pack prefer their wolf form, I’m embracing the freedom they have. Who am I to judge how they prefer to live?
“So, Harlan...” I start, returning my attention to the pack’s Third. “Tell me about you.”
I spent the day with her while I toured the pack lands and met the other members of Ruin Falls. I’ve discovered that Harlan is dry, funny, and serious about her duties. She’s quickly become my new second-favorite member of the pack.
“There’s not a lot to tell, really,” she counters casually.
I snort out an incredulous laugh. “The scar on your neck screams otherwise.”
Her lips tip up. “Well done, Luna. Most wolves stare at it for ages before ever growing the balls to ask.”
“I blame Jenny. Her meat’s clearly burned away all my manners and ability to small talk.”
“Then you’re better for it, I say,” Harlan declares, a playful hint in her tone. “I’ll take balls and honesty over awkward staring any day of the week.”
“I’ll just take the balls,” I counter, and Harlan groans and drops a hand down her face.
“Just go fuck already,” she encourages with a chortle. “I’m pretty sure the pack have bets going to see how long they can keep the two of you apart before you guys lose it and tell everyone to fuck off and then disappear for a week.”
I throw my head back and laugh, my heated face having nothing to do with the fire and everything to do with wanting to do just that. I catch Tyran watching me hungrily before someone demands his attention and he looks away again. “Place my bet on another half an hour,” I quip, making Harlan chuckle.
My fingers come down to trace over the new marks Tyran placed on my arm. They’ve already healed, and not just from the outside. They healed something on the inside of me too.
“My scar is courtesy of my brother,” Harlan says quietly, pulling me from my thoughts, her dark eyes on my arm. “He attacked me when I unknowingly claimed a wolf he didn’t approve of. I didn’t know who he was, just that my wolf wanted him, but I found out soon enough that I wasn’t allowed to make that choice. I have no idea how I survived, to be honest. When I woke up, I wished I hadn’t, because my brother killed my mate right after he thought he’d killed me.”
I’m stunned silent by the violence of her past and the almost casual way she describes something so brutal and wrong.
“An older couple in my pack hid me until I was strong enough to run. News of Tyran taking over this pack was just starting to spread, so I took a chance that I might be able to join since they were half a pack short. I’ve been here ever since.”
I blow out a breath as she looks me in the eye. “If your brother’s not dead, I’ll help you kill him,” I offer in place of platitudes and useless sympathy.
She bumps her shoulder against mine, a smile on her face. “You’re alright, Luna. I couldn’t imagine a more perfect fit for Tyran—and I don’t say that lightly,” she tells me, and I’m humbled by her sentiment. “Alpha helped me hunt my brother down a while ago, but thank you for the offer.”
A group of pups run past us, playing tag and laughing, and I watch them go, their happy squeals painting the dusky night with euphoria.
“Incoming,” Harlan announces quietly, her body tensing ever so slightly, and I look up to track what it is that’s unsettled her.
I expect to see a female with strawberry blonde hair coming our way, but when my searching gaze lands on ash-brown hair and wide hazel eyes, I realize it’s Reap who’s making a beeline for us. The pack members nearby go quiet, their gazes judgmental, and I can see how self-conscious that makes Reap as the skin around his eyes tighten.
I thought the reckoning and his proving that he trusted Tyran at the river would’ve mended things with the rest of the pack, but from the look of it, it’s going to take more time for this wound to heal.
Reap reaches me and Harlan like a charging bull, and just when I’m convinced it’s time to call on my wolf to deal with him, he drops to a knee in front of me and tilts his head to the side, giving me easy access to his neck. “Luna, I just wanted to tell you how sorry I