Hardik's cave is functional. Maps spread across a makeshift table. A fire burns in the center, smoke escaping through natural vents. The carved wolf figurine sits on a stone shelf. Sorin's childhood gift.
My chest tightens.
"Sit." Hardik gestures to the furs near the fire. His movements are slower than I remember.
I lower myself onto the furs. Heat seeps into my aching muscles.
Hardik pours water into two cups. His hands shake slightly as he offers one.
"Tell me what happened after the attack," he says. "How did you survive when everyone believed you dead?"
I take the cup. The water is cool against my throat.
"They came through the door and window at the same time. Multiple attackers. They pinned me to the bed." My voice sounds flat. "Sorin was on the floor. They killed him and made me watch."
Hardik's jaw tightens but he doesn't interrupt.
"I fought back. Eventually. Killed some of them. Escaped through the window." I take another drink.
"They pursued you."
"Four of them. Maybe five." I stare into the fire. "I found a cave. They tracked my blood trail."
"You were injured," Hardik leans forward.
"Shoulder. Back. Ribs." I touch my back. "The wound reopened. I got sloppy."
"Then what?"
"I ran. Bracken found me. Attacked from behind." My fingers tighten around the cup. "I was about to die when Riven appeared. He saved my life."
"The outcast." Hardik's voice holds no judgment. "I remember him. His father refused an order from Varek's father. They executed both his parents and cast him out." Hardik's expression darkens. "I remember that night. The Alpha made the whole pack watch. I argued against exiling a child but I was only beta then."
"He told me."
"And yet he saved you." Hardik studies me. "Why?"
"He says I'm his mate."
The words hang between us.
Hardik's expression doesn't change. "And is he?"
I hesitate. How do I tell Sorin's father that I've already accepted another mate the day his son died?
"Yes." The admission comes quietly.
"I see." Hardik's voice stays neutral.
"I didn't plan it." The words rush out. "Sorin just died but I felt it, Hardik. The bond was real."
"The mate bond doesn't lie."
"I know." I meet his gaze, bracing for judgment. "But it feels like I'm betraying Sorin's memory."
Hardik's expression softens. "The goddess works in her own time, child."
"You're not angry?"
"Angry?" He shakes his head. "Sorin would want you to live. To find happiness again. He wouldn't want you to mourn him forever."
Relief floods through me.
"You've changed since I last saw you," he says quietly. "There's something harder in you now. Something that wasn't there before."
I don't deny it. "Sorin made me soft. Made me believe strength could coexist with mercy." My voice hardens. "But now I know better. Mercy gets you killed."
"You're wrong about that."
The words hit like a slap.
"You weren't there," I snap. "You didn’t see—"
"I saw plenty. They came for me that night too." Hardik touches his side where his movements are stiff. "Three warriors. I killed two, but the third ran. I was bleeding, couldn't shift."
I lean forward. "How did you escape?"
"Thorne found me and got me out through tunnels beneath the Alpha's quarters." His voice grows rough.
The carved wolf catches my eye again.
"Sorin never told me about those tunnels."
"Then that knowledge died with him. Those tunnels could have saved you both." Hardik's gaze is steady. "I should have told him about them sooner. Should have prepared him better for threats like Varek."
"You couldn't have known."
"But I should have." His voice turns bitter. "I was Alpha. It was my job to prepare my son for every possibility. Instead, I let him believe our pack was safe. That tradition and honor still meant something."
"Hardik—"
"No." He holds up a hand. "I failed him as much as anyone."
He pauses. Then continues.
"Thorne half-carried me for miles. Kept me alive while I was helpless. For two days, I depended completely on someone else's mercy."
"And?"
"It taught me that mercy isn't weakness. Every wolf here chose to follow me when they could have bent to Varek. That mercy built this resistance." He leans forward. "If we become just like Varek to defeat him, what have we really won?"
I want to argue but the words stick.
Riven saved me. That was mercy.
Thorne saved Hardik. That was mercy too.
"There's a difference between being strong and being cruel," Hardik says. "Sorin understood that. He named you Alpha because he saw you could be both fierce and fair."
"He was wrong." My voice cracks. "I failed him."
"You survived. You escaped. You found your mate. You made it here." His gaze holds mine. "That's exactly the strength Sorin saw in you."
The fire crackles. Outside, someone laughs. The sound is warm. Alive.
"I don't know how to be what he wanted me to be," I admit quietly.
"Then learn." Hardik's voice softens. "That's what leadership is."
We sit in silence for a moment. Then Hardik stands, wincing slightly as his injured leg protests.
"He loved you," I whisper.
"I know." Hardik's voice breaks. "You'll stay here tonight. Rest. Tomorrow we'll talk about what comes next and how we take back our pack from Varek."
He moves toward the cave entrance. Each step is careful. Measured. The movement of someone who survived not through strength alone but through accepting help.
"Hardik."
He pauses. Looks back.
"Thank you," I say. "For not giving up on me."
His smile is sad. "You're my daughter by law. Sorin's mate. My Alpha." He touches the cave wall. "I'll never give up on you."
He disappears through the entrance.
I'm alone with the fire and the carved wolf and the weight of everything I've lost and everything I might still become.
The thought unsettles me more than I want to admit.
But maybe that's the point.
Maybe being unsettled means I'm still capable of change.