The night wrapped around the pack house like a velvet cloak, shadows stretching long across the clearing. Sena's bare feet pressed against the cool stone steps, each one measured, deliberate. In her hands, she clutched the photograph of her parents—the only tangible link to a past she had never truly known. Everything else she owned, everything she had been, belonged behind her now.
The five brothers flanked her as they stepped into the forest. Kael on her right, silver-gray eyes scanning every shadow. Rian on her left, stormy and unpredictable, a smirk playing on his lips even in the quiet of the night. Loran brought up the rear, green eyes sharp, silent as the wind, reading the forest and the path ahead. Thorne moved like a shadow beside her, unyielding and calm, protective in the way only he could be. And Deacon—the alpha whose presence had once been felt more than seen—walked slightly ahead, a silent, commanding force that made the hairs along Sena's spine rise.
She drew in a trembling breath, heart hammering. The pack house loomed behind them, a place that had held cruelty, whispers, and betrayal. But she had the photograph now, the proof of her parents' existence, and she had the brothers—five powerful, dangerous men who had claimed her, and would never let her go.
The forest greeted them like an old friend, the scent of pine sharp in the cool air. Sena's pulse synced with the rhythm of the night, every step a tiny rebellion against the life that had tried to define her. She was leaving it all behind, but for the first time, she didn't feel lost. She felt... right.
Kael's hand brushed her lower back, a subtle anchor. Rian's presence at her side was electric, teasing, protective. Loran's eyes never left hers, silent and commanding. Thorne's steady shadow pressed close, grounding her, claiming her in a way words never could. And Deacon's amber gaze swept the trees, the path, and her with a weight that brooked no challenge.
The path ahead was uncertain. The forest was alive with unseen eyes and whispers, and somewhere in the dark, dangers awaited. But Sena felt no fear—not the way she had before. Not with them. Not with him. Not with all of them.
She paused for a moment, fingertips brushing the edge of the photograph. "We're... really leaving?" Her voice was soft, almost a whisper to herself.
Kael's silver gaze softened. "We are. And no one will touch you. Not here, not anywhere."
Rian chuckled darkly, a low rumble that made her shiver. "Try to remember that, little wolf. Everyone who thought they could will soon regret it."
Deacon, silent as the shadows themselves, simply stepped closer, his presence folding around her like armor. "Let's go," he said, voice low but filled with authority that carried across the night.
Together, they walked into the forest, leaving the pack house behind. Every rustle of leaves, every whisper of wind, seemed magnified in the cool air, but Sena's focus remained on the photograph and the brothers around her. Each step carried her further from the life she had known and closer to the one she was destined to claim.
She didn't look back. Not once. Not for the pack house, not for the whispers, not for the people who had never cared. Her life now belonged to the forest, to the night, and to the five men who had claimed her.
And as the darkness stretched ahead, she felt it—the first stirrings of something powerful, something hers, waiting. The test was coming. She could feel it. But for now, she was safe. She was theirs. And she was ready.