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WREN

My heart hammered against my ribs as I stared at Puck. I couldn’t read his expression, and there was none of his typical mirth or playfulness. Everything about him read: guarded.

I steeled myself and nodded. “Okay.”

Puck didn’t touch me, just gestured for me to follow him across the hall and into the kitchen. A heavier sensation settled into my stomach with each step I took, all sorts of scenarios taking root in my mind. The worst involved Puck rejecting me for good.

My wolf bared her teeth at that. Her solution was to simply bite him so he was ours forever. But it wasn’t that simple, and I’d never take away someone’s choice—their free will. Because it had been done to me too many times to count.

I crossed to the island, leaning against it in case I needed something solid to prop me up.

Puck cleared his throat. “Your stomach. Is it okay? ”

For a second, I thought he meant the heaviness there, but then I remembered the wound. I lifted my tee to reveal my belly. The usual scarred flesh crisscrossed my stomach, but this injury was hardly deep at all. It would fade into nothing. Even now, it was little more than a red line.

Puck’s blond brows pulled together in confusion. “That’s too fast. How?—?”

“The mating bond.” My voice dropped. “I was, um, close to Brix, so it healed faster than normal.”

Puck’s lips twitched. “Close, huh? Is that what the kids are calling it these days?”

I choked on a laugh, but my cheeks heated.

“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about, Birdie. It’s natural that you want to be with him. With all of us.”

My gaze lifted, taking him in. Memories of the past few weeks with Puck drifted through my mind. His kindness with my migraines, how he cooked for me, how he made me laugh. “And what do you want?”

Puck stared at me, pain flashing in his green eyes. “I swore I’d never be in another relationship.”

“Another?” My voice cracked as I spoke the word, jealousy flooding me. It wasn’t fair. I knew we all had pasts, even if mine was nothing but a blip. It was natural for wolves to seek out sexual touch. But something about how Puck spoke the words told me this was different.

He shifted, his gaze moving away from me and toward the windows. He stared out at the forest, no words coming for a moment. “My family comes from a royal line in Britain.”

I blinked a few times. “Like you’re the prince of England?”

Puck chuckled, but there was no humor in it. “Not those royals. Wolf royalty. My father runs the oldest pack in the United Kingdom. Quite a lot of power and wealth comes with that.”

I’d bet. My father had become a less prestigious sort of royal—a bayou royal. One who’d taken his power and riches by force. But it was a legacy all the same.

“I am his eldest son,” Puck went on. “The next in line to the throne.”

My fingers curved around the countertop’s edge, holding on for dear life. “That has to come with a lot of pressure.”

Puck kept staring at the trees like they held all the answers he needed. “It’s funny. I didn’t feel that growing up. My world was just…easy. I didn’t think about what my future held until I turned thirteen and my father started training me.”

My stomach sank as I remembered the sort of training my father took his wolves through, the kind he put me through.

Puck’s gaze flicked to me for a moment. “Nothing horrible. Just the usual fare. Hand-to-hand. Weapons. Battle strategy. We spent a lot of time together. I didn’t notice that it changed how my siblings looked at me.”

“You have brothers and sisters?” I asked. I’d often longed for a sibling, wishing so desperately for someone to weather the storm with.

Puck nodded, true grief settling in his features. “One of each. But my younger brother wasn’t pleased that I was to take on the role of alpha.”

I sucked in a breath so sharp it stabbed. Power struggles in packs were far from unheard of, but when it came within families, there was an extra dose of agony. “Did he challenge you?”

Puck scoffed. “No. He knew he would lose. So, he made a grab for power another way.”

My stomach twisted, but still I asked, “How?”

“When I was twenty-four, and he was twenty-two, a friend of Father’s came to stay with us with his family. He had a daughter. We knew she was a potential for us both the moment we met her.”

I bit the inside of my cheek as jealousy flared again. A potential mate. Someone Puck could’ve chosen to spend the rest of his very long supernatural life with and have pups with .

“Alice seemed taken with us both, interested in us both. I told Theo maybe this was our chance. To have a bond between the three of us. To rule together.”

The twisting in my belly turned to a sick, foreboding feeling. “What happened?” I whispered.

A muscle in Puck’s jaw began to flutter. “He agreed. I should’ve seen that he did it far too readily. We both began to spend time with Alice. Apart. Together. But I should’ve seen that he sought her out more than I did.”

Puck’s throat worked as he swallowed. “One night, she came to my room with wine. Poured us both a glass. I didn’t notice the feeling of being out of it until it was too late. Until Theo showed up and demanded a challenge right then.”

“She drugged you?” I snapped. Weakening someone before a challenge was the lowest of the low.

Puck jerked his head in a nod. “I had no choice but to accept. My mother wept and begged Theo to recant, but he wouldn’t. I had no choice but to fight him.”

“And you won,” I surmised.

Puck’s green gaze had no life in it now. “I killed him. I killed my brother. Because he refused to submit. And he knew that he’d never get the throne, the alpha position, so it was the only way to defeat me. And he did. I left Britain. Left the pack. My sister will lead them now. She’s smarter than the rest of us anyway.”

“You don’t see your family?”

“No,” he croaked. “Too many demons there.”

“And Alice?” I spat her name like the vile disease she was.

Puck shrugged. “Left with her family, I’m sure to manipulate some other poor sap.”

Understanding swept over me, pain rushing in along with it. “And you never wanted to go down the mate road again.”

“No. I swore never again.”

I stared at Puck, not moving from my spot. “Do you think I’m like her? ”

The pain in his eyes intensified. “I know you’re not. But that doesn’t mean you don’t have the power to hurt me—in a million different ways.”

I moved then, crossing to him. I wanted to touch him so badly, but I knew I didn’t have that right, not yet. Because the moment I touched Puck, the bond would strengthen, bringing us closer together. Instead, I put all the feelings I had into my words.

“And you could hurt me in a million different ways. We will hurt each other. That’s life. But we will also do whatever it takes to make it right. And I promise I will never intentionally cause you pain. I will never try to steal your happiness.”

Puck searched my eyes, emotion swimming in his. “Wren.”

My name on his lips was like a caress as he moved closer. His head bent, his mouth just a breath away from mine.

“I wouldn’t do that, brother.” Ender’s voice was colder than I had ever heard it. “Unless you want a snake in your bed.”

I whirled around, confusion and hurt bleeding into my expression.

He glared at me, those amber eyes flashing gold. But not a gold of attraction or warmth. It was rage.

“What the hell are you going on about, End?” Puck demanded. “You need to stop with this vendetta against her.”

“Do I?” Ender sneered, but his eyes never left mine. “Because I just got a call from a contact. And they know exactly who Wren is. The bastard daughter of Bastian Boudreaux. The alpha of the Red River pack.”