Chapter 6

The interaction with Vex pushed Dante to the surface, and he tried to get control of Duncan. Duncan clenched his jaws and focused his energy inward. A growl rattled out of his chest, startling Tia sitting beside him. She turned to see his iris switch back and forth between green and gray. Recognizing he was fighting his wolf, she squeezed his hand.

With her touch enough to tip the balance, Duncan regained his composure. He would do whatever it took to ensure Vex did not come near her again. However, anger seethed within him. Vex was a coward and an opportunist. He had no redeeming qualities, and Duncan marveled he had survived this long. A year from now, either he or Vex would become the Alpha of their respective packs, but Duncan knew it would not be both. The Olympic Forest was not big enough for the two of them.

Are you alright?

He glanced down at Tia. Look at your mind linking like the rest of us.

She smiled and bumped her shoulder against his.

I may not fully comprehend the reasons behind your willingness to help me, but I perceive a distinct connection between us that sets us apart from others.

We have a unique connection, but I’m unsure what that means. Until we figure it out, let’s keep it between us.

She nodded and looked out the window.

Dante whined loudly, straining to get closer to her, and Duncan realized his wolf sensed it, too. Did his wolf know more about the situation than he did?

Tatiana lay on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying. Her father died alone, and that is something she would never forgive or forget. He had done everything for her, and she was not there when he needed her most. Tia hoped he passed away without feeling scared. The overwhelming guilt knotted her stomach at the mere thought of it. He hadn’t been a man of many words, but his face glowed with pride when he talked about her. He often told her she was the one thing he did right in his life.

At this moment, Tia felt like a big mistake. Not a human and not entirely a wolf. However, she knew she would have to return home soon. Her father’s funeral had to be organized. She needed to go back and finish school. It was what her dad wanted. Tia was worried about child protective services. They would not let her remain at home alone at 16 years old. Since there was nowhere else for her to go, child protective services would move her and place her in a foster family if she had been born and raised in a pack. Life could have been so different. Her dad had done his best to raise her but did not understand her wolf’s side. How could he? Despite that, he was her family, and she loved him. She couldn’t imagine loving anyone more. She had tried her best to piece together knowledge of her wolf history from literature, but human libraries classified it as horror fiction. So, she could not be confident of the accuracy. Her interactions with the Kalaloch pack made that abundantly clear.

Whether she felt up to it, Tia knew it was time to go. She was not a child anymore, and she needed to do this one last thing for her father. Tatiana would at least have until the funeral to devise a better plan. She flipped back the covers but still could not get herself to sit up. Getting out of this bed and facing what lay ahead would take one small step at a time.

After discussing it with the pack leadership, Carina and her family considered taking the young girl in and offering Tatiana a place in their pack. However, for her safety, they needed to change her story. They would claim she was Carina’s niece. Luca was setting up the paper trail. Some packs treated rogues as hunting trophies. So, to ensure Tia’s safety, they needed to keep her human upbringing a secret. It would also be necessary for the police to release her into their custody.

Tatiana hadn’t left her room since they picked up items at her house. Luca had taken pity on the poor thing and removed her pain to allow her to sleep the first night. Today, she stayed in bed. The only sign she was awake was the occasional soft whimper or quiet sobs. She didn’t touch any of the food brought up by the Luna.

Carina placed her hand on the girl’s door. Her maternal instincts pushed her to go into Tia’s room and comfort her, but Luca advised her to keep her distance and let the girl work through it independently. So she waited. Carina saw a lot of herself in this young girl. Her beginning was not vastly different, and she wanted to relieve this girl’s struggle. It was part of being a Luna, to ease other’s pain and suffering.

As the pack considered claiming Tatiana as their own, the Kalaloch pack leaders held a quiet but tense meeting in Alpha Bran’s office. Their minds were on the more significant implications of taking her in—a girl with an unusual scent, violet eyes, and no knowledge of her origins. How powerful was she, and what would her presence mean for them if the other packs got wind of it?

Luca stared out the window at the forest beyond. Tatiana was drowning in grief, the mystery of her identity, and the fear of an unknown future. His heart twisted as he sensed the turmoil within her.

But beneath her sadness, he sensed something older and unexplainable. His wolf, Lux, stirred restlessly, urging him closer to her, protective and possessive in a way that went beyond their short acquaintance. And as he thought of her, a question echoed in his mind, a question that unsettled him deeply:

Who was Tatiana really… and what danger had she unknowingly brought with her?