I spent three days not saying the word.
It’s easier than it sounds. Language is cooperative when you’re motivated enough. You can circle a word forever,describe everything around it, list its effects, its history, its consequences, without ever letting it land. I’ve been doing exactly that since returning to Silverwood. I was very good at it.
I was not his mate.
I was adjusting to pack reintegration. A stress response. An emotionally complicated reunion with someone important from my childhood. A reasonable reaction to learning my parents were murdered, my bloodline had value, and the man who had protected me for four years was.....
The thought sharpened, and I shut it down.
“You’re doing the face,” Mia said.
We were in the kitchen. She moved with calm efficiency, making tea like it
