Thumper POV We had arrived to a decent size camp sight after running for a small while from the training grounds. Climbing down from Dominic’s wolf, I immediately saw Kelly stepping away from the soft goat-cream colored tent behind her. She was walking toward me in a long robe, but the nervousness written across her face was impossible to miss. And for reasons I couldn’t fully explain… I didn’t feel ready to hear her. I was trying — truly trying — to maintain a good connection with Anna. She had been honest with me from the start. She never pretended this life would be easy, never sugar-coated the reality I had stepped into. She warned me. Told me this path would be different, difficult… yet worth every struggle. Still, my mind felt heavy. Too many expectations. Too many emotions.

