Chapter Thirty-One

I tell them about killing my parents, literally, not in the constructed way Willow thought she killed her mom. I told them about leaving my foster home, and later being officially kicked out of the pack. I had never felt understood enough to talk about this topic with anyone, but I could see the empathy on Willow's face as I talked. She and her brother had been through some of the same things I had been. I told them about surviving on my own and fighting to make a good life for myself. About working my ass off day after day, pretending to be a human and pushing my panther down just so I could play normal. Then about meeting Ike and everything turning upside down. I told them how I was feeling conflicted about him marking me, because while it did make me feel loved and safe, I also knew there was no avoiding my future now. I was part of this pack; I was no longer a lone panther. Whether I liked it or not.

"Do you not want to be a part of this pack?" Spits out Levi once I'm finished. My