Aaron’s POV
I didn’t drive fast when I left Maeve’s place.
Didn’t crawl either.
The road out forced patience whether I wanted it or not...narrow, uneven, scarred by years of neglect and weather. The kind of road that punished distraction. One wrong turn of the wheel and you’d end up in a ditch, broken axle, broken pride.
I kept both hands on the wheel. Eyes forward. Jaw locked so tight it throbbed.
Leaving her felt wrong in a way I didn’t have language for.
I’d walked away from blood on my hands before. From pack funerals where I stood straight and silent while families shattered in front of me. I’d given orders that sent men into fights they didn’t come back from...and I’d lived with every name carved into memory afterward.
None of that followed me like this did.
Because Maeve had
