Chapter 2 The Return

Maya's POV

I sat by the window instead, listening to Damien pace the living room and mumble phone conversations. Seraphina was alive. Like a death sentence, the words reverberated in my thoughts.

By morning, I had packed everything important-which wasn't much. Four years spent creating a life in Seattle fit into two suitcases. Fantastic how little actual there was to a relationship founded on falsehoods.

Around seven, Damien knocked on the bedroom door. Will we discuss?

The door opening startled him, and he backed away. The frigid calm I had learned at my father's knee had replaced the careful mask I had worn for four years.

I remarked, tossing my baggage past him, "There's nothing to discuss. departing first thing.

He seized my arm. "You can't just leave. Not like this, either. Not without-" "Without letting you explain why you've been using me as a replacement for your supposedly dead ex-girlfriend?

The guilt that showed across his features confirmed it enough. He was listening to everything.

Maya, it wasn't like that-"

It was precisely like that. I tore myself free from his grip. Tell me something, Damien. Whose name did you want to whisper when you made love to me? Whose face did you see when you stated your love for me?

He opened his mouth, closed it, then hung his head. "I never meant to damage you.

you did. You have been causing me agony every day for four years by making me think I was enough when I was just a consolation prize. I approached the door. alive. Visit her. Celebrate life. Just... don't offend me by pretending this was ever genuine.

"Maya, wait-"The door shut behind me with a weight that reverberated through my body. I had anticipated more emotion-rage, devastation, the crushing weight of heartache. Instead, all that was left was an empty nothing and the peculiar feeling that I was finally awakening from a four-year fantasy.

My phone buzzed with a text from an unidentified number: *Safe travels, little wolf. I shall be patient.*

Kane. Somehow, my dad had already told him of my choice. Though it should have disturbed me, the letter instead sent an unanticipated thrill through my body. When was the last time someone had addressed me as "little wolf"? The last time I felt absolutely seen was?

The Portland flight was routine. I texted my father with my arrival time, and he reacted with characteristic alpha efficiency: Marcus will greet you at the airport.

Practically an uncle to me, Marcus was my father's first friend and beta. Tall, gray at the temples, he had the kind of constant presence that put you at ease. I recognized him right away. As I cleared security, he snatched me into a ferocious embrace.

He stated, holding me at arm's length, "Look at you. City life has gotten you slender. Your father will certainly have something to say about that.

"Hello to you as well, Marcus. I managed a grin. "How is the old man?

Though he'll never confess it, he is anxious and sick about you. Marcus grabbed my suitcase. "He's been pacing the pack house like a caged wolf since you phoned.

Driving through the Cascade Mountains was absolutely amazing. I had forgotten how gorgeous Oregon was, how the ancient forests appeared to mumble secrets in the wind. My wolf jolted with recognition; this was home, this was where we were meant to be.

Marcus said slowly, want to share what occurred in Seattle?

I watched the passing trees from the window. "I developed a crush on someone in love with a ghost. I realized over four years that I was only vying against a memory rather than a genuine person.

"And now? "I'm done settling for crumbs of love from someone who will never genuinely see me. I swivelled to face him. "I'm ready to be who I was meant to be.

Marcus approved with a nod. Father will be delighted to hear that. He has been patient, but the pack has to realize their future Alpha is devoted to her purpose.

Alpha was yet to come. The words hit me hard. I had forgotten what it really meant-not only marriage but also leadership-rather focused on escaping my prearranged mating. Power. Aim.

As the sun set, we passed Silverstone Pack's grounds. The familiar scenery made my heart yearn with a homesickness I hadn't known I'd been carrying. At sixteen, I attended my first pack meeting in the grand hall, where I had learned to fight and spent summers assisting the elders in the community gardens. training ground where I had learned to fight.

The pack house itself was a large building set into the mountainside; its windows shone warmly in the evening. Through the common spaces, I could observe wolves; my pack, my family.

Marcus remarked as we parked, "He's in his office. warning-he's been in Alpha mode since you called. Don't view it personally.

My feet thundered in the hallway as I ascended the well-known stairs to the third floor. The door to my father's office was open; he was silhouetted against the floor-to-ceiling windows behind his enormous oak table.

At six-foot-four, with silver-streaked black hair and storm-cloud eyes, Alpha Marcus Blackwood was a formidable man. Through sheer force of will and strategic brilliance, he had transformed the Silverstone Pack from a little mountain village into one of the most dominating supernatural regions on the West Coast.

Softly, I said, "Hello, Daddy.

Turning, his Alpha guise briefly broke. I saw the father below-the guy who had taught me to hunt, who had held me when I cried over my first heartbreak, who had let me run away to chase a dream despite his heartbreak.

Three steps carried him across the room; then he drew me into his arms. My girl. Miss you.

I sniffed his familiar scent-pine, mountain air, and the distinctive musk that distinguished him as my Alpha, my father. Years ago, for the first time, I felt totally secure.

Whispering against his shoulder, I said, "I'm sorry. sorry for running away. Regrets for wasting four years. I am sorry for being so naive and obstinate.

"You were eighteen and enthralled with the prospect of charting your own course," he added softly. "I understood, even if I disapproved.

He retracted to face me, his hands on my shoulders. "Tell me about Seattle. Tell me what made you understand you belonged here.

So I did. I told him about Damien, about the falsehoods, about realizing I was merely a replacement for a dead lady. I told him how the terrible discovery that Seraphina was still alive had at last destroyed the dream I had been living.

My father listened without interruption, his countenance darkening with every detail. His eyes were seething with barely controlled fury after I was done.

He stated simply, "I should kill him. What he's done to you, for the disrespect he's shown to this pack, I should hunt him down and tear his throat out.

I laid a hand on his arm. not worth it. He's not worth starting a war between packs.

You are my daughter. You justify starting a war.

The strong protectiveness in his voice reminded me why, as a child, I had always felt safe. Alpha Marcus Blackwood would set the world ablaze for those he loved.

I said, "I just want to forget him. I want to concentrate on the pack, the future, and becoming the woman you raised me to be.

For a long period, he examined my features. "Are you certain? There is no going back once we announce your comeback and the agreement with the Shadowmere Pack is officially established.

"I'm sure. And I did. For the first time in four years, I felt as though I was precisely where I should be.

My father nodded. "Then we'll call Alpha Kane in the morning. " the official dating process.

I asked, "What kind of guy is he now? Kane, I mean. Once I met him, I was so preoccupied with revolting that I failed to fully absorb.

My father's face changed to a bizarre smile. "He's. . . intense. Strong. He has developed the Shadowmere Pack into something powerful. But he is also patient; he waited four years for you to come to your senses.

"That doesn't sound like patience. " Arrogance, it sounds like.

He could have picked any companion he wanted, though. He decided to wait for you. "

I wrinkled my brow. "Why? We barely know each other.

"Because he sees potential in you that you haven't even discovered yet. My father walked toward the window and gazed out at the pack grounds. Kane Shadowmere only acts for a goal. Should he wish you as his companion, it's because he thinks you will enable him.

And what about love? The query came out before I had time to arrest it.

My dad looked at me, his face kind and open. "Love may come later in life, Maya. What matters now are respect, working together, and common goals-these form a strong pair. If the Moon Goddess wants, love may grow too."

I nodded, but deep down, I felt a fight rise inside me. I had felt love-or so I thought-and it had almost broken me. Maybe respect and working together were better. Maybe love was not as good as they say.

"There's more you need to know," my dad said again. "Kane will be here by nightfall tomorrow. He wants to see you, to be sure you are all in before we move forward."

My gut felt tight. "Tomorrow?"

"He has waited four years, Maya. He will not wait any longer."

That night, I was in my old room, looking at the roof and thinking about what I was getting into. From my window, I could hear the group settling for the night-talk from the shared spaces, noise of feet on paths in the woods, and a far-off wolf's call to the moon.

My phone buzzed. A text from Damien: *Please don't do this. Return to Seattle. Let me talk.*

I saw the text for a while, then I blocked his number. Some paths need to be left behind.

Then, another text came, this one from Kane: *I am happy to see you soon, Maya. Sleep well.*

I felt a chill, not sure if it was from fear or the wait. Tomorrow, I will face the man I was promised to from birth. Tomorrow, I will start a new part of my life.

But tonight, I would grieve for the girl I was in Seattle-full of hope, wildly in love with a man who never really saw her. That girl was gone, replaced by one tougher, colder, more sure.

One fit to be an Alpha's mate.