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“We need to get you back to the house,” Kane says instead of answering. “It’s not safe out here. If he found you, others will too.”

“There’s more of them?” Fear makes my voice crack.

“Yes,” Finn answers simply. “Your scent carries far now that you’ve been claimed. It draws them.”

“Like moths to a fucking flame,” Jace adds, grimacing as he prods at his healing wound.

Kane stands, offering me his hand. “Come. We can talk more about it when we’re safely behind walls.”

I stare at his outstretched hand, smeared with dryingblood. Part of me wants to refuse, to demand answers now, to scream at him for everything he’s kept from me. However, the dead wolf lying a few feet away is a stark reminder of the dangers that lurk in these woods.

I take his hand and let him pull me to my feet. My legs are unsteady, and my mind is still struggling to process everything I’ve seen and heard. Kane’s arm slides around my waist, supporting me as we begin walking back toward the house.

“What happens to him?” I ask, glancing back at the silver wolf’s body.

“We’ll burn it,” Finn says, his voice devoid of emotion. “No trace can remain.”

I nod numbly, letting Kane guide me through the forest. My mind keeps replaying the silver wolf’s words about my father.

As we walk, another thought forms, heavy and terrifying in its implications. My hand drifts unconsciously to my stomach, flat and unchanged beneath the sundress. After last night’s claiming, after taking Kane’s knot, after being filled with his seed again and again- I could be carrying his child right now. A baby wolf. A pup, as they call it.

The weight of this realization makes my steps falter. Kane’s arm tightens around me, steadying me without question. He thinks it’s the shock of the attack, the revelation about my father. He doesn’t know that I’m imagining my body changing, swelling with his child, becoming a mother to a species I didn’t even know existed until yesterday.

twenty-six

. . .

Kane

Moonlight streams through the living room window, and I gaze out at the night, unable to shake thoughts of Mia’s close call. The werewolf had cornered her, and her scent had turned bitter with terror. Despite everything, Mia had never been afraid of me like that.

I don’t like that anyone has made her feel that way.

My instincts rage within me. Mia has become important to me in a way I never thought possible. Her smile, her tantalizing honey scent, the way her body feels against mine—it ignites a fierce protectiveness in me.

The only solution is to keep Mia safe. By any means necessary.

The fire crackles in the fireplace, but I barely feel its warmth. Soon, I’ll need to make some tough decisions.

I sense Jace and Finn’s return before they even walk through the door. Their hair is windswept and messy, their eyes wild.

“Perimeter check produced nothing,” Finn states calmly. “No sign of any alpha. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t planning something.”

Jace remains silent, lost in thought. I want to make a joke about him never being this quiet, but it feels like it would fall flat.

There’s been a strange tension between us since we found Mia. We messed up by letting her venture into the forest alone. We should have insisted on accompanying her or kept her here in the house. Now, we’re all blaming ourselves for the oversight.

“We really should do something,” Jace says.

I turn back toward the window and let out a deep sigh. “We need to prepare for the worst.”

“Agreed,” Finn replies.

“I’m weighing the benefits of heading back to the safe house in the city. It might not be safe here anymore, especially now that they have Mia’s scent,” I say.

Finn nods. I know he has likely already considered this option. I had installed the highest quality security features at the house in the city; it was nearly impenetrable.

“Do you think she’ll come with us?” Jace asks.