Derek showed up on a Tuesday.No warning. No call. He simply appeared at the North Ridge pack house gate in the late afternoon, and because the gate guard was new and did not yet know to turn away South Ridge Alphas on sight, he was inside the courtyard before anyone thought to tell Julian.Claire was in the garden when she heard his voice.She had been sitting on the low stone bench by the east wall, reading, using the last of the afternoon light before the clinic's evening session. She heard Derek's voice from the main entrance — the particular carrying quality of it, that public-Alpha projection he used when he wanted to be heard and managed — and her whole body recognized it before her mind caught up, an old, involuntary response like flinching from heat.She set the book down and stood.She did not flinch.He found her in the garden two minutes later, and for a moment he just stood at the garden entrance looking at her — at the dark dress she wore, at the silver ring, at the way
Last Updated : 2026-05-01 Read more