The wind had carried the scent of the damp earth and burned its sage away as I walked out from Kelvin, my heartbeat was still uneven. His words were still echoing in my mind. I’ll wait. For as long as it takes. To win you back to myself.I wasn’t sure how long that would be. How long he could wait. The weight of the elder’s prophecy pressed against my ribs. Breaking the bond would break something in me. Reforging it would bind me forever.How could I choose when I didn’t even know who I was supposed to become? The campfires flashes as I walk through the village, my fingers absently tracing the mark on my wrist—the faint imprint of the mate bond that refused to fade away. My wolf was stirred, restless, and sensing the war inside me.“Rachael.”Logan’s voice cut through the silence like a blade as I flipped my head to see him. I turned to see him approaching me, his sharp amber eyes were unreadable. As Kelvin’s beta, he rarely interfered unless it was necessary, and something about h
As though she could see right into the battle waging inside of me, the elder's eyes remained fixed on mine. Her lined face was covered in flickering shadows as the fire in the middle of the room crackled low. A strong, old-world smell of burning sage filled the air as smoke curled from the bundle of plants in her hands."You look for answers," she said. "Are you prepared for the truth, though?"I tightened my throat and gulped."I am not sure."Something twisted her lips, but it was not quite a grin. “Honest. That’s good.” The beads in her braids, which were stained with silver, clicked quietly together as she moved. "Very few are."My claws were digging into my palms as I clenched my fists in my lap. “You said the mate bond can be severed.” The words felt strange on my tongue. Dangerous. “And reforged.”The elder dipped her head. “Yes.”Even though the fire at my back was warm, I felt a chill."What is meant by that?" I asked. As though considering how much to say, she let out a deep
The gathering had ended, but the weight of it hadn’t lifted off from me. Everything was replaying back in my head. The words. I walked through the quiet corridors of the pack, my mind replaying every word, every glance from the pack members, and of course every doubt cast on my name. Questions filled my mind, yet I couldn't get a response. The doubts that had built up in me.A traitor’s daughter.I tightened my hands at my sides.My father was many things, but a traitor? No. That was a lie. There had to be. I nearly ran into someone as I rounded a corner too abruptly.Kelvin.He reached out and took hold of my arms to support me. He touched me too warmly. Where he held me, my skin pricked, and the familiar tug of our link hummed in the air between us. I wanted to pull away from him, get his hand off me but he held me tightly.“You’re burning up,” he murmured, gently pulling off from me. I pulled away fastly, ignoring the way my body protested against it. “I’m fine.” I replied sharply.
I was surprised to see how many people there were. The gathered wolves were bathed in golden light from the torches that dotted the clearing's perimeter. Alphas gathered in groups, followed closely by their Betas, while warriors dotted the edges, keeping watch like sentries. I had grown up seeing gatherings like this from afar—when my father was still alive, still Alpha. But I had never stood at the center of one. Until now.Logan stood at my right, steady as ever. On my left was Kelvin, who was more subdued but just as powerful. Both of them remained silent despite the tension between them crackling like a live wire. Not here. Not now.Alpha Gareth, the Ironclaw pack's leader, appeared out of the crowd. He was old enough to have known my father, yet his face was one of mistrust mixed with curiosity rather than friendliness.He shouted, his voice echoing over the crowd. "You survived. And not just survived—changed.”There was no question. I looked him in the eye. “Yes.”There were mu
Before the sun rose, the murmurs began. The weight of invisible eyes and the wary feet of scouts who believed I would not detect them following me were things I felt more than I heard. They whispered my name in the wind, as though uttering it too loudly may call forth something they were not prepared to deal with.Rachael survived.Rachael changed.Some said it like a prayer. Others like a warning.I kept my hood up as we walked toward the gathering site, the morning mist curling around our boots. Logan walked on my right, Kelvin on my left, their steps measured, quiet. They weren’t speaking to each other, which I supposed was a mercy. The last thing I needed today was them tearing into each other when the entire supernatural world was already deciding whether I was a savior or a threat.Ahead, a massive clearing stretched out, packed with wolves. Alpha Erik stood at the center, his silver hair glinting under the pale sun, his posture stiff with something I couldn’t quite read. He was
Kelvin's hands were warm against my flesh, at the touch and he was kind as he put a moist towel over the cut on my shoulder. I mourned silently, the pain from the cut and, other than his steady breathing and the distant crackle of the fire, the cave was silent. The night was quiet outside. It seemed odd, as if no one else knew what we had lost. I should have pulled away. I should have told him no. However, I didn't. I let him touch me, let him clean the wounds I barely felt anymore. My body ached, but my heart ached worse. And the hairpin he gave me sat heavy on my lap, a fragile piece of silver that had somehow survived the flames when everything else had turned to ash.Kelvin dipped the cloth into the bowl of water again, his expression unreadable as he cleaned my wound.“Did you keep it all this time?” he asked, in a low voice. I swallowed hard. “Yes.” As he lifted my wrist, his fingertips stroked my arm, removing the dried blood from the area around my knuckles. I should have been