.It began with a scream.A sharp, panicked cry that tore through the house and pulled me out of sleep before my mind could even understand what was happening. My heart slammed violently against my ribs as I pushed the blanket away and ran toward the hallway barefoot, not caring about the cold floor biting into my skin. For one horrifying second, my mind returned to yesterday—to Kane shaking in my arms, to his terrified voice, to the helplessness that had nearly crushed me.“Mom!”Selena.The sound came from the children’s room.I didn’t think. I didn’t breathe. I just ran.When I pushed the door open, Selena sat upright on the bed, her small hands gripping the blanket tightly, her chest rising and falling in fast, uneven breaths. Kane sat beside her, wide awake, his eyes filled with confusion and fear as he watched her struggle to breathe properly.&ldquo
That night, long after everyone had gone to sleep, I found myself standing outside Kane and Selena’s room again.It had become a habit without me realizing it. Every night, after the house settled into silence and the lights went off one by one, my feet carried me to their door like something inside me refused to trust distance. I didn’t knock. I didn’t step inside immediately. I just stood there for a moment, listening to their breathing through the quiet hallway.Steady.Soft.Alive.Only after assuring myself of that did I push the door open slightly and step inside.The room smelled faintly of soap and the lavender oil Camelia insisted on using before bedtime. Selena slept curled toward Kane again, her small hand resting across his arm like she was guarding him even in sleep. Kane lay on his back this time, his brows drawn slightly together even in rest, his chest rising and falling in deeper breaths than usual.
That night, after returning from the training grounds, the house felt quieter than usual, but not in a peaceful way. It was the kind of quiet that came after something heavy had passed through, leaving behind tired hearts and aching thoughts. Kane walked beside me silently as we entered, his fingers wrapped tightly around mine like he feared that if he let go, something would pull him away again. Selena trailed behind us, still full of questions she hadn’t voiced yet, her eyes moving between Kane and Cassius as if trying to understand what had changed between them.The moment we stepped inside, the smell of warm food wrapped around us like a familiar blanket. Camelia stood near the kitchen counter, stirring something slowly while Everett arranged plates on the dining table with the same quiet precision he carried into everything he did. The sight of them there—so settled, so involved in a home that wasn’t originally theirs—still felt strange to me some
By evening, the whispers had softened around us, but they had not disappeared. They never did, not in a pack like this where silence spoke louder than accusation. I could feel it without anyone saying it directly to my face. People did not stop us or question us openly, but their eyes lingered longer than usual when Kane walked past them. Conversations dipped into softer tones when we approached, and though they resumed moments later, the shift in rhythm was unmistakable. Years of leading a pack had taught me how silence behaved when people were thinking too much and speaking too little. It was never the loud confrontations that worried me. It was the quiet watching that came before them.That evening, I chose to take Kane back to the training grounds. Not because he was ready, and certainly not because I believed yesterday had already settled inside him. He was still shaken, still unsure, still carrying the weight of guilt like something he believed he deserved to feel. But
Word travels fast in a pack. Faster than wind, faster than reason, and sometimes faster than truth itself.By the next morning, I could feel it without anyone saying it aloud. The air inside North Hollow had shifted in a way that only someone raised inside a pack would notice. People did not stop me openly, nor did they confront me with questions, but their eyes lingered a second longer than usual. Conversations that had once flowed freely softened when I walked past. Heads turned subtly, glances exchanged quietly between elders who believed they were being discreet.They had heard.Of course they had.An early shift alone would have been enough to stir whispers. But a child striking another during training—no matter how accidental—was the kind of story that moved quickly from mouth to mouth, growing sharper with every retelling.I walked beside Kane that morning, our steps slower than usual as we made our way toward the administrative
“Hey!” I tapped his cheeks again. “Alessio.” This time I tapped harder, almost ready to slap him if he didn’t respond. “Alessio! You’re scaring me.” I muttered, leaning over him, trying to shake him awake.
Someone was kissing me. More specifically she was. I smiled without even opening my eyes. Turning onto my side, I faced her keeping my eyes closed and hugged her closer. Her giggles filled my ears and my smile widened even more if possible. “Hey.” She murmured, and I peaked one eye open.“Hey.” I r
I agreed to one day. Just one. It should have felt simple. Instead, it felt like the beginning of an ending. But the joy and relief on Alessio’s face was invaluable. I stood in my bedroom staring at the half-open wardrobe, my fingers hovering over neatly fold
Vineclaw had finally caught up to my neck. Overthinking and Vineclaw.Those were the two things strangling me for the past week. Ever since that dinner in her backyard — the four of us sitting on that mat, Kane la







