Page 28

Outside, the summer afternoon hung heavy with humidity as they dug three graves at the edge of the clearing. Maya worked methodically, sweat beading across her forehead. She noticed how the others arranged themselves—always keeping her within someone's sightline, usually Kieran's.

"So, your pack dynamics," Maya ventured, driving her shovel into the soft earth. "They're hierarchical like natural wolves, but more complex, I'm guessing?"

Damon exchanged a look with Kieran before answering. "The Silvercrest pack is one of the oldest and most traditional. Rigid hierarchy, absolute obedience to the Alpha—Kieran's father."

"And humans?" Maya asked, watching their faces carefully.

"Tolerated at best, eliminated at worst," Malcolm said bluntly, ignoring Kieran's warning look. "The older generation believes interaction with humans threatens our survival."

"Hence your predicament," Lena added, arranging stones around the first completed grave. "By traditional shifter law, you shouldn't be standing here breathing right now."

"Yet here I am," Maya said, meeting Kieran's intense gaze across the clearing. Something electric passed between them.

"Here you are," Kieran agreed, his voice dropping an octave.

They worked in focused silence until the graves were complete. As they carried the bodies out—Maya insisting on helping despite Kieran's protests—she absorbed their dynamics with the analytical precision that had earned her doctorate.

"The rebellion isn't just about human integration, is it?" she asked as they returned to the cabin. "It's about freedom from outdated shifter traditions and laws."

Lena's violet eyes sparkled with interest. "You understand quickly for someone who just learned we exist."

Maya shrugged, feeling a strange familiarity with their struggle she couldn't explain. "Evolution is necessary for survival. Any species that refuses to adapt?—"

"Dies out," finished Damon, regarding her with new respect.

"Exactly." Maya gestured to the group. "Your younger generation sees what the elders don't—isolation isn't protection anymore. It's extinction."

Kieran leaned against the cabin wall, his eyes never leaving her face. "And your scientific opinion, Dr. Collins? What would you prescribe for a species at this crossroads?"

Maya felt a flush creep up her neck under his intense scrutiny. "Controlled integration. Careful alliance-building. Preserving crucial traditions while discarding harmful ones."

"She sounds like one of us," Malcolm murmured.

"Perhaps she is, in her way," Lena whispered back, though Maya caught it with surprising clarity.

As daylight faded and they secured the cabin with surprising efficiency, the conversation shifted to lighter topics. Maya found herself laughing at Malcolm's impression of their father's perpetual scowl, while even Damon cracked occasional smiles.

"For someone who should be terrified, you're remarkably calm," Kieran observed later, approaching her as the others gathered firewood. His proximity sent her pulse racing in a way that had nothing to do with fear.

"I'm still processing everything," Maya admitted. "Two days ago, I was tracking wolves. Today I'm burying them after they tried to kidnap me. It's a lot."

Kieran's hand brushed her arm, leaving goosebumps in its wake. "You've earned my trusted pack members' respect. Not many humans could face all this with such..." He searched for the word.

"Scientific detachment?" she offered.

"Grace," he corrected, his eyes intensifying to a brilliant silver-blue that stole her breath. "Though I'm beginning to suspect there's nothing detached about you, Dr. Collins."

The way he said her title—like a caress rather than a formality—made heat pool low in her stomach. Maya swallowed hard, suddenly very aware of how his scent wrapped around her, woodsy and wild and distinctly male.

"Your wolf," she said, desperate to regain her analytical footing. "When you shifted to protect me—it was beautiful."

Something primal flashed across his features, and he stepped closer, invading her space in a way that should have frightened her but instead set her nerve endings on fire.

"Be careful with compliments like that," he warned as he put his hands on her waist. "My kind takes them very seriously."

Maya's breath hitched as she tilted her head up to meet his gaze, her analytical mind temporarily short-circuiting under the intensity of those silver-blue eyes. The air between them crackled with an electricity she couldn't explain through any scientific principle she'd ever studied.

The moment shattered as the cabin door swung open, bringing a rush of cool night air and five bodies laden with firewood. Damon entered first, his eyes immediately taking in their proximity with a raised eyebrow that made Maya's cheeks flush.