SAVANNAH
The scene changed.
My mother walking through Blackwood's small town center, me toddling at her side, both of us dressed in worn but clean clothes. Men's eyes following her, their expressions making something cold settle in my chest even through the memory.
"Look at that—Santiago's leftover. Heard she's raising his pup alone."
"Bet she's lonely at night. Might be willing to share that sweet omega ass if asked nicely."
My mother's face rigid, pretending not to hear as she hurried us along.
Me playing alone in a dirt yard, maybe three years old. Two older boys with identical faces watching from a distance—Caleb and Kalel, I realized with a jolt. They were maybe nine or ten, already showing the feral grace of born wolves.
Neither approached. Neither played with the strange, qui
