a's

dinner with Connor. The pack had been anticipating his return from Alpha tr

he had said, her tone as cutting as always. "Lila has worked hard to make sur

led with voices. I could hear Lila laughing in the living room with her fri

he beautiful, accomplished one, and he, the st

in the air. I couldn't explain it. There was a strange pull

d toward the source of the chang

en I s

nn

scanning the room like he was surveying a kingdom. The pack members gathered around him, greeting

the briefest of moments, ever

sent a shiver down my spine. It was as if the universe itself was whisperi

a hard line. The room seemed to grow still a

could

en hers. They'd been inseparable since they were children, and I had

Connor mutter, his voice strained as h

mother appeared from nowhere, her eyes narrowing wh

ice low but filled with venom. "Leave. Now. Go

n, his voice loud and unwavering, ca

nreadable but hard, as if he had made a decision. "

ing about? What was going on? The air see

ng for the right words. "I reject you. A

. My breath caught in my throat. I could feel the bond that had begun to form b

t it didn't matter. The pain that seared through me was too much to bear. My chest constricted, and I wa

e stood there, her face twisted with dis

e never belonged anywhere. Maybe it's time you just leave and never come

eep, suffocating ache filled my chest, and I knew, without

into the cold night air. The pack house behind me felt like a prison, and the darkness of the woods

l I could no longer see the flickering lights of the house in the distance. My breath

I kept moving, pushing through the ache i

tarting to dip beneath the horizon. I didn't know where

nder the dim light of the alley. I've been carrying it for over a wee

ction, the years of abuse, the suffocating wei

ng with the promise of finality. For the first time in years, I felt

ncrete pressed against my skin. I could feel my heart sl

rld spinning, becoming a distant memory. The last thought I had