59 Chapter 59
Seraphina’s POV 1
After another sleepless night spent tossing in his bed, | was eager to keep my hands and mind busy with
something productive. Caleb and | set out to find anyone who might remember my family.
“There are a few elderly pack members who chose to stay in the area,” Caleb explained as we walked down a
tree-lined street that felt both foreign and familiar. “Most of them live alone now, but they might remember
details about your parents or the attack that never
made it into the official reports.”
The first two houses we visited yielded nothing useful. One was empty, its windows dark and garden overgrown
with weeds. At the second, a frail woman answered the door but becconfused the moment I introduced
myself, insisting | looked exactly like someone
named Dorothy who'd died thirty years ago.
It wasn’t until we reached a small cottage at the end of a dead-end street that we found someone who might
actually help.
“That's Mr. Garrison,” Caleb said quietly as we approached the front porch. “He lived about a quarter mile from
our neighborhood.”
The man who answered our knock was ancient, with wisps of white hair and clouded eyes that seemed to look
through us rather than at
His clothes hung loose on his thin frame, and his hands shook as he gripped the doorfrfor support.
“Mr. Garrison?” | said gently, trying to keep my voice calm and non-threatening. “My nis Seraphina. | was
hoping you might
remember my parents, Alpha and Luna from the Northern Ridge Pack?”
The old man’s eyes sharpened suddenly, focusing on my face with an intensity that madestep back. Then
his expression crumbled,
and he began muttering under his breath in a voice too low forto understand.
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“The little wolf,” he said suddenly, his voice cracking. “The little wolf with green eyes. They said you were dead.”
My heart leaped with hope. “Mr. Garrison, do you remember what happened? The night of the attack?”
But his moment of clarity was already fading. He began shaking his head violently, backing away from the door
as if | were something to
be feared.
“Too many secrets,” he muttered. “Can't trust anyone. Can't trust...”
He slammed the door in our faces.
“I'm sorry,” Caleb said, his hand finding my shoulder as disappointment crashed over me. “The attack really
messed him up. He's never
been the ssince.”
| stared at the closed door, feeling the weight of all the lost memories, all the answers that might never come.
We walked in silence for several minutes, the morning air growing warmer as the sun climbed higher. The
neighborhood around us told the story of a community slowly dying-half the houses were empty, yards
overgrown, “For Sale” signs faded by weather and time.
“Most people moved south after the attack, Caleb explained when he noticed my attention drifting to the
abandoned homes. “They were
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59 Chapter 59
too scared to stay, even with the rogues supposedly cleared out. The ones who remained either couldn't afford
to leave or were too
stubborn to abandon their homes.”
We were cutting through a small patch of woods that served as a shortcut back to his neighborhood when | heard
it-the soft rustle of movement in the undergrowth ahead.
Every instinct I'd developed over the past few days screamed danger. My wolf rose to attention, alert and ready.
The memory of being chased through these snorthern territories just forty-eight hours ago cflooding
back, making my heart race with sudden fear.
Caleb must have sensed my tension because he immediately stepped closer, his entire body coiling like a spring
ready to strike. Without hesitation, he positioned himself directly in front of me, one arm sweeping back to keep
| found myself instinctively pressing against Caleb’s back, my hands fisting in his shirt as my heart hammered
against my ribs.
Then two figures burst from the undergrowth like they'd been shot from a cannon-a young couple, maybe
college-aged, their clothes
completely disheveled and both wearing expressions of absolute mortification.
“Oh God, sorry!” the girl shrieked, frantically trying to button her shirt while hopping on one foot as she
attempted to put her shoe back
“We didn’t think anyone else was out here!”
Her boyfriend, red-faced and struggling with his inside-out t-shirt, nearly tripped over a fallen log in his haste to
escape. “So sorry!
Really, really sorry! We'll just-we’re going now!”
They practically stampeded past us like startled deer, the boy’s shoes still untied and the girl clutching what
appeared to be her bra in
one hand, disappearing back into the woods with a chorus of mortified squeaks and nervous laughter.
The silence that followed was deafening.
| becacutely aware that | was still pressed against Caleb’s back, my hands still fisted in his shirt, my cheek
actually resting between
his shoulder blades. | could feel the rapid thump of his heartbeat, could smell the clean scent of his soap mixed
with something distinctly
masculine and comforting.
At the exact smoment, we both seemed to realize our position. | jerked backward like I'd been electrocuted,
while he spun around
so quickly he nearly lost his balance. We stood there staring at each other, both breathing hard from adrenaline
and something else
entirely.
“Well,” Caleb said, his voice cracking slightly. He cleared his throat and tried again. “That was... educational.”
| couldn't help it-I burst into laughter. Not delicate, ladylike giggles, but full-blown, snorting laughter that made
my sides ache.
Caleb smiled, his own lips twitching despite his obvious embarrassment. “I think that guy put it on backwards
and inside-out.”
We dissolved into laughter again, the tension of the moment breaking like a snapped wire. But as our
amusement faded, | becaware
of how close we were still standing, how his warm eyes were studying my face with an intensity that made my
breath catch.
“Sera,” he said softly, and something in his tone made my heart skip. “We should...”
“We should definitely... keep walking” | replied, though neither of us moved.
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59 Chapter 59
“Right. Walking. Good idea.”
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