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ALANA’S POV

My heart pounded in my chest like a drum, its rhythm echoing the urgency of my steps. As I hurried away from Kai, thoughts of my children and their paramount safety pushed me forward in my search for them.

As I got closer to the pack's house, their scent became more obvious. With a clenched fist, I tried to focus only on that while forcing my wolf to stop whining in my head.

At this point, I don’t want to listen to anything she has to say about Kai. He is dead to me. He has been dead to us for years now; there’s no point in whining over it. Coming back here was a mistake, but my children have left me with no choice.

For my part, I was acutely aware that returning to the Crimson Pack was a risk I had to take, especially considering the unresolved emotions that my wolf, Vel, still harbored for Kai. Despite everything he had done, he still held a piece of our heart in his grasp.

His touch, his kisses—they were my weakness. They still haunt me, tempting me to forgive him. But