"Do you even know what you're asking me to believe?" Ayla's voice shook, at once with anger, the vulnerability that she'd worked hard to entomb within her. She paced the length of the room while Ethan stood in the doorway, his face shadowed by regret.
"I know I hurt you, Ayla," he whispered, his eyes not budging from hers. "And I know that I am the last person you want to trust right now. But we are running out of time. The pups... we have to find them before it is too late."
Ayla went still, her eyes closing a moment as a wave of pain washed over her. Taking a steadying breath, she turned to him, her face unreadable. "You think I don't know that? Every moment they're out there, I feel it Ethan. It's like a part of me is missing." Her voice was softer now, almost broken. "But trust
