Vanc

had known Elian Thorne. I shouldn't have been there. The future Alpha did not attend the funerals of Omegas who died in accidents. But the cold, hol

oak, as an Elder placed a simple, unadorned wooden urn on the

t. The moment the first words left his lips, the pain slammed into me. It was physical. Vicious. A clawed hand reached inside

bundle of painstakingly gathered moonpetal herbs. A traditional offering. Not to me, but to my family, a gesture of respect for the Alpha line.

frail, quiet Omega, and I had felt nothing but a flicker of pity and annoyance. I'd dismissed him coolly, told him not to waste his affec

" the Elder intoned, his hands raised

at shattered every defense I had. My inner wolf, silent since I'd woken to the dust on my windowsill, let out a howl. It made no sound, but it tore through m

at

es grew breathless after a simple chore. It wasn't weakness. It was decay. The legends the Elders spoke of in hushed tones, the warnings I had never believed, slammed into me

was still warm. Consumed by a regret so absolute it was a form of madness, I clutched the ashes to my chest, tilted my head back, and sc

ssolved into

*

ts and shouts of young wolves, the crack of wooden practice staffs hitting shields. I was on my feet, standing on the familiar dirt of the y

a jarring shock. I saw Drake Easton, his grin as infuriating as I remembered it at seventeen, waving me over. I ignored hi

en I s

still painfully shy, his movements lacking the confidence of the others. Elian. His light brown h

g I remembered was the crushing agony of a shattered soul, the cold weig

, ignoring Drake's confused call of my name. The other trainees fell silent as I passed, their eyes following

ched, his head bowing, his gaze dropping to the dirt in a perfect, ingrained display of submission

e faint scent of his fear mingled with something else, something I had

tice staff from his hands. My fingers wrapped over his

ll-tale sign of a mate bond making its first contact. I saw Elian gasp,

is hand possessively covering the boy's. I leaned in close, ignoring the shocked gasps from onlookers, and inhaled his scent-the scen

ine