The pack celebration spilled from Chrome & Fang into the parking lot as night fell. Someone had started a bonfire, and wolves gathered around it in both human and wolf form, the atmosphere electric with relief and victory.
I sat on a picnic table, ribs wrapped tight under my borrowed shirt, watching Skyler move through the crowd. He was different now—still commanding, still powerful, but there was a lightness to him that hadn't existed before. He laughed at something Cole said, clasped Ronan's good shoulder, accepted congratulations with genuine humility.
"He looks happy," Mom said, settling beside me with two bottles of water. "Happier than I've ever seen him."
"The bond helps. He's not fighting it anymore."
"Neither are you." She handed me a bottle. "I'm proud of you, Wren. What you
