Annie's POV:
Jasper walked me home through the empty square.
The torches had burned down to embers. The moon was high and thin, and our footsteps were the only sound in the pack lands. I kept my eyes on the ground—felt him slow his pace to match mine, the way he had done on the road to the camp.
"Jasper." I stopped at the edge of the square, where the path to my cabin turned off. "Thank you, for everything—for what you said to Elena, for what you did in the square, for what you did tonight."
"Enough." His voice was gentle. "You don't have to thank me."
"I do." I looked at him. "You're the Beta of this pack. You're going to marry a wolfless widow with another man's pup. They're going to laugh at you, Jasper—to your face, behind your back, for the rest of your life. And none of it is yo
