The Alpha King Posed as a Crippled Beggar to Test His Pack — Only a Rejected Omega Gave Him Her Coat

The first stone struck his shoulder before Eloin even saw the man.

She had been crossing the village square with her basket of roots, head down, trying to make herself invisible the way rejected Omegas learned to do.

But the sound of jeering laughter made her stop.

A crowd had gathered near the well, their breath fogging in the bitter mountain air.

Crippled filth, someone spat, crawling into Thornwood territory like a wounded rat.

Eloin rose on her toes to see past the wall of shoulders.

At the center of the mob, a man knelt in the frozen mud.

He was massive, or had been once.

Broad shoulders hunched beneath a torn cloak that offered no protection against the wind.

His left leg twisted at an unnatural angle, and he leaned heavily on a crude wooden crutch.

Dirt and dried blood matted his dark hair, obscuring most of his face.

But it was his stillness that caught her attention.

Despite the stones being thrown, despite the kicks aimed at his ribs, he neither flinched nor begged.

He simply endured, as if the cruelty of the crowd was beneath his notice.

What’s happening?

Eloan whispered to a woman nearby.

Beggar wandered in from the eastern pass.

The woman said with a dismissive shrug.

Beta Aldrich says he’s probably a spy from the Ashevail Pack.

Wants to make an example of him.

Aldrich.

Of course.

Ever since the Alpha King had vanished a month ago.

The Beta had ruled Thornwood with iron cruelty.

And those who had already been cast to the margins, omegas like Eloin, had suffered most.

Another stone flew, this one striking the beggar’s temple.

Blood bloomed bright against his pale skin, and still he did not cry out, but his eyes, his eyes lifted and swept across the crowd with cold assessment.

Elos step faltered.

Those eyes were the color of aged whiskey, amber and gold with flexcks of something darker.

And despite the beggar’s wretched state, despite the filth and blood and broken posture, those eyes held no defeat.

They held patience.

They held calculation.

They held the quiet fury of a predator waiting to strike.

“Enough gawking!”

A sharp voice cut through the noise.

Aldrich himself stroed into the circle, his beta medallion gleaming against his chest.

“This creature has until sundown to crawl back where he came from.

If he’s still here when the moon rises, we’ll give him to the young wolves for hunting practice.”

The crowd laughed.

Someone kicked Snow into the beggar’s face.

Elos hands clenched around her basket.

She should leave.

Drawing attention to herself was dangerous.

Aldrich had already made clear what happened to Omegas who forgot their place.

But she couldn’t stop staring at the beggar’s wound.

The gash on his shoulder, visible through his torn cloak, wasn’t just bleeding.

The flesh around it was wrong, traced with thin lines of silver that spread like frost across his skin.

She knew that pattern.

Her grandmother had described it once in whispered warnings about weapons forged to kill their kind.

“He’s been poisoned,” she realized.

With silverlaced steel, the crowd began to disperse.

Their entertainment concluded.

Aldrich cast one final contemptuous look at the beggar before striding away.

His enforcers falling into step behind him.

Eloin should have followed, should have scured home to the cramped cottage at the edge of packed territory where her brother Milo waited.

Instead, she found her feet carrying her toward the man still kneeling in the churned snow.

Up close, he was even larger than she’d thought, even broken and hunched.

The top of his head nearly reached her chin.

The muscles beneath his tattered clothes spoke of a warrior’s strength.

Wasted now by whatever ordeal had brought him here.

His watchful gaze tracked her approach with wary intensity.

“You’re dying,” Eloin said quietly.

“That wound is poisoned,” he said.

“Nothing.

Perhaps he didn’t understand her.

Or perhaps he simply didn’t care.”

Elo glanced around the emptying square.

No one was watching.

No one cared what happened to a rejected Omega or a crippled beggar.

Before she could think better of it, she unclasped her coat.

The thick wool cloak that had been her mother’s, the only warm thing she owned, and draped it over his shoulders.

The beggar went rigid.

“The eastern caves are a mile from here,” she continued, her voice barely above a whisper.

“You could shelter there until you’re strong enough to travel.

I can bring food tomorrow and herbs for that wound.

If you, why?”

His voice was rough, as if unused for weeks.

But the single word carried weight.

Authority.

Something that made her wolf stir restlessly beneath her skin.

Because no one else will.

Eloan pulled back, suddenly aware of how close she’d gotten.

And because I know what it’s like to be thrown away.

Recognition sparked in those watchful depths.

Surprise!

And beneath it, something hotter that made her cheeks warm despite the freezing wind.

He opened his mouth to speak again, but then his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed forward into the snow.

No, no, no.

Eloin dropped to her knees, pressing her fingers to his throat.

His pulse was there, but Thddy, racing too fast.

The silver poisoning was spreading.

He had hours at most.

She couldn’t carry him to the caves.

She couldn’t leave him here to die.

There was only one option left.

Milo, she breathed, already calculating the distance.

Milo will have to help me.

It took every ounce of strength Elo possessed to drag the unconscious stranger through the back paths of the village, avoiding the main roads where Aldrich’s enforcers patrolled.

By the time her cottage came into view, her arms were shaking and her lungs burned with cold.

The door flew open before she reached it.

When Milo’s young face creased with worry as he rushed to help.

At 12, he was small for his age, but quick and clever.

Who is that?

What happened?

A traveler?

Eloan gasped.

He’s hurt.

Help me get him inside.

Together, they managed to wrestle the stranger through the narrow doorway and onto the floor before the cold hearth.

Milo immediately set to building a fire, while Eloin stripped away the beggar’s ruined cloak.

What she found beneath made her stomach clench.

The silver-laced wound on his shoulder was worse than she’d feared.

The corruption spreading in delicate fractal patterns across his chest.

But there were other injuries, too.

Bruises layered upon bruises, cuts in various stages of healing.

Marks that spoke not of a single attack, but of sustained, deliberate brutality.

“Who did this to you?”

She whispered.

The stranger’s eyes remained closed, but his breathing had grown more ragged.

Eloan pressed her palm to his forehead and hissed at the heat radiating from his skin.

The fever was rising, and with it, the poison was accelerating toward his heart.

She had until dawn to save him, if she could save him at all.

The fire crackled in the hearth, casting dancing shadows across the cottage walls.

Elo had been working for hours, grinding herbs and preparing picuses with hands that trembled from exhaustion.

Nothing was working.

She had tried everything her grandmother had taught her.

Yarrow for the fever, elderflower for infection, a paste of honey and garlic pressed directly to the wound.

But the silver corruption continued its relentless advance, creeping down his arm and across his chest like roots seeking water.

When Milo’s small voice broke through her concentration.

Is he going to die?

Elo looked at her brother at the fear poorly hidden behind his brave expression and felt her chest tighten.

I don’t know, she admitted.

But I’m going to do everything I can.

Milo nodded solemnly.

He looks important.

What makes you say that?

His hands.

Milo pointed.

They’re not beggar hands.

No calluses for crutches, but sword calluses on his fingers like the warriors have.

Eloin studied the stranger’s hands and felt unease prickle down her spine.

Milo was right.

These were a fighter’s hands, bearing the marks of years with a blade.

Whatever this man was, he was no simple vagrant.

What have I brought into our home?

But the question faded as the stranger’s breathing grew more labored.

His massive body had begun to tremble.

Muscles twitching beneath his skin as if something was trying to break free.

Milo, go to bed, Eloan ordered.

But I want to help now.

Her tone left no room for argument.

Bar your door and don’t come out until morning.

No matter what you hear.

Milo’s eyes went wide, but he obeyed, retreating to the small back room that served as his bedroom.

Elo waited until she heard the wooden bar slide into place before turning back to her patient.

The stranger’s trembling had intensified.

Sweat poured from his brow, soaking the blankets she’d piled over him.

His lips moved soundlessly, forming words in a language she didn’t recognize.

“Easy,” Eloan murmured, reaching for the cup of willow bark tea she’d prepared.

“You need to drink this,” she slipped her arm beneath his shoulders, struggling to lift him enough to press the cup to his lips.

His skin burned against her forearm, hot as forge heated iron.

The fever was consuming him from within.

Please, she whispered.

Let me help you.

His eyes snapped open.

Eloan gasped, nearly dropping the cup.

Because where Amber had been before, now blazed molten gold, bright as captured sunlight.

Inhuman, primal.

The eyes of a wolf barely contained in human flesh.

Before she could pull away, his hand shot up and caught her wrist with impossible strength.

Found you.

The words were guttural, barely human, spoken in a voice that resonated through her bones.

Finally found you.

I don’t understand.

Elo’s pulse raced against her ribs.

Please, you’re ill.

You need to.

But he wasn’t listening.

He rose up with sudden terrifying grace.

The weakness and injury falling away like a discarded mask.

His free hand cupped her face, calloused fingers tracing her cheekbone with reverent gentleness that contradicted the wildness in his eyes.

He inhaled deeply, his nose brushing along her hairline, her temple, the curve of her ear.

The sound he made then was purely animal, a low, rumbling growl that vibrated through her body and settled somewhere deep in her core.

What are you doing?

Elo meant to sound commanding.

Instead, her voice emerged breathless, trembling.

Mine.

The word was a declaration, an absolute truth spoken by a creature who had never known doubt.

Waited so long.

Mine.

His lips found her throat, and Eloin’s protest died unspoken.

She should fight, should scream, should do anything except stand frozen as his mouth traced the sensitive column of her neck with devastating precision.

Then his teeth sank into the junction where her throat met her shoulder.

Pain lanced through her, sharp and electric.

Elo cried out, her hands flying to his shoulders, either to push away or pull closer.

She couldn’t tell anymore because the pain was already transforming, flooding her veins with liquid fire that rewrote every nerve ending.

His tongue swept across the wound, lapping at the blood, and the sensation made her knees buckle.

“Please,” she gasped.

“But please what?

Stop.

Continue.”

She no longer knew.

The stranger made a sound of profound satisfaction against her skin.

His arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her against his chest as he drank in her essence.

Then, as suddenly as it began, it was over.

His golden eyes rolled back, and he collapsed onto the blankets, pulling her down with him.

For a moment, Eloin lay sprawled across his chest, too stunned to move.

Her hand pressed to her bleeding neck, and she felt the depth of the bite, the perfect impression of teeth that no human mouth should have been able to make.

“What just happened?”

She pushed herself upright on trembling arms, staring down at the stranger who had claimed her.

In unconsciousness, he looked almost peaceful, the fever flush fading from his cheeks, his breathing slowly evening out.

But Eloin felt anything but peaceful.

Heat was spreading through her body, radiating from the bite wound in relentless waves.

It started in her chest and moved outward, turning her blood to fire, her bones to kindling.

She tried to stand, but her legs wouldn’t obey.

The room tilted.

The fire in the hearth seemed to blur and multiply.

“Mo,” she tried to call, but no sound emerged.

The last thing Elo saw before darkness claimed her was her own hand, pressed flat against the wooden floor and the golden light that seemed to be glowing beneath her skin.

Elo woke to pale morning light and the sound of her brother crying.

When when please wake up, please.

She opened her eyes to find Milo kneeling beside her.

His young face stre with tears.

For a moment, confusion rained.

Why was she on the floor?

Why did her body ache as if she’d been trampled?

Then memory crashed back and her hand flew to her throat.

The wound was still there, tender and raw.

But when her fingers probed the edges, she found skin that had already begun to knit closed, healing far faster than any natural injury should.

“Mo,” her voice was hoar.

“I’m all right.

I’m all right.

You were glowing.”

Milo whispered, his eyes huge.

“I came out when I heard you fall, and you were glowing gold, and I couldn’t wake you up, and I thought, shh.”

Eloan pulled him into a fierce embrace, ignoring the protest of her aching muscles.

“I’m here.

I’m fine.”

But she wasn’t fine.

She could feel it now, something different moving beneath her skin, a presence that hadn’t been there before.

And when she looked toward the hearth where the stranger lay, she saw that his eyes were open.

Clear amber again, not gold.

Watching her with an intensity that made her wolf stir restlessly.

He’s awake.

Milo breathed.

Eloin released her brother and rose on unsteady legs.

The stranger was trying to sit up, wincing as the movement pulled at his wounded shoulder.

In the morning light, she could see that the silver corruption had stopped spreading, though it hadn’t retreated.

“Don’t move,” she ordered, crossing to him.

“You’ll tear your stitches.”

“Stitches!”

His voice was clearer now, his command of her language apparently restored along with his consciousness.

He looked down at his shoulder at the neat row of sutures she’d placed while he’d thrashed in fever.

“You did this?

Someone had to.”

Elo kept her voice carefully neutral.

“You were dying.”

Confusion crossed his face, then dawning, realization, then horror.

His gaze snapped to her throat, to the bite mark.

She’d made no effort to hide.

No.

The word was barely a whisper.

No, I didn’t tell me I didn’t.

You bit me.

Elos hand moved instinctively to cover the wound.

Last night, when the fever took you, your eyes turned gold.

And you, she couldn’t finish the sentence.

The stranger, this man she’d risked everything to save, buried his face in his hands.

The sound that escaped him was wounded, anguished.

The cry of a man who had committed an unforgivable sin.

I’m sorry.

His shoulders shook.

I’m so sorry.

I didn’t mean the fever, the poison.

It drove my wolf mad.

I couldn’t control.

He broke off, unable to continue.

Elo stared at him.

She had expected many things.

Gratitude, dismissal, perhaps even violence.

But this raw devastation?

What did you do to me?

She asked quietly.

What does the bite mean?

He looked up at her, and she saw that his eyes were wet.

Among my kind, such a bite is sacred.

It’s how wolves claim their mates for life.

His voice cracked on the last word.

I had no right, no consent.

What I did to you is a crime punishable by death.

Mates?

The word echoed through Eloin’s mind.

She thought of the heat that had flooded her body, the golden glow Milo had described.

The strange presence she could now feel coiled beneath her skin.

“But I’m still alive,” she said slowly.

“Should I not be?”

His expression shuddered.

A claiming bite kills those who are not compatible.

The fact that you survived means, he trailed off, something vulnerable surfacing in his gaze.

Means what?

Before he could answer, Milo stepped forward with the fearless curiosity of youth.

“What’s your name?”

Her brother demanded.

When saved your life?

You owe us that much.

The stranger’s attention shifted to the boy, and despite everything, his lips quirked in what might have been the ghost of a smile.

“Theren,” he said.

“My name is Theron.

I’m Milo, and this is my sister, Elo.

Everyone calls her Wen, but I don’t think you’ve earned that yet, Milo.”

Elo hissed.

But Theron was already nodding gravely.

“You’re right.

I haven’t earned anything from your family except distrust.”

He turned back to Eloin and the brief lightness faded from his expression.

I need to see the wound, the silver corruption.

Can you show me?

Elo hesitated, then nodded.

She helped him ease away the bandage she’d applied, revealing the wound beneath.

What she saw made her inhale sharply.

The silver black veins had retreated significantly, pulled back toward the original gash.

But more than that, the flesh around the injury seemed healthier, pinker, actively healing.

That’s impossible.

The muttered, “Silver poisoning doesn’t reverse.

Not without.”

He looked up at her sharply.

“What did you do?”

Elo stiffened.

“I used herbs, picuses, the usual.”

“Don’t lie to me.”

His voice wasn’t harsh, but it was firm.

No herb can counter silver forged poison.

I’ve seen wolves die within hours of such wounds, so I’ll ask again.

“What did you do?”

The silence stretched between them.

Milo’s hand found Elins, squeezing tight.

We don’t talk about it, her brother whispered.

When tell him we don’t talk about it, but Theren’s gaze held no threat, only desperate curiosity and something else.

Recognition.

As if he already knew her secret and was simply waiting for her to confirm it.

“Show me,” he said softly.

“Please.”

Later, Eloin would blame the lingering effects of the bite, the strange connection she could feel humming between them.

Or perhaps it was simply the fact that she was tired, so desperately tired of hiding who she truly was.

She held out her hands, palms up, closed her eyes, and reached for the warmth that had lived inside her since childhood.

The gift her grandmother had died protecting.

The power that had made her an outcast even before her mate had rejected her.

Golden light bloomed from her palms.

She heard Milo’s sharp intake of breath, heard The soft exhale of wonder.

When she opened her eyes, she found him staring at her glowing hands with an expression she couldn’t read.

You’re a healer, he breathed.

A true healer.

I thought your kind had been hunted to extinction generations ago.

Nearly were.

Elo let the light fade.

My grandmother was the last known one before me.

She taught me to hide it, to never let anyone see.

If the pack found out, they’d kill you.

The jaw tightened, or worse, sell you to those who would use your gift for their own ends.

He understood.

The realization struck Eloin with unexpected force.

This stranger, this mysterious warrior who had appeared in her village with silver poison in his veins.

He understood what it meant to carry a dangerous secret.

Last night, the continued slowly.

When the fever took me, “You used your gift to fight the poison, didn’t you?”

Eloin nodded.

“I tried, but there was something else there.

Something fighting back.

Dark and malevolent.

The silver was alchemically enhanced.

Therein’s expression darkened, designed specifically to kill wolves of of particular bloodlines.

What bloodlines?

Before he could answer, heavy footsteps sounded on the path outside.

A fist hammered against the cottage door.

Elo.

Aldrich’s voice, sharp with authority.

Open this door now.

Elo felt dread coil in her stomach.

Theren had gone completely still.

A predator suddenly alert.

Stay hidden.

She hissed at him.

If he sees you here, open up, Omega.

Aldrich snarled.

I know you dragged that crippled beggar through the village yesterday.

Half the pack saw you.

Did you think I wouldn’t find out?

Elo moved to the door, arranging her hair to cover the bite mark on her throat.

When she lifted the bar, Aldrich shouldered his way inside immediately, his two enforcers close behind.

His dark eyes swept the cottage and found the instantly.

“Well, well,” Aldrich’s lip curled in disgust.

“The rejected Omega has taken in stray filth.

How fitting!

He was dying, Eloin said carefully.

I only silence, Aldrich didn’t even look at her.

His attention was fixed on Theren with predatory interest.

You, beggar, stand up.

Theron rose slowly, favoring his wounded shoulder.

But even hunched and injured, he stood nearly a head taller than Aldrich.

A flash of unease crossed the Beta’s face, quickly suppressed.

I gave orders that you leave Thornwood territory by sundown, Aldrich continued.

Yet here you are enjoying the hospitality of our packs most pathetic Omega.

Explain yourself.

The said nothing.

His steady gaze remained fixed on Aldrich with unsettling calm.

Not going to speak?

Aldrich stepped closer.

Perhaps you need motivation.

He grabbed Milo by the arm, yanking the boy forward.

Milo yelped in pain.

Let him go.

Eloin lunged forward, but one of the enforcers caught her easily, pinning her arms behind her back.

I’ve tolerated your existence because killing Omegas outright tends to upset the softer pack members, Aldrich said conversationally.

But harboring enemies of Thornwood.

That justifies any punishment I choose.

He twisted Milo’s arm.

The boy cried out, I said.

Aldrich smiled coldly.

Let go, Theon moved.

Eloan barely saw it happen.

One moment, Aldrich was sneering in triumph.

The next, he was on his knees with his own knife pressed to his throat.

The behind him with one hand fisted in the beta’s hair.

The enforcers released Eloin, reaching for their weapons.

Don’t.

Theren’s voice was ice.

Move and I open his throat.

Milo scrambled to Eloin’s side.

She pulled him close, pulse racing.

You’ll die for this.

Aldrich snarled, but there was fear in his voice now.

When I tell the pack council, tell them what.

The leaned close to the beta’s ear.

That a crippled beggar disarmed you in seconds?

That you threatened a child to make yourself feel powerful.

He pressed the blade deeper, drawing a thin line of blood.

I’ve known wolves like you my entire life.

Bullies who mistake cruelty for strength.

You disgust me, Theren.

Elos voice shook.

Please, if you kill him, they’ll execute us all.

For a long moment, the didn’t move.

The tension in the cottage was suffocating.

Then he shoved Aldrich forward, sending the beta sprawling.

The knife clattered to the floor between them.

Take your dogs and leave,” Theren commanded.

“If I see you near this family again, I won’t stop it drawing blood.”

Aldrich scrambled to his feet, his face contorted with humiliated rage.

“This isn’t over,” he spat.

“I’ll be back with the full pack guard.

Well see how brave you are then,” he stormed out, his enforcers following.

The cottage door slammed behind them.

In the ringing silence, Eloan realized she was shaking.

“Hell come back,” she whispered.

“He’ll bring warriors.

You have to leave.

Theren turned to face her.

And she saw the truth in his eyes before he spoke.

I know.

He crossed to her, his movements careful, controlled.

I’ve put you in danger just by being here.

Forgive me.

There’s nothing to forgive.

Eloan straightened her spine, refusing to let him see how terrified she was.

You defended my brother.

That’s more than anyone in this pack has done for us in years.

A new expression crossed The face.

He reached out, his fingers stopping just short of her cheek.

You’re extraordinary,” he said softly.

“Do you know that?”

Elos lungs forgot how to work.

“I’m a rejected Omega living in a shack at the edge of nowhere.”

“No.”

His gaze held hers with fierce intensity.

“You’re a woman who gave her last coat to a stranger, who risked everything to save someone the world told her to hate, who possesses a gift powerful enough to reverse silver alchemy.”

His voice dropped.

“You are extraordinary, Eloan.

Anyone who made you believe otherwise was a fool.”

The words struck something deep in her chest, something that had been frozen since the day her mate had cast her aside.

But before she could respond, the stepped back, his expression shuddered.

“I’ll leave tonight,” he said.

“Once I’m gone, Aldrich will have no reason to harm you.

And if he does anyway, Eloan challenged.”

“He’s been looking for an excuse to destroy us for months.

Now he has one, then I’ll leave you protection.”

Theren moved toward the door.

“I have allies.

I’ll send word.”

Wait.

Elo caught his arm.

At least tell me the truth first.

Who are you really?

What were you doing in Thornwood territory?

Theren’s jaw tightened.

For a moment, she thought he wouldn’t answer.

I came to see what my people had become in my absence, he finally said.

I learned more than I wanted to.

Then he was gone, slipping out into the fading afternoon light.

Elo stood at the edge of the forest as darkness crept across Thornwood territory.

She shouldn’t have come.

Aldrich’s threat hung over her cottage like a storm cloud.

And leaving Milo alone, even with the doorbred, made her sick with worry.

But something had pulled her here.

An invisible thread hooked beneath her ribs, tugging her toward the treeine where Theren had said he would be.

She found him in a small clearing, his injured arm now bound in a proper sling.

In the dying light, he looked less like a broken vagrant, and more like what Milo had suspected all along.

“A warrior, a leader, someone dangerous.

You shouldn’t have come,” he said without turning around.

I know, Eloan stepped into the clearing, but I couldn’t let you leave without.

She trailed off, uncertain what she’d intended to say.

Theren finally turned to face her.

In the shadows, his gaze seemed to carry its own inner fire.

Without what?

Without answers.

Elo lifted her chin.

You said you came to see what your people had become.

What did that mean?

Thornwood isn’t your pack.

Is it?

A muscle feathered in his jaw.

Thornwood is very much my pack, more than anyone here realizes.

Elo’s wolf stirred, recognition prickling along her spine.

Who are you?

The silence stretched between them.

Wind rustled through the ancient trees, carrying scents of pine and snow and something wild.

I’m the wolf your beta has been pretending doesn’t exist, the said quietly.

The one they told everyone had abandoned his people, who disappeared a month ago to test whether his pack deserved his loyalty.

The world tilted beneath Eloin’s feet.

You’re him, she breathed.

The Alpha King.

You’re Theren Valamont.

He inclined his head, a gesture of confirmation rather than pride.

Yes.

Elo staggered backward.

Her mind raced, reframing every interaction, every moment since she’d first seen him in the village square.

The Alpha King.

She had given her coat to the Alpha King, had dragged him to her cottage, dressed his wounds, and then been claimed by him.

Why?

The question tore from her throat.

Why pretend to be a beggar?

Why let them treat you like that?

Because I needed to know.

Theren’s voice was heavy with old grief.

When I left, I ordered Aldrich to rule with fairness, to protect the weak, to uphold our laws.

Instead, I returned to find cruelty, corruption, my people turning on each other while he hoards power and plots against me.

The silver poisoning.

Elo realized.

It wasn’t random.

Someone tried to kill you.

Aldrich’s assassins found me in the eastern pass.

Theren’s jaw tightened.

He’s been planning a coup.

He couldn’t challenge me directly, so he hired outsiders with silverforged weapons.

They nearly succeeded, but you survived.

You’re strong enough now to expose him to take back your throne.

The shook his head slowly.

If I reveal myself now, Aldrich will claim I’m an impostor.

My disappearance has given him time to turn the council to his side.

I need proof of his treachery, and I need allies I can trust.

His gaze met hers, and Eloin’s stomach fluttered at what she saw there.

“Allies like you,” he said softly.

“Me?”

Elo laughed, though it sounded hollow.

“I’m a rejected Omega.

No one in this pack would believe anything I You saved my life.

You showed me kindness when everyone else showed contempt.”

Taran stepped closer, close enough that she could feel the heat radiating from his body.

Do you know how rare that is?

In three centuries of ruling, I can count on one hand the wolves who showed compassion to those beneath them.

Three centuries?

Eloan frowned.

But you look, wolves age differently, especially alphas.

A ghost of a smile crossed his face.

I’m far older than I appear.

She should step back, should put distance between herself and this impossible man who had turned her world inside out.

Instead, she stood frozen as he reached for her hand.

Come with me.

His voice was rough with an emotion she couldn’t name.

When I reclaim my throne, I’ll need people I can trust.

You and Milo would be protected, honored.

You’d never have to hide your gift again.

The offer hung between them, shimmering with promise.

A life beyond the margins.

Safety for Milo.

A place where she could be herself without fear.

But even as hope bloomed in her chest, reality crashed back.

Aldri’s enforcers are probably watching the cottage right now.

She said, “If I disappear with you, hell know something’s wrong.

Hell hunt us both.”

Theren’s expression tightened with frustration.

“I can protect you.

You can barely lift your arm.”

Elos voice was gentle but firm.

“You need time to heal, to gather your strength and your evidence.

If you try to fight Aldrich now in this condition, you’ll lose.”

She saw the knowledge of that truth settle over him like a weight.

“Then I go alone,” he said heavily.

“For now.

But I will come back for you, Eloin.

That’s not a promise.

It’s a certainty.

The words sent a shiver through her that had nothing to do with cold.

Theren lifted her hand to his lips.

The kiss he pressed to her knuckles was feather light.

Reverent, and it ignited something in her blood that the bite had only begun to kindle.

Elo, he murmured against her skin.

My brave, extraordinary Elo, she should pull away.

Should remind them both that they were strangers, that a single day couldn’t possibly forge anything real.

Instead, she memorized the feel of his lips against her hand.

The rough velvet of his voice speaking her name.

A howl rose from somewhere in the forest.

Then another and another.

Theren’s head snapped up.

His eyes suddenly bright gold.

My wolves, he said.

They found me.

Elo intensed.

Out of the darkness between the trees, massive shapes began to emerge.

Wolves, but not like any she’d seen in Thornwood.

These were enormous, silver and gray and black, their eyes gleaming with intelligence far beyond any natural animal.

Don’t be afraid.

Thes hand squeezed hers.

They won’t hurt you.

They’re my personal guard.

The few who stayed loyal when I disappeared.

The largest wolf, a silver gray giant with glowing eyes, patted forward and dipped its head to Theren in clear submission.

Then its gaze shifted to Elo, studying her with unsettling intensity.

A sound rumbled from its chest.

Not a growl, but something almost like approval.

He likes you, Theren said.

And despite everything, there was warmth in his voice.

“That’s rare.”

Then he released her hand and stepped toward his wolves.

But at the edge of the clearing, he turned back.

“Three days,” he said.

“Give me 3 days to reach my loyalists in the northern territory.

Then I’ll return for you.

Be ready.

And if Aldrich moves against us before then,” Theren’s expression went deadly cold.

Then pray he doesn’tt because what I’ll do to him if he harms a single hair on your head won’t be fit for the old songs.

Then his form began to shimmer and blur.

Eloin watched in awe as bones shifted as skin rippled and reformed as the man before her transformed into an enormous wolf with fur, the color of dark honey and eyes of brilliant gold.

He was magnificent, terrifying, beautiful.

The alpha wolf held her gaze for one long moment.

Then he turned and bounded into the forest, his pack flowing around him like a silver river until the darkness swallowed them whole.

Elo stood alone in the clearing, her pulse racing and her throat tight.

3 days.

She had 3 days to survive before the Alpha King returned.

She pressed her hand to the bite mark on her throat.

Feeling the strange new connection thrumming beneath her skin like a second heartbeat.

Whatever happened next, her life had changed forever.

And as she walked back toward her cottage through the cold mountain night, Eloin couldn’t decide if that change would save her or destroy her.

Two days had passed since Theren disappeared into the forest.

And Eloin was dying.

She hadn’t told Milo.

Hadn’t admitted it even to herself until this morning when she’d woken on the cottage floor with no memory of how she’d gotten there.

Her body had betrayed her in the night, collapsing beneath the weight of whatever war was being waged inside her blood.

The symptoms had started small, a flutter in her chest when she thought of the a warmth that spread through her limbs when she touched the bite mark on her throat.

She dismissed it as lingering shock as the natural aftermath of the most terrifying and exhilarating days of her life.

But the symptoms had grown.

Now her bones achd constantly, a deep throb that no herb could touch.

Her skin felt too tight, as if something beneath it was struggling to break free.

And worst of all were the dreams.

Every night, Theren came to her, not as the broken beggar or even the proud alpha, but as something in between.

In her dreams, he knelt beside her bed and spoke to her in a language that wasn’t words, a communication of pure emotion that bypassed her ears entirely.

“Mine,” the dreams whispered.

“Come to me, complete what was begun.”

She would wake, gasping, her body burning, her wolf howling beneath her skin with a need she couldn’t name.

“When?”

Milo’s worried voice cut through her thoughts.

You’re doing it again.

Elo blinked, realizing she’d been standing at the window for several minutes, staring at nothing.

Her hand was pressed to her throat, fingers tracing the bite mark that had become an obsession.

Sorry, she forced a smile.

Just thinking about him.

Milo’s young face was too knowing about the Alpha King.

Don’t call him that.

Eloan moved away from the window.

Not where anyone might hear.

No one can hear us.

We’re alone.

Milo paused.

We’re always alone.

The bitterness in his voice made her wsece.

Before Theron’s appearance, before Aldrich’s threats, their isolation had been a protection.

Now it felt like a cage.

One more day, she said as much to herself as to Milo.

He said 3 days.

Tomorrow he’ll come back.

If he’s still alive, whispered a treacherous voice in her mind.

If the silver poisoning didn’t finish what it started, if his enemies haven’t found him, a knock at the door made them both freeze.

Elo.

Not Aldrich’s harsh bark, but a woman’s voice.

Smooth, cultured, unfamiliar.

I know you’re in there.

We need to talk.

Eloin exchanged a glance with Milo.

She motioned for him to hide, then moved cautiously toward the door.

The woman on her doorstep was beautiful in a cold, carved way.

Silver hair swept back from a face that seemed ageless, and her eyes were the pale blue of glacier ice.

She wore traveling clothes of obvious quality, and behind her stood two massive wolves with eyes that held no warmth.

Who are you?

Eloan demanded.

My name is Saraphina.

The woman smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes.

I’m the Alpha Kings mother.

And I believe you have something that belongs to my son.

Dread pulled in Elos stomach.

I don’t know what you’re talking about, don’t you?

Saraphina’s gaze dropped to Elos throat, to the place where the bite mark was poorly hidden by her hair.

My son marked you.

I can smell him on your skin from here.

Her smile sharpened.

What I can’t understand is why.

I saved his life.

Eloan kept her voice steady through sheer will.

He was poisoned, dying.

I Yes, I know all about the assassination attempt.

Saraphina waved a dismissive hand.

Aldrich’s clumsy plot.

We’ve been tracking Theren since he left the Northern Territory.

Her pale eyes narrowed.

What I want to know is what makes a rejected Omega so special that the Alpha King would waste his claiming bite on her.

The words hit like a physical blow.

Waste.

As if Eloin was garbage.

As if the connection she’d felt, the tenderness in Theren’s eyes meant nothing.

“I think you should leave,” Eloan said quietly.

“I think you should invite me in,” Saraphina’s voice hardened.

“Because you’re going to tell me exactly what gifts you’re hiding, Little Omega.

And then you’re going to help me save my son from the mistake he’s made.”

“Mistake?

The claiming bite?”

Saraphina stepped closer, and her wolves growled in unison.

It’s killing him, you fool.

Every hour, the bond remains incomplete.

It drains more of his life force.

Hell be dead within a week unless we sever the connection.

The world tilted.

Eloan grabbed the doorframe for support.

“That’s impossible,” she whispered.

“He was fine when he left.

Healing.

He was running on borrowed time.”

Saraphina’s expression flickered with something that might have been genuine grief.

“My son is powerful, but even he can’t survive an incomplete mate bond.

The only solution is to break it before it destroys him entirely.

How?

Saraphina’s smile returned cold and sharp by eliminating the other half of the bond.

You tried to slam the door, but Saraphina was faster.

Her hand shot out, catching the wood with inhuman strength.

Don’t be dramatic.

I’m not going to kill you.

She pushed into the cottage, her wolves following.

There’s a ritual, ancient magic, that can sever a mate bond without death.

But it requires the Omega’s willing participation, and if I refuse, then my son dies.

Saraphina’s pale eyes bored into hers.

“Is your pride worth his life?”

From his hiding place, Milo made a small sound of distress.

Saraphina’s head turned toward the noise with predatory precision.

“The boy,” she said softly.

“Your brother, I assume.

How touching.”

She looked back at Eloan.

Come with me willingly, participate in the ritual, and I’ll ensure he’s placed with a good family.

Refuse, and I’ll let Aldrich have him.

You’re working with Aldrich?

Aldrich is a useful tool.

Saraphina shrugged.

He wants power.

I want my son alive.

Our interests aligned temporarily.

Elos mind raced.

Everything Theen had told her, every whispered confession in the forest clearing painted a different picture than this cold woman was presenting.

But what if Saraphina was right?

What if the bond really was killing him?

The ache in her chest intensified as if an answer.

She’d thought the pain was her own.

Her body fighting against something it didn’t understand.

But what if she’d been feeling his pain all along?

If I come with you, she said slowly.

You’ll protect Milo.

When?

No.

Her brother burst from his hiding place.

Don’t trust her.

I give you my word as the Alpha King’s mother.

Saraphina’s voice was smooth as silk.

The boy will be safe.

It was a trap.

Every instinct Eloin possessed screamed that this woman was lying, manipulating, playing a game whose rules Eloin couldn’t see.

But if there was even a chance that Theren was dying because of her, “I’ll come,” she heard herself say.

“But Milo stays here in our cottage with provisions.

If anything happens to him, nothing will happen.”

Saraphina’s smile was triumphant.

“You’ve made the right choice, little Omega.

My son will thank you for this sacrifice.”

As Saraphina’s wolves flanked her and led her away from the only home she’d ever known, Eloin looked back at Milo’s devastated face in the cottage doorway.

“Find Theren,” she mouthed silently.

“Tell him everything.”

Then the forest swallowed her, and all she could feel was the bond in her chest, pulsing with pain that she now understood wasn’t hers alone.

The ritual chamber was carved into the heart of a mountain.

Elo had lost track of time during the journey.

Saraphina’s wolves had set a brutal pace, and somewhere along the way, Eloin’s body had simply stopped cooperating.

She’d collapsed twice, each time waking to find herself being carried like a sack of grain.

Now she lay on a stone altar, her wrists bound with silverthreaded rope that burned against her skin.

Above her, ancient symbols covered the ceiling, painted in something dark and rustcoled that she refused to identify.

“The fever is accelerating.”

Saraphina’s voice echoed in the chamber.

We need to begin the ritual now.

The preparations aren’t complete.

A second voice, male, unfamiliar.

If we rush this, if we wait, she’ll die before we can sever the bond, and my son will follow.

Saraphina’s tone left no room for argument.

Begin.

Elo tried to speak, to protest, but her throat wouldn’t cooperate.

The burning had spread from her wrists throughout her entire body.

Every cell felt like it was being torn apart and rebuilt over and over.

An endless cycle of destruction and creation.

This is what Theren felt, she realized dimly.

The transformation.

It’s happening to me.

But something was wrong.

Her grandmother had taught her about wolf transformations.

Whispered warnings about the dangers that awaited those whose blood carried the old magic.

A transformation required surrender.

A willing release of the human self to make room for the wolf.

Elo wasn’t surrendering.

She was fighting.

Her healer’s gift.

The golden light that had saved Theren’s life was now working against her.

Every time the wolf tried to emerge, her magic pushed it back.

Every time the change began, her power reversed it.

She was at war with herself, and both sides were losing.

Remarkable.

The male voice again, closer now.

Eloin forced her eyes open and saw a thin man in scholars robes leaning over her.

Her body is rejecting the transformation.

“I’ve never seen anything like it.

Can you sever the bond or not?”

Saraphina demanded.

I can try, but if her magic interferes with the ritual.

He shook his head.

The results could be catastrophic.

Do it.

The scholar began to chant.

Words in a language older than the mountains themselves.

Elo felt something tug at her chest, a cold presence trying to worm its way into the warmth where the bond lived.

No.

The thought came from somewhere deep inside her, somewhere primal and fierce.

He is mine.

You cannot have him.

Golden light exploded from her body.

The scholar screamed, thrown backward by a force that sent him crashing into the chamber wall.

Saraphina snarled and shifted, her human form giving way to a massive white wolf that lunged toward the altar.

But before her jaws could close around Eloin’s throat, a howl shattered the air, not one howl.

Dozens, hundreds.

A chorus of wolf voices that seemed to shake the very stone.

The chamber’s entrance exploded inward through the dust and debris.

Elo saw them.

Wolves of every color pouring into the space like a living flood.

And at their head, enormous and terrible and beautiful, was a wolf the color of dark honey with eyes of blazing gold.

Therein the alpha king’s wolves crashed into Saraphina’s guards with devastating force.

Saraphina herself shifted back to human form, retreating toward a hidden passage as her loyalists fell around her.

“This isn’t over, my son,” she screamed as she fled.

“Youll regret choosing this Omega over your own blood.”

The didn’t pursue her.

His form blurred and shifted until he stood over Elo as a man, his hands tearing at her silver bonds.

I’ve got you.

His voice was ragged, desperate.

I’ve got you, Eloin.

Hold on, Theren.

She could barely form words.

Your mother, she said, the bond killing you.

Lies.

He lifted her from the altar, cradling her against his chest.

My mother has been working with Aldrich from the beginning.

She never wanted me to find a true mate.

It would threaten her control over the pack.

But the pain, I felt it.

The bond isn’t killing me.

Theren’s gaze met hers, and she saw anguish there.

It’s killing you.

Your magic is fighting the transformation.

If it continues, he couldn’t finish.

From the far side of the chamber, a commotion drew their attention.

Two of Theron’s wolves had cornered Aldrich, who must have been lurking in the shadows throughout the ritual.

The beta’s face was pale with terror as the massive beast circled him.

“My king,” Aldrich stammered, falling to his knees.

I can explain your mother.

She forced me to save your lies for the afterlife.

Theren’s voice was ice and iron.

He nodded once to his wolves.

Eloin turned her face into Theren’s chest.

But she couldn’t block out Aldrich’s final scream, cut short by the sound of tearing flesh.

When silence fell, she knew the beta, who had tormented her for years, would never threaten anyone again.

“It’s over,” Theren murmured against her hair.

“He can’tt hurt you anymore.”

But even as relief washed through her, Eloin felt her body failing.

The light behind her eyes was dimming, and the war inside her was reaching its final battle.

“Theren,” she whispered.

“I don’t think I’m going to.

Don’t.”

His arms tightened around her.

“Don’t you dare give up.

Not now.

Not after everything.”

But her eyes were already closing, and the last thing she heard was his voice breaking as he called her name.

Elo woke in a bed of furs, surrounded by warmth and the scent of pine.

For a long moment, she simply lay there, cataloging sensations.

Her body still achd, but it was a distant thing now, muted by exhaustion.

The burning had faded to embers, and when she reached for the bond in her chest, she found it still there, still pulsing with the presence.

Alive.

He’s alive.

You’re awake.

Elo turned her head to find an elderly woman sitting beside the bed.

She had the weathered face of someone who had lived long and seen much, and her eyes held ancient wisdom.

Where am I?

The Northern Sanctuary.

The woman pressed a cup to Eloin’s lips.

Drink.

You’ve been unconscious for two days.

Two days.

Elo drank obediently, the herbal tea soothing her raw throat.

The she managed.

The old woman’s expression shifted.

The alpha king is troubled.

He blames himself for your condition.

My condition.

The transformation.

The woman set down the cup with a heavy sigh.

Your healer magic has been fighting the change since the moment he bit you.

Every time the wolf tries to emerge, your gift destroys it.

Every time your gift activates, the wolf fights back.

She shook her head.

You are at war with yourself, child, and the battlefield is your own body.

Elo absorbed this slowly.

Is there a cure?

There is a choice.

The woman’s eyes met hers.

You can continue to fight.

Let your magic suppress the transformation until your body simply cannot sustain the conflict any longer.

You would have perhaps a week, maybe two, before the strain kills you.

And the other option, surrender, the word hung in the air between them.

Stop fighting.

Let the transformation complete.

Embrace what you’re becoming.

Would I survive that?

The old woman was silent for a long moment.

Among our kind, the claiming bite transforms those who are compatible.

Most humans die instantly if bitten.

So the fact that you lived means your blood carries wolf heritage, however distant.

She paused.

But a transformation is never guaranteed.

Many who attempt it do not survive, especially those whose bodies resist the change.

Perhaps one in 10 succeed under such circumstances.

One in 10.

A 90% chance of death.

But if she didn’t try, she would die anyway.

And worse, Theon would blame himself for the rest of his life.

Where is he?

Elo pushed herself upright, ignoring the wave of dizziness.

I need to see him.

He gave orders that you not be disturbed.

I don’t care about his orders.

Elo swung her legs over the side of the bed.

Take me to him, please.

The old woman studied her for a long moment.

Then slowly, she smiled.

Perhaps you are worthy of him after all.

She found The in a chamber overlooking a vast mountain valley.

He stood at the window, his back to her, and even from across the room, she could see the tension in his shoulders, the defeat in his posture.

You should be resting.

His voice was hollow.

I’ve rested enough.

Elo crossed to stand beside him.

Look at me, Theren.

He turned and her heart achd at what she saw.

His eyes were red- rimmed.

His face hagggered with grief.

He looked like a man who had already lost everything.

I did this to you.

His voice cracked.

I condemned you to death with my weakness.

You saved my life.

Elo reached up to cup his face.

In that village square, I was already dying.

Slowly, invisibly, rejected by my mate, cast out by my pack, watching my brother grow up in the shadows because of what I am.

She forced him to meet her eyes.

You saw me, Theren.

For the first time in my life, someone saw me and thought I was worth saving.

And now you’re dying because of it.

I’m dying because I’m afraid.

The admission cost her everything.

My whole life.

I’ve hidden what I am.

Suppressed my gift, fought against anything that made me different.

She drew a shaky breath.

But I’m done fighting.

The went very still.

What are you saying?

I’m saying I want to try the transformation.

Elo held his gaze.

Tonight before I lose my nerve.

You could die.

I could die either way.

But at least this way I’m choosing.

She managed a trembling smile.

And you know what I’ve learned about odds?

They don’t account for stubbornness.

And I am very, very stubborn.

A sound escaped Theren that was half laugh, half sobb.

He pulled her into his arms, burying his face in her hair.

“If I lose you,” he whispered.

“I won’tt survive it.

Then I’ll just have to live.”

Elo pressed her lips to his throat, feeling his pulse race beneath her kiss.

“Because I have no intention of leaving you alone there in Valamont.

You’re stuck with me.

The ritual took place beneath the full moon in a sacred grove where ancient stones stood sentinel overground that had witnessed a thousand transformations.”

Eloin knelt at the center, dressed in simple white, her hair unbound.

Around her, the loyal wolves formed a protective circle, and before her, Theron himself knelt.

His hands clasped around hers.

“You don’t have to do this,” he said one final time.

“Yes,” Eloan squeezed his fingers.

“I do.”

She closed her eyes and reached inside herself to the place where her healer’s gift lived alongside the wolf that had been trying to emerge.

For the first time in her life, she didn’t push the wolf away.

I see you, she thought.

I accept you.

We are one.

The pain began immediately.

It was worse than anything she’d experienced before.

Her bones shattered and reformed.

Her muscles tore themselves apart.

Her skin split and knit back together in patterns that defied nature.

She heard screaming and realized it was her own voice.

Through the agony, she felt the hands gripping hers.

Felt his presence anchoring her to the world.

His voice reached her through the pain, speaking words of love and encouragement, begging her to hold on.

But the darkness was pulling at her, sweet and seductive, offering release from the torment.

It would be so easy to let go, to slip away into the quiet and leave the pain behind forever.

No.

The voice came from deep within, from the wolf that had been waiting her entire life.

We are not finished.

He needs us.

The boy needs us.

We are pack.

Eloin reached for that voice, wrapped herself around it, and held on with everything she had.

The transformation completed in a burst of golden light.

When she opened her eyes, the world had changed.

Colors were brighter, scents were sharper, sounds were clearer.

She could hear heartbeats, dozens of them, surrounding her in the grove.

She looked down at her hands and saw paws.

Silver white fur covered her body.

And when she rose to her feet, she realized she stood on four legs.

I did it.

A howl of pure joy rose from her throat, and the wolves around her answered in kind.

But when she looked for Theren, she found the space before her empty.

Panic seized her.

She scanned the grove with her new wolf senses and caught his scent moving away toward the cliff edge at the far side of the clearing.

No, no, no, no.

She bounded after him, her new form eating up the ground in powerful strides.

She found him at the precipice, standing in human form, staring down at the moonlit valley far below.

“Theren.”

She shifted back without thinking, stumbling as she adjusted to two legs again.

“What are you doing?

You were dead.”

His voice was eerily calm.

For 3 minutes, your heart stopped.

I felt the bond go dark.

He turned to face her, and she saw tears tracking down his cheeks.

“I thought I’d lost you, but I’m here.”

Elo grabbed his arms, pulling him back from the edge.

I’m alive.

The transformation worked.

I know.

He cupped her face in his hands, searching her features as if memorizing every detail.

I know.

And I’ve never been more grateful for anything in my existence.

But in those three minutes, Eloan, I made a decision.

What decision?

That I wouldn’t live without you.

His voice broke.

That if you died because of my bite, I would follow you into whatever comes next.

The words hit her with staggering force.

The I love you.

He said it simply.

Absolutely.

As if stating a fundamental truth of the universe.

I’ve loved you since the moment you knelt in the snow and offered a dying stranger your only warmth.

I will love you until the stars burn out and the mountains crumble to dust.

You are my mate, Eloin, my heart, my home.

Eloin felt tears spill down her own cheeks.

The bond between them pulsed with shared emotion.

Joy and relief and love so fierce it threatened to consume them both.

Then let me complete it, she whispered.

Let me claim you the way you claimed me.

The eyes widened.

You don’t have to.

I want to.

She rose on her toes, her lips brushing his throat.

I want everyone to know you’re mine.

Theren Valamont.

I want them to see my mark on your skin and know that the Alpha King belongs to a rejected Omega who loved him enough to die for him.

His breath hitched.

Slowly, deliberately, he tilted his head back, bearing his throat in the ancient gesture of submission.

Elos wolf surged forward with fierce possessiveness.

When her teeth sank into his flesh, the world exploded into light.

Their minds merged completely, two becoming one in a bond that transcended flesh and blood.

She felt his memories pour into her.

Childhood loneliness, the burden of kingship, and centuries of searching for something he couldn’t name, and she gave him hers in return.

Rejection, survival, the small, fierce hope that had kept her alive when everything else said she should break.

Mine, her wolf growled with satisfaction.

Yours, his wolf answered.

Always.

When she finally released him, they stood swaying together beneath the full moon, marked and claimed.

Incomplete.

My queen.

The breathed against her hair.

My brave, beautiful, impossible queen.

Your queen.

Eloin pulled back to stare at him.

The I’m a rejected Omega.

I can’t be.

You are the mate of the Alpha King.

His smile was radiant with joy.

That makes you queen of every wolf who bows to my rule.

And trust me, my love.

After tonight’s display of power, they will all bow.

From the edge of the grove, a familiar voice rang out.

When Eloin spun to see Milo racing toward her, flanked by wolves who must have brought him from Thornwood.

She caught her brother in a fierce embrace, laughing and crying at once.

You’re furry, Milo observed, pulling back to study her with wide eyes.

Well, you were furry.

You’re a wolf now.

A real wolf.

A real wolf, Eloin confirmed.

Is that okay?

Milo considered this seriously.

Does this mean I get to ride you when you’re in wolf form?

Absolutely not.

Well negotiate later.

Milo turned to the with the fearless directness of youth.

You’re the alpha king.

Are you going to take care of my sister?

The knelt to meet the boy’s eyes.

I’m going to spend every day of my very long life trying to deserve her.

Is that acceptable?

Milo studied him for a long moment.

Then he nodded solemnly.

I guess you can call her when now as laughter echoed through the sacred grove.

Eloin looked around at the impossible family she’d found.

Her brother, her mate, the wolves who had accepted her as one of their own.

She had spent her whole life hiding, surviving, waiting for something she couldn’t name.

Now finally, she understood.

She had been waiting to come