Are you sure about this?” Riley’s voice cracked through the air, his eyes flickering with concern as he looked me over. He wasn’t one to show emotion often, but today was different. I could feel the weight of his gaze, the unspoken words hanging between us.

I exhaled sharply, my fingers gripping the edges of the worn leather jacket I’d grown used to wearing. The familiar scent of the woods, the scent of home, had never seemed so suffocating. "I don’t have a choice, Riley."

He stepped closer, his usually confident posture faltering for just a moment as his hand brushed against mine. The touch was brief but electric, sending a shock through my chest that had nothing to do with nerves. He knew—he had to know—that I was terrified.

“Lola, you’re not just going back to the pack. You’re returning to the life you’ve been running from. The one that nearly killed you.”

His words struck deep, and I flinched, though I tried not to show it. I wasn’t afraid of the pack, not anymore. What scared me most was facing the ghosts of my past—Cole.

“You think I don’t know that?” I shot back, my voice harsher than I meant it to be. “But I don’t have a choice. The Black Dagger pack needs me. My father’s gone, and I’m the heir now.”

Riley’s jaw clenched, his eyes narrowing in frustration. I could feel his restraint, the silent battle inside of him. He had always hated the idea of me stepping into the role I was born into. He’d tried to protect me from it, time and time again. But here I was, eighteen years old, and I couldn’t escape my legacy any longer.

The pack was calling me home.

“I just wish you didn’t have to do this alone,” he murmured, his tone softening. “You’ve never been alone before.”

A painful smile tugged at my lips. I had always been surrounded by love, surrounded by Riley, but everything had changed the moment I left the pack. It wasn’t just that I’d distanced myself from the pack; it was that I’d distanced myself from everything I had ever known. From him.

And now, here I was, about to walk back into the world I had run from.

“Riley, I’ll never be alone. You know that.” My words were a promise, but deep down, I wondered if I was lying to both him and myself.

He didn’t say anything more, just gave me one last lingering look, before stepping away. The cold, sharp wind from the mountains behind us seemed to settle between us, closing the distance he’d just tried to cross.

I turned, my boots crunching against the gravel as I walked toward the SUV waiting for me at the edge of the woods. My stomach twisted in knots, a sense of dread settling over me. I couldn’t ignore the feeling that something was about to happen—something big.

The drive was silent, save for the hum of the engine and the occasional crackle of static on the radio. As we neared the pack's territory, memories flooded my mind. I could already feel the pull, the familiar scent of pine trees and damp earth, mixed with the sharp tang of wolf scent that lingered in the air.

We crossed the border into Black Dagger territory, the trees thickening as the land seemed to wrap around me like a protective blanket. I could almost hear the whispers of the pack in the wind. They knew I was coming. They had known for days. My return was inevitable.

The packhouse loomed ahead, its silhouette dark against the fading light of the setting sun. It was the heart of the pack, where everything had started, where everything had gone wrong. The house itself was beautiful, grand, but it had a haunting quality to it now. The walls were filled with memories of a time before the betrayal, before everything crumbled.

I couldn’t help but hesitate as the car slowed, my heartbeat picking up in my chest. My mind raced with thoughts of what lay ahead. What kind of reception would I get? Would they welcome me back, or would I be met with cold stares and whispers?

As the car came to a stop, the door opened before I had a chance to take a step. I looked up, my heart almost stopping in my chest. Cole was standing there, just a few feet away.

Cole.

His tall, broad figure was exactly as I remembered, but his eyes… his eyes were colder. More guarded. He hadn’t seen me in two years, not since I’d left without a word, without looking back. He hadn’t even tried to contact me after I disappeared from his life.

The tension between us was suffocating. He didn’t move, didn’t say anything at first, as if waiting for me to make the first move. But I couldn’t. My legs felt like lead, and every part of me screamed to turn around and run. Yet I stayed frozen, staring at him.

“What are you doing here, Lola?” His voice was calm, controlled, but there was an edge to it that I couldn’t ignore.

“I…” I swallowed hard, my throat dry. “I came back.”

He didn’t respond at first, his gaze dropping to my hand, where the family ring, the symbol of my status as heir, sat on my finger. It was as if he was seeing the weight of my return for the first time. It wasn’t just a return of a girl who had left. It was the return of the Black Dagger pack’s new leader.

His jaw clenched, but before he could speak again, a low growl broke the tension. Both of us turned in unison to see a figure stepping out of the shadows. It was Riley, his fists clenched at his sides.

The air seemed to crackle with the sudden tension between them. Riley and Cole had never been friends, but now it was more than that. It was clear: there was something more between us. Something that neither of them was willing to acknowledge.

“Lola,” Riley said in a low voice, his eyes darting between me and Cole. “You shouldn’t be here.”

Before I could respond, there was a sharp noise, the sound of something heavy crashing to the ground behind us. I turned quickly, my heart skipping a beat as I saw a shadowy figure emerge from the trees—a wolf, larger than any I’d ever seen.

And then, before anyone could react, it lunged.

The world around me went into chaos as the pack surged forward, preparing for a fight that none of us had expected.