Chapter 244: 244

Nova's POV

The drive back to the packhouse was silent except for the low hum of the engine. I pressed my forehead against the cool window glass and watched trees blur past in the darkness. My body still hummed from what had happened in that elevator, my skin oversensitive to the brush of fabric, to the heated air from the vents.

Caden's hands gripped the steering wheel too tightly. I could see his knuckles white even in the dim glow from the dashboard.

Neither of us spoke. What the hell would we even say?

When we pulled up to the packhouse, I was out of the car as quickly as possible. I heard him call my name but I was already through the doors, taking the stairs two at a time toward Hudson's room.

Emily was sitting in the chair by his bed, reading something on her phone. She looked up when I slipped inside and gave me a small smile.

"He's been perfect," she said quietly. "Sleeping like a rock."

I moved to Hudson's bedside and pressed my hand to his forehead. Cool. His breathing was even and deep, the pinched look around his eyes completely gone.

"Thank you," I said.

Emily stood and stretched. "Anytime. I'll head out unless you need me to stay?"

I shook my head. "Go get some rest."

She nodded and left, closing the door softly behind her.

I sat on the edge of Hudson's bed and watched him sleep. His dark hair was messy against the pillow, one hand curled near his face. My son. Safe. Healthy.

But I couldn't settle. My skin still felt too tight, my pulse still drumming too fast. The scent of Caden clung to me, mixed with sweat and something darker, and I needed it off.

I kissed Hudson's forehead and slipped back out into the hallway.

The shower was scalding. I stood under the spray until my skin turned pink, scrubbing away the hospital smell, the elevator, the weight of Caden's hands on my hips. But the water couldn't touch what was churning inside my chest.

I dried off and pulled on soft clothes, then sat on the edge of my bed and stared at the wall.

Sleep wasn't happening. My wolf was pacing beneath my skin, restless and agitated. She wanted out. Needed out.

I glanced at the clock. Nearly two in the morning.

Fuck it.

I changed again, pulling on clothes I could strip out of easily, and headed downstairs. The packhouse was quiet, most of the lights dimmed. I slipped out through a side door and walked toward the tree line.

The moment I crossed into the woods, I shifted.

The change rolled through me like a wave, bones reshaping, muscles reforming. Kia surged forward with a pleased growl, shaking out her fur. She stretched, digging claws into the soft earth, then took off running.

The night air was cool against my fur. I wove between trees, letting instinct guide me deeper into the territory. My wolf knew these woods, had run them countless times before. The familiar paths, the scent markers, the way moonlight filtered through the canopy.

We ran until my lungs burned, until the restless energy began to bleed away.

Then she caught it. A scent on the wind that made her freeze mid-stride.

Caden.

Kia's ears pricked forward. Her nose lifted, testing the air. He was close. Maybe half a mile to the east, near the old creek bed.

I tried to pull her back, to turn her away, but she was already moving. Her paws ate up the ground, following his trail with single-minded focus.

We shouldn't, I told her. We should go back.

She ignored me completely.

The creek appeared through the trees, moonlight glinting off the water. And there, on the opposite bank, stood a massive silver wolf.

Shadow.

Kia went utterly still. Every muscle in her body tensed, her ears pinned back flat against her skull. She stared at him across the water.

His golden eyes locked onto mine.

Kia whined. Low and uncertain, a sound I'd never heard from her before.

Shadow stepped into the creek, water splashing around his legs as he crossed toward us. He moved slowly, carefully, like he was approaching something fragile.

When he reached our side of the bank, he stopped just a few feet away.

And then it hit me.

The old mating mark on my shoulder, the place where Caden's teeth had broken skin years ago, began to throb. Not pain exactly, but pressure. Like something was pressing against it from the inside, trying to break through.

I yelped and stumbled back, shaking my head. What the hell?

Shadow moved closer. His presence filled my senses, overwhelming. Familiar and foreign at the same time.

The throbbing intensified. I could feel it pulsing in time with my heartbeat, spreading warmth down my shoulder and across my chest.

Then Caden's voice pushed against my mind. Not words exactly, but feeling. Recognition. Connection.

\['It's the mate bond',\] he said through the link I thought had died three years ago. It's still there.

I went rigid. That was impossible. We'd rejected each other. Severed the mating bond. I'd felt it snap, felt the awful emptiness where he used to live in my head.

\[That's impossible. It should be gone.\] I sent back, my mental voice sharp with panic.

\[It should.\] His thoughts were quieter now, almost uncertain. \[But our wolves... when we're shifted, I can feel it. Can't you?\]

I could. That was the terrifying part. In this form, with Kia at the surface, there was something still connecting us. Frayed and damaged, barely a thread, but there.

The mark on my shoulder pulsed again, insistent.

I shifted back to human form so fast it was almost violent. The bond feeling vanished instantly, cut off like someone had slammed a door. I stood naked in the moonlight, breathing hard, and pressed my hand to my shoulder.

Nothing. Just smooth skin and an old scar.

Across from me, Shadow shifted too. Caden straightened, equally naked, watching me with those unreadable dark eyes.