Howl To My Heart

pine, nostalgia, and my brother's co

ame rickety "Welcome Home!" sign leaned at the town border, still missing an "e," so it read, W lcome Ho

e steering wheel and mutte

ause apparently I talk to

t was trying to mock m

thanks,

y escape route during teenage rebellion phases. Jamie, my older brother, was standing there waiting for me, grinning like

d, bounding down the steps like an ove

e scene. "Don't sound so surprised. You invited me to your mating c

ore I could dodge. "

is romantic?" I shot back, but hugged him anyway. Be

of cedar and happiness. I smel

veiled curiosity, their smiles polite but their noses twitching. Omegas weren't exactly

the kitchen counter like some witchy oracle in a cardigan. Her gray curls were pinned

spread of food she'd already laid out.

e made you thinner and snarkier. B

d softly, "The Moon always brings back th

wn my spine. "That sounds v

t smiled

-

g heavy and full, casting silver through the pines. The forest smelled like rain and memory.

mega instinct in

N

o

was impossib

Black

lowed by the slam of a janitor's closet door an

his father died, he'd taken over as Alpha of the Blackthorn Pack, the same pack t

g my arms. "Just what I needed.

nd of footsteps on

d deeper now, roughened wit

lver edges along his jaw. His black hair was shorter than I remembered, his eyes still the

did an unh

said with a forced smil

most a smirk. "Still g

ot that e

red uneasily, recognizing something I didn't want to acknowledge. His scent c

ce dropping. "You shouldn't be out

t's the worst that could happe

et, humorless laug

thing that made my wolf push forward,

ecause I didn't come here to relive bad memories.

d softly. "We'll

angled, mine and his. And suddenly, my wolf howled inside

N

no,

ldn't be

htly, his pupils dilating. He i

ered, heart hammering. "Yo

most reverent. "Fate's got a cr

me screaming in denial. "No. No

med between us, und

brushed my cheek. "River Quinn," he mur

hat, my world ti