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Couldn’t change the wayKieran Montgomerydisappeared in the dead of night without a trace, without a goodbye, without so much as a whisper of warning to the pack that worshipped him—or the son who idolized him.

Couldn’t erase the shame of being the boy who had to step into the shoes of a man the whole town still spoke of like he’d been a god walking among wolves.

Jace had carried the silence of his father’s absence like a brand, a constant reminder that even the strongest could vanish. That legacies could rot from the inside. That trust was a blade that cut deeper than any enemy's claw.

He remembered the whispers,he wasn’t ready. Too young. Too raw.

The weight of having to prove them wrong over and over, every damn day.

He wasn’t afraid of claiming power. He’d already done that.

What terrified him was becoming just like the man who left it all behind.

Disappointing the people who looked to him to lead. Abandoning a mate the way his mother had been left. Loving someone so completely… then breaking them because he couldn’t stay.

That was the cycle he feared.

And maybe he could stop it. But only if he was brave enough to be more than what his father had been.

And the first step?

Stop letting fear do the talking.

23

LYRA

The envelope was sleek.

Creamy parchment, sealed with silver wax, the Wolfe family crest stamped into the center like something from a too-formal fairy tale. Lyra found it wedged beneath her front door just after sunrise, still dewy from the morning mist, and too bold to be a mistake.

She opened it before she even poured her first cup of tea.

Miss Ravenshade,

I would be honored to escort you to this evening’s Moonlight Festival. Allow me to provide a proper welcome to Celestial Pines.

With respect,

Ezra Wolfe

Her first reaction wasn’t surprise.

It was spite.

“Unbelievable,” she muttered, tossing the card onto her kitchen table like it burned.

Milo, perched on the windowsill and watching the fog burn off the streets below, didn’t bother turning around. “He’s persistent. I’ll give him that.”

“He’s poking the bear.”

“Or the wolf.”

Lyra narrowed her eyes. “Don’t.”

He turned then, ears flicking. “You’re not seriously considering it, are you?”

She stared at the card.