My ribs were finally healing, but pack rules required a final sign-off from the clinic before the autumn Pack Banquet. I hated the clinic. It smelled like bleach, old blood, and bad memories. I walked down the sterile white hallway, keeping my footsteps light so I wouldn't draw attention.
I stopped right before the corner. Voices drifted from the front reception desk.
"I've maintained this archive for four years," Petra Voss was saying.
I peeked around the corner. Petra, the pack healer, stood behind the counter. She was a sharp, no-nonsense woman with graying hair. She never bought into Eden's sweet, fragile act. But she was just a healer. She didn't have the rank to challenge the Alpha heir.
Leo stood across from her. He wore a dark jacket, his broad shoulders relaxed but commanding.
Petra slid a small silver flash drive across the counter. "It's all there," she said, her voice dropping low. "Eden's inconsistent injury reports. The security footage from the archives. And Elise's actual medical records. I've waited a long time for someone with the spine to use this."
Leo picked up the drive. His face was a mask of cold calculation. He slipped it into his pocket.
"Thank you, Petra," Leo said smoothly. "It ends tonight."
I pulled back behind the wall. My heart hammered wildly against my ribs. *It ends tonight.* What was he planning? I didn't stick around to ask. I slipped out the back door, my mind racing with a hundred different questions.
That night, the wind howled outside Leo's cabin. It whipped through the trees, snapping branches. But inside, it was a different world. Dozens of lanterns burned bright, banishing every single shadow. The dark corners were completely gone.
The scent of dark honey and thunderstorm wrapped around me the second I walked in. It was heavy and intoxicating. It made my chest ache in a good way.
Leo was sitting on the floor rug. His laptop was closed and pushed aside on the coffee table. Scout was already curled up on the rug, fast asleep, his tiny paws twitching in a dream.
I sat down across from Leo. I crossed my legs and rested my hands on my knees. I didn't ask about the flash drive. I just waited.
"Close your eyes," Leo said softly.
I did. I took a deep, shaky breath. My inner wolf stirred. She was pacing nervously in the dark, locked-away corners of my mind. She wanted the light. She wanted the warmth. But the fear of the dark was a heavy, rusted chain.
Then, Leo spoke. But his voice was different this time. It was deeper. It vibrated with a strange, ancient power that made the hairs on my arms stand up. He wasn't talking to me.
"You are not broken for hiding," he murmured.
My breath hitched in my throat.
"You were protecting yourself," Leo continued. His voice was a steady, unbreakable anchor in the room. "But you don't have to hide anymore. You can come out now. You're safe here."
It hit me like a physical blow. A massive, electric shock ripped straight through my chest.
I gasped loudly. My eyes flew open. I scrambled backward, my fingers gripping the rough wooden logs of the cabin wall to steady myself. My chest heaved up and down. My heart beat so fast it hurt.
She didn't run.
For the first time in my entire life, my inner wolf didn't retreat into the dark. She surged forward. I could feel her right at the surface, her silver paws planting firmly in my mind. She was looking through my eyes. She was listening to him. The sheer power of her presence made my blood run hot.
I stared at Leo, my whole body trembling. I couldn't speak.
He didn't move toward me. He didn't try to touch me or calm me down. He just held my gaze. His dark eyes were warm and impossibly patient. He saw her. He knew she was there.
We didn't say a word. We just sat there on the cabin floor. The lantern light flickered steadily around us. Between our feet, Scout let out a soft sigh and kept sleeping. My wolf settled down, resting right at the edge of my consciousness. She was finally awake. And she wasn't leaving.
The next morning, the pack house was buzzing with nervous energy. It was the day of the autumn Pack Banquet. Normally, banquet days made me sick to my stomach. It was just another stage for Eden to play the victim and for Sylas to play the hero.
I woke up early. The air in my room was chilly. As I stepped out of bed, my bare foot brushed against something on the floorboards.
A small, folded piece of white paper lay near the door. Someone had slipped it underneath during the night.
I picked it up and unfolded it.
There was no signature. Just two lines written in sharp, clean handwriting. Leo's handwriting.
*Stay close to the entrance. Trust what you see.*
I stared at the words for a long time. My thumb brushed over the black ink. A shiver ran down my spine, but it wasn't from the cold.
The Pack Banquet was tonight. It was the biggest social event of the season. Sylas and Eden would be front and center, wearing their finest clothes, expecting everyone to bow to them. The whole pack would be watching.
I remembered the silver flash drive Petra gave him. I remembered the cold, calculated look on his face.
I folded the note carefully and slipped it into my pocket. I walked over to the mirror and looked at my reflection. My eyes looked different today. They were brighter. Sharper. My silver wolf was right there, watching with me, waiting for the sun to go down.
I took a deep breath, pressing my thumbnail into my palm one last time. I didn't need the pain to ground me anymore.
I was ready.
