We move through the trees without speaking.
Not because there’s nothing left to say—but because everything we haven’t said feels heavier than words. The forest presses in around us, dense and green, summer thick in the air. Leaves brush my arms as I follow Asher’s lead, my steps quieter now, more deliberate. I listen to the rhythm of the woods, the subtle shifts in sound and scent that no longer blur together the way they used to.
I don’t ask where we’re going.
I already know.
Not the exact location—but the direction. Toward answers. Toward the thing that’s been tugging at me since I overheard the pack meetings, since I realized everyone around me knows more about my life than I do.
Asher glances back once, just long enough to confirm I’m still there. His jaw is tight. His shoulders a
