He walks away, leaving me alone in the training yard with sweat cooling on my skin.
“They’ll never accept you,”Adelaide whispers from somewhere behind me.“Not really. You don’t belong here.”
“Shut up,” I mutter. “You’re not real.”
“Neither is this fantasy you’re building,”she continues.“A pack, a mate, a home? These aren’t for wolves like you, Kier.”
I close my eyes, focusing on the grounding techniques Elena taught me. Blinking open, I start to name five things I can see. The training yard dirt, the wooden fence, a cloud passing overhead, a bird on a branch, the scuff marks on my boots. Then four things I can touch, the rough texture of the fence post, the soft cotton of my shirt, the cool morning air on my skin, the solid earth beneath my feet.
Adelaide fades, but the doubt she planted lingers. Is this all just another dream I’ve created to escape the reality of what I am—a wolf who doesn’t belong anywhere?
“You’ll only hurt her in the end,”a different voice murmurs—not Adelaide this time, but an older wolf from my original pack.“Better to leave now, before you cause real damage.”
I push away from the fence, needing to move, to escape the voices that follow me even here in this peaceful place. The den is coming alive now, wolves moving through corridors and courtyards as they begin their day.
I slip through them like a ghost, nodding when someone greets me but not slowing, not engaging. They’re polite enough—Ryker has made it clear I’m to be treated as an honored guest—but I can feel their curiosity, their wariness.
I’m still the outsider, the nomad who helped their Beta escape but doesn’t truly belong. And I’ve come after Zella—another stranger who they thought they could trust.
I round a corner and nearly collide with Levi.
“Watch it,” he snaps, lips curled back with irritation.
“Sorry,” I step back, giving him space. “Wasn’t looking where I was going.”
He eyes me with barely concealed hostility. “Looking for Lithia?”
His question pissed me off. “No. Just walking.”
“Good. She’s busy withpackbusiness.” The message is clear in his tone—she doesn’t have time for me.
I could let it go. Should, probably. But his possessive attitude makes my wolf bristle. “I’m sure she can manage her own schedule.”
His jaw tightens. “Look, Nomad. I don’t know what happened between you two out there in the wilderness, and frankly, I don’t care. But you’re a guest here. A temporary situation. Don’t forget that.”
“Believe me,” I say quietly, “I know.”
Something flickers in his expression—surprise, maybe, at my candor. “Lithia is Beta of Shadowmist. Her duty is to this pack, not to some stray wolf she picked up along the way.”
The words are designed to hurt, to put me in my place. But he’s picked the wrong wolf to bother. I’ve faced worse than an insecure pup with a crush.
“You’re right “ I say, keeping my voice level. “Lithia is dedicated to this pack. It’s one of the things I admire most about her.” I step closer, not enough to be threatening but enough to make my point. “But you’re wrong if you think I’m just passing through. I’m exactly where I want to be.”
His eyes narrow. “For now.”
“No.” I meet his gaze steadily. “For as long as the pack will have me.”
The simple truth of it resonates in my chest. I’ve spent twenty years running—from memories, from attachment, from the risk of losing something that matters. But Lithia matters more than the fear of staying.
And if Ryker’s offer is legitimate, this pack might matter more too.
Levi studies me, then shakes his head. “You think you know her. You don’t. I’ve watched her push away every wolf who’s tried to get close to her for years. She doesn’t let people in.”
“She let me in.”
“For now,” he repeats, but there’s a flicker of uncertainty in his eyes. “When we get back to normal, when the excitement of escape fades and reality sets in, she’ll remember why she keeps her distance. And where will that leave you?”
It’s a question I’ve asked myself a hundred times since we arrived. What happens when the extraordinary circumstances that brought us together give way to everyday life? When Lithia no longer needs me to survive, will she still want me around?
