Lila hesitates, but she doesn’t lie. Instead, she takes a breath and gently smooths Astrid’s hair. “I lifted my suppression on her powers… and I channeled it. We took them down together.”
Magic. That was what I sensed.
Looking over the wreckage again, disbelief scatters through me.
Astrid did this. Tiny, terrified Astrid. My girl.
A strange, indescribable feeling presses against my chest, but it isn’t fear, and not just awe. It’s something that tangles up inside me, leaving me not knowing what to make of it.
Lila looks away, as if bracing for anger. But all I feel is a deep-seated realization.
All this time, Lila was never the fragile, broken thing everyone has spent years repeating. She ached and shrank, but she was never weak. Never helpless.
She was merely surviving and hiding power that I never would’ve understood.
And knowing Astrid is my child… that she possesses the kind of power capable of causing this kind of destruction…
It stirs an odd sort of pride in me, even if I shouldn’t let it. Even if a voice in the back of my head is reminding me to cast it out. To see magic as a dark, dangerous thing.
“You kept her safe despite it all,” I murmur, gently brushing my fingers down Lila’s arm. “Both of you did this.”
Her gaze meets mine, still uncertain. “We didn’t have a choice.”
“You saved yourselves, and you did it before I could even get to you.”
I half expect Lila to share in that pride with me, but more than anything, she looks shaken and exhausted.
Right now, I want to tell her she did everything right and that I’m proud of her, but the words get stuck in my throat.
And before I can speak, something in the clearing moves. The energy ripples with a new presence.
Then, a low growl from across the space confirms it, raising the hair on the back of my neck.
It isn’t just the sound of an angry wolf, but the malice of an Alpha.
Turning sharply, my gaze zeroes in on him. Dawson Voss.
His longer black hair moves in the low breeze as he slowly approaches, eyes dark and drinking in the scene around him with contempt. His presence alone is enough to make the temperature drop by several degrees.
He’s bigger than most, upper body scarred, yet representing all the feats he has under his belt. Despite his age, his status keeps him looking relatively young and as intimidating as he was in his prime.
Dawson doesn’t show his face much on the island so long as he can help it, but when he does, it’s chilling. It’s a bitter reminder of why he stays in the shadows.
Behind him, his son, Hayes, lingers with more numbers flanking him. They emerge like an army, unwilling to let us go now that we’ve trespassed.
As they approach, my guys close in, forming a defensive line around Lila and Astrid.
Dawson stops a few feet away, still ahead of the others, while he stands in complete, drawn-out silence. His eyes flick to Lila as she holds Astrid, then back to me.
He knows. Of course he does.
“I didn’t expect that kind ofexplosivereaction from our guests, but it was impressive. Fortunate, too,” Dawson says, lips pulling into an unsettling grin. “I prefer prey that fights back.”
Lila stiffens, and without hesitation, I step forward, putting myself between him, the girls, and the rest of the pack.
“Don’t even look at her.”
He tilts his head just enough to be condescending, and he chuckles. “Ah, yes… the new Alpha. By all standards, you’re rather green. It’s bold of you to sic your pack on mine, given how young your claim is. They must have faith in your leadership… or they’re naive to trust you.”
