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Mom blinked back tears. “It’s not too late to change your mind.”
I gulped and looked between them. My hands and my back were clammy. I dug my fingers into my arms to keep them from trembling.
My mom reached out and rubbed my arm. “No one would fault you for staying here.”
I held my head up. “I have to go, Mom.”
She closed her eyes, and her shoulders drooped before she nodded. “I understand, my love.” She embraced me. “Promise me you’ll come back.”
I squeezed my eyes shut as I breathed in her scent one last time. This morning was so much like the last time I’d left. Only this time, I knew I was coming back, and I was bringing Lincoln with me.
But not Sawyer. I shivered at the reminder.
“Sloane?” my mom whispered.
Right, I hadn’t answered her yet. “I’m coming back, Mom. I promise.”
She squeezed me tighter before letting me go. “I love you so much.”
Tears blurred my vision. “I love you too.”
She let out a shaky breath. “I’ll see you soon.”
I nodded, not sure that I would be able to talk without bursting into tears.
Willa’s bottom lip trembled when I met her eyes. She threw herself at me and put her arms around my neck, holding me like she might never let go. “Be careful.”
I smoothed a hand over her back. “I will. I’ll be back before you know it.”
She finally released me. She wiped her eyes with both hands and forced a smile. “I’m going to hold you to that.”
My mom put her arm around Willa and motioned to my door. “You better get ready, my love. Your father wants to leave in the next fifteen minutes.”
She bit her lip, but it didn’t hide the slight tremble in it.
I let out a shaky breath and padded down the hall to my room. I kicked the door shut behind me and raced to my dresser for some clothes. I stripped out of my night clothes as fast as I could and dressed in record time, only taking a few quick seconds to toss my hair up.
Mom and Willa weren’t in the hall when I emerged. Good. It was hard enough to say goodbye the first time.
Downstairs, the front room was filled with men. They all looked on edge, some of them ready for a fight. They needed to be.
It’d be a miracle if we got to Pack Wolf Blood and back without any incident. My brother Brandon saw me first and waved his hand. I pushed through the crowd, joining him and my other brother Mark, along with Willa’s brother Ian.
I pushed my hands into my hoodie’s pockets. “Hey.”
Mark clapped me on the shoulder. “You sure you’re ready for this?”
I pressed my lips together and met his gaze. “Yes. I lived there. I know what I’m going into.” My nostrils flared as I huffed.
Mark patted me. “I know. It’s just this time will be different. There will be fighting.”
I balled my hands in my pockets. “I know what Alpha Dane is capable of.”
My gaze inadvertently drifted to Ian. His eyes met mine, and he hung his head low.
Willa must have told him what happened.
Mark let go of me and looked around the room. “Is that Sawyer guy going to be there, too?”
