The den felt different after the circle.
The air still carried traces of the pack's distant howls, the smoke from the torches, the raw scent of our public claiming. Inside the stone walls, the fire burned low and steady, casting warm shadows across the furs where I lay curled between the alphas. My body ached in layers: the deep stretch from the double knot, the bruises blooming on my hips and thighs, the tender rim that still fluttered every time I shifted. Slick and c*m had dried in places, leaving sticky trails I could feel against my skin. The leather collar at my throat rubbed lightly whenever I swallowed. A constant, quiet reminder.
I had not spoken much since we returned. Words felt too heavy. Too small for what had happened.
Thorne sat against the wall, one knee drawn up, arms r
