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Chapter One
TALIA
Montana was in the rearview mirror. After Galen received the call about Max’s passing, the summit was over for the Northwood pack. There were no more meetings to attend. No briefings to give, or alliances to be made. Galen lost the most important ally he’d had.
His father.
The news hit him hard. It hit us both hard. Max and I became fast friends in the short time we lived together and I’d taken care of him. Some may have felt the level of care he needed was a burden, but I enjoyed our time together. I loved him as if he were my own family and he filled a void in my life after my father died.
But the hole in my heart had been ripped open, even bigger than before.
The summit wasn’t the only thing we left behind in our haste to get back home. I left Valerie and Victor in my wake - along with any information they may have had about my mother, her connection to the lost demon princess and my red eyes.
I was so close to uncovering the truth about who I was, where I came from and why my eyes turned red without warning. But the timing couldn’t have been worse. Galen needed me and I would be there for him for whatever he needed and however long.
Even if it meant I gave up on my search for the truth and continued living a lie. I could hold up the charade for as long as I had to if that’s what it took to help him through the loss of his father.
Word that Max succumbed to his mysterious illness spread through the pack bond. Galen’s shared pain through the bond had been enough to call every Northwood wolf home to the pack’s property. They lined the streets on either side like a parade route, heads bowed in communal mourning for the loss of one alpha and to honor another.
Galen white knuckled the steering wheel; the muscle in his jaw twitching as he made the turn onto Cypress Lane. The small two story house Max called home, with its cut grass and trimmed shrubs, looked the same as it had when Galen backed the truck out of the driveway and headed for Montana.
Nothing was ever as it seemed and nothing would ever be the same again.
I unbuckled my seatbelt, flipped up the center console and slid across the bench seat, leaning against his shoulder. His muscles relaxed as he rested his head on top of mine and for a brief moment the tension eased from his body.
“I don’t know if I can do this.” Galen pulled into the drive and parked the truck.
“You can, Galen.” I eased back onto my side of the truck, pivoting on the bench seat so that I could look at him. “You canbecause you have to.”
I knew it wasn’t what he wanted to hear, but I also knew that he needed to hear it.
Headlights pierced the dark interior of the truck’s cab when Theo pulled in behind us. He sat in his car, taking his cue from Galen. He’d go inside when he alpha did.
“You don’t understand.” Galen closed his eyes and exhaled a long breath through his nose. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean...Of course, you understand. It’s just-”
“You don’t have to explain. I do understand. Which means I’ve been where you are and I no doubt said the same things to my friends when my father died. They helped me as much as they could before I left the Long Claw pack.”
I stifled a sob, choking back the emotions that constricted my vocal chords and constricted my airways. My chest was tight and my heart ached, but I forced myself to pull in a deep breath and fill my lungs; composing myself as I let it out slowly.
“They were there for me. Not as long as I would have liked, but I wouldn’t have made it through that first night after my father was killed if it wasn’t for them.”
Galen pried his fingers from the steering wheel and collapsed across the front seat, resting his head in my lap.
“You can lean on me, Galen.” I combed my fingers through his hair, smoothing back the hair that fell over his eyes. “I can bear the weight. I’m stronger than you think and I am here to support you however you need.”
“I wish I had half your strength. After everything you’ve been through, I don’t know how you do it.” His tears pooled on my leg and soaked through my jeans. “I don’t know how to do this without him.”
“Yes, you do.” I stroked his hair and slid my hand down to the middle of his back, rubbing small, soothing circles against his coiled muscles. “Your father had been preparing you for this moment your whole life. He raised you to be the man that you are today, the alpha of the Northwood pack. You will lead them through this because it’s what your father would have wanted you to do and what your pack needs you to do.”
“And what about me? Not the heir to the throne and future of the Northwood pack. Me, the man.” He pressed his fist against his chest, right over his heart. “When do I get to mourn? When does a son get to say goodbye to his father?”
“Galen, you need your pack as much as they need you. We’re all mourning with you.” I turned his head, forcing him to look up at me from my lap. “Take comfort in them. Let that be what gives you the strength to lead them. I would have given anything for a pack that mourned my father alongside me.”
For the chance to bury him.
“You’re right.” He scrubbed his hands over his face, sat up and stared out through the windshield at the house where his father raised him.
His hand hovered over the door handle, but he never opened it. I hopped out of the truck’s cab, walked around the front of the truck and yanked open the driver’s side door.
