Talia POV
Talia knew when she woke up that today was different.
The certainty settled into her bones before thought followed—quiet, steady, unarguable. Today was the day she would see her mate again.
Her pups were restless, rolling and shifting beneath her ribs, as if they sensed it too. Kaela paced in partial shift along the narrow length of the cabin, claws clicking softly against the floorboards, tail flicking with restrained energy. Not anxious. Anticipatory.
Yet beneath the certainty, something tugged.
Unfinished.
Talia slowly stood, one hand braced against the table as she listened inward. The bond with Lucian hummed—warm, patient, waiting—but another pull threaded beneath it, faint and insistent, like a voice she couldn’t quite hear.
She turned, scanning the small cabin.
Eve
