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His pointed words forced my soft underbelly over to the sun, into the light. I didn’t want to think about Baylark Pack. Even though they were underneath my skin, etched into my bones.

They wanted the Hartlock, not Tully.

I needed to be more than my name.

More than a tick on a guest list for some other pack to wield. A sour thought crossed my mind, and I shook it off. I hated thinking about when I saw Chase and he destroyed my world a second time. Lingering fury crackling deep in my stomach. It faded after seeing Walden laid low in the hospital bed, but hadn’t disappeared entirely.

“You can’t stay here forever, Tully.” Thorn scrubbed his hand down his face.

“I’ll leave in a minute, promise.” I was being deliberately obtuse.

He meant The Barracks. But thinking any further than thirty minutes into the future made my stomach cramp.

“I don’t get it. You could live in a mansion with the most eligible pack in the city. Instead, you’re sitting here with two broken Designated.”

Make that three.

“It’s not that simple. The lies, the omissions, cut so deep because they hit my insecurities in the worst place. How can I even think about joining a pack when I don’t know if they truly want me for who I am? Right now, I need to be single and work on myself.”

“Can’t relate. If I had a filthy rich pack desperate to bond me, I’d fall head first and haul ass to therapy on their credit card.”

I laughed, and they both joined in, but there was a strain in Clay’s tone. I narrowed my eyes. He was the kind of alpha who used humor to mask his problems.

“Are you ok?” There was a purr in the base of my throat for the man, but I didn’t let it out.

The sound belonged to a pack that didn’t deserve it. Thorn shrugged and flicked his eyes over to Clay with a heavy sigh. He wrapped his arms around himself, like the look cut too deep.

“My piano is out of action, again. I hate to disappoint the kids.”

“Oh, Clay.” I let out a noise of dismay, my shoulders slumped. Puck, in particular, would be devastated.

Thorn, sensing the tremulous shiver in Clay’s bottom lip, moved the conversation back to me. “I noticed you haven’t gone to see Mrs. Yarrow. She would be a good person to talk to about the lingering effects of what happened.”

“She’s the mother of my ex,” I grimaced.

Lloyd’s mother lived in The Barracks and I knew Puck would take me to see her if I asked. But the entire situation was like a bruise. It ached with each step I took.

Clay laughed. “And?”

My stomach twisted, and I shook my head. My phone buzzed again and this time, they heard it.

“Have you spoken to them since the hospital?”

“There is nothing to say.”

Clay jerked his head to my pocket. “Seems like they have plenty on their mind.”

“I replied to one message. Pan said he’s getting professional support for his sobriety. I had to tell him how proud I was, because it’s a huge step. But I don’t want to talk about them. I want to focus on this project.”

“You want distraction, you mean.” Clay’s laugh stung, and he covered my hand when he noticed my expression fall. “I’m not saying don't, just that I question your timing.”

Thorn sighed. “What's your goal with this?"

I’d been too afraid to stand up to the HLA when I was younger. Now there was a pull in my chest. A breath that filled my lungs. A sense of,finally,this is what I was meant to be doing.

“So little has changed since the HLA attacked The Barracks, it surprised me. I might not have grown up here, but my dad did and I have a connection to this place. My parents died trying to protect the people here.”

“The council didn't do enough,” Thorn said, but there was a flash of curiosity in his gaze as he nodded for me to go on.