Chapter 1: Ten Years of Rain

The windshield wipers on my beat-up Civic squeaked like they were filing a complaint. Rain hammered the roof in fat drops that matched my heartbeat beat for beat. I hadn't meant to cross back into Crescent Hollow during a downpour, but the universe has a shitty sense of humor.

My fingers found the raised scar below my collarbone. Ten years, and it still itched the second I hit the territory line. Like my body had kept better records than my brain.

The road curved hard. I downshifted, knuckles white on the wheel. The pack compound rose ahead, carved into the cliffs like it had bitten off more mountain than it could chew. Lights burned in every window. Alphas don't sleep when power's on the line.

A figure stepped into the road. I slammed the brakes. Tires hydroplaned before catching. The border patrol kid looked nineteen and ready to piss himself. At least someone was having a worse morning.

He approached my window, hand near the gun on his hip. Cute. Real threats don't wave hardware around. I rolled the window down and let rain splatter my dashboard.

"State your business." His voice cracked on the last syllable.

I tilted my head, curls sliding across my shoulder. "Business with the elders. They're expecting me."

His eyes narrowed, then popped wide. "Paloma? Paloma Ellsworth? No fucking way."

"Way," I said dryly. "Now move your dramatic ass before I ruin my last decent boots in this mess."

He didn't budge. "The Alpha said—"

"The Alpha doesn't get a vote on where I go anymore." The words left a sour taste. My scar itched harder at the mention of him.

Before he could fumble for his radio, a black SUV roared up behind me. Of course. Theo never could resist a dramatic entrance.

I watched in the rearview as he killed the engine and stepped out. Rain slid off him like it knew better. Ten years had sharpened the edges but left the basics untouched: broad shoulders, military haircut, that lumberjack-god build. My fingers twitched with the old urge to mess up that perfect cut.

My wolf stretched inside me, lazy and pleased. Traitor.

Theo walked straight to my car, steel-gray eyes locking on mine through the glass. The mate bond gave a vicious yank. My chest tightened like someone had hooked a chain around my ribs.

"Paloma." His voice cut through the rain, low and rough as gravel under tires.

I killed the engine and got out. Rain soaked me instantly. Great. Nothing screams powerful sorceress like a drowned rat.

"Theodore." I kept my tone flat. "You're looking exactly the same."

His jaw clenched. That familiar tick. "You shouldn't be here."

"Yet here I am." I shrugged, water dripping off my curls. "Elders invited me for the Blood Moon Rite. Ancient bloodlines, unfinished business. You know how they love dragging up the past."

His gaze dropped to my scar, visible where my wet shirt stuck to my skin. Something raw flickered across his face before he shuttered it. Guilt or hunger. With him it was usually both.

He stepped closer, close enough that his body heat punched through the chill. My breath caught before I could stop it.

"You look different," he said, voice dropping to that dangerous purr that used to melt me. Still did, damn him.

"Ten years of not being your omega does wonders." The words came out sharper than planned. His flinch was tiny but I caught it. Good.

My wolf whined, pushing me to lean in, to rub my scent all over him. I told her to sit down and shut up. We'd survived worse than pretty gray eyes and old guilt.

Theo lifted his hand like he might touch my arm, then curled his fingers into a fist. Lightning cracked overhead, lighting up the tension on his face for half a second. That flash seemed to crack his control.

"I never said I didn't want you." The admission scraped out of him.

The words hung there. My pulse hammered against my throat. I wanted to shove them back in his mouth. I wanted to hear them again. Instead I just stood there getting wetter, feeling the scar itch like it remembered every second of that night.

I turned toward the gates. "I have questions about your father. About what really happened the night I shifted."

His whole body locked up, predator deciding between fight and flight. "My father has nothing to do with this."

"Doesn't he?" I kept walking, boots squelching. "Funny how the man who forced the rejection suddenly wants me back for the biggest rite in a generation."

He caught my wrist. The grip was firm, not bruising. Amber light flared under my skin where we touched. His eyes went wolf-bright, pupils wide.

Neither of us breathed for three full seconds.

"Let go," I whispered. My body screamed the opposite.

His thumb brushed my pulse point. "You don't know what you're walking into."

I laughed once, brittle. "I know he used blood rites on my line. I know he manipulated you. What I don't know is why you're still covering for him."

He released me like I'd burned him. The glow faded, leaving my skin buzzing. Rain poured between us, turning everything gray and soft around the edges.

I should have kept walking. Should have stuck to the script I'd rehearsed for three days straight. Instead I noticed the way water caught in his stubble, tracing the hard line of his jaw.

"Paloma..." My name in his mouth still did stupid things to my insides.

"Don't." I held up a hand. It stayed steady. Small victories. "I'm not that girl anymore. The one who cried for weeks because her mate tossed her aside."

His expression darkened. "Things were never that simple."

I started walking again. The compound gates loomed, iron and magic twisted together. My new power itched to test them.

Theo kept pace. Of course he did. Alphas don't let go of what they once claimed, even if they were the ones who broke it first.

"The elders won't see you until tomorrow," he said after a long stretch of just rain and footsteps.

"Then I need somewhere to stay." I kept my eyes on the gate. "Any ideas?"

He made a sound that was almost a laugh, except it tasted bitter. "You know damn well there's a room at the main house."

My steps hitched. The main house. Elias's domain. Where I'd once pictured raising pups with the man beside me. My stomach rolled.

"I'd rather sleep in the car."

"Don't be ridiculous." His voice went full Alpha, clipped and commanding. "It's pouring. You'll get sick."

I stopped and faced him. Rain plastered my curls to my face. "Since when do you care if I get sick, Theodore? Last I checked you washed your hands of me ten years ago."

Something cracked in his eyes. The Alpha mask slid back fast, but I'd seen it.

"My father isn't well," he said.

"Good." The word slipped out before I could swallow it. Shame flickered, then drowned under memories of Elias smiling while he ripped my life apart.

We reached the gates. The kid had clearly radioed ahead. Pack members waited in a loose cluster, faces showing shock, recognition, and a few open sneers. I lifted my chin and met every stare.

This was why I'd come back. Not just revenge. Respect that no one could strip away with a few words and a signature.

Theo's hand brushed the small of my back as we passed through. The touch barely registered, but my nerves lit up anyway. I didn't pull away. That scared me more than anything.

Inside the compound the scents slammed into me: pine, wet earth, pack. Underneath it all, the faint bite of wolf's bane that always clung to Elias. My nose wrinkled.

"Your room's in the east wing," Theo said quietly. "Same one as before."

Of course it was. The universe was really enjoying itself today.

I stopped at the stone steps to the main house. The rain had eased to a drizzle, like even the sky was tired of our drama.

Theo stood close enough that his warmth pressed against my back. Close enough I caught coffee on his breath and the clean soap he still used. My wolf wanted to turn and bury her face in his neck. I wanted to run.

Instead I stood frozen between the girl I'd been and the woman I'd carved myself into.

A shadow moved in an upstairs window. Elias. Watching. The faint click of him winding one of his antique clocks carried on the damp air.

My magic surged without warning, amber light flickering along my fingertips. It reached for Theo like it wanted to complete a circuit that could burn us both.

I shoved my hands in my pockets, fingers closing around the small rune stone I'd carried for months. Cold. Steady. A reminder.

"This doesn't change anything," I muttered.

His breath stirred my damp curls. "Everything changed the second you crossed the line, Paloma."

I turned slowly. Our faces were inches apart. Close enough to see the silver flecks in his eyes. Close enough that the mate bond roared between us like a live thing.

For one stupid second I remembered how safe I'd felt in his arms during my first shift. Then the memory of the severance hit like a slap.

I stepped back.

"See you at dinner, Alpha." The title tasted like a knife.

His hand twitched toward me, then dropped. I turned and climbed the steps, shoulders squared, feeling his stare the whole way up.

My magic still hummed under my skin, unstable and hungry. The corruption whispered that only he could steady it. I told it to go to hell.

But as the heavy door closed behind me, I wasn't sure which version of myself would win.

Or what I'd have to burn to find out.