His Penitence

CHAPTER TWO

I woke up to the muffled sounds of voices downstairs. I don't even remember how I got home. Home? Can I even call this place home anymore? Home is where love is; where she is, but I killed her.

A couple of days have passed since mom's funeral and it's finally my birthday. I haven't been in a good place lately. I don't even leave my room.

The moon hangs low, red and burning, like it knows what tonight is. My hands won’t stop trembling, but it’s not from fear. It’s like something inside me is waking up, clawing its way out.

I stumbled into the forest behind the pack house. The earth hums beneath my bare feet. My heart pounds, but my chest feels too small to hold it.

Then it starts, a snap. Deep in my spine, like a firework exploding through my bones.

I fall to my knees with a scream, the world spins, my skin ripples, stretching, reshaping. The pain is everywhere searing, wild, but underneath it is freedom.

Fur sprouts along my arms, my nails stretch into claws. I hear everything; the wind, the whisper of a bird blinking. My senses sharpen like knives.

And when it’s done, I stand on four legs, chest heaving, my mismatched eyes glowing.

The moon calls to me, and this time, I answer.

The forest is still, but inside my head I can feel movement.

A whisper. Soft, but steady.

"Penny”,

I freeze. My ears twitch. That voice isn’t mine… not exactly.

"You finally let me out."

It’s warm, deep, almost like a purr wrapped in thunder, my wolf.

"Who are you?" I ask, but not out loud. The words echo between us.

"I am you, the part buried in you, I'm Ivy your wolf”,

Emotion floods me; mine and hers, all at once. Sadness, rage, power.

She’s been there all along… waiting.

"You’re never alone now," she says. "Not anymore."

And for the first time since Mom died… I believe her.

The night air buzzes with energy. The pack circles around me, paws pounding the earth, eyes gleaming gold under the moon.

I’m nervous. Still figuring out these legs, this body. But then I hear it, the Alpha’s howl; deep, raw, commanding.

Something inside me responds, before I even think, I’m running.

The forest flies past in a blur of trees and wind. My heart races with theirs, my paws hitting the dirt like thunder. The scent of the wild, the rhythm of the run, consumes me.

Laughter bubbles up inside, but it’s not with my voice. It’s hers; my wolf. Free, wild, and alive.

We run faster, together.

And for the first time in forever… I feel like I belong.

We were still running when I scent him.

It hits me mid-stride, warm spice, cedarwood, a pull that grips my chest and won’t let go.

I skid to a halt on instinct. The rest of the pack charged ahead, but I couldn’t move.

Then I see him. Emerging from the trees like he was carved by the moon goddess herself, a gorgeous brown wolf with white streaks, piercing blue eyes locked on mine. His wolf is massive.

Everything else fades: the howls, the wind, the night. Just me and him.

"Mate”

His voice echoes in my head, low and sure.

My wolf goes still, silent for a heartbeat… then purrs.

"Ours”

“Wait a minute”, communicating with Ivy, who is too busy purring “I know that wolf.”

We shift back at the same time. I stumble, breathless, bare under the moonlight and stunned.

He steps closer, eyes never leaving mine.

I stared at him, my heart refusing to settle.

That scent, that bond, there's no denying it. He’s mine, suddenly everything inside me recoils.

Devin.

The Future Alpha, the boy who made my life hell alongside his girlfriend who used to laugh when I tripped, sneered when I cried, and calls me a bastard completely unprovoked.

He looks stunned for half a second. Then that familiar smirk creeps in.

“Of course,” he mutters. “The Moon Goddess has a messed-up sense of humor.”

“You?” I whispered, “No, No way.”

“This has to be a fuvking joke” he says.

My wolf paces, ready to lunge, ready to love. That’s the cruel part, the bond wants him, craves him.

But I remember.

And I don’t forgive that easily.