The Wolf Who Came Home

I woke the next morning to the sound of moving boxes in the living room.My internal clock had me up early anyway, but today the dull ache in my chest seemed to have faded another notch. I walked out to find Grace directing a crew of movers, hauling cardboard boxes stamped with Fred's Personal Items straight into the master bedroom.Morning light spilled across her busy profile. Everything looked so natural—like this was exactly how it was supposed to be."You're up?"She didn't even glance at me. Her tone was flat, like she was commenting on the weather."Fred's health is fragile. The doctor says keeping his spirits up might actually give him a fighting chance against the cancer, so I'm having him move in. Give him a home first.""What about me?" I asked. My voice came out steadier than I expected.She finally stopped and turned, a tiny crease forming between her brows—like my question was an inconvenience."Guest room. You're always in the study anyway. Besides, Fred needs care—it's

Grace stumbled back half a step, her eyes darting. But she still held her ground, voice sharp with denial."Thorne, stop with this nonsense! 'A world that didn't belong to you'—you're just some small-town kid who makes up wild stories for attention!""Fred's diagnosis is real. The doctors said it's critical. Why can't you just accept that?""And don't forget—I took you in. I fed you. I gave you a life."Every word hit like a sledgehammer against whatever warmth I had left.Ten years of devotion. Ten years of sacrifice. In her mouth, it was nothing but charity handed down from on high.Fred tugged at Grace's sleeve, his voice dripping with manufactured tenderness. "Don't be mad, sweetheart. Thorne's just upset he's losing you. We'll talk it out when we get back from Hawaii."His words were framed as comfort—but they cut deeper than any insult.I stopped talking. I tucked the last piece of luggage in place, zipped the suitcase shut, and stepped back."There. All packed. You won't miss yo

And thousands of miles away, in Hawaii.Grace leaned against the window of their oceanfront hotel, her fingers tracing the rim of her glass absently. The hot cocoa inside had gone cold—much like the strange, heavy weight settling in her chest.Outside, the sky was impossibly blue. Golden sand. Laughing tourists. A picture-perfect postcard.This was Hawaii. The place Thorne had talked about endlessly—the dream he'd painted for their wedding, the promise he'd made that they'd come here together."Darling? You okay?"Fred walked over with a fresh cup of coffee and settled beside her. He reached for her shoulder—but she pulled back, just slightly, without thinking.His smile flickered for half a second before he masked it with that familiar sickly look. A light cough. "Is the sun too bright? If you're tired, we can head back to the room and rest."Grace shook her head, still staring out the window. Her voice came out distant. "No... it's just... this doesn't feel how I expected.""Expected

"No... no, he wouldn't really leave me..."Grace's voice shook, raw with panic and denial. "He said he'd always stay with me. He said I was his only family in this world..."She burst out of the room like a woman possessed, found Fred, grabbed his arm with desperate fingers. "Fred—tell me—where did Thorne go? Did he really leave? Is any of it true—about him being from some original wolf pack?"Fred flinched at her intensity, the blood draining from his face. He averted his eyes, stammering. "H-honey... why are you asking this all of a sudden? Thorne just stormed off—that's all. That stuff he said, it can't be real. Don't take it seriously.""Not real?" Grace locked her gaze on him, voice dropping to a cold whisper. "Then why did he vanish? Why won't his phone connect? Why won't WhatsApp go through? Why are none of his things left behind?"Fred opened his mouth, shut it, then coughed into his fist—that practiced, familiar cough—and clutched his chest with a pained expression. "Honey, I.

Another sunny day in Hawaii. Grace came back alone.She wore the dress Thorne had once complimented, walked the shore they'd once planned to walk together, watched the waves roll in and the couples stroll past—and the tears came silently, without warning.She found a beachfront café, ordered the hot cocoa Thorne used to drink, sat by the window, and stared at the sand."Thorne... Hawaii is beautiful. Just like you said. But without you here, all this beauty means nothing.""I know I was wrong. I know that now. If you could just come back, I'd give everything—everything—to earn your forgiveness. I'd go anywhere with you. I'd follow you to your homeland. I'd protect your pack beside you. I'd stay with you forever. Never let you go again.""But I know that's just a fantasy. You're already gone. You've left this world—and you left me behind.""Thorne... I miss you. So much it hurts."The waves crashed against the sand. Her vision blurred with tears.---Meanwhile, back in the pack territor