HAZEL
It’s been a full month since Anthony walked through the northern gate and turned my carefully ordered world upside down. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop, for the restlessness to win, for the drifter in him to pack up and vanish into the horizon. But he’s still here. Every morning he wakes up beside me, every evening he comes back from patrol smelling of pine and frost, every night he pulls me close like I’m the only anchor he’s ever trusted.
As much as I want to deny it, mostly to maintain my dignity as an Alpha, Anthony has been a pure delight.
The pack started with suspicion, then grudging tolerance, and now, impossibly closer to fondness. The juveniles trail him like ducklings, begging for more of his ridiculous “ancient secret techniques.” Rob and Lena trade coffee w
