Home Truths

WILLOW

The dining hall buzzed with laughter and clinking cutlery, the air thick with the scent of roasted meat and herbs so rich they made my stomach curl with need.

But once we walked in, silence enveloped the space.

Well, almost. A fork clattered to the floor. Somewhere, someone let out a low whistle. And every eye was on us.

On me.

Connor didn’t seem to notice. He maintained his confident stride, but the weight of the stares nearly triggered my instinct to run for cover. I followed behind him, seeking safety in his shadow.

My skin ignited, and my body tensed. My gaze darted around the room, catching every subtle shift and furrowed brow. ~They’re studying me again. They’re planning something.~

Distrust, paranoia, and suspicion sparked within me, but before it could drive my feet to action, something caught my ear.

The word ~mate~ began circling the room, murmured first by someone somewhere to my left. More whispers came.

“She’s the mate?”

“That’s her?”

“He brought her here?”

~What is this? What are they talking about? And why do they keep staring at me? Oh, fuck. What if this is a trap?~ My mind began spiraling right as Connor stopped in front of me.

He turned to face me, and I glanced up at him, unable to hide the panic from my eyes. He registered it and softly said, “Come on. We’ll eat upstairs. I should’ve known this would be too much. I’m sorry, Willow.”

I let him lead me out, heat blooming in my cheeks. Behind us, the moment passed, the tempo shifted, and the music played on. Chatter resumed like someone had hit play.

We walked in silence toward the main staircase. The hallways to the left and right stretched quieter with every step.

Which was when, a few yards ahead, ~he~ rounded the last flight of stairs to the ground floor—tall, broad, and unmistakable in his black security uniform that might as well have been a warning label.

My lungs forgot how to function as I watched the red-haired, hulking brute who lived rent-free in my nightmares take lumbering steps toward me. Traumatic memories flooded my mind, causing me to freeze in my tracks.

~Cold metal restraints stringing me up. Questions being shouted over pain. His fists driving into the agony on my back. A sledgehammer making mincemeat of my foot. His eyes narrowing as he waited for me to crack.~

Connor’s hand grazed mine, and the tingles calmed me some.

A second later, my torturer stopped abruptly, looked at me then at Connor, stiffened, and quickly turned away. He left without a word.

~Strange~, I thought, but grateful I could breathe again.

“Travis,” Connor said, nodding toward the man. “I told him to go. He won’t come near you again unless you ask for it.”

~Huh? Told him to go? When? Just now? I didn’t hear—~

“Willow.” Connor placed a hand on my shoulder. “You have nothing to fear here. I promise.”

“I’m not afraid,” I lied. “But this”—I motioned around the pack house—“it’s a lot. I mean, back in that room, that’s more people than I’ve ever seen in my entire life. And they were all staring at me…”

“I’m so sorry. I—”

“No, it’s okay.” I forced a smile. “I need time, is all.”

Connor’s jaw ticked as he held my gaze. “So you’re not scared of Travis?” When I shook my head in response, he continued, “Well, are you pissed?”

Frowning, I took a moment before saying, “No. Surprisingly, I’m not.”

“Why not? You should be.” He tilted his head down. “Most of all at me. I’m the alpha. I ordered your capture and…interrogation. I’m the one who hurt you, Willow, and I’m so sorry.”

“I was pissed, at first. But I didn’t have all the facts. Then you told me what I am, and Lisa explained the email, and”—I shrugged—“I get it.” When he looked at me again, I said, “If I had all this to lose, I’d do the same thing.

“Point is, I forgive you—and Travis. You all thought I was a threat. You were doing your jobs. It was nothing personal. And, honestly, I’ve been through worse.” I finished with a smile, and a lightness filled my chest.

Fear and resentment faded, and I found I could breathe that much easier.

Connor mirrored my grin and stared at me for a second before saying, “You’re amazing, you know that?” After that, he led the way to my room.

My cheeks burned the whole time.

Dinner arrived ten minutes later, carried by a smiling brunette who offered me a wink and told Connor he owed her for “messing up the dinner lineup.”

With a hunger I’d never felt before, I practically inhaled the food. Roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, and something green that tasted like sin. “So,” I said around a bite, “what’s the name of this place? The pack?”

Connor, lounging in the chair across from me, tilted his head. “I can’t believe no one’s told you that by now. We’re Moon Shield Pack.”

“Sounds dramatic.”

“We ~are~ wolves,” he said, his lips twitching. “Drama kind of comes with the territory.”

“Good to know,” I said, a grin tugging at my mouth. “Tell me something about Moon Shield.”

He set down his fork, frowning. “We’re not quite a typical pack. Which makes us a target for others. Which is why we take threats extremely seriously.” He gave me an apologetic smile.

“How are you different?” I pressed on.

“We adapted. Most packs stick to tradition. They believe in seclusion, isolation. But we’re too close to human cities for that to work long term. So we use technology to our advantage. Surveillance systems, digital records, secure online databases.

“We’ve created a thriving, modern company that churns over revenue and funds our way of life. We hide in plain sight, using tech, and it keeps us safer than simply hoping no one hears us as we howl at the moon in the woods.”

“You’re some smart wolves.” The word still felt foreign on my tongue, but my acceptance of it was growing. “Oh, about that. How do you communicate in wolf form? I’ve been meaning to ask.”

Connor’s expression brightened. “That’s the greatest part of being in a pack. We can mind-link. Talk to each other in our minds. And we don’t need to be in wolf form, either.”

My jaw dropped, and suddenly the interaction with Travis made sense. “And only those in a pack can do that?”

He nodded. “And if you join us, you can too.”

“So…what’s pack life like?”

“It’s messy. Beautiful. Loud. It’s knowing everyone’s scents and tells and moods without asking. It’s late-night runs through the woods, early-morning strategy meetings, and arguing over whose turn it is to clean the training mats.”

“It sounds…” My voice caught. “It sounds nice.”

He nodded. “It is nice.”

After that, he didn’t push me to speak more. We finished our meal in comfortable silence. His presence was calming, steady and quiet. And for once, I didn’t feel like I had to keep up my guard.

I scraped the last of the mashed potatoes from my plate, swallowed it, and let out a sigh. It was the end of the day, and I was warm and relaxed and satisfied—not cold or sore or scared.

A small, foreign part of me didn’t hate the feeling.

Connor stood and took my empty plate. Our fingers brushed, barely a graze, but the contact sent a bolt of electricity racing up my arm, sizzling through my nerves. I froze. So did he.

“What ~is~ that?” I asked, my eyes narrowing and fingers still tingling. “Why does my skin always feel weird when you touch me?”

He hesitated—actually hesitated. For the first time since I’d met him, the ever-composed alpha looked uncertain. “It’s a mate thing,” he said after a beat.

“Okay…” I blinked. “I keep hearing that word, but I don’t understand it.”

Connor turned and set the plates down outside my door as if they suddenly weighed too much. He faced me, his arms crossed, closed off and guarded. “It’s not something humans really have a reference point for.

“In our world, the Moon Goddess gifts every wolf a fated mate. One person who’s”—he exhaled—“made just for you. Your other half. Not always convenient, not always easy, but undeniable. Soul-level deep.”

“So… soulmates?”

He nodded. “But more.”

I swallowed. “How do you know I’m yours?”

That crooked smile tugged at his lips, softening his features. “First, the scent. You smell like the best thing ever. Vanilla and lavender and mint and something I couldn’t name even if I tried. You smell like home. Then there’s the tingles. That’s the bond waking up.”

“Did you know right away?”

He dragged a hand through his hair. “No. Not with the wolfsbane screwing everything up. But later, when your wolf was awake enough, my wolf lost it.”

I didn’t know what to say to that. My chest was tight in the strangest way. Not painful. Simply full. “I think you smell good too,” I admitted, half under my breath, my cheeks warming. “Like warmth and cedar and safety. I don’t know. My wolf really likes you.”

That earned me a wide smile. “My wolf likes you too.”

A thought suddenly occurred to me that shook away my blush. “So,” I asked, considering my words carefully, “if I’m your mate, does that mean I have to stay with you? Forever?”

He went still—rigid, actually, as if every part of him was warring with itself beneath the surface. His voice, when it finally came, carried a rough edge. “No. Not if you don’t want to. You can reject the bond.”

Something twisted in my chest.

“But I’ll ask that you give us a chance,” he continued. “Me, the pack. See it all before you decide it’s not for you. Not what you want.”

I stared at him, this man who had multiple reasons to see me as a danger but didn’t. Who had threatened to kill me if I were to harm any of his pack members. “Okay,” I said. “I’m happy with that.”

He let out a breath that spoke of relief. And without warning, he pulled me up out of my chair and wrapped his arms around me.

I went rigid. No one had ever hugged me before, not once.

And it felt so right.

Connor was so much bigger than me, his arms strong but not crushing. He held me, a steady presence I was still learning to trust. Sensing that my wolf wanted me to, I melted into him—only a little.

“I’ll take you on a tour tomorrow morning.” His voice rumbled beside my ear. “Would you like that?” he asked after we pulled apart.

Tilting my head up, I nodded. As much as I wanted to speak, I couldn’t. My voice couldn’t quite work, not with my heart doing acrobatics in my chest.

He smiled. “Good.”

And then, he kissed me.