His words hung there, raw and painful. I could see it in his eyes—the shame of admitting he couldn’t protect his pack and family, the guilt of sending his mate and children away. He swallowed hard, forcing himself to continue. “We tried to hold them back, to give the others time to escape. We fought with everything we had. And we won… somehow, we won. But when the dust settled, I went looking for my family.”
His voice broke completely now, and a single tear rolled down his cheek, catching the light. “I found her. My mate. Her body was… she was gone. But you two, my girls… I couldn’t find you. I searched, I screamed your names, but you were gone.”
My chest tightened as his words sank in. My mind spun, pulling me back to a dream I’d had the first night I arrived here. It was so vivid, so r
