I walked until the pack house disappeared behind the trees.
The forest felt different from the northern mountains where I had trained. Softer. More familiar. Every path tugged at old memories I had spent three years trying to bury. I kept moving anyway, needing the motion, needing the space to think without Asher’s golden eyes on me or the weight of those archived pages pressing against my thoughts.
He had rejected me to save me.
The bond was something older and more dangerous than either of us had understood.
My sister knew the truth and had taken it to a rival pack.
I stopped beside a narrow stream and crouched to splash cold water on my face. The shock of it helped. I stayed there for a long time, listening to the water and the wind moving through the leaves above me.
Part of me s
