CLAUDE
My father had to be going out of his mind. I knew he'd feel me, feel that I was alive-an Alpha always knew-but I wasn't in our territory anymore. Not in werewolf territory at all. He wouldn't be able to reach me, wouldn't be able to find me.
"Tell me about them," Nikolai said, his tone softer than before. Like he was trying to anchor me, to keep me from slipping into the past.
I glanced at him, surprised. "I thought we were supposed to keep our private lives to ourselves."
He laughed, a low, warm sound that sent a ripple through the ache in my chest. "We're not on the ship anymore, Claude. No contract, no rules. Just you and me."
I hesitated, then sighed. "There isn't much to tell. I'm an only child. My mother died when I was young." The words felt brittle on my ton
