Night settled heavily over Hale’s Crest.
The snowstorm that had raged through the mountains during their journey had softened into a gentle flurry, drifting like pale feathers past the tall windows of the pack house. Most wolves had already turned in or were rotating through late-night patrols, restoring order now that their Alpha had returned.
But Rowan didn’t sleep.
He doubted he could, even if he tried.
He walked the quiet hallway outside Holly’s room, each step deliberate and silent. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust his pack’s safety—it was the way Holly’s scent still clung to his clothes. The way her voice from earlier replayed in his mind. The way she looked at him when she whispered “thank you.”
Asher prowled restlessly just beneath Rowan’s skin.
We should be inside with her. Wa
