I walked to the edge of the pack territory the next night. The air was biting cold, but Leo’s cabin glowed like a beacon through the trees. I pushed the heavy wooden door open and stopped in my tracks.
The room was bathed in warm, golden light. Dozens of lanterns sat on the tables, the mantel, and the floorboards. There wasn't a single shadow in the room. The dark corners were completely gone. I didn't ask him why he did it. I just took a breath, and for the first time in years, the tight knot in my chest loosened. My muscles unclenched on their own.
"Sit," Leo said. He was sitting on the rug, his legs crossed.
I sat across from him. The scent of dark honey and thunderstorm wrapped around me. It was warm and dizzying.
"Close your eyes," he instructed, his voice a low, steady rumble. "Just breathe. Don't force her. Just let her know it's safe to look around."
I closed my eyes. I focused on the rise and fall of my chest. Deep down, past the walls of ice and trauma from my childhood, something twitched. A faint, sleepy stir. My breath hitched. It was my wolf. Before I could hold onto the feeling, she retreated back into the dark, scared and unsure.
I opened my eyes, expecting him to be disappointed. But Leo just nodded.
"Good," he said calmly. "That's enough for tonight."
He didn't push. He didn't demand more. He acted like we had all the time in the world.
The next day, Sylas tried to corner me outside the dining hall.
He looked terrible. The proud, golden aura that used to follow him was completely gone. His eyes were sunken. Right on his neck, the rejected bond mark was festering. It was a raw, angry red scar that looked like rotting flesh. It was impossible to conceal. I had seen him shift during the morning run, and his once-golden wolf fur was thinning and dull.
"Elise, please," he begged, stepping into my path.
I didn't blink. I sidestepped him like he was a broken chair.
"Just talk to me!" he yelled.
I kept walking. I had already blocked him from the mind-link. He tried sending messages through other pack members, but I ignored them all. I felt nothing for him. Just a cold, hollow space where a bond used to be.
That evening, I headed back to Leo's cabin for my second session. This time, I wasn't alone. Scout, the little omega pup I had found abandoned by rogues, trotted at my heels. I tried to shoo him back to my room, but he just wagged his tail and followed me all the way to the woods.
When I opened the cabin door, the warm lantern light spilled out again. Leo was sitting on the sofa, reading a book.
Scout trotted right past my legs. He didn't hesitate. He walked straight up to Leo, climbed onto the sofa, and curled up right in Leo’s lap. He let out a soft sigh and went completely boneless with trust.
I stood frozen by the door. Scout was terrified of everyone. He always snarled and cowered if Sylas or Eden even looked in his direction. He operated entirely on instinct.
Leo didn't even look up from his book. He just rested one large hand on Scout's back, his long fingers gently stroking the pup's fur.
"You're late," Leo murmured, turning a page.
I watched his hand on the small pup. I looked at the warm lanterns filling the room with light. Slowly, without realizing it, I uncurled my fist. For the first time in days, I stopped pressing my thumbnail into my palm.
"Sorry," I said softly. I stepped inside and closed the door.
The next morning, I was walking back to my quarters. My jacket still smelled faintly of dark honey and thunderstorm from Leo's cabin. It was a comforting scent. It made me feel safe.
Suddenly, a large figure blocked the path. Sylas.
He was breathing hard, his chest heaving with desperate exhaustion. He had been waiting outside my door. But as I tried to walk past him, he froze. His nostrils flared.
He leaned in slightly, catching the scent on my jacket. His face twisted.
A low, guttural snarl ripped from his throat. It was pure territorial fury. His eyes flashed with his wolf's presence, jealous and enraged. He had no claim over me anymore. He had destroyed it himself. But his wolf was losing its mind over the scent of another male on me.
"Whose scent is that?" Sylas growled, his voice rough and demanding.
I looked at his festering neck. I looked at his shaking hands.
"Move, Sylas," I said, my voice dead and flat.
"Tell me!" he barked, stepping closer.
I didn't flinch. I just stared at him with absolute indifference. "You don't get to ask me questions anymore."
I shoved past his shoulder. He stood there, frozen in the dirt, as I walked away. But the low, furious growl of his wolf echoed behind me, warning me that the quiet wouldn't last.
