I watched Alpha Jack pause at the door, his dark eyes meeting mine for a brief moment.
"I'll check on you tomorrow," he said, his voice low and steady.
Nonna nodded at him, and then the door clicked shut. The silence that followed felt heavy, pressing against my chest. My wolf stirred restlessly beneath my skin, agitated by something I could not name.
"Where is my phone?" I asked, turning to Nonna.
His face shifted, a flicker of realization crossing his features. "It's in Alpha Jack's car."
Heat flared through me, sharp and immediate. "What is my phone doing in his car?"
The last time Jack had my phone, he had gone through it, searching for the contact information of whoever had sent me after him. I had not forgiven him for that invasion.
"After you were shot at the pack borders, your bag was placed in his car when he rushed you to the healing ward," Nonna explained. "He was trying to save your life."
"And after?" I cut him off. "You could not get it out of his car? I want my bag, and everything inside must be complete."
Richard stepped forward from where he had been standing near the window. "He should not have gone far. I will go after him and retrieve it."
He left quickly, his footsteps fading down the corridor. I closed my eyes and leaned back against the pillows. My body ached, the silver bullet wound still tender despite the accelerated healing. Being a werewolf meant I would survive what would kill a human, but silver still burned like fire in our veins.
Richard returned faster than I expected, alone and empty handed.
"Alpha Jack has already left the territory," Richard said. "I called him. Your phone is in his car, but not the vehicle he drove today. It's in the one he used yesterday when he brought you here. He said he will bring it to you tomorrow morning."
I kept my eyes closed. I did not want to discuss it further. The truth was, I worried about my father calling. He would send texts if I did not answer, accusing me of deliberately avoiding him.
We had unfinished business, my father and I. He claimed he had a secret about my mother, something he had been hiding for years. If I was that secret, he should just say it outright instead of playing these games.
I let the silence stretch until Nonna and Richard left me alone to rest.
***
Jack stood in his private chambers, holding Aurora's bag. He had intended to simply place it in the car for the morning, but curiosity made him check for the phone first.
The battery was dead. He plugged it into the charger on his desk, watching the screen flicker to life. It would be better to return it fully charged rather than useless.
As he moved to his bathing room, a strange feeling settled in his chest. Relief, perhaps. Excitement, certainly. Aurora was alive. She had survived the attack at the borders, and she was healing.
He adjusted the temperature of the water and sank into the bath, letting the heat ease the tension from his shoulders. Being an Alpha meant carrying the weight of the entire pack, but tonight, he felt something different. Something lighter.
***
Tayo Dante placed her phone on the table beside her bed and smiled. The woman was awake. Good.
She would visit Aurora tomorrow and make certain things clear. Jack had been promised to her, Tayo, by their parents. Both the Hudson pack and the Dante pack had agreed to the union. That was what mattered.
If other wolves had ideas about pursuing the Alpha, they would need to remember that some bonds were forged by more than just attraction. They were forged by pack law and tradition.
***
Emily could not sleep. She turned in her bed, glaring at her husband Ned as he slept soundly beside her. How could he rest when everything was falling apart?
Only one day remained before the Keyamo pack would arrive to claim their bride. The debt had to be paid, and the only currency they would accept was a daughter.
Why did Aurora have to be the one shot at the borders? Why could it not have been someone else? That girl had always brought misfortune. The one time she would have been useful to the family, her bad luck landed her in the healing ward.
What if the Keyamo pack's eldest son decided to take Codysa instead? Emily's chest tightened at the thought. Her precious Codysa could not be given to that family. The Keyamos were dangerous, violent, their pack known for brutality. No one in their right mind would give a daughter to them willingly.
That was why they had offered the arrangement in the first place. The only way to settle the gambling debt.
No, Codysa could not be sacrificed. If Aurora could not come to the ceremony, Emily would bring the Keyamos to her. They could formalize the union right there in the healing ward if necessary.
Until the bond was complete, Codysa would not leave the house. It would be better if everyone believed she had traveled to another territory.
Emily stared at the ceiling, her mind racing through possibilities. The Keyamo pack would arrive tomorrow evening. She needed to ensure everything went according to plan, even if that plan required dragging a half-healed wolf to the altar.
The moonlight filtered through the window, casting shadows across the room. In the werewolf kingdom, debts were paid in blood or bonds. There was no other way.
***
I woke sometime in the night, my wolf pushing at my consciousness. Something felt wrong, a premonition hovering just beyond my awareness.
The room was dark except for the faint glow of moonlight. I could hear the distant howls of the night patrol, their voices carrying across the territory.
My phone was still with Jack. Whatever my father wanted to tell me would have to wait until morning. But sleep would not come easily. Not when I could feel the threads of fate tightening around me, pulling me toward something I could not yet see.
The secret about my mother. The attack at the borders. Jack's strange behavior. They were all connected somehow, pieces of a puzzle I had not yet solved.
Tomorrow, I would get my phone back. Tomorrow, I would demand answers. But tonight, I could only wait and wonder what storm was coming.