The Katu compound smells different now.Lighter.Warmer.Like safety soaked into the walls after years of being soaked in blood.
I walk across the training yard with Silas’s jacket draped over my shoulders, even though the sun is warm and the breeze is soft.The dire wolf inside him hates when I leave without wearing his scent.
I don’t mind.I like smelling like him.
The pack is scattered across the yard.Marc is doing push-ups with Godrick sitting on his back like a smug boulder.The twins are arguing over who cheated in their “totally friendly” sparring match.
Caine passes by with a mug of coffee, nodding at me in that quiet, steady way of his.His power still fills the air like heavy smoke, but the sharp edges of his Alpha energy have softened around me the last few months.
Not because I earned it.Because I belong.
A year ago, the idea would have terrified me.The idea of belonging anywhere was a threat.A cage.A weapon.But now?Now I walk through the compound with my head up, my leopard stretching lazily inside me, content.Watching.Belonging.
My mate emerges from one of the cabins, shirtless and sweating, a towel slung over his shoulder.Silas spots me instantly—he always does—and his lips lift in a slow, warm smile that heats my whole body.
He crosses the distance in a few strides and presses a kiss to my cheek.
“Morning, little leopard.”
I lean into him without thought.“Morning.”
His hand slides to my waist, thumb brushing circles against my hip.The bond hums between us, steady and warm like it has every day for the last year.
“You heading to Peyton’s?”he asks.
“Yeah.She said she’s baking.”
Silas grins.“Good luck surviving that.”
I swat his chest lightly.“Be nice.She tries.”
“She tries to kill us with sugar.”
I laugh, and his eyes soften like they always do when I laugh, like it’s a rare treasure he’s terrified to lose.
He kisses my forehead.“Come find me when you’re done?”
“Always.”
He watches me walk away, his wolf brushing against my leopard through the bond like a warm, familiar touch.
And I head toward Peyton’s kitchen.
The moment I open the door I’m hit with a wall of chaos.
Smoke.Flour.A very loud, terribly angry smoke alarm.
Peyton stands on a stool wielding a broom at the ceiling like she’s fighting a wasp nest.Calum is flapping one of Caine’s jackets at the alarm, cursing under his breath.The twins are laughing hysterically while trying to open a window that is very clearly painted shut.
“Perfect timing!”Peyton gasps, hopping off the stool.“Aria, sweetheart, quick, take this.”
She thrusts a tray of blackened, smoking cookies into my hands.
“Uh...Peyton?”
She grimaces.“They were only in for seven minutes.”
Calum mutters, “Seven minutes in hellfire, maybe.”
