Except everything.
She stops at the treeline. I stop too. Not by choice. By some invisible tether that won’t let me walk past her.
“I need to check something.” Her voice is clipped. Professional. “The energy signature our visitor left. It might match what I found on the ridge.”
I should say something tactical. Should focus on the threat, the reconnaissance, and the implications for pack security. Instead, I notice how the early light catches purple undertones in her hair. How her fingers curl away from mine.
“Report back when you have something.” I sound like myself again. Almost.
She nods once. Not looking at me. “I will.”
Then she’s gone—cutting across the compound edge, heading for the shack. Her stride is purposeful, shoulders straight, nothing in her posture betraying what happened in the woods.
What nearly happened.
I watch her go. Tell myself to move. To turn toward the main lodge. To focus on the pack that depends on me. On the threat circling us. On anything but the door she just disappeared through.
My feet don’t move.
My hands curl into fists. Muscles lock tight enough to ache. The cold slices through my jacket, but I barely feel it. All I feel is the ghost-weight of her against me. The memory of her pulse under my thumb. The taste of her still on my tongue.
This can’t happen. Can’t continue. Can’t be anything.
But I stand there anyway, jaw clenched, watching her door like I’m waiting for permission to breathe.
Chapter 10
Dane
Three hours since I left Nova in the woods. Three hours of cold showers, patrol routes, and trying to scrub her taste from my memory.
Didn’t work. I can still feel her mouth on mine, still smell her on my skin. I jerked off twice and it only made it worse.
Then there was the intruder we tracked. The one who vanished before we could corner him. Real or imagined, he’s another problem I can’t solve.
Needless to say, I haven’t slept.
Now, I force myself to straighten, scanning the treeline—acting like I’m checking for threats when I’m really looking for a glimpse of Nova. To see if what happened last night affected her as much as it did me.
Gravel crunches at the outer gate. A vehicle approaching, not pack—the rumble of a four-wheel-drive motor. The scent of aftershave and gun oil hits me before the cruiser comes into view.
Grant Callahan. Brother to Liam, Shadow Peak’s Beta.
I haven’t seen the Silverwood deputy in months. Not since we chose Ash Hollow for our pack.
Grant rolls to a stop, cuts the engine. The silence hangs heavy for three beats before his door creaks open. He steps out slow, deliberate. Liam’s brother looks tired, with dark circles under eyes that scan the compound with practiced precision.
“Vaughn.” He nods, adjusting his hat. The last name lands with deliberate distance—not hostile, but not friendly either. “Been a while.”
“Sheriff.” I keep my stance relaxed, hands loose at my sides. “What brings you out here?”
“Deputy, technically.” He smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “Jake Nelson’s still got the badge.” He still doesn’t trust me. That’s fine. I wouldn’t trust me, either.
I don’t smile back. Grant knows why I’m here, why I left Shadow Peak. Knows what it cost me to build something separate, something mine.
“Two hikers went missing three days ago—Jessica Chen and her boyfriend, Mark Sullivan.” He cuts to it, efficient. “Trail’s cold in town, but their last ping puts them near your eastern border. Both experienced climbers. Jessica’s a grad student at UC Boulder studying wildlife biology. Mark teaches high school science. They know these mountains, apparently been here several times.”
I feel Ben before I see him, a shift in the air as he materializes at my nine o’clock. Silent, watchful. His focus locks on Grant, muscles tensed like he’s ready to bolt.
