I skip dinner to go to my room, but keep the door open in case Tobias comes out. I sit on the edge of my bed, waiting for him to come to me, like he has every other night.
But I end up waiting.
And waiting.
Tobias never comes.
My wolf is restless, pacing and pawing inside me.Go to him, go to him, go to him.
He’s one of us. That alone should be reason enough to comfort him. Pack protects pack.
But it’s not just that anymore.
I can feel it. I’dfeltit tonight as Taren explained the dangers of the sigils. It was unmistakable. Real. Deep.
I just don’t know what to do about it.
When the house finally goes quiet for the night, I slip out of my room and cross the hall, unable to hold back any longer. The floorboards are cool under my bare feet, the air chilly. His door creaks when I nudge it open, and his head jerks up from the pillow.
“What are you doing?” His voice is rough and thick with exhaustion, but I doubt he’s slept. If he has, he’s probably had more nightmares.
I close the door and crawl onto the bed, sliding under the covers behind him. “Please let me hold you.”
He’s freezing as I wrap an arm around his stomach, like fear has turned him to ice. Damn Taren and her impossible timing. Tobias had been doing so well until tonight. Now he’s right back where he started.
I tuck my knees behind his, folding us together. “You okay?”
“No.”
One word, yet it guts me. “I’m not either.”
I don’t even know what’s happening to me anymore. This need, this pull toward him—it isn’t logical. It’s instinct, pure and raw, something that goes deeper than I can reason with.
“Want me to go?”
Tobias threads our fingers together. “No.”
I kiss his shoulder. “I’m going to keep you safe,” I whisper. “I don’t know how, but I will. I promise you.”
He exhales shakily and curls inward, clutching my arms tighter around him. His body molds against mine, finally softening, and that’s when I know Tobias trusts me—not just in the moment, but fully. Deep in his heart, Tobias trusts me. Even if he can’t say it. Even if he doesn’t understand why.
I hope I never betray that trust.
I hold him there, feeling his heartbeat slow against mine. My muscles finally relax, and eventually, we both drift off.
The next morning, I jolt awake to the sound of Red’s voice echoing through the sleepy recesses of my mind. “Morning, sunshines.”
When I open my eyes, I see Forest standing behind Red.Oh, shit.
I scramble upright, heat rushing to my face. Tobias sits up too, hair a mess and eyes wide. Thank the moon we’re both wearing sweatpants.
Red doesn’t seem fazed or even surprised to see me in here. He steps closer and holds something out to Tobias. A bracelet. Not just any bracelet—thebracelet. The leather one I’d found in the clearing.
“Rowen found this a few weeks ago,” he says. “Do you recognize it?”
Tobias’s whole body goes still, and he scrambles back. “That’s—”
“Rip’s, we know,” Red says gently.
