to. My world shrank into something closed off and quiet, where every second went into planning how to get out. Staying here wasn't an option. Accepting a life as somet

e weight building inside me. I tried reading to distract myself, but it didn't help. Every line felt like a cruel joke, every page reminding me

drank and played their roles, I would leave. I packed my bag like it was the only thing keeping me alive. Clothes,

put her at risk. So I stayed quiet. I kept everything from her, even while missing her already. If the pack e

ying to make myself invisible. Then my father spoke, and everything shi

tightened

ike something alive was crawling beneath my skin. Maybe I had gotten to

by wolves searching for their mates

the way he was staring straight at me. "Ava," he said, his tone sof

, Fa

ave preferred to leave you behind. But that would

tched me with that same distant look he used for things that didn't matter. The unders

exist in their

e, Ava." His gaze slid over the fading bruises on my neck, and a shiver ran through me. The

odded my vegetables with

eep yourself under control." He went back to eating as if nothing had been said. Be

e me shrink. Instead, t

ly trip. Quiet. Heavy. My parents and Jessa r

drove like he owned the world, one arm resting loosely against the door, his posture easy. T

mountains rising along the horizon. My thoughts wandered to Lisa. What w

gh and sudden. "You're not about to do anyth

body tightened as I turned to look at him. Did he kn

ed, not for the first time, that I could unders

on blur with the movement of the car. "Besides, no one's going to cho

r right away. M

ling to take you in. Not as a mate, but your kids w

I flinched. "If there are even wo

me for a sec

t going bac

eful to someone who had beaten me for years and

und Shadowvale stretched wide, with too many roads, towns, and stations to track easi

ith something else. Hope. Stepping onto Silver Moon territory meant st

pression distant and cold. A quiet ache stirred as I thought o

of my life

. Fear still ran through me, but it wasn't alone anymore. S

ldn't just think

e, I wou

sn't com