Caleb exhales. “We were wrong about Naia. She held her ground out there against Hayes, and the rogues…and she meant what she said about not wanting to cause issues. That isn’t nothing.”
“I know why you were hesitant to believe her, and I would be too,” I tell them, glancing briefly in her direction where she stands with Sera. The sight surprises me, and even if they both look tense, it looks like a conversation that needs to happen. A flicker of pride settles in my chest at the thought of her making amends.
“Still, we should’ve trusted you more. It’s not like you’ve steered us wrong before,” Caleb adds, conceding to the fact.
Even while I knew I’d find a way to handle it, their doubts before had piled on top of the pressure I was already feeling, but now, it fades, leaving me with more room to breathe.
Dominic gives me a hopeful grin. “Water under the bridge?”
I glance between them, able to see the honesty there, along with the lack of tension, as it should be.
“Water under the bridge,” I agree with a single nod, then Dominic’s hand claps against my shoulder next.
“That’s the way. See, isn’t this cozy now?”
Resisting the urge to roll my eyes at him, I scoff, but my subtle smile betrays me. “Obviously, you’re not tired enough from earlier. I have a few houses you could work on.”
“Now that sounds like the opposite of what I want to do,” Dominic returns, unsurprisingly. Then he hums. “Say, is Eve still around?”
Luke’s expression drops at that, giving him a flat look. “Don’t even think about it.”
“What? I just want to check in with her,” he says, laying the innocence on way too thick.
“You want to pester her. Leave my sister alone.”
Dominic chuckles and puts placating hands up, but looks unrepentant. “No promises.”
The conversation shifts after that, back into logistics and what this means for all the packs on the Willow island, and eventually, my attention drifts.
I can feel the bond humming steadily now without any walls or real distance between us. Instead, it’s full of warmth and reassurance, feeling more like a fresh start for both of us.
When I glance up, I catch her as she walks away from Sera and Fern, already looking in my direction.
Breaking off from the guys with a quick word, I approach her, catching the more relaxed way she holds herself now. She still seems a bit uncertain, but nothing like she had been before.
Before I can fully cut the space between us, I tilt my head slightly and gesture toward the edge of the clearing.
“Come with me.”
She studies me for a second, looking more curious now, then follows.
We step away from the others and move deeper into the trees, where the noise fades and the tension of everything else seems irrelevant.
For a quiet moment, we just stand there facing each other, all the while the connection steadies itself, allowing us to feel it.
Studying her, I catch the subtle exhaustion in her eyes despite how she doesn’t complain about it even once.
“What changed back there?” I ask, words gentle. “Ever since I saw you again, you were dead-set on going back to Wraith Peak. What changed your mind?”
A thoughtful gleam fills her eyes as she considers it; then Naia exhales slowly and briefly averts her gaze before it returns to me.
“It took me a while to see it,” she admits softly.
“To see what?”
“How deep it went…the way I was raised,” she continues, still holding a touch of guilt and regret in her. “It wasn’t just loyalty. It was conditioning, and I was too accepting of it. I was too willing to be whatever they needed me to be.”
My jaw clenches, since I know that feeling all too well. It’s something unspoken that happens behind the scenes in Wraith Peak without, and before you know it, you’re feeling pressured to fall in line and follow the others without question.
