ASH

I watched the tail lights disappear into the trees, Maddie’s words still echoing in the charged silence. That went as well as could be expected. The pack didn’t need a new enemy in our territory.

But how had she slipped through unnoticed? How many more had there been—wolves forced through the Change without support, taken before we even knew they existed?

I paced outside after seeing Aaron and Maddie off. I was grateful, especially to Maddie, for thinking ahead with clothes and knowing how to make the transition smoother. But the thought of Luna returning to town, back to isolation, made my chest tighten.

That couldn’t happen.

Not again.

I wanted to shift. Run. Maybe find something—or someone to fight.

Just enough to bleed off the fury clawing at my chest. But with an unbonded mate inside, injured and afraid, that was too dangerous.

My wolf prowled just beneath the skin. He didn’t just want to protect her—he tried to claim, to cage, to keep.

I didn’t even know her yet. But I’d seen enough to know she was a survivor.

No pack. No preparation. No one to catch her when the world changed. Brutal.

Connor leaned against the doorframe. He waited a moment before speaking. “We have to tell her.”

“Will it help?”

“What’s your plan? Seduce her and hope she works it out?” He snorted, pushing off the frame and stepping closer. “You know she’ll bolt the second she can stand upright.”

“She’s too used to being alone,” I said, kicking a stone off the path. “That’s her normal. We’re the threat here.”

I turned back to him. “I thought the bond hit hard with Claire because we already loved her,” I admitted. “But this…” I rubbed my chest. “This is stronger. Like it’s been waiting.”

“I know.” He’d felt it too, a long time ago now. The ache. The pull. The need. Then, the absolute trauma of that bond being severed.

Just. Like. That.

In an instant.

The colour stripped from the world. Life as we knew it changed forever.

“And the stakes are higher now. We can’t repeat the past. I won’t survive that.”

Connor caught my arm. “Then don’t repeat it. But don’t put her in Claire’s shadow either. She’s not a ghost. She’s her own person. She deserves that much.”

I swallowed hard. “Do you blame me? For what happened with Claire?”

He let go. “I blame all of us. Her. Me. You. Our enemy. Doesn’t matter now.”

I hesitated. “What if she doesn’t accept the bond? What if she wants to leave?”

“She can’t,” he said simply. “It wouldn’t be safe, and I’ve seen the way she looks at you. She feels it.”

“What about you? Why hasn’t it hit you?” I asked rhetorically.

Connor didn’t flinch. “I don’t know, but we’ll figure it out. There’s more than one way to be a family.”

This was already testing me. My wolf was clawing for more, restless and raw.

“Our family comes first,” he said, as if reading my doubt. Then softer: “But I miss it. When it was good with Claire… it was perfect.”

I nodded, chest tight, I couldn't. “You take the lead. You’re softer.”

He gave me a look. “Don’t confuse soft with stupid.”

“I’m not.” I glanced toward the house. “Just don’t push her.”

We walked back in, and I stopped. It struck me to the heart how small and hurt she was, but as a wolf, she was healing quickly. After that buildup, she was asleep, so our talk would have to wait.