AK'

woke, I knew

eady fading under the damp morning air. The forest

ves, proof of how quickly she'd left. My chest tightened at the sight. The mark

he heat between us that had nothing to do with hate and

rising like smoke. "You should have st

he ha

feel her movin

he gates, eyes sharp, posture tense. They saluted as I passed, though their gazes flicked toward the fores

forward. "Patrols found fresh scent trai

s Sierra."

ing brow at me. "Forgive me Alp

cross the

t y

thought, a growl rumbl

d h

hase what he'd rejected. An Alpha didn't look haunted by an omega's absence.

I l

. "If she's still within our bo

ed. "And if s

their peaks shrouded in cloud

d and mo

ed toward the forest, shifting to

s it is. Rain, pine, and that soft note that had

Not anymore. I needed her

RA'S

ound my scent, I was alr

across the mountains like breath. My limbs and lungs burned from th

et and slippery from the previous nights

nba

me after last night, but it h

myself to breathe, and then I ran, as fa

r. Voices carried on the wind. Hurried

leads t

ed up

green and then gray. My wolf stirred, desperate to shift, to run fa

echoed

tree, chest heaving, tr

en I f

sound. Throu

s n

ain rose sharply ahead, its narrow path vanishing into fog. It was dangerous,

face the humiliation of rejection. And the humil

movement, dark figures weaving between the trees. Sco

aa

pered faintly through

oving. "You don't get to want me

The scent of blood spilled sharp into the air. I forced myself up, limping, half crawling until the

ent, I lo

. The sun caught his features in a w

t move.

I far past Moonbane territory. The air grew colder, the forest thinner. My body ached, my hands r

, leaning against the mark and trying to cat

verything I'd left behind. Or everything

r peaks glowing gold beneath the rising sun. Some

mil

mony, I didn't feel like a reject

lt a