Chapter 54

• That night I fell asleep curled up in Ethan's arms, his embrace wrapped around me so tightly that it almost felt like he was trying to hold me together. It wasn’t just the comfort of having him so close; it was the way he clung to me, like he was afraid that if he loosened his grip, I might slip away into the shadows of everything we had just survived. His breath was warm against the side of my neck, and every time I shifted a little in my sleep, his arms would tighten protectively around me.
• I could feel something inside me was different now. It was subtle, but undeniable. After being marked, it was as if I had been stitched to the pack by threads that ran deeper than flesh and bone. I could feel them. I could feel the heartbeat of the pack in my chest now. I was connected to them in a way I had never been before, not just as the daughter of an Alpha or the mate of one, but as their Luna. The title felt heavier now, like it had roots that were digging down into the earth beneath my feet, anchoring me to every single wolf who would look to me for strength.
• I knew they would feel it too. They would wake up tomorrow with the sense that something had shifted. That I truly belonged to them now, that we belonged to each other. But even that new bond couldn’t protect me from the restlessness that crawled beneath my skin when I finally drifted off to sleep.