"Has Jeremiah ever told you what happened two years ago? The day I was taken?” Her voice is quiet, almost hesitant. I shake my head, reluctant to shatter the fragile silence that has settled between us since she brought it up. I know she hates revisiting that day, and anyone who knows the story would agree. Still, I wonder why it''s such a painful memory for her. I despise what those wolves did to my mother,


    and I made sure they paid for it something we ever tried to hide.


    nearly killing my father in the process. But it''s not


    She sighs deeply before beginning. "The version most people know is simple: I was kidnapped on my way home from school and held captive for two days. The wolves who took me didn''t expect me to be as capable as I am, so they didn''t secure me properly. I managed to break free and took down each of my captors one by one. Jeremiah and the others found me wandering along the roadside,pletely lost and unsure how to get home." She exhales slowly, avoiding my gaze now. There''s a heaviness in her eyes, something she isn''t ready to share. I tighten my hold on her hips, silently telling her I''m here, that I''m listening.


    When she remains silent too long, I gently lift her chin, coaxing her to meet my eyes. The tears glistening there and the vulnerability etched across her face make my heart skip a beat. Someone hurt her deeply—so deeply that she''s carrying a secret darker than anything Jeremiah knows. And that''s saying something, considering how close they are.


    "What haven''t you told them, Lamb? What''s been weighing on you all this time?"


    Her voice barely rises above a whisper. "I know who took me. And I think I know why." A single tear slips down her cheek. It pains me to see those once-clear blue eyes clouded with sorrow.


    I swallow the growl rising from within me, my wolf restless as I hold her close,


    studying her beautiful, haunted face. "You never told them who it was. Why keep it a secret?"


    "Because it didn''t matter," she murmurs. The confident,manding woman I know vanishes, reced by the uncertain girl she hides from the world.


    "Does it matter now?"


    She hesitates. “Yes. Maybe. No. I don''t know." Her hands cover her face, wet with tears. I let just two drops fall before gently moving her fingers away. Her hair is a tangled mess piled atop her head, loose strands curling softly around her face. The steam from the bath makes them wavy and wild. Despite her disheveled appearance, she is breathtaking and she is mine. I cradle her hands in mine, bringing them to my lips.


    "Tell me everything," I whisper, kissing the knuckles of one hand. "Don''t leave anything out." I press both palms against my chest so she can feel my heart pounding beneath them.


    She nods, drawing in a steadying breath. "It was the gamma''s brother. Jason''s uncle." My body stiffens beneath her, but I force myself to stay calm. I know she''s bracing for an angry reaction, probably expecting the same from her friends. When I remain silent, she continues.


    "It was just under a year after I moved in permanently. I was still trying to find my ce. The girls weren''t openly hostile, but I could tell they didn''t like me stealing all of Jeremiah and the others'' attention. I was grieving, and the guys made sure I was never alone. Most days, it feltforting. Other days, it was suffocating." She offers a faint smile, bittersweet and fragile. “A couple of the girls invited me to hang out after school. They said they had this spot where the boys rarely came, so no one would bother us. I thought they were letting me into their circle, but really, they were leading me into a trap."


    Her voice lowers to a whisper. "We wereughing and talking, and I really believed I belonged. Then suddenly, we were surrounded by a pack of wolves. They looked just like the ones who attacked me during my run with Be-scruffy, wild, and dangerous. Probably rogues." She shudders despite the warmth of the bathwater. I pull her closer, wrapping my arms around her trembling frame. She buries her face in my neck, brushing her lips over the spot where her mark would be if she could im me.


    I hold her tighter, vowing silently to protect her from whatever darkness still lingers in her past.