Something that didn’t involve war or betrayal or bleeding out on the dirt.
His hand lay open between us. Palm up. Almost like he was waiting. I hadn’t taken it yet. Not because I didn’t want to. Because I wasn’t sure what it meant now.
When I’d reached through the bond back there, I hadn’t done it with hesitation. I hadn’t flinched. I’d claimed him. Staked everything I had on my ability to reach him through the chaos.
It worked.
But I could still feel the aftershocks—his guilt, his shame, the weight of every secret he hadn’t seen coming. The wolves he’d trusted. The ones he hadn’t.
And maybe…me. The thought scraped at my ribs.
“You’re still thinking too loud.” The voice was rough. Dry. But familiar.
I looked down. Wolfe’s eyes were open now—just barely. Silver mostly gone. Blue again, but one hell of a storm was coming by the looks of the dark shadows in his eyes. He looked exhausted but present.
I managed a small smile. “You’re still breathing. I call that a win.”
His brow twitched. “Well, that was fucked up.”
“Are you okay?”
“I didn’t know they were inside the Hollow,” he rasped. “I missed it.”
“You didn’t miss it,” I said quietly. “You put your faith in a pack that swore themselves to you.”
Silence.
“Then that was my first mistake,” he said, his voice tight with anger.
“No,” I said, firm now. “The mistake was thinking you had to do all of this alone.”
His throat worked around something unsaid. I reached over and slid my hand into his, lacing our fingers together.
“We didn’t know how deep it ran, but we do now.”
His fingers closed around mine—not weak, firm and sure. “I felt you,” he whispered. “Through the bond.” His eyes held mine. “I heard you.”
I swallowed, but I didn’t shy away from it. “I meant every word.”
A long pause, then he gave me a soft smile. “I know.”
Chapter 23
Wolfe
Everything was quiet.
Not the dangerous kind. Not the kind that came before a rogue strike or a betrayal. No, this quiet felt as if it was almost…obedient.
Did it mean that the pack was listening? Or were they simply waiting?
Either option made me uneasy. Listening to what? Waiting for who? Me? Was I the answer to both questions? I wish I knew.
I stood outside the dip in the land that would lead me into the heart of the Hollow, watching a thread of mist coil around the roots of the old ironwood trees. My wolf liked it here—liked the weight of the old magic in the earth, the way the air settled differently in this part of the mountains. But me?
I was restless.
Still coiled too tight from everything I’d let loose. Knowing it was only a fraction of what I still held inside. I’d never known of any alpha to lose it like that. Honestly, it was a bit embarrassing. Diesel blamed the Goddess’s interference; in truth, he blamed the Goddess for most things.
