He trailed off, and I reached for his hand.
"The fire," I said softly. "You lost them in the fire."
"Yes." His voice was rough. "Mother told me run. Take brother and run. I was seven — just pup. Barely old enough to hunt alone." He swallowed hard. "Didn't understand. Just knew... run."
"What happened to your brother?" Rowan asked gently.
Fao's hand tightened on mine. "Don't know. We got separated. Smoke, fire, screaming... couldn't find him. I ran. Kept running. Never—" His voice broke. "Never found him. Don't know if he survived. Don't know if anyone..."
"Fao..." I shifted closer, wrapping my arms around him.
"Twenty-one years," he said quietly. "Twenty-one years alone. No pack. No family. No one to tell me anything. Just... wolf. Running. Surviving." He pressed his face into my hai
