Caleb's POV:
“I stayed down like a fool, my skin bruised, my heart aching, fear rippling through my skin. My wolf was gone… I knew it... I was crying, and she never came back,” Elena said, her voice trembling despite her obvious effort to keep it steady. Her fingers twisted together in her lap, knuckles pale. “My father… resented me for that. Like somehow it was my mistake that my wolf refused to come out.”
“No,” I whispered before I could stop myself. The sound came out rough, broken. “No. That’s not—”
“I don’t know,” she interrupted softly, shifting closer, her shoulder brushing mine. Like she was seeking comfort from my touch. “I believed it. I still believe it.”
“Oh…”
The word felt useless the second it left my mouth.
She took a breath. “My father was a gamma. A warrior. One of t
