She was hot. It wasn't the kind that came from sunlight or sweat, but the kind that seeped through thick blankets and wood-paneled walls. The faint smell of burning cedar lingered in the air. Her throat was dry. Her skin felt warm. Her thoughts moved slowly, like they were dragging themselves through syrup.
She blinked once, then again, leaning forward to look around.
There was a window, frosted at the corners. A line of light cut across a thick rug on the floor. The walls were honey brown, soft and warm. A lamp glowed beside the bed. Books were stacked messily on a table. A sweater draped over a chair. Her bags sat neatly on the floor.
Where was she?
Then she heard voices. Loud. There were people in the house. What time was it? She thought. The sky outside was dark. Her stomach ached. She stood, stretched, and just as the soreness settled across her back, the memory returned.
The wolf.
Her feet moved fast. She yanked the door open, rushed through the hallway, and down the stairs. On the last step, she stopped.
Four people were standing in the living room.
She saw Finn first, then a smaller boy. Suki stood beside them, cheeks flushed, eyes tired but kind. And the last man….
He was striking. Taller than Finn, with black hair that curled at the ends, a build that looked lean but strong. Tattoos climbed up his arms, more intricate than the ones Finn had. His face was sharp, and clean, lips full, jaw set. But his eyes held her. Not brown exactly. Lighter. Hazel, maybe. Or even gold. Warm and bright. Lit from inside.
She didn't trust herself not to say something stupid, or worse, reach out and touch him.
Then the door opened again. A man stepped in wearing a snow-covered suit and goggles. He pulled them off quickly, smiling widely.
"Ah, Summer, my baby," he said, crossing the room.
She smiled and stepped into his hug. "Hi, Papa Jake."
"You've grown."
"It's only been a year," she replied. He had come to the funeral.
Papa Jake turned to the group. "Jesse, what did Finn say about clearing the roof and driveway?"
Jesse, the smaller of them, scratched the back of his head, grinning. "Oh. Shoot."
He was tall, even taller than her, with warm brown skin and a tight fade. Not many tattoos. Just a few were scattered along his forearm. A dimple showed up when he smiled. He looked stubborn.
Papa Jake clapped his hands. "Well? What are you all standing around for? Suki, you remember Summer."
"I do." Suki came forward and took Summer's hand. Her cheeks were flushed, her hair piled up in a loose bun. Her eyes looked a little red like she'd been crying. She pulled Summer into a hug. She was holding her tightly like she'd been waiting a long time to do it.
Summer tapped her back, then looked at Finn over Suki's shoulder. He raised his hands in a shrug.
"I'm okay. I'm okay. The wolf didn't get me," Summer said.
"The wolf?" Papa Jake's brow furrowed. "What wolf?"
"There was a huge one," she said, stepping out of Suki's hold. "It was as tall as Finn's car. My heart almost stopped."
Papa Jake's eyes narrowed. "And what happened after that?"
"I don't remember," she admitted, turning to Finn. "What happened to the wolf?"
"The big guy ran off," Finn said quickly.
The man beside him tilted his head and looked at Finn. His brows pulled together, thick and dark.
"So we're safe?" she asked, not sure who she was talking to anymore.
"Yeah," Finn answered. "Wolves don't usually come down here. They stay around the mountains."
"Oh. Okay." She nodded slowly. "Well, I'm starving."
"Shit, come on," Suki said, grabbing her hand and leading her back up the stairs. "Let's get you dressed. They're serving already."
"They?"
"Yeah, some of us eat together. But from tomorrow, we'll eat on our own. Just you, me, Finn, Jake, and Jesse, if you want."
They reached the room. Summer turned, hand still on the door.
"What about him?"
"Who?"
"The guy next to Finn."
Suki raised an eyebrow, then stopped in her tracks.
"Oh. Alp…." She stopped. "Ezra, you mean?" she continued, her voice lighter now. "He would also be there. He has his own family."
Of course he did.
All that heat and want she'd been holding onto vanished in one breath. Lust deflated like a balloon.
Naturally. A man like that couldn't be single.
Suki saw her expression but said nothing.
"Come on, let's get you dressed." She turned to Summer.
Handing her a sweater from the pile near the bed. "Here. Wear this. It's freezing downstairs."
"How long was I asleep?" Summer asked, pulling her hair into a braid.
"About two hours."
"Wow. That might be the longest I've slept in weeks." She laughed, but it landed flat in the small room. The silence that followed felt heavy.
"I'm okay, Suki. Better than before. Back then, I couldn't sleep at all. I promise I'm at least... functioning now."
Suki looked at her for a moment, then gave a small nod. "Okay."
"How are Finn and Jake holding up?"
"They're the same. Trying their best. I think they're fine."
"Then if they are, I am too. No point digging up the past."
"Summer…." Suki started, but a knock cut her off.
"That's Finn," Suki said.
"What? How do you know?"
"I just know," Suki replied. Must be love, she thought.
"Come in, Finn."
"You guys ready? We're about to leave."
"Yeah, we're ready," Suki answered, already heading for the door.
They walked side by side until the hall gave way to snow-covered ground and towering mountains. Ahead, there was a bonfire roaring high, surrounded by long wooden tables packed with food. So many people. So much movement. Summer stopped.
"Finn."
"Yeah?"
"Are you sure this isn't a cult?"
Finn and Suki both laughed.
"No," he said. "We're just open. Why cook separately when you can eat together?"
"And everyone here's family?" she asked. Her voice dipped at the end, uncertain. She may have shared blood with Finn, but not with anyone else here. And Finn... Finn was building his own family now.
Some people stared. Wide-eyed. Others didn't even glance. She scanned the space. Maybe twenty tables, maybe more. Each piled with food, actual piles. Kids ran past, laughing, chasing each other around the fire.
Then she felt a hand on her waist, gently guiding her forward. She blinked.
"Wait, what are we doing?" she whispered.
"We sit here," Finn said.
"This is the front."
"Yeah. This is where we usually sit."
She looked to Suki, hoping for an out, but Suki only smiled and squeezed her hand.
"It'll be fine. Look, over there's Jake."
Summer followed her gaze. Jake was already halfway through his plate, barely looking up between bites. Jesse sat across from him, talking with his mouth full.
Summer took a breath. There were twelve seats at their table: Suki, Jake, Jesse, her, and Finn.
At the far end, two guys sat close together, whispering. One had blonde hair. The other was bald, a deep scar cutting across half his face.
Across from them sat a guy with dyed white hair, silent, watching her. He had almost burnished gold eyes. Beside him, a girl with bubblegum-pink hair, shaved at the sides. Her skin was pale ivory, with piercings in her nose, lip, and brow. She didn't look up.
Four seats were still empty.
It all closed in around her. Suki on one side, Jake and Jesse on the other. Finn is in between.
She sat down.
****
Ezra Kuin hated humans. But that says a lot about a man who has humans in his pack. He hated whatever this restless, crawling feeling was that had taken root in his chest. From the moment his best friend and Beta-told him his step-sister was coming to stay, Ezra had already mapped out every way to say no. Firmly. Without room for negotiation.
And yet, he didn't. Couldn't.
His mind had said one thing, but his body had refused. Every time he tried to speak the words, something in him pulled back. He didn't understand why. Not fully. Not until the moment he lost control, shifted into his wolf without warning, and nearly went after the girl.
That was when he knew.
Summer Waverton was his mate.
Now, the problem was she was human, and he was an Alpha. A leader. Someone born to rule, to fight, to carry bloodlines that could survive war and winter and whatever else the world threw at them. An Alpha could never be mated to a lower order, let alone a human. Not safely.
When battle came, when pups were born, a human couldn't bear it. Couldn't survive it. That's why the Moon Goddess made the rule in the first place. To protect them.
And she never broke her own rules.
Unless he was an anomaly.
Ezra could smell Summer from where he stood in the trees. Her scent carried to him in warm waves, even with the smoke of the fire and the hundred other bodies. She ate quietly while Suki talked beside her, laughing now and then, her shoulders still stiff. Still cautious. She didn't belong here, and yet….
She pulled his attention like gravity.
How the hell was he supposed to explain this? To his family. To his council. To the entire pack. That the Moon Goddess, in her infinite wisdom, had tied him to someone who couldn't shift. Someone who might not survive carrying his mark.
He shuddered. His vision pulsed, brown irises fading into the sharp Egyptian blue that glowed when his wolf pushed through.
She is beautiful, his wolf said.
Go to her. Claim her. Mark her. She is ours.
Ezra gritted his teeth, breathing hard until the glow faded and the blue gave way to brown again. His wolf settled, but not for long.
A tap echoed inside his head—someone opening a mind link.
"Son, are you not having dinner?"
His mother. Her voice was warm, amused. He could see her from across the fire pit, seated with a plate in hand, chewing even as she smiled.
"I am. I'm just thinking," he replied.
"About?"
"Later. Where's Father?"
"He was called in for a meeting with the elders."
"Why wasn't I informed?"
"It's about you."
"Great."
"Come and have dinner, please."
The link shimmered, then vanished.
Ezra stayed in the trees. Watching. Thinking. Fighting the pull in his chest.