CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX
The underbrush snaps beneath my boots as I follow the winding game trail, my senses on high alert. The scent of pine and damp earth fills the air, but there's an undertone of something else that I can't quite place. It's been weeks since Alec started avoiding me, his presence in the pack a constant shadow that never comes too close. I can feel the space where he should be, an ache that never fully recedes.
"Watch your step here," Dean's voice is low, barely above a whisper, but it cuts through the quiet forest like a knife.
"Thanks," I murmur back, sidestepping a gnarled root protruding from the ground.
My eyes flicker to him briefly, noting the way the sunlight dapples across his broad shoulders. He moves with a grace that belies his size, every motion deliberate. It
