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My mother pulls me into her arms as soon as I reach the top of the steps. My knees almost buckle at the sadness in her raspberry scent. Amos wraps himself around us while Arlo presses into my side and traces my claim mark with his fingers. When I glance down at him, his face is crumpled up against crying.

I rub Amos’s back. “It’s not forever, brothers.” They don’t answer me. Arlo burrows in deeper.

My mother leads me inside and up to my bedroom. My father boarded up my broken window days ago to start on the repair. She goes straight for the closet and hauls out bags. She’s keeping herself busy so she won’t feel too much. I got that trick from her. If my hands stop moving, I lose it.

I hang back by the door and take in my room. My scent is soaked into every wall I stared at until I fell asleep at night. I cried over Ezra in my journal at my desk before I was old enough to understand why he consumed me. And I’m never going to see this room again.

I drop onto my bed. “It really didn’t hit me until now. That I’m not part of the pack anymore.”

My mother stops folding and takes a seat. She doesn’t say anything yet, only presses her arm against mine and waits.

“When I first came to Wintermoon,” she tells me, “it wasn’t a fairy tale, Aya. It was terrifying. I was angry, I was scared, and I missed my old life so desperately that I convinced myself I’d made the biggest mistake of my existence. Your father dragged me here, and I resented him for it. I resented everything about this place because it wasn’t what I chose, and no one asked me what I wanted.”

She rubs her thumbs together. “I pushed against your father every step. Against being luna. Against the pack sisters who tried to welcome me. You remember when I left, moved to the community lands for a while. I couldn’t breathe here.” Her eyes are wet. I nod at the memory. “It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. But I needed to know who I was outside of everyone’s expectations.”

She presses my hand between hers. “But I wouldn’t trade any of it,” she admits. “Every hard moment led me here. To your father, this pack, you and your brothers. I’d do it all again.”

I swipe at the tear sliding down my cheek, but another one follows. My mother leans into me. “It’s natural to leave the nest, Aya. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t going to miss you.” She swallows hard. “I’m going to miss you desperately.”

“Mommy.” It’s all I can get out.

She squeezes my hand. “Don’t do that. You aren’t leaving Wintermoon, just the territory. You know, Lauren never missed a weekend at the spa, even during maternity leave. That woman balanced the medical center, being luna, and being a mother. And still, she always made time for herself.”

She takes my chin in her hand. “As a woman, we wear far too many hats, and it’s easy to lose ourselves in the chaos. I want you to remember that you come first. Can you do that for me?”

I sniffle and nod. She kisses my temple and heads for the dresser.

“You crave community,” she says over her shoulder. “That’s why I think you’ll do well in Ash Clan. Lauren’s built a beautiful life there.” She turns with a folded sweater. “Right now, focus on your mate bond with Ezra. We are extended family now. You are building one of your own.” Her mouth wobbles. I pretend I can’t smell how hard she’s trying.

She snaps her fingers at me. “Come on. Stop sulking and get up. You’ve got a family to build.” She hugs the sweater to her chest. “I’m excited to be a grandmother soon.”

I frown and wave her off. “Mom, I am not having that kind of talk with you.”

“Well, I had to try,” she says with a girlish laugh. I swat at her and giggle through the last of my tears. She reaches for another shirt.

I join her at the dresser. We pack side by side without talking, and it’s fine that way. My mother hums a lullaby she used to sing to me when I was little, back when this room was my whole world.

My wolf lies down and listens along. It still hurts, but it’s not pulling me under anymore.

20

EZRA

Aya disappears into the cabin with her mother. My dragon wants to go in after her. I stare at the shut door longer than I should before I turn to face what’s waiting.

Jacob stands firm at the center of the clearing and speaks first. He wants this over with as badly as I do.

“I have close ties to Ash Clan,” he announces. “Hazel and Dominic are family to me. I don’t want tension between my pack and your clan, Ezra. Not over this.”

I meet his stare with my back straight and my feet planted. Beside him, Micah, Kane, Gabriel, and Levi stand ready to tear me apart. Their scents hit my nose rank with aggression. If I make a wrong move, they’ll beat the hell out of me. If I’m being honest with myself, Levi’s wolf already did exactly that. He put centuries of combat experience against my Stormscale temper and handed me my ass fair and square. Losing hurt my ego, but my dragon took it worse. He’s still sulking over it. He doesn’t care how clean it was, only that a wolf put us down.

What I’m about to do is the most humbling thing an alpha can do. I have to admit guilt by dropping to my knee and baring the back of my neck while everything in my body says fight. Bitter smoke is already rising. I swallow it down so it doesn’t leak from my nose in front of them. Why does it feel like Mother Fate is testing me? That’s what this has to be, one big stupid test.

I step forward with my guard up. None of them are friendly. Micah shifts his weight, and Gabriel flexes his fingers at his sides. Kane doesn’t so much as twitch. With Levi glaring, I know I’m walking into a circle of wolves who could fuck me up before I ever get airborne. My wings itch at their roots, but I keep them locked down. All I can do is trust that their alpha meant what he said.

When I reach Jacob, his scent is steady and patient. I figured he’d enjoy this, but he doesn’t.

I lower myself to my knee. My dragon rages and turns my vision red at the edges. He wants me on my feet burning this place to ash instead of bending to a pack of wolves. I bite down until my canines cut into my tongue. Blood fills my mouth as I bow my head. “My apologies, Alpha.” I mutter under my breath to my dragon, “Shut up. This is for Aya.”